This Japanese sport is conquering the world and the Netherlands is participating

Dodgeball, as a kid you probably played it in gym class. There is now a completely contemporary version of the game called HADO. Japanese sport, which can now also be practiced in the Netherlands, is a mixture of games and sports.

HADO originated in Japan, but is now played by millions of people in the United States, Germany, France and Spain. You can now exercise in three places in the Netherlands.

HADO: Dribbling the ball with VR glasses on your head

You get augmented reality glasses on your head, a type of virtual reality glasses with which you can also see the real world. By making a throwing motion with your arm, you are throwing “Hadoken” (virtual energy balls). With these balls you are trying to eliminate your opponents.

With no cables around or controllers in your hand with HADO, you can move freely across the room. Just like a real dribbling ball.

Japanese sports in the Netherlands

If you are really good at a sport like dribbling ball, you can even participate in competitions. There is the European Cup in Istanbul and the World Cup in Tokyo. You can now play sports in the Netherlands. HADO can be played at two locations in Amsterdam and Venlo. More sites will be added in the future.

You can play HADO with a group of 3 to 6 players or sign up for a class with instructors.

Go to the Olympics

“It is great to see how positive the response to HADO in the Netherlands is. Our goal is to spread jobs across the country and organize national competitions,” Michel Verhag, co-founder of HADO Netherlands, told Manners magazine.

Michel adds an ambitious dream to this: “I hope one day we will be able to participate in the Olympic Games with HADO.” This would make the Japanese sport the first Olympic discipline in which athletes wear a headset and use “augmented reality”.