Routine replication and embodying process: an ethnographic study on the impact of the body

Abstract

We examine how embodiment shapes routine replication through an ethnographic study of the Royal Air Force’s replication of a demanding loaded march ('tabbing') from Ground Combat Training into Initial Officer Training. Adopting a novel enactive ethnography over 30 months, we reveal how bodily differences among trainees prompted adaptations while maintaining routine recognisability. Three bodily mechanisms emerged—playing with rhythm, coping with injuries, and dealing with emotions— highlighting the central role of embodiment. Our research contributes to Routine Dynamics by advancing embodied understandings of replication and responding to methodological calls for innovative ethnographic approaches to studying routines.