Announcements

  • Registration for the Martial Arts Studies Association is now open

    2026-01-15

    The Martial Arts Studies Association (MASA, https://www.martialartsstudies.org) is pleased to announce that MASA memberships are now available. By joining MASA, you will be directly contributing to the international community of martial arts scholarship. Your membership dues will help to fund MASA current and future activities, give greater financial stability to MASA conference series, and otherwise enable MASA to support research and knowledge exchange in tangible ways.

    In return for your support, MASA members will enjoy the following perks:

    • Discount on conference fees (10% off – fees for 2026 will be announced very soon)
    • Free participation in webinars and other online events
    • Ability to submit newsletter content items
    • Eligibility to appear on the MASA Academic Experts Register
    • Eligibility to have projects spotlighted on the MASA Featured Projects webpage
    • Eligibility to take part in MASA projects such as leading/authoring position statements
    • Eligibility to host MASA events, and/or request MASA endorse planned events or other activity
    • In future, eligibility to vote in MASA elections and stand for board positions (from Summer 2027)

    Memberships are managed through the online platform Membermojo. To access MASA sign-up page, please visit https://membermojo.co.uk/masa/.

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  • MASA Winter Webinar: “On Community in Martial Arts”

    2026-01-06

    Online via MS Teams, 4 February 2026, 14:00-15:30 GMT

    Click here to register your attendance for free

    This webinar, the first in a new series organised by the Martial Arts Studies Association, will explore the theme of martial arts as spaces where community can develop. It will ask how martial artists come to feel a sense of attachment, identification, and belonging within the various groups that comprise their practice, and what consequences these processes might have for both practitioners and martial arts themselves.

    The webinar will feature two presentations, given by panellists Lyn Jehu of the University of South Wales and Jack Sugden of Liverpool John Moores University. The webinar will then feature discussion led by Kyle Green of SUNY Brockport, and will be chaired by Alex Channon of the University of Brighton.

    Attendance at this webinar is free but registration via Eventbrite is required. A link to the MS Teams meeting will be circulated a couple of days before the event to all registered attendees.

    Please circulate the invitation to any interested colleagues, and/or contact a.channon@brighton.ac.uk for further information.

    Paper 1: Capoeira Fusion and Community Building: A Case Study of Capoeira Casnewydd (Lyn Jehu)

    This case study will focus on Capoeira Casnewydd, a Community Interest Company (CIC) based in the City of Newport. This group is representative of the diverse demographic of this area. Several of the members are refugees, immigrants or from mixed heritage backgrounds. Specifically, the influence of monthly Capoeira Fusion sessions will be examined. These classes combine Capoeira with other martial arts and on occasion, unconnected activities such as reptile shows. This case study will demonstrate how the fusion sessions have functioned as a community-building mechanism, promoting cultural awareness, social capital, and integration. A crucial element of the discussion will be the shift that has occurred within the group identity. The transition from an instructor led activity to an engaged and participant-based community will be emphasised.

     Paper 2: MMA and Society: Community and resistance on the mats (Jack Sugden)

    Globally, mixed martial arts has seen a staggering level of growth in participation and fandom over the past 20 years. This has resulted in numerous gyms and venues emerging, often on sparse edges of urban spaces. Yet every night of the week these spaces are home to a diverse ecosystem of combat sports training and participants. This paper is based on a 6-year (and counting) participant ethnography of one such space in England’s Northwest. Initially conceived to answer the simple questions around why people become so committed to such physically, socially and economically demanding practice, the research has uncovered further answers relating to the importance of training for the realisation of authentic community and the reappropriation of the body as a tool of resistance against the virality of neoliberal norms outside the gym’s walls.

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  • Martial Arts Studies Association 10th Annual Conference

    2025-12-29

    University of Brighton, Falmer Campus, 22nd-24th July 2026

    In this conference we will revisit the core thematic problems that have animated our community’s conversations for the past 11 years, while also posing questions about its future:

    • What is purpose of martial arts studies? What, and who, is it for?
    • What can martial arts studies do that simply ‘studies of martial arts’ (in other fields or traditions) don’t?
    • What should the future direction of the field of martial arts studies be?
    • How can our newly founded association support our efforts in these directions?
    • How can we work with others – in different academic fields, and outside academia – to do so?

    Deadline for all abstract submissions is Friday 9th January 2026

    More information: https://www.martialartsstudies.org/masa-conference-2026

    MASA memberships will be launching in January. More announcements coming soon!

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  • Judô: fundamentos científicos e intervenção profissional

    2025-12-29

    A Confederação Brasileira de Judô (CBJ), em parceria inédita com a Escola de Educação Física e Esporte da USP (EEFE-USP), lança o primeiro curso de especialização a distância: “Judô: fundamentos científicos e intervenção profissional”, voltado à formação de especialistas qualificados para atuação no judô de alto rendimento. As inscrições já estão abertas e seguem até o dia 13 de fevereiro. Com proposta acadêmica robusta e aplicada, a pós-graduação integra bases científicas atualizadas com a prática de treinamento, contemplando dimensões técnicas, físicas, táticas e de gestão esportiva. O formato é 100% remoto, com aulas ao vivo no período noturno e carga horária total de 410 horas, incluindo monografia ou proposta de treinamento como Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (TCC).

    Mais informações:

    https://cbj.com.br/pt/noticias/cbj-lanca-primeira-posgraduacao-em-judo-com-foco-no-alto-rendimento-/

    https://www.eefe.usp.br/node/2734

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    The Brazilian Judo Confederation (CBJ), in an unprecedented partnership with the School of Physical Education and Sports at USP (EEFE-USP), is launching its first distance learning specialization course: “Judo: scientific fundamentals and professional intervention,” aimed at training qualified specialists to work in high-performance judo. Registration is now open and will continue until February 13. With a robust and applied academic proposal, the postgraduate course integrates up-to-date scientific bases with training practice, covering technical, physical, tactical, and sports management dimensions. The format is 100% remote, with live evening classes and a total workload of 410 hours, including a monograph or training proposal as a Final Course Project (TCC).

    More information:

    https://cbj.com.br/pt/noticias/cbj-lanca-primeira-posgraduacao-em-judo-com-foco-no-alto-rendimento-/

    https://www.eefe.usp.br/node/2734

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    La Confederación Brasileña de Judo (CBJ), en una colaboración inédita con la Escuela de Educación Física y Deporte de la USP (EEFE-USP), lanza el primer curso de especialización a distancia: «Judo: fundamentos científicos e intervención profesional», orientado a la formación de especialistas cualificados para actuar en el judo de alto rendimiento. Las inscripciones ya están abiertas y continúan hasta el 13 de febrero. Con una propuesta académica sólida y aplicada, la posgrado integra bases científicas actualizadas con la práctica del entrenamiento, contemplando dimensiones técnicas, físicas, tácticas y de gestión deportiva. El formato es 100 % a distancia, con clases en directo por la noche y una carga lectiva total de 410 horas, incluyendo una monografía o una propuesta de entrenamiento como Trabajo de Fin de Curso (TFC).

    Más información: 

    https://cbj.com.br/pt/noticias/cbj-lanca-primeira-posgraduacao-em-judo-com-foco-no-alto-rendimento-/

    https://www.eefe.usp.br/node/2734

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