Golden Hoops

Golden Hoops on its table

**金箍棒** (romanized as **Jīn gū bàng**; often translated as **Gold Hoop** by its team, **Golden Hoops** on *King of Bots* media feeds, and **Jingu Bang** in Mech+ subtitles) was a robot from China which competed in the one-off 2018 series *This is Fighting Robots*.

It was selected to compete in the main competition by Yellow team manager Sa Beining, but enjoyed limited success, losing its debut Freestyle Combat match to Megabyte, along with a subsequent Tag Team battle to Sandstorm and White Tiger Guardian. Despite surviving to a Judges' decision in the latter, Golden Hoops was eliminated from *This is Fighting Robots* during the third round. However, it would later reprise its place in Beining's team for the eight-robot rumble, surviving to and losing the Judges' decision to Polar Opposite.

## Design

Golden Hoops was a unique, black and gold, tube-shaped axlebot with modular chassis and translational drift weapon configurations. One of these - seen during earlier episodes- included four untreaded wheels and extending flail hammers on each side.

The robot utilized these hammers in conjunction with Meltybrain-type software (described by the team as 'slippage steering'), which allowed it to move across the arena while spinning on the spot. This system offered Golden Hoops a strike force of over 10,000 joules (10 kilojoules, comparable to the force of a one-ton hammer) and a spinning speed of up to 600rpm - the robot itself moves slowly, described by the team as '6rpm/min' motion. It was alternatively stated in the opening episode that Golden Hoops was capable of rotating at up to 2,000rpm, though it is unclear whether this was achieved by the translational drift system.

The central part of Golden Hoops’ chassis also spun independently of the wheels and hammers, which is designed to defend the catchers, as the central section contains the robot's battery and control panel. The robot could be fitted with an optional attachment to keep it upright.

For its Tag Team battle, Golden Hoops underwent a comprehensive rebuild, which altered the robot's appearance considerably. The most significant changes it received were a narrower, gray-panelled chassis, larger wheels with rubber tire treads and redesigned hammer modules, one of which was made longer than the other to improve the weapon's effectiveness. The central chassis also gained two interconnected bars at the front, which served to keep Golden Hoops stable when upright.

Despite (and perhaps in part due to) its unique design, Golden Hoops was derided and mocked by many of the veteran teams competing in Season 1.5, with members of the Shrederator Tiger Claw, Cat King and Two BBQ teams among those ridiculing the design in earlier episodes.

## Robot History

### This is Fighting Robots (Season 1.5)

Golden Hoops was chosen by Sa Beining during the initial 'blind selection' process, securing its place on the Yellow team. Though Beining praised the machine for its simple, 'chunky' appearance, its shape and unproven potential drew unfavorable remarks from some of the more experienced roboteers, particularly from American and Chinese teams.

"*Does [Sa Beining] want a good show by watching you get torn into pieces? Then he made a good choice!*"
— Brian Nave expresses scepticism over Golden Hoops’ durability

Even Golden Hoops' captain later attempted to persuade Beining to replace his machine with famed American competitor - and returning *King of Bots* finalist - Megabyte. However, Golden Hoops itself would remain part of the Yellow team, as Beining eventually decided to add rival shell spinner Shrederator Tiger Claw at the expense of Bonesaw.

Golden Hoops’ first appearance in battle took place in the first Freestyle Combat round, where it was drawn by Beining against British ring spinner Saturn (Zhang Yishan) alongside Megabyte (Zheng Shuang). Concerned about its chances of victory against the former, Beining advised the Golden Hoops team to 'keep our strength' prior to the melee, while carrying with him a long pole painted to resemble the robot’s color scheme. However, the Golden Hoops team refuted this, wanting to make the most of their chance to fight the Robotic Destruction Company entry.

All three robots initially hesitated to attack each other as they got their weapons up to speed. Golden Hoops rotated its central section and spun on the spot numerous times as its opponents collided and caused each other to recoil. It continued to spin for some time, although it remained close to the floor rods as Megabyte approached it from the far side of the arena. Megabyte then drove into Golden Hoops, lifting and causing the Chinese machine to recoil into one of the maces. Although Golden Hoops initially survived this attack, using its Meltybrain drive to spin across the arena, one of its hammers broke free moments later, taking with it some of the robot’s electronics.

