Editorial: Combat sports and well-being: prevention, protection, and development across the lifespan, volume II

The prevention, protection, and human development potential of combat sports and martial arts is increasingly being recognized. Building on the success of Volume I, Combat Sports and Well-being: Advancing Health and Inclusion in Athletes and Practitioners, this Research Topic, Volume II, gathers nine contributions that collectively advance conceptual understanding, identify possible psychosocial and neurophysiological mechanisms, and address implementation challenges across settings and age groups. In doing so, the Topic promotes a lifespan approach to well-being that considers safety, ethics, and the circumstances in which participation in combat sports can be beneficial rather than harmful.A first cluster of papers strengthens the theoretical foundations needed to interpret the paradox of "controlled combat" as a practice that may prevent violence while involving techniques that could be extremely effective and therefore have the potential to cause harm outside a regulated context. In particular, the theoretical article of Barreira et al., 2025 proposed a phenomenological framework that deals with "corporal fighting" as a distinctive lived experience, differentiating it from brawling and from play-fighting. Furthermore, the study emphasizes how training may cultivate reflective and ethical engagement through affective and empathic modulations. This contribution is complemented by another theoretical paper, Gabriel, 2025, which