‘Boxing Is Our Business’: The Embodiment of a Leftist Identity in Boxe Popolare
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Embodiment in the Ethnographies of Martial Arts and Combat Sports
2.1. An Ever-Expanding Research Agenda
3. The Carnal Ethnography of Boxe Popolare2
‘Don’t exaggerate in training regularly because we should push you in competing. That’s what you can do in order to return us your research finding’.—Patrick
3.1. The Main Research Location: Bread and Roses Club
In the Seventies, red and black flags waved in that mythical fortress surrounding the water channels. Several urban legends circulated across the city. Perhaps, one of the first ‘Brigate Rosse’ [the well-known terroristic leftist group] headquarters was located down there […] The workers’ taverns were turned into roaring political and sociability spaces in which the traditional chants about the local underworld merged with the political songs […] This peculiar territory was a recognized Zenith of leftism, engagement, and freedom. At the entrance of [a popular bar …] someone wrote: ‘this zone is to all those who are the others; otherness means beautiful’.[72] (p. 173)
4. Contextualising Boxing
4.1. From Revolution to Challenging Codes
‘Martial arts among the grassroots groups were born in the Seventies. The first ‘centro sociale’ experiences were projected to forge the avant-gardes that would have changed society, too. You know, self-defensive skills were part of the militant toolkit. Street-fighting was ‘the main activity in sport and leisure’ I said with friends […] I remember I practiced muay thai with a group of girls in the back of the kitchen or other parts of the squatted space. Militant feminism was massively active by that time. We wrote messages against patriarchy on the porno-cinema façade; we distributed leaflets pro-abortion, against drug dealers, and so on and so forth […] I wasn’t a good and disciplined boxer. But muay thai was quite useful to reinforce my mental attitude at least’.—Elena
4.1.1. Against (the Moral Ideals of) FPI Boxing
‘The first boxe popolare class was created to reframe the traditional concept of boxing. Ten years ago, I think boxing in FPI was perceived a right-wing practice […] The boxer had to injure his body in order to become a proper fighter. Fighting was compulsory, unless one would be stigmatised as ‘faggot’. I was wondering: is it really important fighting in public? Is it mandatory knocking out the opponent? I questioned myself many times because I didn’t like what I’d experienced before. Boxe popolare has been flourishing since 2007. I’m happy that so many people share this fundamental idea today’.―Francis
‘Someone has told me, it’s a legend probably that would warrant to be proved, that ‘niggas’ are brutally punched in the Olympia gym [a well-known boxing gym of the city] The ‘negro’ is like a punching bag ... [he uses the strong politically incorrect language deliberately with reference to mainstream gyms to connotate the racism of the FPI boxing tradition according to his view] Brian [a black asylum seeker] is training with us for one year. I boost his self-confidence constantly. I want him here in the gym; I want him to fight. I wish he would be active in his daily life, not just waiting passively a certification from the court… I wish he would create fair friendships […] I mean, we should act differently compared to those fascist gyms!’.—Stefano
‘I guess that every single guy participating in our class counts one fascist less in current society and fewer enemies I have to face in the street’.—Simone
4.2. The Narrative of an Elective Affinity
‘Boxing training is relevant to carry on the values we trust instead of fighting per se. We’re the streets: that’s why the body is more important than the mind sometimes… public speaking and debating are fine, but they don’t top off politics. We should be as well muscled as possible considering that both cops and fascists are hyper-trained these days’.—Mario
I ask Patrick information about the kung-fu class recently implemented in the gym. The coach shakes his head and reacts strongly: ‘I hate eastern martial arts! The philosophy of martial arts is so fucking concerned with achieving nirvana. That’s Bullshit! Everything is going wrong today. Should I be a tamed citizen? Boxing is our business. Due to training, we’re not doing any revolution, but we learn how to resist at least. Boxing pumps up our immune system and mentality. What will you do once police smash your head in a demonstration? I’m not saying that violence solves social problems. However, a collective passive resistance is a powerful weapon at our disposal. We don’t have to be like those martial masters that fire themselves in silence to blame the system. That’s what’s happening in Asia where martial artists have some political roles, yet not effective here and now […] In my opinion, one aim of boxing in palestra popolare is to prepare people for direct action. It doesn’t matter if clashes never happen. We’ve got to be ready, anyway’.(Field note. 13 March 2017)
- Lorenzo:
- ‘Why is the bull the logo of your gym?’
