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From early explorers to restricted practitioners: a qualitative analysis of coaches' development, context, and practices within U.K. mixed martial arts.

Kirk, Christopher; Cronin, Colum; Langan-Evans, Carl; Clark, David R.; Morton, James P.

Authors

Christopher Kirk

Colum Cronin

Carl Langan-Evans

James P. Morton



Abstract

Despite its growing popularity and participation rates, mixed martial arts (MMA) coaching has not been the subject of much critical scholarly analysis. Accordingly, knowledge of this activity is limited, and inadequate, as a means of understanding this MMA context, and supporting those coaches who practice in it. To begin to address this gap, we report an initial exploration based upon three interviews with four experienced U.K.-based MMA coaches (12 interviews in total). Via a reflexive thematic analysis we generated four themes: (1) MMA coaches developed their practice via experiential and peer learning; (2) MMA coaches have dual aims of producing competitive athletes while appealing to paying, recreational participants; (3) private event promoters dictate competition dates, meaning preparation time may be suboptimal; and (4) MMA coaches rely on "coach's eye" and subjective feedback to enact practices in relation to training load, fatigue, and skill development. Coupled with theoretical sensemaking, this novel exploration reveals MMA practices that are grounded in "folk pedagogies," and shaped by economic imperatives and powerful actors. These findings provide an original and significant analysis of an increasingly prevalent coaching. This approach supplements existing quantitative training studies, thus enabling a pragmatic understanding of the U.K. MMA coaching, while also providing direction for future in-depth studies.

Citation

KIRK, C., CRONIN, C., LANGAN-EVANS, C., CLARK, D.R. and MORTON, J.P. [2025]. From early explorers to restricted practitioners: a qualitative analysis of coaches' development, context, and practices within U.K. mixed martial arts. International sport coaching journal [online], Ahead-of-Print. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2024-0048

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 11, 2024
Online Publication Date Dec 11, 2024
Deposit Date Feb 25, 2025
Publicly Available Date Feb 25, 2025
Journal International sport coaching journal
Print ISSN 2328-918X
Electronic ISSN 2328-9198
Publisher Human Kinetics
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2024-0048
Keywords Pragmatic; Combat sports; Folk pedagogies; Thematic analysis
Public URL https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2619939

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