Blake Bennett

Blake completed his Doctoral degree in the field of sport coaching with a focus on the pedagogies of rugby coaches in New Zealand and Japanese secondary schools. He completed his Masters Degree in Sport Sciences at the Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, Japan, regarding aggression and violence in the Japanese martial art of Kendo. Blake has coached for over 20 years, leads the Education Task Force of the New Zealand Kendo Federation, and is currently coach of the Mens’ New Zealand Kendo Team.
Blake's current research investigates ways in which the practices of New Zealand volunteer coaches are influenced by a safeguard ‘sword of Damocles’, with the influence of the Vulnerable Children’s Act 2014 (Ministry of Education, 2014), coaches’ codes of ethics, and wider discourses of child safety measures being of primary concern.