Starting where you are

Being uncomfortably aware that my academic friends had overlooked BJJ as an object of study I recently set out to do something about this neglect. Being trained as a sociologist I am infinitely curious about the things that surround my daily life. My partner, for example, is also a sociologist (that's how we met!) who teaches at a near by college. Her research delves into the wonderful world of mothering in different and differing contexts (through affluence, multiple births, poverty, abuse, without a partner & etc.). When she became a mother herself (we have two wonderful boys - I now realize that I'm revealing a whole lot more about myself than I intended in only my second blog entry - is this normal or just weird?), motherhood came more into view as a subject of research. She has her own blog (mymommyis...)(I only hope I can be as poignant and witty as she) and an established research agenda that considers the nuances of mothering.

To date, my research has highlighted the social relations endemic to youth crime in society. My wife and I engaged in labour of love which produced a book entitled Youth, Crime and Society: Issues of Power and Justice. Try not to read too much into this interest in youth crime given what I said earlier about sociologists being interested in things that surround them! My life has taken me in very interesting directions and to exceptionally rich experiences. One of them, among many others (being a Dad is kinda cool!), was working at a youth detention centre in Winnipeg Manitoba. As a result, my sociological imagination was piqued and I began examining the nuances of youth crime in earnest.

I had no intention of studying BJJ from a scholarly perspective when I first became involved. It was merely a means through which to get in shape and an avenue to get a better understanding of myself. I would never have guessed then that BJJ would not only become a passion, but an object/subject of study. 

Then again, if sociologists typically start where they are, should I really be surprised?