- Luca:
- ‘This is an interesting point. About two years ago, I was in a demonstration with Johnny, the one who helped me in building up the gym. We were ‘doing the situation’: we’re crossing each other arms and kicking the riot police that locked the street pared. Suddenly, one cop exclaimed towards one of his colleagues: ‘help me against these fucking bulls’. Ha ha ha [Luca laughs] The day we’re deciding the symbols of the gym I proposed to insert the bull […] to remember that demonstration of force […] One fella said: ‘well done, dude. Both fascists and hipsters will think twice before stepping in our lane’. —Luca
4.3. A Distinctive Social Word
Patrick comments the quick encounter we had in front of a pub with one of his acquaintances. The guy was crazy because he had found a leaflet attached to a wall signed by a housing organisation. ‘What the fuck… He’s angry because he thinks this is not the territory of that organisation’, Patrick exclaims. And he adds: ‘I know this boy and how his brain works: he’s a dope fiend. It’s such a shame the comrades are wasting their life. Drug using is one of the main causes of our failures […] I’m happy when Ali and Gianluca [two young boxers] tell me: ‘I’m different. I hate cocaine’. This is an important result. How could you trust in one who declares his anticapitalist identity and spends money on drugs? Drug addiction triggers the worst dynamics between humans. You’d fuck everybody for your daily dose. I don’t want to say that we, as comrades, must be straight edged. However, this could be an extreme example of commitment and determination. How could one act differently? I consider the importance of promoting real solutions. The gym is one alternative. Human beings are like dogs, once they get the bone they won’t let it go!’(Field note. 3 July 2016)
Patrick speaks with a boxer at the conclusion of his first training session. The boy is a 27-year-old former judoka, and he has discovered the gym thanks to a friend who is involved in a grassroots political group.
- Patrick:
- ‘I’ve noticed your defensive guard is vulnerable’
- Andrea:
- ‘I thought it would be fine’ [he shows a shoulder roll technique]
- Patrick:
- ‘It’s too dangerous! If I saw a boxer acting this guard in our network, he would be a fucking idiot. Only a small number of pro boxers are good enough in this defensive technique. In this gym, the team teaches the traditional guard by pushing arms against the core and the jaw. Certainly, there are several boxing methodologies, but we own a specific style. Today, I’m the teacher. Tomorrow, you will find Laura. Tuesday, you will find Fabio. Another day, Paolo or Enrico will teach. Everyone is a different coach, but boxing configuration is the same’
- Andrea:
- ‘Ok. Super easy. I practiced judo in the past; I will learn boxing very fast’
- Patrick:
- [speaking lauder] ‘Don’t be pretentious! You need time to learn the craft and the surrounding philosophy’
- Andrea:
- ‘Philosophy? It’s just punching each other, isn’t it?’
- Patrick:
- [shaking his head] ‘No. The mainstream gyms don’t teach boxing. They’re promoting ‘fitboxe’ ‘lightboxe’ and other commercial bullshit, because people want to get fit and don’t mind about boxing. This is not our view. Above everything, we consider boxing a political means of self-discipline’
- Andrea:
- [doesn’t reply, he just stares at the coach]
- Patrick:
- [pointing his right-hand finger at Andrea] ‘Those fucking beatnik comrades are pissing me off! They must learn how to find out sources of self-determination. If you accomplish the mental strength to learn a discipline, and being self-disciplined, you can do political stuff. This is the way. No pain no gain, right?’
