Professional Affiliation: University of Jyväskylä (Finland), Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences

PhD student at the University of Jyväskylä, majoring in Sport Psychology. My PhD research explores issues of gender, culture and identity in the male domain of martial arts.

AREAS OF RESEARCH INTEREST: sport psychology, martial arts and combat sports, gender studies

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Kavoura, A., Ryba, T. V., & Kokkonen, M. (2012). Psychological research on martial artists: A critical view from a cultural praxis framework. Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum, 3, pp. 1-23.

Kavoura, A., Kokkonen, M., & Ryba, T. (2014). The female fighter phenomenon in Denmark and Greece: Exploring gender dynamics in judo. In K. Gilber (Ed.), Fighting – Intellectualizing combat sports. Champaign, Illinois: Common Ground Publishing LLC.

Kavoura, A., Ryba, T. V., & Chroni, S. (2015). Negotiating female judoka identities in Greece: A Foucauldian discourse analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 17, pp. 88-98.

Kavoura, A., Chroni, S., Kokkonen, M., & Ryba, T. V. (2015). Women fighters as agents of change: A Brazilian jiu-jitsu case study from Finland. In A. Channon & C. R. Matthews (Eds.), Global perspectives on women in combat sports: Women warriors around the world (pp. 135-152). UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kavoura, A. (2016). (Re)negotiating an athlete’s identity during training and researching judo in Finland. In P. Berg & M. Kokkonen (Eds.), Urheilun takapuoli: Tasa-arvo ja yhdenvertaisuus liikunnassa ja urheilussa (The backside of Sport: Equal Opportunities and Equality in Sports and Exercise) (pp. 91-107). Helsinki: Nuorisotutkimusverkosto/Nuorisotutkimusseura, julkaisuja 186.

Kavoura, A., Kokkonen, M., Chroni, S., & Ryba T. V. (2017). “Some women are born fighters”: Discursive constructions of a fighter’s identity by female Finnish judo athletes. Sex Roles.