Advancements in the Scientific Study of Combative Sports : Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

Combative sports, like boxing and the martial arts, have been a mainstay of competitive athletics throughout the history of mankind. While these sports are controversial in nature, the athletic endeavours of boxing and mixed martial arts have become multi-billion dollar industries enjoyed by millions of fans around the world. Research on these sports has spanned many domains including psychology, sociology, physiology, sports medicine and biomechanics. Each of these approaches to the topic of combative sports has provided many interesting findings. Further, each field has offered advancements that have improved the sports' training, judging, safety, and associated medical care. However, until now, research within each of these domains has been published in journals specifically targeting scholars in that field. Thus, interdisciplinary research on this topic has remained rare and has seldom been promoted. This book seeks to provide a central outlet for the current research on combative sports, provoke interdisciplinary approaches to the field, and provoke further research and advancements on the topic. For scholars interested in combative sports, various aspects (e.g., mental, physical and cultural) of athletics and sports medicine, this book will be useful as both a starting point and a reference guide for the field.