The boy doesn’t say anything. He rolls up the bands as quick as possible and leaves the gym in silence [I will never meet him in training].(Field note. 6 June 2016)
5. The Political Mythology Incarnate
5.1. A Perpetual Resistance
Thirty-seven days before the fight night.19.30. I arrive at the gym. Boys and girls bring their ropes and place themselves on the tatami. I greet everybody and start to get changed. Piero does not notice me, he is immersed in boxing with his figure in front of the mirrors. Fabio leads the session. We jump the ropes for three minutes, by alternating different speeds every ten seconds. After twenty seconds, Fabio says Piero: ‘we speed up ten seconds. You do it fifteen’. Pietro executes the instructions for three minutes. Surrounded by the Che Guevara portrait, the Antifa flag and the Soviet art devoted to Vsevobuch [a system of compulsory military training for male citizens practiced in USSR] Piero slashes the air with his fists during the one-minute break […]Around 20.20, Fabio splits the group in two and gives Piero an elastic strip that is being stretched by the boxer across his ankles. The coach gestures towards me and Stefano: ‘collect bands, gloves, and go downstairs in the ring; set the timer on three-minute work and twenty-second break. Bring head guards and mouthpiece: don’t give Piero a hand job, please; he is training for fighting!’ […]We spar two against one in the ring. I and Stefano attack Piero for five rounds. He defends and counterattacks with his heavy fists. After fifteen minutes, I drag my soaking body out of the ring. My lungs burn. My head is on fire due to the punches I have received. I contract my face and breathe deeply. I’m feeling completely wrecked. A completely relaxed version of Piero jumps quietly; he watches the elastic strip and checks the distance between his legs. Fabio joins us in the basement and tells Piero: ‘remains in the ring for sparring’.Three rounds of sparring. Piero spars against Fabio for two rounds and against Stefano for one round. Stefano concludes the sparring few seconds earlier; his nose is bleeding. Piero doesn’t say anything. He spits his mouthpiece in the right glove and ask Fabio: ‘how did I spar?’. Fabio: ‘you did well. But you must be careful. You forward your head instead of the body. It could be dangerous in fighting, because your opponent can anticipate your attack and hit. Check the posture with the strip’ […]Keeping the elastic strip across the legs, Piero concludes training upstairs by practicing six-minute shadowboxing first, and nine-minute punching the heavy black bag next. When I resurface from the basement Piero is striking the punching bag with multiple fists combinations emanating wild sounds. Fabio congratulates the boxer inviting him to conclude the session: ‘very good boy! Ok, it’s enough today. You have worked really well’. While hitting the bag furiously, Piero replies: ‘One minute more… uha uha uha [wild noises] I am aligned to the timer… uha uha uha’ […]I ask Piero while he dries his sweaty body at the end of his exercising: ‘How many days do you train weekly?’. He sighs and says sorrowfully: ‘Only four, dude… only four… I’d train more if I could. But my job and my girlfriend need time’ […]Once he leaves the gym I point out Piero’s commitment in front of Fabio and Stefano—the latter is still fixing his bleeding nose. Fabio murmurs: ‘he is a tough guy!’.(Field note. 7 October 2017)
‘Four years ago, it was different. There were random boxers and the environment was more relaxed. Today, it’s completely different. The boxers are well trained and skilled. Many of them want to knockdown. That’s why I want to kick the guys’ ass. They can focus on themselves to learn how to tackle tension and perform our boxing style that is pretty respectful. I mean, we have never knocked anybody down’.—Patrick
Ten days before the fight nightPiero feels a strong pain on his back. He tells us that he would quit fighting. The coach hears his words and reacts resolutely: ‘fuck you, Piero. You don’t give up! You have been training for eight months […] This is what my coach has taught me. Once I had an injured knee and I didn’t want to fight. He got super angry when I had told him my feeling. He said: ‘wear those fucking gloves without complaining. Are you rotten? This is the strategy: you stand in the middle of the ring and defend’. Do you understand Piero? We have mobilised other people. So, you have to respect this agreement. It’s just a 9-minute performance’. The words make Piero’s face turn pale.(Field note. 1 November 2017)
5.2. The Sparring Dispositif
5.2.1. Relational Dispositions
