Teaching combat sports through opposition games in school physical education: a theoretical essay on the interrelations with aggression and violence

Abstract

The theme of fighting, martial arts and combat sports is part of the School Physical Education curriculum established by the National Common Curriculum Base (BNCC). However, it is often underused by professionals in the area, due to the perception that the struggles are interrelated with the encouragement of violence, according to parents, school managers and even teachers.
Violence and aggression are issues of global concern and must be addressed in the school environment. The present review aimed to analyse and discuss whether, and to what extent, the development of the thematic unit fights and combat sports modalities in school physical education participates in violence-related processes in this context. One of the preponderant aspects for developing fights and combat sports in the context of school physical education is the pedagogical treatment adopted by the physical education professional. The opposition games, operationalised from the educational perspective of sport, are configured as didactic-methodological procedures suitable for school physical education classes when the teaching of fights and combat sports is envisaged, including a way to combat violence in its multiple forms of manifestation.