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, examining aggression and violence in the Japanese martial art of kendo. Blake has coached for over 27 years, spanning community to high-performance levels, and is Head Coach of the New Zealand Kendo Team. He has attended seven World Kendo Championships as athlete and coach. His research in the volunteer coach space has explored the impact of child safeguarding policy on coaching practice and now examines the pressures facing volunteer coaches and sport administrators in New Zealand, including role bleed, compliance fatigue, and interpretive risk.