The tatami mat as a welcoming space, based on a more innovative, inclusive pedagogy for teaching combat sports, grounded in mutual respect. This is the focus of the project "(Re)thinking the paths between university and community in the field of Combat Sports, Martial Arts and Combat Sports: a proposal for innovation in teaching children based on the Tactical Games Approach", from the Faculty of Physical Education (FEF), approved by the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp) within the "First Projects" program.
The three-year extension project will grant scholarships to one postdoctoral researcher, two master's students, and two undergraduate research fellows. The majority of the resources, just over R$600, will be allocated to the training of these researchers, explains FEF professor and project coordinator Luiz Gustavo Bonatto Rufino, who is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu.
One of the central actions will be offering a free extension course for coaches and teachers of martial arts who work with children, regardless of the modality or their background in Physical Education. "After this initial training, the researchers will follow these professionals in their own work contexts, such as gyms, clubs, and social projects, strengthening the relationship between the university and the community," Rufino emphasizes.
“The goal is not for the University to dictate what should be done, but to build together,” adds the professor, who emphasizes that the project involves “actively listening to the coaches, valuing their knowledge and experiences.” The proposal is to bring together representatives from various sports—such as judo, jiu-jitsu, karate, boxing, and fencing, among others—to foster the exchange of experiences.
Also part of the project, the adapted physical education teacher Mariana Simões Pimentel Gomes, also a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, emphasizes that the objective is to build pedagogical alternatives that broaden access, value body diversity, and promote more meaningful experiences for children. “The idea stemmed from the observation that the traditional teaching of martial arts is still marked by conservative, hierarchical, and not very inclusive models, mainly geared towards a specific type of practitioner,” she explains.
The professor emphasizes that her personal journey directly influenced this approach. The daughter of a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and the sister of a person with a disability, she recounts that from an early age she perceived how martial arts instruction was geared only towards certain body types. "I wanted to teach in a different way, to break with the idea that martial arts is only for one type of person," she states. This concern led to the creation, while still an undergraduate, of the FEF martial arts school, an outreach project aimed at children in the community.
Rufino emphasizes that his personal experience with Jiu-Jitsu was also crucial to his academic trajectory. He recounts that he began practicing as a child, after facing behavioral difficulties at school, and that the sport had a direct impact on his personal and professional development. "The martial arts led me to Physical Education and to university," he says.
Games and tactics
Among the project's main focuses is the pursuit of reinterpreting teaching based solely on the technical repetition of moves, moving towards approaches that value games, problem-solving situations, and tactical principles common to different martial arts. "The idea is for children to understand, from an early age, aspects such as movement, perception of others, and decision-making," Rufino continues.
“Generally, a child learns a movement and repeats it many times. Then, during a fight, they don't know when to perform it, how to move, or how to react to their opponent,” he emphasizes. “The alternative presented is to start with the logic of the fight: understanding that the target is moving and that, at the same time as attacking, one is also a target.”
By translating structural principles from martial arts into games and educational situations, the project seeks to make learning more meaningful. The idea is to teach, from the beginning, connections and understandings that, traditionally, would only be acquired many years later—often only at the black belt level. "We want to train practitioners who are more aware, more complete, and more autonomous about what they are doing," he states.
The instructors also draw attention to the high dropout rate in martial arts. Although many people begin practicing, few remain until more advanced levels. For them, this is directly related to exclusionary teaching models. "The story that is told is about those who reached the black belt, but little is said about those who fell by the wayside," observes the professor.
More than competitive performance, the focus is on human development. The work emphasizes body awareness, self-esteem, and inclusion. “Every body is powerful—whether fat, thin, tall, short, female, or male. The mat can be a space for discovery and transformation,” Gomes points out.
The professor also emphasizes the need to combat practices of intimidation, harassment, and exclusion, especially in relation to women, LGBTQIA+ people, and people with disabilities. “We are still in the early stages of addressing many issues, especially gender and diversity. If you go to a gym today, you will see proportionally few women. And LGBTQIA+ people often don't feel welcome. The fight needs to be for everyone—but this requires careful attention; it can't just be talk,” she points out.
“The mat needs to be a welcoming space, not one of fear, harassment, or silencing. It’s possible to learn respect without fear. Not everyone will like to fight, and that’s okay. But everyone should have the right to try it and feel welcome,” she adds.
In addition to producing scientific articles, the project includes the development of educational material geared towards the professional field. The expectation is that this material will contribute to the continuity of the proposed reflections and transformations, even after the research is completed. “We publish many articles, but they don't always reach the professional field. Therefore, the course will generate educational material in accessible language, allowing interaction with professionals. We want to build relationships in different ways and document this so that other people can continue,” emphasizes the professor.
