Bodily Labour among Professional Boxers - Article Example

Analysis of a Research Article Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecturer Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 8th April, 2012. What is the problem being discussed? The article discusses the relationship between the physique of a pugilist and the social interaction associated with the performance of the boxer. The article compares and contrasts between pugilist social behaviour, their training involvement and the field performance to identify how each practice influence on the other; either directly or indirectly. The author mainly wants to bring out the paradox that exists between the so called bodily capital and the bodily labour. The paradox is that while some people view pugilism as a bodily capital in which boxers are the sole proprietors, others view it from the perspective of bodily labour in which boxers have to train hard in order to gain. Though sociology of body has not expounded on these, it is clear that for one to be a pro he must be train with vigour and be inborn culpable (Wacquant 1995, pp. 66). Perspective or approach taken to address the problem In this research, the author has applied the qualitative research approach in collecting the information he needs. He applied the ethnographic inquiry kind of study design, which includes; purposeful sampling, prolonged engagement, recursive interpretation, multiple source data collection, triangulation of data sources such as training style, the training involvement, the level of the training etc. the research method is reliable since it is based on the evidence from the sources of the information. From the article the sources includes; pugilist themselves who are also the trainees, the trainer also the coaches. The research is also based on the researcher’s knowledge because as the author put it he was also a boxer. This kind of research method is a cooperative learning literature in which all the participants are involved to come up with the required information. The kind of data collected by the author includes the general information about the pugilist, their interaction with the other trainee and competitors as well as their coaches (Kothari 1985, pp. 120). On the same point, the author has the boxer’s general information such as their heights, weights, physique, age, neck size, fore aim length etc. in addition, the author uses other information from magazine which features the pugilist’s performance, power, stamina and other physical attributes as well as ability for the pugilist to knock his opponent down. The information is analyses in a discussion form in which the author discusses the results from the data collected from the participant and other sources. The author discusses that, as must as pugilists body may be viewed as bodily labour, the data suggests otherwise. The information indicates that the performance of pugilist is influenced by the involvement of the boxer with other social activities as well the diet not forgetting that everybody is created with the limit points. From the finding, the body performance is subject to flexibility which unlike other machines, human flexibility is determined by more than one aspect of life. These determinants include physiological, sociological, psychological, and other inborn characteristics and attributes of a human being. In that respect, the gym room is a social place for rebuilding a pugilist to be fighting machines. What findings and conclusions does the author draw from the research? The author has a number of finds such as boxing involves more than one activity of the body and mind, that boxing as a profession requires one to be dedicated to it because of medical complications associated with it, the aggression and unruly behaviour accompanied by the game, and the risk involved when competing with the opponents. The author also emphasizes that the pugilist practices creates a new being that is different from the other genders in the sense that, the created gender will always focus on heroism, masculinity, and it is heterosexual. The author also found that pugilists make a sacrifice of fighting since not every human being can fight another person without a reason. On the same point, any diet that a boxer consumes has either a positive or negative on the performance and the physique of the pugilists. The conclusions are drawn from the finding. The conclusions are that if one chooses to be pugilist, he or she has hard task heard of him in the sense that, one has to avoid the normal live and adopt the live of training every day and have a good diet in order to have masculine physique. Again, one has to listen to every instruction given by the trainers and that every performance depends on the opponent one has to face. The conclusions also reveal that, there is no direct relationship between the physical appearances of the pugilist with the performance. The conclusion emphasizes that the performance highly depend on the training and the opponent faced at every level. What evidence does the author present in support of the conclusions? The author uses different ideas and sources as support when drawing every conclusion. For example, the conclusion that pugilist as a profession has sacrifices is drawn from the comments made pugilists themselves and from the notion that one who is a fighter has to avoid the live of a normal man. Furthermore, the conclusion that majority of the pugilist severe from physical ailments is drawn from the fact that most of the fighters have experienced severe damages in the hands and head. In addition, they have severed from fractures of say carpus, metacarpus, thumb, nose, and jaws not forgetting acute osteo-articulatory stress, detached retina and the most vital one brain damage (Sammons 1998, pp. 85). Though the conclusion is made from this basis, the evidence is not sufficient to draw such conclusion. This is because, not every boxer has such injuries and such problems and complications can be caused by other deeds other than fighting. Again, the conclusion that the rules of the game are skewed on instructing the fighters how to ‘injure, maim, destroy and hurt other persons’ is too far-fetched because the rules of the game are not meant to hurt anyone, but to guide fighters on how to win. The author encapsulates many evidences some which are based on facts and sufficient claims while others are biased and lack sufficient grounds to be drawn as facts. Author’s assumptions on conclusion Though some of the evidence is drawn from reliable sources and supported by facts, not all are drawn based on these facts as clearly shown above. Consequently, some information’s have misleading conclusions as well as based on assumptions. The conclusion that the pug game in a dangerous and offensive is a conclusion that is based on assumption that roles are skewed to hurt. On the same note, the conclusion that every injury sustained are mainly on the hands and head is also based on the assumption that many of the injuries sustained is on the head and hand. It is also biased to conclude that the mental or brain damages are due to the punches ‘received’ by the pugilist (Messner 1990, pp. 210). The conclusions are so, not because the information gathered is not from a reliable source but because it does have sufficient evidence to support the claim. On the other hand, some sources of the information gathered are not reliable so as much as the data collected and the information synthesized, the end results which the conclusion will be full of uncertainties. This is portrayed in the case where the data collected has some miss information and/or there are no sufficient grounds to ascertain the data. In respect of the researchers perspective, the information and the data collected is positively skewed to give the intended outcome. Since, the researcher was once a pugilist and the interviewees have the same perspective of be of the intended outcome. In addition, most of the information is from observable, listening to people’s conversation as well as discussions with the managers, pugilist, trainers, spectators and other people who seem to have some information for add. These kinds of data collections cannot be trusted to be a source of information because the data and the qualitative information can be altered to yield the required findings hence conclusions that are biased and based on assumptions. Conclusions In conclusion, it is better to note that not every information, finding, conclusion or data collection is wrong and unreliable. Furthermore, the information presented to us by the author of this article is not altered but, the information some of the data collected is not relevant with the subject matter and it therefore incoherent. Again, though the conclusion disparity between bodily labour and capital labour is drawn. The correlation is tentative based on the fact that the data collection method (to some extent) was not valid. However, some of the conclusions drawn can be verified by the information from the data collected, data analysis, and the findings. For example, the conclusion that for one to be pugilist you need to have a good physique is drawn from the quantitative data collected like the heights, weights and other physical attributes associated with pugilism. Finally, ethnography as a research method is a reliable method based on evidence but if wrong used, it can provide some misguiding information and wrong conclusions can be drawn from it (O’Neil 1985, pp. 47). References Dawson, Catherine, 2002, Practical Research Methods, New Delhi: UBS Publishers’ Distributors, Kothari, C.R., 1985, Research Methodology-Methods and Techniques, New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Limited. Messner, M. 1990. ‘When Bodies Are Weapons: Masculinity and Violence in Sport’. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. Vol. 25(3): 203-220 O’Neil, J.1985.Five Bodies: The Human Shape of Modern Society. Ithaca: University Press. Sammons, J. 1998, Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Wacquant, L. 1995, pugs at work: bodily capital and bodily labour among professional boxers. Body & Society.vol.1; pp. 65-93 Read More