Martial arts and youth: an analysis of contextual factors

To date, contrasting results are found regarding the presumed effects of martial arts involvement among youth, ranging from very positive to very negative. The variations in these findings could possibly be due to the fact that most authors regarded martial arts as a unitary phenomenon and were primarily focused on measuring outcomes. Research focusing on the underlying conditions that give rise to these presumed effects is sorely lacking. In this PhD thesis an analysis was therefore made of several contextual factors that might influence social -psychological outcomes of martial arts as practised by youngsters. Based on the literature, these contextual factors are defined as: the structural qualities of the martial arts (i.e. type of martial art), the type of guidance, characteristics of the participants, and their social context. Findings of this doctoral research revealed that, depending on the type of martial art being practised, differences exist in several contextual factors. Although further research would be relevant to examine the interrelationships between these and possible other contextual factors, this study indicated that in order to formulate statements regarding outcomes of martial arts practice by young participants, the structural qualities of martial arts, type of guidance, participants' characteristics and social context have to be taken into consideration.