"*Now it's getting mad, it's even hitting itself. Will Jingu Bang be dismantled?*"
— Wang Tao as a hammer module detaches from Golden Hoops (Mech+ subtitles, edited)

This left Golden Hoops spinning and bouncing uncontrollably near the wall spikes, allowing Megabyte to attack and launch it into the air again. The rest of Golden Hoops’ electronics shorted out as a result, leaving it immobilized near the spikes. With this, it lost the battle and Sa Beining’s initial advantage over Green team captain Zheng Shaung, who tied with Beining on points following Megabyte’s victory.

"*The impact bent our shaft, Metal dealer sold us wrong material which is different than he claimed, it is too soft. We made a mistake while designing the hammer's lock, and you see the lock failure.*"
— Teddy Wong explains the reason for Golden Hoops losing one of its hammers mid-battle

The damage sustained by Golden Hoops was enough to compel its captain to anticipate its elimination at this stage. The builder of Red River Hong also considered its relative lack of aggression and assertiveness in combat as a potential setback. However, Sa Beining chose not to eliminate Golden Hoops following its Freestyle match, dropping Saber II instead.

Golden Hoops later reappeared for the Tag Team round, featuring a substantially-altered look (see Design). There, it was partnered with Zen Oh of the Blue team, fighting against Sandstorm of the Green team and White Tiger Guardian of the Red team. Despite further doubts from roboteers such as Paul Streeter, Sa Beining maintained faith in Golden Hoops, supporting its team while continuing to suggest tactics which took advantage of its Meltybrain system.

Golden Hoops was initially hesitant to get involved in the opening seconds; it deliberately avoided its opponents in order to get itself spinning up to speed. It was quickly rammed and thrown backwards by Sandstorm, and lingered near the wall spikes before driving out and pressuring White Tiger Guardian. Golden Hoops drove to the other side of the arena, seemingly struggling to find an opportunity to resume spinning. It sustained another high speed slam from Sandstorm, which got underneath and reversed Golden Hoops hammer-first into the wall spikes. The impact threw Golden Hoops upwards, although it was able to drive away as Sandstorm nudged it towards the fire pit.

Golden Hoops eventually spun up again, damaging one of Sandstorm’s side panels as the British machine pushed, deflected and pinned it into the corner. As an already-pitted Zen Oh was raised back up to re-join the battle, Golden Hoops tried several times to spin up again, lightly tapping Sandstorm and Zen Oh with the larger hammer. Following a brief excursion into one of the grinders, Golden Hoops sped across the arena, a collision with Sandstorm’s lifting wedge briefly deflecting it upwards. It spun in the corner as Sandstorm and Zen Oh attacked each other, landing considerable blows to both machines.

Golden Hoops struggled to position itself as Sa Beining and Zhang Yishan urged it and Zen Oh’s teams to capitalize on the descending pit. After smacking White Tiger Guardian, it pursued and tapped the side of Zen Oh as the latter drove itself into the pit, before being lifted and suspended on top of Sandstorm’s lifter for a few seconds. Golden Hoops rolled off, and survived to a Judges’ decision against both of its opponents. While the decision was being made, Sa Beining spoke to Golden Hoops’ team again, disappointed by their failure to take advantage of the pit’s descent. Golden Hoops and Zen Oh subsequently lost the decision, resulting in both robots being eliminated – the team received further encouragement from Beining as they left the arena.

Despite incurring two combat losses thus far, Golden Hoops was selected by Sa Beining once again to represent the Yellow team in the Eight-robot Rumble, shown at the end of Episode 8. Alongside Beining’s other choice Lieutenant Bam, it fought Anchor and Shield, Megabyte, Polar Opposite, Spectre, Two BBQ, and Wrecker for a final chance to be reinstated in the competition.

