Diversity in Martial Arts - Report

As part of the conference "Diversity in martial arts - Together against misanthropic ideologies and antisemitism", discussions, training and reflection took place at S.C. Hakoah. Professional boxers, national champions, amateur martial artists, trainers, gym operators, club and association officials, judges, event organisers and professionals from the fields of social work, prevention and politics came together on 22 and 23 October.

The conference was organised as part of the fairplay action weeks, which also took place in martial arts for the first time this year. The motto "Against hate and agitation - for diversity in martial arts" was tragically explosive. In view of the Hamas massacres in Israel and the war in the Middle East, a joint stand against all forms of antisemitism and in favour of an open society is also required on a daily basis in Austria. Benjamin Nägele from the Jewish Community of Vienna emphasised the relevance of the conference in his opening speech: 

"To show against this terror that Jewish life continues confidently in the centre of Austrian society. We have deliberately decided to continue to organise events like this in order to set a positive tone." (Benjamin Nägele, IKG) 

Various discussion and training formats were used at the conference to bring together topics relating to the promotion of diversity and the prevention of misanthropic ideologies in martial arts. The joint reflection on the phenomenon of fighting and the specific experiences of the participants were brought into dialogue both on and off the mats. The conference was organised by fairplay prevention and the World Jewish Congress in cooperation with Vollkontakt - Demokratie und Kampfsport in the halls of the traditional Viennese club S.C. Hakoah.

Fanny Rasul moderated the programme. Ronald Gebhard and Paul Haber from S.C. Hakoah combined the topicality of the conference with the history of the Jewish sports club. Agnes Sirkka Prammer, Chairwoman of the Sports Committee in the National Council, emphasised the relevance of preventative work in Austrian martial arts. On behalf of the event team, Anna Traninger from fairplay prevention and Frank Fischer from the World Jewish Congress emphasised the interdenominational cooperation against all forms of antisemitism as well as the overall social responsibility for an open and diverse sports culture.

Michael Schmied from fairplay prevention and Robert Claus from the Vollkontakt model project provided insights into the explorative study "On the status of prevention approaches in Austrian martial arts". The results of the joint research illustrate the diversity of the martial arts landscape, both in terms of the different disciplines and the structure of organised sport and the commercially oriented provider market. They also reveal both potential and gaps in the prevention of anti-human and anti-democratic tendencies in martial arts. The needs can be summarised in particular in terms of awareness-raising and knowledge transfer in sports structures, publicly effective visibility and inter-association specialist exchange and networking.

With this impact, the training format continued with an athletic focus on standing and on the ground. A total of eight disciplines from martial arts, combat sports and self-defence were presented during the conference. The training sessions were aimed at beginners and advanced practitioners alike and invited participants to reflect on training settings. The different styles of instruction, but also agreements with the other person when rolling or exchanging blows, as well as the relationship between personality development were topics of training reflection.  

"You can apply many of the principles that apply in martial arts or that you experience in contact sports to the rest of life: To communication, to conflict behaviour. So if I don't allow myself to be provoked, then I will also find it easier to deal with conflicts or verbal confrontations. And you can also learn not to let yourself be provoked in martial arts." (Irene Zavarsky, KaiGym)

This was followed by workshops moderated by Robert Claus and Anna Traninger. The participants shared their experiences and ideas from and about their martial arts settings. The discussion began by visualising different dimensions of diversity in the respective martial arts venues. Shared examples of problematic incidents were discussed with regard to the underlying form of discrimination and possible approaches to action were jointly developed. Aspects were also collected on how and at what levels diversity can be promoted in everyday training as well as in clubs, associations and at events.

The discussion from the small group format was continued in the panel discussion. Tatiana Kai-Browne, Amir Sahil and Nikolaus Gstättner, three martial arts representatives from different disciplines and martial arts structures, took part in the discussion. The reports of confrontations and dealing with antisemitism, racism and sexism in martial arts were discussed in their roles as athletes, coaches, officials and leisure time educators and could thus be reflected on different levels and responsibilities.

"In addition to raising awareness, clubs and associations need to make a clear statement that they are against antisemitism." (Tatiana Kai-Browne, TigerTabs) 

The first day ended with a colourful buffet and informal discussions over dinner. Day 2 started with a presentation of the club's history by S.C. Hakoah President Paul Haber: "1938 was the invasion that sealed the end of Hakoah. And in 2008 I was able to say: "Hakoah was destroyed, but today it is returning to its old place." Further training sessions brought the participants back onto the mats. Lunch was served in the Maimonides Centre, the adjacent Jewish "parents' home".

"We can't think of a more suitable location for this event than the S.C. Hakoah. The sports club is a place of Jewish life in Vienna where a wide variety of people come together and train together. We want to connect the history of the traditional club with the present and create networks for the future." (Anna Traninger, fairplay prevention)  

In the networking panel, the Feminist Fighters Union and fairplay prevention focussed on sexual and gender diversity in martial arts. The feminist fighters week and the martial arts programme as part of the Euro Games 2024 were presented with an outlook for the future and an invitation to actively participate.

When collating the results of the conference, the organisers noted that this was just the beginning! The conference brought together people from different martial arts backgrounds and brought them into dialogue. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this conference! There is a lot of commitment, a lot of ideas and a lot of knowledge in martial arts. One of the aims of this conference was to learn from each other and form a network. Work is already underway to build on this joint kick-off and offer concrete further programmes.

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Best regards from the event team & see you soon, 
World Jewish Congress & fairplay prevention 

Photos: fairplay & Shahar Azran