Abstract
This thesis is a comparative study of elite taekwondo athletes in China and Norway and is primarily based on interviews with 25 former and active Chinese elite athletes and one coach at the Beijing Sports University (BSU). In Norway, I interviewed four taekwondo athletes, the assistant, and the head coach of the Norwegian National Team. At the BSU I investigated the components of rules and regulations, physical punishment and self-criticism, and how the athletes coped living under this rigid system. In Norway, I mapped out the surveillance structures that monitors the athletes weight and health. This thesis can contribute to a new understanding of the processes of transformation and conformity of the elite athlete. The transformation includes actors, structures, rules and regulations reaching outside of the Disciplinary Technologies of Sport associated with the training facility.