Patrick asks Laura to get into the ring and tells me: ‘now, you work with Laura, she’s an expert’.[…] I attack her quite scared due to her reaction. Patrick shouts: ‘hit, hit! Don’t be afraid to attack her. She punches you four times at the most then she stops. You must attack her as soon as she finishes’. She punches me again and with more precision. One of her hooks impacts on my nose: ‘oh sorry’, she says immediately. I move my head up and down to communicate that I’m fine. Laura attacks me repeatedly and I reply with one of the basic combinations I have learnt—left, right, left hook, right hook.Patrick exhorts me: ‘c’mon, hit this girl, more pressure, more punches’. Laura invites me to do the same: ‘punch me. I want to feel your hooks on my body, give me the overcuts’.Convinced by both, I focus on hitting Laura’s body and face. To react, she holsters up her arsenal composed of sequences of fast hooks. I move towards her left side and throw two uppercuts and one hook to barricade her attacks. I try to take punches without stumbling back (that’s pretty complicated, shit!). When one of her uppercut hurts my mouth, I understand it’s time to keep distance with my jabs. Laura doesn’t want to move backward and attack me again. She clings on my right. I step on the left and double a left uppercut and one right hook (noise of our punches is thumping throughout the room, it’s exciting now!) Apparently, Patrick is enjoying the performance; he jumps, yanks the ring ropes and screams: ‘yes, yes, keep going ha ha ha’ [laughing] (That’s a punches maelstrom, I feel myself both nervous and exalted!).‘Time’s up’, Patrick screams.(Already finished?). I stagger onto Laura: ‘super, thanks!’ (wow, heart is beating, adrenaline is rushing, I would spar five minutes more). A smile crosses her sweating shining face, she tells me breathing smoothly: ‘it’s such a fatigue. Woow. Very, very good. Thank you so much!’. We touch our right gloves. I have received so many punches. But I’m so excited that I don’t feel pain. I just perceive a vague ringing in my ears.(Field note. 12 December 2016)
‘Once I broke the ribs of a guy from another gym. He was fighting against Gianluca and he beat him like crazy… I mean, you punch strong three times; you hurt the opponent; the opponent shakes his body. So, why should you bruise his face continuously? What can a mother say of the swollen face of her son? If you are stronger, you must allow the opponent to conclude the round and respect the dignity of the person. That sparring was a training god damn it; it wasn’t a real fight. In addition, we are in the boxe popolare network. We don’t knockdown. We told him to stop and he didn’t […] I broke his rips on purpose in a punishing sparring. His coach told me: ‘oi, man. You crook his ribs!’. Fuck you, mother fucker. Do you want to show off your toughness in my home? You’re welcome!’.—Daniel
5.2.2. Technical Dispositions
‘You must learn how to breathe, control your heart rate, control the tension in your nerves, understand how much oxygen you have and how to govern your stamina. It’s so damn’ difficult. Many extra trained fighters are exhausted at the beginning of the third round: they are nervous and emotional, they don’t have enough oxygen to face the tension of the performance. You can get relaxed thanks to experience in sparring: sparring; sparring; sparring; and repeat’.—Patrick
[Second round versus Federico] I move backward and forward rapidly to distract my partner. However, it seems I am not doing well: I get hurt by my partner’s fists and my jabs are so predictable (I am just wasting energy). Patrick, who is supervising us as usual, encourages and corrects both: ‘try the movements we have studied, Federico’; ‘Lorenzo, stand at the centre of the ring’. I execute immediately. Federico moves towards his right and I attack with two jabs. He moves on the opposite side and I punch him with two right-hand fists. ‘Two steps’… I heard the coaches’ voice. I move backward avoiding a jab—jab—right uppercut combination. ‘Ok Lorenzo, maintain your position. Don’t move so much and take advantage of your height’. Federico tries to punch me with a different combination. I dodge his left hook and punch a left uppercut. I swing next to the ropes, parry my jab and regain the centre of the ring. ‘Very good, can you perceive the difference? Patrick asks me. I draw a four jabs combo that moves Federico against the ropes. One step forward one step back and Federico can’t exit from the trap. The coach comments on my gestures: ‘good, this is the boxer I know’ (eureka. Everything is different, I feel myself familiar and in control of my movements; I can perform my strategy finally).(Field note. 1 November 2017)
Patrick chats with Ilenya two days before the fight night: ‘the judges will evaluate the elegance of movements. Because we prize the aesthetics of movements. I think your boxing is really beautiful: you are very fine and precise. That’s all. The judgment is tremendously subjective. We can’t predict the final decision, but it’s ok. It’s just a game’.(Field note. 6 November 2017)
5.2.3. Ethical Dispositions
