Acta Universitatis Carolinae Kinanthropologica (AUC Kinanthropologica) is an international peer reviewed journal for the publication of research outcomes in the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences, as applied to kinathropology. It is a multidisciplinary journal accepting only original unpublished articles in English in the various sub-disciplines and related fields of kinanthropology, such as Anthropology, Anthropomotorics, Sports Pedagogy, Sociology of Sport, Philosophy of Sport, History of Sport, Physiology of Sport And Exercise, Physical Education, Applied Physical Education, Physiotherapy, Human Biomechanics, Psychology of Sport, Sports Training and Coaching, Sport Management, etc. The journal also welcomes interdisciplinary articles. The journal also includes reports of relevant activities and reviews of relevant publications.
The journal is abstracted and indexed by CNKI, DOAJ, EBSCO, ERIH PLUS, SPOLIT, SPORTDiscus, and Ulrichsweb.
AUC KINANTHROPOLOGICA, Vol 61 No 1 (2025), 17–31
Self-awareness through suffering: A virtue based perspective of combat sports
Whitney Bragagnolo
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23366052.2025.6
zveřejněno: 08. 09. 2025
Abstract
This paper explores the significance of combat sports through the lens of virtue ethics, arguing that these practices, often criticized as inherently violent, offer a distinct and uniquely powerful path to personal growth and moral development. It argues that the specific kind of suffering, discipline, and hardships intrinsic to combat sports do not merely build character but offer one of the most direct and embodied means of pursuing eudaimonia, i.e., human flourishing. The paper compares combat sports with other dangerous sports, such as dangerous team sports (e.g., American football) and some individual sports, especially ultra-sports in nature settings. It situates combat sports within a broader ethical narrative that cultivates resilience, courage, self-awareness, and humility. Ultimately, the paper defends combat sports as not just a valid, but an especially potent, practice for realizing human flourishing under conditions of hardship and adversity.
klíčová slova: virtue ethics; combat sports; martial arts; eudaimonia; moral development
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Self-awareness through suffering: A virtue based perspective of combat sports is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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cena tištěného čísla: 190 Kč
ISSN: 1212-1428
E-ISSN: 2336-6052
