SSTO Publications: School of Sport, Tourism and The Outdoors. Journal of ... this study to understand and master what he refers to as a 'transformative experience .... Humberstone, B. (2009) Sport management, gender and the 'bigger picture'.
Pryle, J. (2014) Smelling the leather: a sensorial account of boxing in the ‘Hood. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 8, 1, 129-134
Smelling the leather: a sensorial account of boxing in the ‘Hood Joseph Pryle (University of Central Lancashire) Keywords: ethnography, sensorial research, field observation, boxing, narrative
Book review essay: Body & Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer by Loic Wacquant, Oxford University Press, New York, 2004. Body and Soul is a pure ethnographic adventure, depicting the daring and dedication of French sociologist Loic Wacquant in his attempts to further understand the sub cultures of black American ghettos. Being from a white middle class family and growing up in a quiet village in southern France, he was a world away from what he was expecting. Yet he was also aware of the necessity for the purpose of this study to understand and master what he refers to as a ‘transformative experience that he had neither desired nor anticipated’ (Wacquant, 2004:viii). For novice ethnographers or PhD students reading this account, the use of the body and its senses as a tool of inquiry can be a lesson that can uncover rich findings that other approaches may fail to yield. Therefore, what lengths did he go to? He became a boxer at the local Woodlawn Boxing Club in Chicago’s South Side, a notorious black ghetto. To echo the benefits of using the senses to draw out unique experiences, Sands (2002) acknowledges that living out the research through the body can allow access to feelings, sights, smells and other empirical experiences otherwise not found in traditional participant observation. Wacquant manages this by totally immersing himself in the life of the gym and attempts to effectively confront three challenges. Firstly, he skilfully infiltrates the inside world of the gym and learns to box. Referring to this as a ‘sanctuary’ from the problems on the nearby streets, he poses in perfect method-actor-mode as a model pupil intent on learning the pugilistic trade (commonly alluded to as The Sweet Science). To fully gain the trust and rapport of the regulars did take Loic over 16 months to achieve, during which time he demonstrates remarkable doggedness to maintain his other persona as a covert researcher. It is within this period that he constructs some 2300 pages of field notes 129 ISSN: 1754-2375 [print] ISBN: 978-0-9566270-8-7 JQRSS Article No: 5/8-8-1-2014-PG[46]-078 © SSTO Publications, UK. Web: https://uclan.academia.edu/ClivePalmer/Journal-of-Qualitative-Research-in-Sports-Studies
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from the safety of his apartment each night (within the university walls) following training and socialising with members (out at the club) amongst the other day-to-day rituals involved in boxing. The second challenge involved making sense of the social relations of black ghetto culture whilst embedded in a lived experience within that location. There appear to be two levels of inquiry for Loic that are mutually interdependent; the study of a culture and also, experiencing that culture from a particular lived perspective. The study of ghetto culture was the original aim of the study and he was ideally positioned to conduct it, having already made a connection with the participants. This enabled him to start a reflexive process of analysing his position within that world; as (i) a boxer within (ii) the ghetto, as he had a grounding to relate his findings back to. This approach is highly recommended by Reed-Danahay (1997) who claims that the researcher is able to transcend any prior presumptions by referring back to their own situation. Similarly, Humberstone (2009) comments that a reflexive researcher will attempt to make sense of feelings and relationships with the research participants in that particular context in order to make sense of that specific culture. Wacquant used snippets from his field notes followed by immediate analysis throughout this book. This approach helped the story to flow and drive the study forward, helping him to pick out themes and areas to target and is recommended by Hammersley and Atkinson (2007), claiming that field notes should not simply comment on what is taking place, but try and critically analyse in order to help the observer become more aware within the context. During this period, Wacquant was able to take advantage of his position as one of the team members as they travelled on the road to a local boxing competition in support of the star fighter of the gym. Here he is richly descriptive, drawing on the senses and sets the scene from a unique perspective: Curtis goes out in the hallway and starts bouncing up and down in place, then he loosens up shadowboxing. Eddie puts on his pads and holds them out as targets for him. Jab-jab-right, hooks, uppercuts. The taut punches make a crackling sound under the interrogative gaze of the patrons of the adjacent bar. Sweat glistens at the temples of the Woodlawn boxer and trickles down his chest (Wacquant, 2004:209).
Wacquant was able to work and observe at close range in a covert manner, extracting and sensing a range of emotions; punching and being punched, fighting and competing, winning and losing, that he would otherwise have not had access to as a more distant or detached researcher. The tense narrative in the build up to the fight, the nerves displayed at the weigh-in, and the anxiety including pre-fight rituals provide the reader with a contribution to sports research that would be very hard to 130
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achieve without this commitment to ethnography. The major reason for this is that the behaviours of the participants would naturally alter and perhaps become more reserved if they had knowledge that they were being observed by someone, particularly for purposes they may not appreciate or understand. The merits of covert participant observation are discussed further by sociologist Dave Calvey in his own ethnography studying the field of bouncers and the Manchester nightclub scene. He obtained a doorman’s licence and became a bouncer which in turn granted access to an underworld of drugs, violence, bribery and withholding information from the police, which he claims he ‘geared into, to gain a proportionate and authentic picture of that cultural world’ (Calvey, 2008:911). A major benefit of this approach was that he unearthed unexpected findings about the violence involved in ‘bouncing’, being a doorman, in that it confounded the stereotype that bouncing was delivered by thugs and that violence is overplayed in their role by outsiders. In the same way, Wacquant discovers that boxing is a disciplined regime that instils respect for others and a conditioned autonomy in its training, as does the work of Woodward (2004) on boxing and masculinity. He could only comment on this by becoming a covert participant. The third, final challenge Wacquant faced was to put himself into the ring as a competitor. Having learnt to box and watched his colleagues take up the competition; this was now his ultimate ‘lived’ experience. By this stage he has become totally comfortable with his surroundings and knows many details about each of his boxing friends; ‘Boxhead’ John has become sullen. He has waited for this day for 10 years... ‘Mighty’ Mark Chears is dripping with sweat underneath his hood, drunk in concentration... No one has seen Fred for over a week, he must be hanging around with his homies from the Disciples gang (Wacquant, 2004:243).
