The aim of this paper is to evaluate whether combat sport has an impact on participants' criminality, and if so, whether combat sport is appropriate for use in offender treatment programs and crime reduction strategies. Based on the findings, it is argue that participation in combat sports can distance individuals from nonstructural risk factors in behavioral, community/social and economic spheres. Detachment from risks in these areas makes combat sport potentially appropriate for use within interventions aimed at: violent offenders; those who offend in groups; emotionally impulsive offenders; and as a moderator of antisocial behavior. However, further research is required to understand fully the impact of such interventions.
Combat Sports as a Crime Reduction Tool.
This paper focuses on sports, which surround a regular and unavoidable engagement in interpersonal violence, aggression and contact, like in combat sports. This pushes the focus to an extreme end of the sports spectrum, but one that therefore reduces doubtfulness when interpreting what constitutes a violent or aggressive sport. Only a handful of studies realized in the United States have given consideration to combat sport and crime reduction, which remains an under-researched area. From these studies, it is clear that the field is under-researched and there is no reliable of comprehensive picture. Wright's (2006) in-depth approach has provided the most comprehensive list of benefits, in this case, for boxing training participants. The positive benefits of combat sports are also found in Fletcher's (as cited in Nichols, 1992, p. 184) and Palermo et al.'s (2006) studies. In Fletcher's case, emotional control was gained through boxing, while for Palermo et al. (2006), when taught appropriately, martial arts could be effective in reducing problem behavior.
Trulson's (1986) study is the most nuanced and perhaps the most important in thinking about the type of approach to combat sports that would be most appropriate for interventions with offenders.
