Abstract
This paper investigates Judo as a curricular framework for embodied and performance-oriented learning. Based on an ongoing situated study at the intersection of competitive training environments, cross-national learning contexts, and developmental coaching practices, the contribution explores how Judo functions not only as a sport, but as an epistemic structure. The analysis identifies five core dimensions of Judo as curriculum: embodied knowing, critical inquiry, strategy, aesthetics, and resilience. These dimensions are examined through the lens of practice-based knowledge development, drawing from longitudinal engagement with athletes and coaches across systems. The study proposes a curricular model in which reflection and action, sensory experience, and performative understanding are central to learning. Rather than treating these experiential forms of knowledge as extracurricular, the paper argues for their generative role in fostering autonomy, adaptability, and integrative intelligence. The findings contribute to current discourse on learning architectures that challenge and reimagine the structure of traditional school curricula.
Presenters
Ruth NeubauerAssistant Professor, New Design University, Austria Clemens Kerschbaum
New Design University Ksenija Kuzmina
Senior Lecturer, Institute for Creative Futures, Loughborough University London, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sporting Cultures and Identities
KEYWORDS
Embodiment, Curriculum, Practice-based Learning, Epistemology, Design