‘I think we are experimenting a new way of doing politics here […] we are disrupting the traditional divisions between the political sectors, groups and subgroups. I don’t want to say that we are doing super well, we are cool and so and so forth. But we sweat a lot together. We spar together, do you understand? We punch each other regardless of our affiliations. We are accomplishing the carnal meaning of comradeship’.—Fabio
I start to take off my bands and many boxers leave the gym. Gianluca and Michele walk upstairs from the basement after their sparring session. The former picks up a pair of punching-bag gloves laying in a box and dashes on the black bag. He bombards the bag and stares at the bench frequently. After a couple of minutes, he runs back towards Michele and asks in an unusual loquacity: ‘so, how did I spar?’. Michele explains: ‘it was ok, but you should be more relaxed. Breath, breath. Every time I was hitting the core you got stiff akin to a tree. It’s wrong dude. Breath, move backward, and take control of the situation with your jab. You are two meters tall, you can do what you want. And when you decide to attack, you should throw three or four punches, instead of two, right?’. Gianluca listens carefully and shakes his head to follow the advice. ‘Ok’, ‘yes’, ‘ok’, he says. He returns to the tatami immediately, sets the timer on three-minute rounds and one-minute breaks, dancing with his figure in front of the mirror by punching the air mixing different four-punches combo.’(Field note. 29 September 2016)
‘Why fighting? […] Winning or losing doesn’t matter. You’re learning something new about yourself. If you were an undisciplined person, you would learn the importance of commitment to a craft. If you were aggressive, you could control your instincts. If you were a micromanager, you would behave more instinctively. Everyone has his or her own way. Because everyone has a different life, but changing is a never-ending process’.—Patrick
‘Every time I put on the gloves and spar I think that I know what to do. I own my life; it’s in my fists. Nobody can knock me down. I mean, it could happen. It will. But I want to face this […] Life is one. The body is one. I want the Olympic circle tattooed on my arm. I know it can’t happen with boxe popolare. But I’m at the starting point, I wish I would become someone, not just an anonymous weed smoker’.—Daniel
6. The Spiral of Distinction: Conclusions and Reflections
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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1 | |
2 | The research discussed in this paper is part of a PhD thesis in Sociology and Methodology of Social Research conducted by the author with the formal approval of the University of Milan-Bicocca. |
3 | Boxing is the most diffuse discipline in palestre popolari. This form of MACS is practiced in palestra popolare. Some gyms provide only boxing; while other implement many classes, although many of these courses end or migrate in other associations at some point because they do not function and attract enough practitioner as boxing does; for example, over the last two years, the Bread and Roses club has held boxing classes five times per week, yoseikan budo class and kung-fu class once per week; however, only boxing was able to attract a conspicuous number of attendees. Moreover, except boxing, none of the classes provided in palestre popolari are so organised and connected with each other with the support of politicised networks. |
4 | The concept of dispositif is still debated in philosophy and was theoretically used and developed by well-known scholars such as Deleuze and Agamben [91]. In The History of Sexuality and in relation to the example of “le dispositif de sexualité”, Foucault defines dispositif as “not a furtive reality difficult to grasp, but a large surface network where the stimulation of bodies, the intensification of pleasures, the incitement to discourse, the formation of specialized knowledge, and the strengthening of controls and resistances are linked together according to a few grand strategies” [92] (p. 139). Beyond philosophical reflections focused on macro-historical processes, dispostitif can be a powerful notion for understanding, on a micro level as well, socialisation mechanisms and social construction of reality both in structural and symbolic terms. |
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Pedrini, L. ‘Boxing Is Our Business’: The Embodiment of a Leftist Identity in Boxe Popolare. Societies 2018, 8, 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc8030085
Pedrini L. ‘Boxing Is Our Business’: The Embodiment of a Leftist Identity in Boxe Popolare. Societies. 2018; 8(3):85. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc8030085
Chicago/Turabian StylePedrini, Lorenzo. 2018. "‘Boxing Is Our Business’: The Embodiment of a Leftist Identity in Boxe Popolare" Societies 8, no. 3: 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc8030085
APA StylePedrini, L. (2018). ‘Boxing Is Our Business’: The Embodiment of a Leftist Identity in Boxe Popolare. Societies, 8(3), 85. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc8030085