Martial Arts Studies

Following Joseph Svinth’s passing on 30 August 2026, we are republishing this conversation in his memory. His reflections remind us that keeping these stories alive is also a way of keeping the people behind them present, and that this carries an ethical responsibility for those who research, document and write martial arts history. In this episode, Dr Lauren Miller Crawford speaks with Joseph Svinth about the formative years of martial arts studies and the people whose work helped shape the field. Svinth was at the forefront of early publishing efforts, particularly through his involvement with the Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences (EJMAS) and several influential publications that continue to inform martial arts scholarship today. At the heart of their conversation is Svinth’s commitment to people-centred scholarship. Rather than treating martial arts history simply as a record of styles, institutions and events, he emphasises the human stories behind them and the importance of preserving the experiences of practitioners, teachers and communities.

This episode addresses the history, decline, and modern revival of Bartitsu, an eclectic system developed in Edwardian England by Edward Barton-Wright that combines Japanese jiu-jitsu with other styles such as savate. Made famous by Barton-Wright through appearances on the musical stage, the system was marketed first to upper-class and then to middle-class men and women as a means of protecting themselves from the (real or imagined) threat of hooliganism. After Barton-Wright’s club closed, bartitsu gained a second wave of fame due to its inclusion in a Sherlock Holmes novel. In this conversation, Tony discusses his personal martial-arts journey, development of the Wolf System, and his efforts to study and document the history of bartitsu. 

This episode centers on Dr. Matthias Assunção’s research into capoeira’s history and martial arts studies more broadly. Assunção explains how capoeira myths developed over time, particularly misconceptions such as enslaved people using their feet to defend themselves because their hands were shackled. He explained that capoeira's African origins are clear, but it was developed in Brazilian port cities rather than on plantations and emphasized that the art form can be used for both resistance and oppression. This episode also addresses the globalization of capoeira, including debates about singing songs in languages other than Portuguese and how the art form has been adapted in different countries, and the continued debate over capoeira's professionalization in Brazil. 

In this episode, John Clements and Daniel Jaquet reflect on the reconstitution of European martial forms that have been preserved in fight books. One of the topics covered is the value of balancing scholarship and embodied practice in order to best understand these texts. Clements and Jaquet also discuss the appeal of these martial arts to modern-day practitioners and the future of the scholarly field. 

In this episode, Dr. Anne Tjøndal discusses her research on gender, social inclusion, and methodological challenges in the study of Norwegian boxing. As an athlete, coach, and former vice president of the Norwegian Boxing Federation as well as a sociologist, Tjøndal has a unique perspective on the experiences of women in the sport. This conversation addresses the persistent association between boxing, masculinity, and violence, while highlighting efforts to increase women’s participation and leadership within the sport. Central to the conversation is Bailey’s four-dimensional framework of social inclusion, encompassing spatial, relational, functional, and power dimensions. Tjøndal argues that participation alone is insufficient for measuring inclusion and emphasizes the importance of qualitative and ethnographic approaches to understanding belonging, access, and influence within sporting communities. 

In this conversation, Dr Christopher Matthews of Nottingham Trent University discusses his immersive approach to research. By participating fully in the life of the boxing gym, Dr Matthews not only came to understand the norms and practices of boxing but also developed a carnal intersubjectivity. In this episode, we discuss the need to communicate clearly in our writing rather than use theory as a gatekeeping device as well as the ultimate goal of social science research, which is to “reduce unnecessary human suffering and enhance human flourishing.”