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Monday, March 02, 2026
Young Martial Artists Perform a Spectacular Traditional Dance in Perfect Sync With Humanoid Robots
laughingsquid.com: During the 2026 CMG Spring Festival Gala in Beijing, a group of very talented young martial artists performed a spectacular dance in perfect synchronization with a group of elaborately costumed humanoid robots.
I went into this video expecting to not be impressed and make a comment about how the robots were clunky or how I was worried about it being safe for the robots to be so close to humans. After actually watching the video, I am legitimately impressed by this production, and the state that these robots are in. I did a little bit of digging, and you can buy one of the robots pictured in this video for just $20k off Amazon right now. I had thought that this level of control and particularly motion control from robots was still many years away, but this video has proved me wrong. From a theatrical perspective, I do wonder if this video was actually taken in a single shot with everything working perfectly or if they had to do runs multiple times and only edited together the best clips. I am also very curious how much effort was put into keeping the performers safe, particularly given the fact that they are just kids. These robots have enough power that they could easily hurt a person, and I hope there was an Emergency-stop system in place.
To me this is just such a funny use of the technology like I suppose I understand just wanting to show off like the capabilities of where the technology is at. But in a kids dance performance just feels kind of hilarious and very unexpected. The other examples they show of humanoid robots doing other things are also just really interesting because I guess I'm just curious what the point is. Because waltzing and martial arts performances and even kickboxing are all things that humans do for a purpose, whether it be for enjoyment or like physical exercise or whatever and so I just am curious what the makers of those robots intended purpose is. if it's just to show that the robot is capable of mimicking human motion or maybe of being flexible or agile. But it's just very odd because there's no reason for the robots to do those things in the same way that there's a reason that a person does martial arts or or waltzes the robots are just programmed to do it.
I honestly felt a little confused when I first read this article. It never really occurred to me that performing martial arts with robots would be something people would want to do. However, it does show how technology can be used in creative and artistic ways, not just practical ones. Seeing the robots move in sync with the young martial artists was actually pretty impressive, especially considering how precise and coordinated the movements had to be. I also liked the contrast between the traditional martial arts performance and the modern technology of the robots. It created an interesting blend of tradition and innovation that made the performance stand out. At the same time, I still find myself wondering about the purpose behind robots doing activities like dancing or martial arts. Humans usually do those things for expression, culture, or physical training, while robots are simply programmed to replicate the movements. Still, demonstrations like this highlight how advanced robotics has become.
I did martial arts for a good part of elementary through high school, at both a children’s taekwondo dojo and at an adult’s Seido Karate dojo. It was why i clicked on this article! It was great to see a video of the young martial artists enjoying this performance so much. They are so talented! I find it hard to write about the robots. Can you say a robot is talented? The technology is certainly impressive. When i practiced martial arts, I found passion fighting with others. Both taekwondo and karate have forms or kata, which are choreographed combinations of moves. They also have shorter combinations that can be performed with a partner. I really enjoyed these. It is gratifying when you perform a combination with a partner quickly. It is almost like a dance: you both know what the other will do next, but it looks as if you are fighting. I wonder if this quality is lost when your partner is a robot. Otherwise, this seems like an exciting innovation for technology and performance!
4 comments:
I went into this video expecting to not be impressed and make a comment about how the robots were clunky or how I was worried about it being safe for the robots to be so close to humans. After actually watching the video, I am legitimately impressed by this production, and the state that these robots are in. I did a little bit of digging, and you can buy one of the robots pictured in this video for just $20k off Amazon right now. I had thought that this level of control and particularly motion control from robots was still many years away, but this video has proved me wrong.
From a theatrical perspective, I do wonder if this video was actually taken in a single shot with everything working perfectly or if they had to do runs multiple times and only edited together the best clips. I am also very curious how much effort was put into keeping the performers safe, particularly given the fact that they are just kids. These robots have enough power that they could easily hurt a person, and I hope there was an Emergency-stop system in place.
To me this is just such a funny use of the technology like I suppose I understand just wanting to show off like the capabilities of where the technology is at. But in a kids dance performance just feels kind of hilarious and very unexpected. The other examples they show of humanoid robots doing other things are also just really interesting because I guess I'm just curious what the point is. Because waltzing and martial arts performances and even kickboxing are all things that humans do for a purpose, whether it be for enjoyment or like physical exercise or whatever and so I just am curious what the makers of those robots intended purpose is. if it's just to show that the robot is capable of mimicking human motion or maybe of being flexible or agile. But it's just very odd because there's no reason for the robots to do those things in the same way that there's a reason that a person does martial arts or or waltzes the robots are just programmed to do it.
I honestly felt a little confused when I first read this article. It never really occurred to me that performing martial arts with robots would be something people would want to do. However, it does show how technology can be used in creative and artistic ways, not just practical ones. Seeing the robots move in sync with the young martial artists was actually pretty impressive, especially considering how precise and coordinated the movements had to be. I also liked the contrast between the traditional martial arts performance and the modern technology of the robots. It created an interesting blend of tradition and innovation that made the performance stand out. At the same time, I still find myself wondering about the purpose behind robots doing activities like dancing or martial arts. Humans usually do those things for expression, culture, or physical training, while robots are simply programmed to replicate the movements. Still, demonstrations like this highlight how advanced robotics has become.
I did martial arts for a good part of elementary through high school, at both a children’s taekwondo dojo and at an adult’s Seido Karate dojo. It was why i clicked on this article! It was great to see a video of the young martial artists enjoying this performance so much. They are so talented! I find it hard to write about the robots. Can you say a robot is talented? The technology is certainly impressive.
When i practiced martial arts, I found passion fighting with others. Both taekwondo and karate have forms or kata, which are choreographed combinations of moves. They also have shorter combinations that can be performed with a partner. I really enjoyed these. It is gratifying when you perform a combination with a partner quickly. It is almost like a dance: you both know what the other will do next, but it looks as if you are fighting.
I wonder if this quality is lost when your partner is a robot. Otherwise, this seems like an exciting innovation for technology and performance!
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