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 It is a multidisciplinary journal accepting only original unpublished articles in English in the various sub-disciplines and related fields of kinanthropology, such as Anthropology, Anthropomotorics, Sports Pedagogy, Sociology of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
published online: 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.
keywords: virtue ethics; combat sports; martial arts; eudaimonia; moral development
references (42)
1. Aristotle (1999). Nicomachean ethics (T. Irwin, Trans.). Hackett Publishing Company. (Original work published ca. 350 B.C.E.) CrossRef
2. Armstrong, L., & Jenkins, S. (2003). Every second counts. Broadway Books.
3. Atkinson, M., & Young, K. (2008). Deviance and social control in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. CrossRef
4. Benna, J. B. (Director) (2006). The runner [Motion picture]. Journey Films.
5. Bledsoe, G. H., Hsu, E. B., Grabowski, J. G., Brill, J. D., & Li, G. (2006). Incidence of injury in professional mixed martial arts competitions. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 5(CSSI), 136-142.
6. Bravo, E. (2012). Joe Rogan black belt speech [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTIb16BiGc4
7. Cantu, R. C., & Frederick, O. (2003). Brain injury-related fatalities in American football, 1945-1999. Neurosurgery, 52(4), 846-853. CrossRef PubMed
8. Casson, I. R., Viano, D. C., Powell, J. W., & Pellman, E. J. (2010). Twelve years of national football league concussion data. Sports Health, 2(6), 471-483. CrossRef PubMed PubMed Central
9. Chinkov, A. E., & Holt, N. L. (2015). Implicit transfer of life skills through participation in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 28(2), 139-153. CrossRef
10. Dixon, N. (2001). Boxing, paternalism, and legal moralism. Social Theory and Practice, 27(2), 323-344. CrossRef
11. Dixon, N. (2015). A moral critique of mixed martial arts. Public Affairs Quarterly, 29(4), 365-384.
12. Ebert, P. A., Durbach, I., & Field, C. (2024). Gratuitous risk: danger and recklessness perception of adventure sports participants. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 51(2), 267-284. CrossRef
13. Gander, K. (2017, January 7). Blood, sweat and hallucinations: The gruelling experiences of an ultramarathon runner. The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/ultra-marathon-runner-45-races-nick-hollon-extreme-sport-runnning-blood-sweat-hallucinate-desert-a7510601.html.
14. Goodman, R. (Director) (1999). Choke [Motion picture]. Polygram Filmed Entertainment.
15. Gross, J. (2020, July 2). For many MMA fighters, CTE fears are already a reality. The Athletic. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1854544/2020/06/04/mma-fighters-brain-health-cte-is-reality/.
16. Hackney, C. (2009). Martial virtues: Lessons in wisdom, courage, and compassion from the world's greatest warriors. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing.
17. Hursthouse, R., & Pettigrove, G. (2023). Virtue ethics. In: E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2023 Edition). Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2023/entries/ethics-virtue/.
18. Hutchison, M., Lawrence, D., Cusimano, M., & Schweizer, T. (2014). Head trauma in MMA. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 42(6), 1352-1358. CrossRef PubMed
19. International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (2016). Graduation system poster. https://ibjjf.com/graduation-system.
20. Karpman, S., Reid, P., Phillips, L., & Qin, Z. (2016). Combative sports injuries: An Edmonton retrospective. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 26(4), 332-334. CrossRef PubMed
21. Krein, K. (2019). Philosophy and Nature Sports. 1st ed. New York: Routledge. CrossRef
22. Lockwood, J., Frape, L., Lin, S., & Ackery, A. (2018). Traumatic brain injuries in mixed martial arts: A systematic review. Trauma, 20(4), 245-254. CrossRef
23. Lopez Frias, F. J., & McNamee, M. (2017). Ethics, brain injuries, and sports: Prohibition, reform, and prudence. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 11(3), 264-280. CrossRef
24. Mańka-Malara, K., & Mierzwińska-Nastalska, E. (2022). Head trauma exposure in mixed martial arts. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(20), 13050. CrossRef PubMed PubMed Central
25. Martínková, I. (2024). Ultra sports as nature sports (proper). Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 51(2), 285-301. CrossRef
26. Martínková, I., & Parry, J. (2016). Martial Categories: Clarification and Classification. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 43(1), 143-162. CrossRef
27. Martínková, I., & Parry, J. (2017). Safe Danger - On the Experience of Challenge, Adventure and Risk in Education. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 11(1), 75-91. CrossRef
28. Martínková, I., Parry, J., & Vágner, M. (2019). The Contribution of Martial Arts to Moral Development. IDO MOVEMENT FOR CULTURE. Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology, 19(1), pp. 1-8.
29. Mez, J., Daneshvar, D. H., Kiernan, P. T., et al. (2017). Clinicopathological evaluation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in players of American football. JAMA, 318(4), 360-370. CrossRef PubMed PubMed Central
30. Monasterio, E. (2005). Accident and fatality characteristics in a population of mountain climbers in New Zealand. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 118(1208). https://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/accident-and-fatality-characteristics-in-a-population-of-mountain-climbers-in-new-zealand.
31. National Football League (2017). 2016 injury data report. https://www.playsmartplaysafe.com/newsroom/reports/2016-injury-data/.
32. Parry, J. (1998). Violence and aggression in contemporary sport. In: M. J. McNamee & S. J. Parry (Eds.), Ethics and sport (pp. 204-217). New York: Routledge.
33. Rainey, C. E. (2009). Determining the prevalence and assessing the severity of injuries in mixed martial arts athletes. North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 4(4), 190-199.
34. Russell, J. S. (2005). The Value of Dangerous Sport. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 32(1), 1-19. CrossRef
35. Russell, J. S. (2015). Resilience: Warren P. Fraleigh Distinguished Scholar Lecture. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 42(2), 159-183. CrossRef
36. Sailors, P. R. (2025). Virtuous connections along Russell's route. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 1-10. CrossRef
37. Samuels, D. (2015, April 14). One hundred years of arm bars: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and the making of modern MMA. Grantland. https://grantland.com/one-hundred-years-arm-bars-gracie-jiu-jitsu-mma/.
38. Sheridan, S. (2010). The Fighter's Mind. New York: Grove Press.
39. Skillen, A. (1998). Sport is for losers. In: M. J. McNameee and S. J. Parry (Eds.), Ethics and sport, pp. 169-181. London: Routledge.
40. St-Pierre, G. (n.d.). Official website. GSP Official. https://www.gspofficial.com/.
41. Torres, C., & Parry, J. (2017). Boxing and the Youth Olympic Games. Diagoras: International Academic Journal on Olympic Studies, 1, 169-190.
42. Turp, M. (2024). Meaning and morality in boxing. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 18(5), 468-482. CrossRef
Self-awareness through suffering: A virtue based perspective of combat sports is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
157 x 230 mm
periodicity: 2 x per year
print price: 190 czk
ISSN: 1212-1428
E-ISSN: 2336-6052