At the same time his boxing colleagues are now entirely reciprocating by trusting and making him feel part of the gym environment; Anthony (club boxer) discloses first – ‘You know what Louie? I’m tiiirrred. I’ve had it. Every day – box, sweat, box, sweat – every single day! I’ve really had it. Every day the same routine. That’s not a life (Wacquant, 2004:242).
Later on it is the day of the fight and Loic recollects the reassurances his colleagues had given him, he is now confident that he is part of the group; Everyone greets me with a word of encouragement. Sober and without fanfare. Oddly, far from overwhelming and intimidating me, the idea of carrying the hopes of the Woodlawn Boys Club on my shoulders gives me peace of mind. ‘Hey Louie, the French Bomber, you’re goin’ to win tonight! (Wacquant, 2004:246).
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The danger here, as Calvey (2008) discovered too, is that there must be an exit strategy from the field or the researcher can become entrenched with no way of disclosing his findings or intentions. However, Sands (2002) remarks that many cultural members included within ethnography become lifelong friends and that this is natural, it is life. Luckily for Wacquant this applied for him. Following his stint in the gym and his fight he claims ‘from now on, I am fully one of them: ‘Yep, Louie’s a soul brother’ (Wacquant, 2004:255). As far as the fight itself goes, just four pages describe in vivid detail every emotion and movement made during three frantic rounds, where Wacquant gives as good as he gets against a daunting opponent. As a reader you are drawn into the situation and can easily visualise being present at ringside, it grabs the attention and is a thought provoking narrative. Here is a good example, showing the extent of how he is using his senses and thought processes; We resume our manoeuvres, only faster and harder. No time to think. My battered face is throbbing and dripping with sweat. I box on instinct, increasing the pressure on my opponent, as if in a high-speed film in which all the sensations are exaggerated. Cooper’s fists seem like they’ve been dipped in steel when they bang on me (Wacquant, 2004:251).
In the end he narrowly loses on points but more importantly he has gained first hand insight into the feelings and thoughts that a boxer may go through during fighting. He now has a depth of reflexive data that can be analysed and help him to understand behaviours within the ghetto even further. A very important factor in the book that helps to bring the story to life is the language employed. Sanders (2005) claims that the text commonly employs dated slang in odd ways. Yet the fact that Wacquant’s first language is French means he is simply interpreting the language of the streets and the gym to the best of his ability. For the reader, this adds to the draw as it paints a more realistic picture of Loic’s attempts to understand the world in which he finds himself. For Sanders (2005:438) to suggest that ‘whoever acted as the editor of the manuscript should be drummed out of business’ seems harsh, as over-editing of the raw language that has been documented directly from Wacquant’s experiences may lessen the effect and hinder the ability for the reader to be transported into the story. Sanders also attempts to discredit Wacquant in his interpretation of urban ethnography and is critical of the consistent valorising of his participants, and the frequent lengthy and minimally edited quotes (Sanders, 2005). As discussed earlier, these points are essential in adding detail to the narrative. Interpretative research 132
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such as ethnography also relies on the subjective opinions and experiences of the researcher (Sands, 2002), so it should stand to reason that if these experiences are positive, then the participants are likely to be valorised to some extent. This book is an absorbing read and very useful example for early researchers into ethnography. It is highly recommended, in particular for those undertaking covert fieldwork or operating across the participant observer spectrum and truly interested in communicating for others the richness of the lived experience. The skills employed by Wacquant to manipulate and gain access to a world otherwise out of range for researchers, is a lesson for would-be ethnographers to follow their data and see where it takes them. Understanding something of Loic’s journey is a good starting point for any ethnographer prior to entry into the field. References Calvey, D. (2008) The art and politics of covert research: doing ‘situated ethics’ in the field. Sociology, 42, 1, 905-918. Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: principles in practice (3rd ed.). Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon. Humberstone, B. (2009) Sport management, gender and the ‘bigger picture’. Challenging changes in Higher Education – a partial auto/ethnographical account. Sport Management Review, 12, 4, 255-262. Reed-Danahay, D. (1997) Autoethnography: rewriting the self and the social. Berg, Oxford. Sanders, C. (2005) The sweet (social) science. Symbolic Interaction, 28, 3, 437-440. Sands, R. (2002) Sport ethnography. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. Wacquant, L. (2004) Body and Soul: notebooks of an apprentice boxer. Oxford University Press, New York. Woodward, K. (2004) Rumbles in the jungle: Boxing, racialization and the performance of masculinity. Leisure Studies, 23, 1, 5-17.
JQRSS Author Profile Joseph Pryle is a lecturer with a passion for the sport of cricket. He has completed various levels of academic qualifications in Sports Coaching including Foundation Degree, BA (1st Class Honours) and MA (Distinction). He is now using these coaching skills at his current employment working in mental health where he provides a positive environment for adolescents struggling with self concept issues. Joseph is also undertaking MPhil/PhD research at UCLan into the cultural issues surrounding cricket in the USA. He has particularly enjoyed exploration through personal narrative in his ethnography, establishing empirical data to look deeper into a phenomenon - similar in nature to the book in this review.
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