Supplementary file 1_Becoming a fighter: phenomenological dimensions of personal development in beginner martial arts and combat sports practitioners.docx

Analysis involved psychological, eidetic, and intersubjective reductions, supported by suspensive listening and intentional crossing.</p>Results<p>The findings were organized into three interdependent dimensions. The Psychic dimension concerns the tension inherent to confronting an opponent, including fear, frustration, uncertainty, and difficulties remaining engaged. The Moral/Spiritual dimension concerns sensitivity to the partner-opponent’s integrity and the regulation of force, intensity, and conduct required to preserve the reciprocal encounter.

The Corporal/Technical dimension concerns the incorporation of embodied possibilities for attacking, defending, adjusting distance, and responding under pressure. Because corporal fight is lived through bodily engagement, this dimension provides the concrete medium through which psychic tension and Moral/Spiritual positioning are enacted.</p>Discussion<p>When development is described, it appears as a progressive reorganization of these dimensions and an expanded capacity to enter, respond to, and sustain corporal fight.

Participants also report avoidance, emotional disorganization, excessive force, injury, and withdrawal, indicating that disruptive experiences are not inherently developmental. Competition intensifies these demands, while developmental possibilities depend on practitioners’ resources and on pedagogical and relational conditions, including instructor guidance, peer conduct, partner selection, and regulation of training intensity.</p>