A paradox of power: violence, and karateka women conquering space and feeling unsafe

Empowerment of women has been increasingly pursued in societies in many parts of the world. In these places, female access to spaces considered to be male occurs often and provides them with a feeling of overcoming social barriers. Martial Arts and Combat Sports (MACS) practised by women undoubtedly strengthen them and also leads to the embodiment of the culture from such environments. Following a traditional martial pedagogy mixed with demands of high-level sports performance, women karate elite athletes conquer the highest standards in the competitive world while yet may feel an important lack of confidence for their own safety. Considering this, in this paper we aim to present how women are still considered to be other in a MACS environment, thus struggling to achieve deep levels of embodied confidence, despite the empowerment reached. We adopt a critical approach in a claim for the increased use of critical pedagogies at all levels of sport. We carried out research with the Spanish Olympic karate team, interviewing women athletes and men coaches, and verified that even European women face othering issues in countries of the Global North. Such findings prompt us to make a loud call for change in sport, and its analogical social justice, in order to positively impact women’s lives.