IDO MOVEMENT FOR CULTURE

Background. Martial arts constitute deeply embodied social worlds in which discipline, hierarchy, ritual, and moral regulation shape physical practice and the construction of gender identities. Qualitative research has generated rich ethnographic insights into these processes, yet the field remains theoretically fragmented across diverse frameworks such as hegemonic masculinity, habitus, performativity, moral economy, and inclusive masculinity.
Problem and Aim. This fragmentation has limited conceptual integration between institutional norms, embodied practices, and reflexive social processes. The aim of this review is to develop a coherent analytical synthesis by applying Structuration Theory as an integrative framework for understanding how masculinities in martial arts are recursively produced through the interaction of structure and agency.
Methods. A qualitative systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Five academic databases (PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, SAGE, and Google Scholar) were searched, yielding 28 eligible qualitative studies published between 2004 and 2025. The synthesis employed a dual-level analytical strategy, combining two conceptual axes (norms and practices; social processes) with four structuration dimensions (rules and resources; agency and reflexivity; embodiment; temporality).
Results. The analysis generated five interrelated themes: martial arts as moral–institutional fields of masculine regulation; reflexive self-cultivation within structured hierarchies; the body as a site of discipline and ethical transformation; temporal trajectories of masculine continuity and change; and the recursive structuration of masculinity.
Conclusions. Structuration Theory provides a unifying conceptual language that bridges theoretical diversity and analytical fragmentation in martial arts masculinity research. Masculinity in martial arts is best understood as a recursive social process, structured by institutional norms, enacted through embodied practice, and renewed through reflexive agency across time.