E-balonmano.com: Revista de Ciencias del Deporte (Mar 2011)
MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING AND LEVELS OF ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIOLENCE IN ADOLESCENTS
Abstract
Abstract Traditionally, japanesse martial arts had, as well as technical and tactical lessons, discourses of peace and non-violence. Therefore, this study wants to prove whether the practitioners of these martial arts declare lower levels of attitude toward violence than non-practitioners. To this end, we administered he Brief Scale of Violence in Adolescents (Tejero-González, Balsalobre-Fernández and Ibanez-Cano, in press) to two groups of boys and girls from 12 to 17 years of age: one group of judo, karate or jiujitsu (n = 57), and a control one (n = 57). Statistical analysis confirmed that martial arts practitioners declare significantly lower leves than the control group, both in general violence as gratuitous violence, but were not in violence linked to self-protection. Finally, we discuss the influence that factors such as years of practice or competitive orientation may have on the ability of the japanese martial arts to reduce levels of violence. Keywords: martial arts, judo, karate, jiujitsu, violence, adolescents.