Exploring Engaged Spirituality through Martial Arts

Abstract

In this article, through a carnal and participant approach to ethnography, we consider the pedagogical repertoires of Boxe Popolare (a style of boxing codified by Italian leftist grassroots groups) and Odaka Yoga (an innovative type of postural yoga blended with martial arts elements). We provide a close reading of what we call the pedagogies of engagement cultivated by these two practices, appreciating how their underlying spiritual philosophies are internalized in self-reflective projects oriented towards societal transformation. Our analysis draws from Pierrre Bourdieu’s dispositional sociology and the concept of “body pedagogics”. With regards to this framework, we explore the physical-spiritual apprenticeship to Boxe Popolare and Odaka Yoga in relation to the rise of a series of engaged dispositions, which bring practitioners to conceive of their own transformation as a way to encourage social change and support social justice programmes. More specifically, we emphasize the ritual dimensions of these practices, their forms of commitment, and finally their ambivalences regarding contemporary neoliberal governmentality and societal transformation. We conclude by reflecting on how the neoliberal character of contemporary martial activities, too often simply assumed, is socially reproduced—in practice— via specific processes of knowledge transmission; and calling for more attention to the overlaps between different social fields.

“Scholar–Practitioners”, Reflexivity and the Illusio of the Field: Ethnography, Yoga Studies and the Social Scientific Study of Religion

“…In so doing, I came to realize that because of its commodified, fitness-like and branded dimensions, the study of modern forms of yoga is a very relevant sociocultural phenomenon worthy of sociological investigation, and this directed my attention to Odaka Yoga, one of the two case studies of my research. Odaka Yoga, as I have discussed at length elsewhere [21][22][23], presents itself as a poignant case of the changing nature of modern yoga and its adaptation to different sociocultural environments. It is also a fitting example of the legitimizing and differentiating strategies that contemporary yoga brands follow in their attempts to conquer a share of the yoga market in the context of an already saturated and highly commodified field.…”

The Shared Sociological Imagination: A Reflexive Tale from the Boxe Popolare Field

“…This is no surprise. It is due to the complexity of the boxe popolare network both in terms of people's attendance and in terms of political orientations of the clubs, two organisational dimensions that influence the gyms' pedagogy and the habitus shaped through daily boxing routines [4][5][6][7][8]. Indeed, while several gyms consider deconstruction of symbolic violence in coaching as a meaningful attempt towards a politicisation of the boxing practice, other organisations expressed perplexity, continuing to elevate the coaching figures at the apex of the organisations for their pivotal role in ensuring the successful functioning of the clubs.…”

“…In this paper, I maintain the pseudonym adopted in previous articles to name the gym where I have completed my boxe popolare apprenticeship. As already deepended [4][5][6][7][8], boxe popolare has blossomed in several European countries-particularly in Italy-within the leftist grassroots groups. This self-managed form of boxing is arranged outside the jurisdiction of the boxing federations with several missions: to promote an alternative approach to sporting practices and exercises, for social inclusion purposes, and for socio-political activism.…”

“…Apprenticeship allowed me to track down the social genesis of the "localised pugilistic habitus" [3], that is, I could reconstruct the path towards the acquisition of the bodily and mental dispositions that define the competent boxe popolare pugilist. Becoming an established member of Bread and Roses, I have also contributed in organising fight nights, participating in gym management, attending away/home matches and sharing several experiences with many practitioners who belong to the boxe popolare network [4][5][6][7][8] 1 .…”