Method

For my research I used an interview with Carolina Cox. She is a junior at UNCC and has been
practicing kickboxing for 3 years. I chose her because she was experienced with the sport, yet
was still at a lower skill level. She was an accepted member of the discourse community I
investigated. I also chose Carolina because she is a good friend and thus more comfortable
speaking to me and answering questions in detail. I also observed all of the kickboxing
community and compared the members actions to each other. I chose this because I wanted an
accurate representation of the whole population of study. During my interview I asked Carolina
questions about her personal experience with the Kickboxing community and the sport.
Additionally I asked about her opinion on things regarding the discourse community. During my
observation I paid attention to the body language and types of interactions with the members. I
also used a variety of sources, such as the article Martial Arts and Mental Health by Lulius C.
Macarie and Ron Roberts. It discusses the history of martial arts as well as copious case studies
concerning personality development in individuals within the discourse community. The
Kickboxing community applies to the six elements as defined by Swales. Using those elements I
will attempt to analyze the mechanisms of the community in different aspects such as
communication, membership and power structure. An outcrop from Literacy, Discourse and
Linguistics: Introduction by James P. Glee sheds light on different forms of communication,
especially body language