China’s Robot Kickboxers Are More Ballet Than Brawl

In a surreal tournament, humanoids throw punches—and stumble toward the future

The world’s first robotic kickboxing tournament was less “Rocky” and more “Swan Lake.” At the China Media Group World Robot Competition in Hangzhou, four AI-enabled humanoids—all built with domestically produced tech—threw slow-motion punches, wobbled on their feet, and occasionally faceplanted. The crowd cheered anyway. This wasn’t just spectacle; it was a glimpse into China’s ambitious robotics push, where grace might matter more than grit.

“They moved like toddlers in armor,” said one attendee. “But by Round 3, they were actually dodging.”

Unitree Robotics’ G1 bipedal model, a 35kg, 4.3ft-tall contender, stole the show. Priced at £12,000, it can carry 3kg, shuffle at 5mph, and make rudimentary AI decisions. During the matches, the robots—remotely piloted by humans—improved dramatically. Early rounds featured awkward haymakers; later, they landed push kicks and sidestepped attacks. The catch? Their sensors initially struggled to detect opponents, leading to punches thrown at air.

Labor Shortages Fuel the Robot Rush

China’s humanoid robot market is projected to hit 870 billion yuan (£89 billion) by 2030. Beijing isn’t waiting: a £100 billion robotics fund aims to address shrinking factory labor. While Tesla’s Optimus grabs headlines, Chinese firms like Unitree and Agibot are sprinting toward affordable, practical bots. Their creations already run half-marathons, assist surgeons, and solve Rubik’s Cubes—skills far beyond kickboxing’s staged chaos.

“This isn’t about fighting,” a Unitree engineer noted. “It’s stress-testing mobility for real-world spills.”

The tournament’s true victory? Proving robots can adapt. By the finals, the G1 models traded blows without toppling, their algorithms learning mid-fight. For China, that’s the knockout punch: machines that evolve on the fly, whether in a ring or a warehouse.