Towards a non-definition of the martial arts: A pragmatic framework for classification and boundary work

‘Martial arts’ is a stable phrase but a contested and analytically variable category in scholarship and practice. This article develops a pragmatic reporting framework for classification without requiring prior agreement on whether a final definition of martial arts is possible. Essentialist, contextual, genealogical, and institutional approaches are considered, with particular attention to the distinction between practical classifications made by practitioners and organisations and scholarly classifications made for analytical purposes. A scope box is proposed for declaring the intended extension and level of analysis, together with a five-step diaeretic protocol for handling borderline cases in a public and revisable manner. The framework is demonstrated through mini-cases on taekwondo, wing chun, and mixed martial arts, treated as stress tests for classificatory reasoning rather than as proof that the general category is indefinable. The output is a reporting standard that supports comparison, dispute resolution, and cumulative research while remaining compatible with competing positions on definition, historical change, and conceptual classification.