‘Martial arts washing’ as a special case of ‘sportswashing’

Well-known cases of ‘sportswashing’ in combat sports are the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Zaire in 1974 as well as the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ in 1975. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, a variant of ‘sportswashing’ has reocurred. ‘Martial arts washing’ deviates from generic ‘sportswashing’ in the way that the values and attributes associated with martial arts are hijacked by powerful individuals and reinterpreted to suit their agendas. In particular male politicians who are close to right-wing authoritarian ideas apply ‘martialarts washing’ to present themselves as virtuous martial warriors. In the presented article, the concept will be illustrated by describing events and key personalities associated with the current Russo-Ukrainian War, like the Russian president Vladimir Putin, Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as Elon Musk who launched attempts to intervene in the conflict. In this process, a theoretical framework is established by connecting ‘martial arts washing’ to sport nationalism, nation branding, ‘sportswashing’ in general, and toxic masculinity.