Raúl Sánchez García

Decivilizing, civilizing or informalizing? The international development of Mixed Martial Arts

This article contributes to ongoing debates about trends in violence in sport through an examination of the emergence of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The article counters suggestions that the rise of MMA is indicative of a decivilizing and/or de-sportizing process, arguing instead that the development of MMA can best be explained with reference to the concepts of informalization and the ‘quest for excitement’. More particularly, the article argues that MMA emerged as a global sport as a consequence of the ascendancy of professionalism over amateurism, through a hybridization of Eastern and Western combat styles, and due to participants’ desires to generate increased levels of excitement. The article argues that despite academic and public portrayals to the contrary, considerable self-restraint characterizes the violence in MMA. The sport has, however, oscillated between more and less violent forms as relatively ‘de-sensitized’ participants and wider public lobbies have contested the definition of socially tolerable violence. In order to maintain spectator appeal under increasingly stringent regulation promoters have sought to make ‘cosmetic’ changes to MMA to increase the appearance of de-controlled violence. The article concludes by arguing that combat sports are inherently contentious as they necessarily exist close to the boundary between ‘real’ and ‘mock’ fighting and thus on the margins of modern sport.

‘Governmentality’ in the origins of European female PE and sport: the Spanish case study (1883–1936)

The purpose of the paper is twofold: (1) to contribute to the analysis of the origins of modern European female PE and sports from a power perspective, inspired by Foucaults work; and (2) to present a detailed analysis of female PE and sport in Spain (1883–1936) as a specific European case study. It is argued that these physical activities could be conceived in the Spanish case as part of a specific kind of ‘governmentality’ with a dual nature. On the one hand they represented disciplinary ‘technologies of power’ over the female body. Selected physical activities—dictated mainly from the hygienic-moral position of the Regeneracionistas (‘Regenerationists’)—were exerted as a kind of ‘bio-power’ for the control of the female population. On the other hand, such kind of activities (especially sports) represented certain ‘technologies of the self’ for middle and upper class women. Through participation in sports, women gained a more active and public role in the Spanish society of the era, obtaining some degree of autonomy in self-governance over their bodies and their lives.The purpose of the paper is twofold: (1) to contribute to the analysis of the origins of modern European female PE and sports from a power perspective, inspired by Foucaults work; and (2) to present a detailed analysis of female PE and sport in Spain (1883–1936) as a specific European case study. It is argued that these physical activities could be conceived in the Spanish case as part of a specific kind of ‘governmentality’ with a dual nature. On the one hand they represented disciplinary ‘technologies of power’ over the female body. Selected physical activities—dictated mainly from the hygienic-moral position of the Regeneracionistas (‘Regenerationists’)—were exerted as a kind of ‘bio-power’ for the control of the female population. On the other hand, such kind of activities (especially sports) represented certain ‘technologies of the self’ for middle and upper class women. Through participation in sports, women gained a more active and public role in the Spanish society of the era, obtaining some degree of autonomy in self-governance over their bodies and their lives

Reconstructing Elias’s Work on Leisure, Sports and the Body

This volume presents hitherto unpublished manuscripts by Norbert Elias (1897–1990). In the introduction the editors explain how and why these texts are made accessible now in a new volume. They describe how the material fits into the broader context of Eliass life and work, and point to the relevance of these new perspectives for discussions in sociological and historical research.

Revisiting Duelling and Fencing in the Sociology of Norbert Elias

The aim of this chapter is twofold: first, to relate the analysis of duelling in the ‘Boxing and Duelling’ (BD) manuscript with other Elias’s works where duelling is discussed; and second, to expand Elias’s analysis on the specific development of duelling and fencing in the French case. Combat activities performed by ruling classes in civil society (not warfare) constitute a good candidate for comparisons on different national patterns of civilizing processes. Analysis of the development of such combat activities provides a privileged window to observe links between processes of state formation, monopoly of violence and changes in the militaristic ethos of the ruling classes.

Tras la estela de Norbert Elias Introducción

La modulación de las emociones humanas es producto de la cultura. Es una consecuencia de la conciencia. Un buen ejemplo es la violencia. En la sociedad occidental, ahora somos menos violentos que hace sesenta años o cinco siglos. El control de la violencia es el resultado de la modulación de las emociones [...] Y nuestra tolerancia a la violencia va cayendo. En todos los países occidentales, la violencia doméstica se aceptaba, pero ahora no se tolera (António Damásio, entrevistado en El País Semanal, 7 de Noviembre de 2010).

Los mitos esenciales del deporte español

reform effort led by Thomas Gates at the University of Pennsylvania in 1931 as a cautionary tale. Before Gates de-emphasised his university’s athletic teams, the American football team there had one of the most successful records of any university, winning 414 games and losing 143. In the 80 years following the reforms, the team has sunk to mediocrity, winning only 358 and losing 321. Pay for Play provides both the academic and the casual reader with a solid reference for encapsulating or learning the history of college athletic reform. The timeline that follows the main body of the text is especially helpful. The work is well researched and Smith details the amount of time that he spent in university archives reading the records that reformers and their opponents have left for us. Where Smith falls short is in his analysis of the reasons for reforms’ failure. At various points, he does mention in passing that a root cause of the motivation for reform and its eventual failure was a divergence in the meaning of sport, notably the concept of amateurism, a nineteenth century British social construct, designed to separate the upper classes from their proletarian counterparts. That model was rejected by Americans in favour of a professionalised approach to sport that emphasised winning through almost any means necessary. He likewise pays little attention to the ‘professionally’ motivated reform efforts that have emerged in the past few decades that seek to allow college athletes to share in the tremendous wealth generated by their efforts. One of the better critiques of any work is that the author should have written more and such is the case with Pay for Play. What he has provided is very good, but leaves considerable room for Smith or future scholars to expand upon.