This Japanese sport conquers the world and the Netherlands participates

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

HADO was born in Japan, but is now played by millions of people in the United States, Germany, France and Spain. From now on, you can practice this sport in three places in the Netherlands.

HADO: dodgeball with VR glasses on the head

You have AR glasses on your head, a kind of VR glasses through which you also see the real world. By making a throwing motion with your arm, you throw ‘Hadoken’ (virtual energy balls). With these balls you try to knock out your opponents.

Because you don’t have cables around you or controllers in your hand with HADO, you can move freely around the room. Like a real dodge ball.

Japanese sport in the Netherlands

If you’re really good at dodgeball-type sports, you can even participate in competitions. There is a European Cup in Istanbul and a World Cup in Tokyo. You can now also practice in the Netherlands. HADO can be played in two places in amsterdam and in Venlo. More locations will be added in the future.

You can play HADO with a group of 3 to 6 players or sign up for a course accompanied by trainers.

On the way to the Olympics

“It’s great to see how positive the response to HADO is in the Netherlands. Our goal is to roll out jobs across the country and organize national competitions,” said Michiel Verhage, co-founder of HADO Netherlands, at Manners Magazine.

Michiel adds an ambitious dream: “I hope that one day we can participate in the Olympic Games with HADO. This would make Japanese sport the first Olympic discipline in which athletes wear helmets and use “augmented reality”.