Optimizing Aggression in Combative Sports - an Analytical Approach

IntroductionAggression is one of the most frequently used, often misunderstood terms commonly selected to describe sport situations. On the one hand, it is used to describe performance in a positive, complimentary way; while on the other hand, it is utilized to demean or criticize sport participants and / or fans, or even the nature of sports itself. Seldom does one word have so many contradictory application and definitions (Tliirer, 1993). However, aggression in sport is not perceived as unequivocally negative; when it is an assertive behavior as searching for success, aggression is highly desirable (Wlazlo et al. 2007). Thus, it is often difficult to predict the degree of its involvement in sports. Many studies have found that participation in competitive games raised boys' and girls' levels of aggression, regardless of competition outcome (Gelfand and Hartmann, 1982). Slight increase in hostility lias also been found for non-contact and non-aggressive sports (Arms et al. 1979). Even vigorous physical exercise using a bicycle-ergometer could enhance aggressive tendencies (Zillman, 1979). A relationship between contact level in sport and aggression lias been found in previous literature (Tucker and Parks, 2001). Bredemeier, et al. (1986) conducted a study with 106 children at a summer sport camp and found that participation in high-contact sports was associated with greater aggression and with lower levels of moral reasoning. On the other hand, a recent research suggests that sports help lower aggression; enhance self-control and discipline in children (Nordqvist, 2011). While examining aggression in sports, Donahue et al. (2009) have suggested an interesting explanation for aggressive behavior. They suggest that the love for one's sport may lead to some maladaptive aggressive behavior, especially if such love is rooted in a sense of identity that leads one to react defensively in order to protect the self.Aggressive and violent actions which might be illegal outside sport, or in supposedly non-contact sports like basketball, are legal and sanctioned in the context of combat sports like judo, karate and wrestling (Kerr, 2005). Aggression in such sports is intrinsic and sanctioned, provided the play remains permissible within the boundaries of certain rules, which act as a kind of contract in the pursuit of aggression (and violence) between consenting adults (Kerr, 2002) but the lines demarcating the permissible and the inadmissible are not always very clear-cut and precise. It seems that every form of aggression may be accepted in combat sports athletes provided they acquire the capacity to control aggression and the stronger the ethical/ philosophical principles of given sport, the more chances that capacity would be acquired (Wlazlo et al. 2007). From whatever angle we may examine, aggression is perhaps one of the most critical problems in sports (Sacks et al. 2003). The present study was, therefore, conducted to evaluate the levels of aggression among elite performers of three combative sports (i.e. boxing, wrestling and judo) to understand the true import of this underlying force.MethodologyFor the purposes of this study, sample was drawn through purposive sampling technique. The subjects were 120 international players from three combative sports groups i.e. boxing (N=60), wrestling (N=60), and judo (N=60). The subjects were administered the Aggression Scale (Pal and Naquavi, 1980) to assess their levels of aggression. This scale lias classified aggression in five categories, i.e. the saturated, the high, the average, the low, and the clean. High scores indicated high level of aggression. The obtained data was analyzed by employing univariate analysis of variance to find out the inter-sport differences, and Scheffe's post-hoc test was applied to find out the direction of differences. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviations were calculated and t-test was used to find out the intra-sport gender differences. …