Announcements

  • ICM-UNESCO - Call for Photo Contributions: World Martial Arts

    2026-04-20

    The International Centre of Martial Arts for Youth Development and Engagement under the auspices of UNESCO (ICM) is building a comprehensive Martial Arts Database (Martial Arts Encyclopedia) to systematically document and share information on martial arts worldwide. ICM is requesting donations of photographic materials that visually capture martial arts from around the globe.

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  • Modern Japan History Association Roundtable: Ninja vs. Samurai - Warrior Icons in History, Popular Culture, and the Martial Arts

    2026-04-06

    May 12, 2026, online, free registration

    Organizer: Modern Japan History Association

    Over the last seventy years, martial arts publications have been hugely influential in shaping views of Japanese culture and history among English-speaking readers. The US journalist Andrew Adams’ 1970 book Ninja: The Invisible Assassins, for instance, went through a staggering thirty-six editions to 2008 and has been cited by hundreds of subsequent popular authors, even as the majority of professional academics have remained unaware of its existence (and its total unreliability). This event engages with academic reluctance to tackle transnational myths of Japanese warriors, including those related to ninja, samurai, and the martial arts. It will showcase both the importance of academic engagement with popular media and the range of concrete ways in which rigorous scholarship delivers insights into these areas. Robert Tuck will argue that “ninja” history is not really “history” in the conventional sense, and that literary-focused methodologies are more useful for understanding how “ninja” discourse works. Polina Barducci will discuss the earlier historical records of those who later became known as the ninja and the challenges of distinguishing them from other warriors. Oleg Benesch will explore the reinvention of the samurai as an icon in modern Japan and around the world. Taken together, the three panelists make a powerful case that the time has come to take popular martial discourses seriously as a field of academic study.

    More information and registration: https://mjha.org/event-6617253

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  • 15th International Conference of IMACSSS - 6th World Scientific Congress of Combat Sports and Martial Arts

    2026-03-17
    15th IMACSSS Conference University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów (Poland), October 14-16, 2026

    Since 2006, it is the tradition of the Faculty of Physical Culture Sciences of the University of Rzeszów to host the International Martial Arts and Combat Sports Scientific Society (IMACSSS) Conference every four years. For the first time, we provide hybrid participation - both direct and remote.

    Topics & Workshop: Philosophical, Humanistic & Pedagogical, Social-cultural, Psychological, Historical, Kinesiological, Coaching & Training, Bio-technical & Biomedical Approaches, Science & Logic of Combat, Security & Self Defence.

    More information: https://www.ur.edu.pl/en/colleges-/medical-college/units/faculty-of-physical-culture-sciences/imacsss2026

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  • Lecture Series: Beyond the fight: what do martial arts teach us about society?

    2026-02-17

    Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VUB's Centre for Martial Arts and Science (CEMAS) and demens.nu invite you for the lecture series 'Beyond the fight' with Dr. Alex Channon.

    The lecture series 'Beyond the fight' takes martial arts seriously as a social practice that reaches far beyond sport or self-defence. Across three lectures and one symposium, the series explores how fighting, risk-taking, gender, and health are shaped by social norms, power relations, and moral choices.

    Combining critical research with real-world examples, the lecture series challenge common assumptions about violence and invite audiences to think differently about consent, responsibility, inclusion, and wellbeing.

    From nonviolent combat and public health to gender dynamics and the future of martial arts studies, this series is for anyone interested in how physical culture reflects—and reshapes—the society we live in.

    Inaugural lecture: nonviolent combat, consent, and the dimensions of ‘violent’ interactions in martial arts - February 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM (CET)

    In this inaugural lecture of 'Beyond the fight', Dr. Alex Channon challenges the widespread assumption that fighting is inherently violent. Drawing on cutting-edge research in martial arts studies, he invites the audience to look beyond punches and kicks and to examine how consent, mutual trust, and moral responsibility shape embodied encounters in training halls and competitive arenas. What makes some forms of physical confrontation socially accepted, even celebrated, while others are condemned? And what can this teach us about how we understand violence in everyday life? This lecture demonstrates how martial arts can function not as drivers of harm, but as tools for anti-violence advocacy and consent education.

    Participating: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/33786284803761?p=VnmcWXpY5pCqggfkI2

    Meeting-id: 337 862 848 037 61. Password code: EK3Tq9um

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    Lecture 2: Constructing, managing, and embracing risk in martial arts - March 4, 2026 at 7:00 PM (CET)

    This lecture builds on the theme of nonviolent combat, exploring how martial arts become a resource for participants to experience varying levels of socially desirable risk, generated by and encountered at the level of each other’s bodies. It will explore how martial artists imagine risks pertaining to “real” violence, and how learning to fight enables them to psychologically manage these risks. It will also examine more tangible risk management practices employed in competitive combat sports, highlighting the social construction of risk as a desirable experience for practitioners and spectators.

    Participating: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/38373414878675?p=ZlklQDlJxzGJJRcmKu

    Meeting-id: 383 734 148 786 75. Password code: AX9Nk3Pe

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    Lecture 3: Doing gender in martial arts: masculinities and femininities in an apparent ‘male preserve’ - April 22, 2026 at 7:00 PM (CET)

    This lecture examines how gender relations and performances of identity manifest in the sociocultural context of martial arts. With reference to their symbolic proximity to “violence” and historical domination by men and masculinity, it will examine how far women’s increasing presence within them has challenged traditional constructions of gender, and to what extent these challenges have been resisted. Briefly touching on contemporary fears around transgender inclusion in martial arts, the lecture will also acknowledge the intersections of gender with other aspects of identity, namely sexuality and ethnicity, and explore their complexities in contemporary martial arts culture.

    This lecture draws on the chair holder’s research into mixed-gender training, media representation of female combat athletes, and trans experiences in martial arts.

    Participating: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/38608589498742?p=9vfOsjsw8nhZaEbAAC

    Meeting-id: 386 085 894 987 42. Password code: 2aR94E9w

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    Symposium - Martial arts for Health and Community Wellbeing - May 20, 2026 at 1:00 PM — May 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM

    The final programme will be announced by mid-February.

    Microsoft Teams-meeting

    Participating: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/35046436995694?p=UdzLLPPRaiPfqVH43k

    Meeting-id: 350 464 369 956 94. Password code: yR9sL6JR

    More information: https://events.vub.be/beyond-the-fight

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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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