Gender in martial arts and combat sports

Objective: In this paper, we offer a general picture of gender research in sport as a whole, in those specifically understood as masculine, and in martial arts and combat sports (MACS), until refining our scope and focus specifically on karate. Methodology: The Spanish women’s Olympic karate team was researched by us exactly when this MACS achieved the temporary condition of an Olympic sport, in Tokyo 2020 (2021). Results and discussion: We seek to provide a critical perspective on how karate practices and professional interventions require action to become more of an empowering tool/place than one where power is unfairly exerted over others with the excuse of hierarchies and tradition. Conclusion: We conclude the article envisioning and suggesting a few actions that could add to improve karate and broad MACS environments in the direction of more equitable, diverse and inclusive spaces and pedagogy through queering them.