Physical Practices and Sportification: Between Institutionalisation and Standardisation. The Example of Three Activities in France

Abstract

Many physical activities, from traditional games to emerging practices, have been and still are confronted with the 'sportification' process. Sports historians and sociologists have produced numerous isolated monographs to try and comprehend this development.Through the compared analysis of three activities -break-dancing, spelaeology and mixed martial arts -this study prolongs the modelling effort initiated by Renson to understand the fundamental elements which simultaneously encourage and slow down this process. It shows that this conflict crystallises around the degree of standardisation of a practice and its institutional recognition. To protect the original identity of these activities, their sportification process cannot be completed.

The Organization and Regulation of Full Contact Martial Arts: A Case Study of Flanders

“…There may be several explanations for the fact that only limited information could be collected. First, as indicated in the introduction, researchers investigating the regulation and organization of full contact martial arts are scarce and, as a result, a limited number of researchers have knowledge regarding this topic in their country (The Netherlands [38]; US [40,41], France [37]). Secondly, most of those who do possess such knowledge are focused on only one full contact martial arts style and cannot provide a general view of how these sports are organized and regulated in their country.…”

“…Furthermore, the wide variety of martial arts styles and disciplines is one of the reasons why many different associations and federations are involved in the organization of full contact martial arts. As a result, a fragmentation of the full contact martial arts structures exists [37,38]. For example many international boxing federations exist for boxing (e.g., World Boxing Council, WBC; World Boxing Association, WBA; World Boxing Organization, WBO; World Boxing Federation, WBF; International Boxing Federation, IBF; Women's International Boxing Federation, WIBF; Women's International Boxing Association, WIBA; International Boxing Union, IBU), while only one federation is recognized by SportAccord (i.e., International Boxing Association or Association Internationale de Boxe, AIBA).…”

“…As a result, the federations without a controlling organization above them can escape certain regulations and are less controllable regarding, among other things, the ethical and medical concerns previously indicated. This situation occurs not only at an international level, but also at a national level (e.g., France [37], The Netherlands [38]). The fragmentation of the full contact martial arts sector creates a lack of clarity in their organization making it difficult for administrators and policy makers to support and regulate martial arts, especially full contact martial arts, in a clear-cut manner.…”

“…According to Kikulis [39] "sports governance" is the responsibility for the functioning and overall direction of the organization, and is a necessary and institutionalized component of all sports codes from club level to national bodies, government agencies, sports service organizations and professional teams around the world. Despite the lack of clarity in a number of issues related to full contact martial arts, it is interesting to note that in several countries, policy makers endeavor to develop (or rethink) their strategy towards the regulation and support of full contact martial arts (The Netherlands [38], US [40,41], France [37]. However, governments sometimes do not know which stance to take regarding the legitimacy of full contact martial arts (e.g., in terms of recognition or banning), which often results in an ambiguous position.…”

Comparisons of the Health Benefits of Strength Training, Aqua-Fitness, and Aerobic Exercise for the Elderly

“…Second, aqua-fitness activities have been shown to reduce feelings of fatigue (especially during the performance of ADL), decrease fat percentage, improve coordination, and balance and facilitate socialisation [ 20 – 22 ]. Third, aerobic exercise classes have an ability to improve cardiovascular status, limb strength, limb and trunk joint range, coordination, and balance [ 20 , 23 – 25 ].…”