2023, Volume 19
INNOAGON is an acronym for ‘innovative agonology’, but is not synonymous with ‘science of martial arts’
Roman Maciej Kalina1, Artur Kruszewski2
1EKO-AGRO-FITNESS Prof. Roman M. Kalina, Piwniczna-Zdrój, Poland
2Department of Individual end Team Sports, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Author for correspondence: Artur Kruszewski; Department of Individual end Team Sports, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; email: artur.kruszewski@awf.edu.pl
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Abstract
Innovative agonology (INNOAGON) is an applied science dedicated to promotion, prevention and therapy related to all dimensions of health and regarding the optimization of activities that increase the ability to survive (from micro to macro scales). The first premises of INNOAGON date back to the nineteenth century when Jigoro Kano, a Japanese professor, laid the foundations of judo science. He clearly emphasised that the most important thing was 'judo in mind'? Unfortunately, the perception of judo globally has been reduced to a sport. Since both the successes of ephemeral sporting careers limited to a dozen years at most and the pathologies of sport that do not bypass judo are phenomena that focus the attention of the media hungry for sensationalism, it is not surprising that judo as science is ignored despite Jigoro Kano’s efforts. He presented this idea originally (judo as science and complementary physical and moral education system) as a lecture given at the University of Southern California on the occasion of the 10th Olympiad in Los Angeles 1932.
In 1938, the founder of judo dies, and at the same time Tadeusz Kotarbiński (an eminent Polish philosopher, logician, methodologist of sciences, ethicist) publishes agonology, i.e. the general theory of struggle, while 17 years later he publishes his fundamental work A Treatise on Good Work – contemporary praxeology (science about good work), in which he includes agonology. Unlike judo science, neither agonology, nor praxeology propose physical exercises. However, praxeology and agonology, including four specific theories of struggle: the theory of destruction (1970), the theory of non-armed struggle (1983), the theory of defensive struggle (1991), theory of combat sports (2000) complement the principles of judo science. Seryioku-zenyo ‘maximum efficient use of energy’ is a praxeological principle, although formally the praxeology lecture as conceived by Kotarbiński was translated into Japanese long after Jigoro Kano’s death. Jita-kyoei ‘mutual prosperity for self and others’ is in a sense the prototype of the praxeological-ethical category of ‘bravery’, based on mixed assessment. Thus, in terms of scientific justification, on purely theoretical grounds, Kano’s directive that the most important thing is 'judo in mind' has been largely fulfilled since 1938.
The promotion of the new sub-discipline of ‘science of martial arts’ in the global science space after 2010 looked promising. Unfortunately, also this time, the appeal of hand-to-hand fight for commercial purposes was eagerly exploited by the owners of electronic media and, under the camouflaged name of mixed martial arts (MMA) bloody fights returned, this time not in gladiatorial arenas but in cages, where the humiliation of human dignity is the socially accepted norm, albeit not in accordance with the Olympic Charter. Neo-gladiatorialism has become legal and available for all time to every smartphone user.
In the global science space, the name ‘innovative agonology’ emerged in 2016, and on 22 July 2023 in San Francisco, USA, at the global Applied Human Factor and Ergonomics (AHFE), 36th session is dedicated entirely to INNOAGON (Human Factors from the Innovative Agonology Perspective). The acronym INNOAGON will be very difficult to force into any formulation of the sport, let alone manipulate to scientifically justify the legitimacy of neo-gladiatorialism, after all INNOAGON is not synonymous with the science of martial arts. Ultimately, the point is not only to counteract potential manipulation, but to protect science (as a distinct part of reality and its social mission) from ridicule – it is easy to sarcastically argue that mixed martial arts has strong intellectual support in the form of science of martial arts, and that other sports do not have such an expressive one.
Key words: AHFE, Jigoro Kano, judo, neo-gladiatorialism, Tadeusz Kotarbiński