Golden Hoops immediately dodged Spectre in an effort to get its hammer and Meltybrain system up to speed, spinning in place over the circular saws for several seconds. However, it did not appear to hit any opponents through doing this in the original televised edit, which next showed it to be largely stationary beside an immobile Anchor and Shield as Megabyte attacked one segment of Polar Opposite. Moments later, Golden Hoops spun up again, bouncing over a discarded belt before Megabyte buffeted and almost flipped it over with three separate blows. One of Golden Hoops’ tire treads had already begun showing signs of damage at this stage.

From that point on, very little was seen of Golden Hoops as it continued spinning, driving and flipping its main body back and forth near the center of the arena. A complete tire tread had also been removed by the time it next approached Megabyte in the televised episode. The encounter resulted in Megabyte hitting the hammer, body and wheels of Golden Hoops, completely destroying and removing another of its tire treads.

"*Megabyte had hit Golden Hoop a number of times and it was still movin’... it didn’t make sense! It was like magic!*"
— John Mladenik on Golden Hoops’ durability against Megabyte

Despite the damage sustained, Golden Hoops continued to move freely, heading towards one of the maces as Megabyte next attacked Lieutenant Bam. Again, it remained largely out of the action, but succeeded in outlasting the Robotic Destruction Company’s shell spinner which became immobilized following drivetrain malfunctions. With Lieutenant Bam also crippled by a damaged track, this left Golden Hoops to attack Negative Charge, the sole-remaining segment of Polar Opposite. Negative Charge’s vertical spinner briefly made contact with Golden Hoops’ hammer, but with no significant effect on either competitor.

Encouraged by Sa Beining, Golden Hoops moved away from the center and attempted once more to get its Meltybrain system up to full speed. At this point, several sparks had begun flying out of the robot’s center, and the attack proved to be in vain as Negative Charge drove around and avoided the hammer entirely. Golden Hoops suddenly lost use of its Meltybrain system shortly after, more sparks flying out of its body. Despite this, it appeared to swing its hammer towards Negative Charge in a conventional sit-and-spin motion just before the episode cut to Sa Beining’s wearied reaction. While emphasis was being placed on Megabyte’s elimination, Golden Hoops whacked Negative Charge’s rear panel as the two competitors kept their distance near a long-immobile Wrecker.

Golden Hoops survived to the closing seconds of the Rumble, finishing the fight by ramming Wrecker’s side at the same time as Negative Charge, and driving up the decelerating shell of Megabyte. During the former attack, it simultaneously weathered a further ram from Two BBQ, which was ultimately deemed to have been eliminated via knockout following its own separate drive issues. The Judges’ decision was thus between Golden Hoops and Polar Opposite; Polar Opposite was ruled victorious and would be reinstated for the next stage.

Sa Beining, however, objected to the decision, later questioning the Judges over what should constitute a knockout loss. This likely stemmed from Megabyte immobilizing the Positive Charge segment of Polar Opposite early into the televised battle, though this had not been enough to constitute a full immobilization in this situation. When re-reviewing the entire footage of the Rumble, the Judges concluded that both halves of Team Positive and Negative's multibot were consistently more aggressive and engaged than Golden Hoops. Indeed, additional footage showed that Golden Hoops was pushed across the arena by Positive Charge at one point, before the latter was immobilized by Megabyte. The Judges therefore stood by their decision to support Polar Opposite, confirming Golden Hoops' permanent elimination.

## Results

### Wins/Losses

* Wins: 0
* Losses: 3

## Trivia

* Golden Hoops was the first robot to use Meltybrain technology in any series of *King of Bots* or *This is Fighting Robots*.
* Golden Hoops was also nicknamed 'Golden Cudgel', a weapon used by the Monkey King in the novel *Pilgrimage to the West*. Brian Nave also affectionately called the robot **Tootsie Roll** onscreen in Episode 4.
	+ Golden Hoops also acquired various innuendo-based nicknames from the roboteers in attendance, which the team appreciated.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 KOB Hall of Fame - Golden Hoops interview