This work reports aspects of an ethnography carried out at a karate dojo. The aim of the investigation was to observe the production and the relationship between the pain and body suffering and the affirmation of masculinity. We do not discuss here the results of the research, but the issues involved in its construction, considering a specificity: the responsible for this field work is a fighter of that dojo, and her movement from a respected black belt karate fighter to a researcher produced new forms of challenges in that space. We problematize the question, trying to show the difficulties in the debate which combines a gender conflict with the probable conciliation between the condition of researcher and the field in which he/she is involved, and with which he/she will inevitably confront.
Karate; Sport and Gender; Relating