On the far right, it seems to take advantage of pandemic home fitness trends to expand the radicalization of physical mixed martial arts (MMA) and martial arts space over a decade.
Initially fascinated by health tips and strategies for positive physical change, new hires are then invited to a closed chat group where the far right content is shared.
Earlier this month, researchers said a network of online “fascist fitness” chat groups on the encrypted platform Telegram was recruiting and radicalizing young men with neo-Nazi and white supremacist extremist ideologies. I reported. Initially fascinated by health tips and strategies for positive physical change, new hires are then invited to a closed chat group where the far right content is shared.
Physical fitness was always in the center of the right edge. In “Mein Kampf,” Hitler sticks to boxing and jujutsu, creating millions of troops by combining an aggressive spirit and a perfectly trained body with “enthusiastic love for his homeland.” I believed it would be useful. “Mediocre” tactical weapons training.
More modernly, the far-right group has focused on launching mixed martial arts and boxing gyms in Ukraine, Canada and France, and training far-right nationalists with violent hand-to-hand combat and street fighting techniques. Especially in Europe, intelligence agencies are paying attention because various reports have pointed out the role of martial arts and MMA in intensifying and promoting far-right violence. An intervention and prevention program was introduced through a series of collaborations between the government, the National Sports Association, and gymnasiums in regions such as Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom.
The crossroads of extremism and fitness lean towards a common attachment to the male body, training, masculinity, testosterone, strength and competition.
The United States is relatively lagging, and especially as this phenomenon is spreading domestically, more and more problems will arise based on the established fight club culture of MMA far-right radicals. For example, the leader of the Maryland Skinhead Group once ran a gym to “recruit and train white supremacists in mixed martial arts.” Four members or associates of the racist and violent Rise Above Movement (RAM), self-proclaimed “the best alt-right MMA club,” joined the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. , Pleaded guilty to the riot plot. The now-deceased group’s online propaganda was discovered among protesters on January 6, last year. When members of the White Supremacist Group’s Patriot Front marched in Washington, DC in December 2021, they were created by RAM founder Robertland, who is working to create a network of far-right MMA “active clubs.” Was accompanied by a new media outlet “in the United States and abroad.
The crossroads of extremism and fitness lean towards a common attachment to the male body, training, masculinity, testosterone, strength and competition. Physical training, especially in martial arts, appeals to the far right for many reasons. Fighters are trained to accept serious physical distress, become “warriors”, and accept messages about solidarity, heroism, and brotherhood. It is favored as a tool to support the battle between the “coming race war” and the street battles that precede it. New employees are encouraged to combine individual moral virtues such as willpower, determination and courage with desirable collective traits such as masculinity and masculinity. This works the other way around, and white supremacists encourage potential new hires and activists to get in shape as a way to manage self-introduction to the general public. Neo-Nazi blogger Andrew Anglin advised his followers that “fat people” need to promise to lose weight in order to continue to participate in groups and direct gatherings, “continuing obesity. Should not be forgiven. “
We see radical combat culture combined with entertainment culture that already values violence and super-masculinity.
Currently, recruitment is moving from physical gyms to chat rooms, live streaming battles, tournaments, festivals, and even combat sports video games, and the culture of militant fighting has already evaluated violence and supermanliness. Combined with the entertainment culture that you are doing.
Of course, fitness is a staple and hobby for many, and it’s fun and rewarding for brain health and overall well-being. The fitness channel literally channels dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin in a pleasing way. Entangling those emotions with hateful and inhumane thoughts, promoting the notion that physical warriors are needed to create strength and control to protect people from perceived enemies is It will be a powerful cocktail with the danger of radicalization.
For those of us working to find a better way to reach young people at risk, understanding how the far-right group recruits and socializes young people goes far beyond rhetoric and ideas. Is important. Fitness world leaders such as parents, physical trainers, gym owners, and coaches see how online grooming and recruitment intersects spaces commonly thought to promote health and well-being. It’s important to understand. The area of online fitness now offers a new and ever-expanding market for young men to reach and radicalize. And we need our focused focus and resources to try to stop the cycle.
