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Voice of the Fox
The Newsletter of the Martial Arts Training Service

Balance Isn't Always Obvious
by Douglas Taylor
Spring 1996

For some, the martial arts have built sportsmanship, for others superior fighting skill. Others have preserved an art form to pass it on and help it grow through kata and building instinct. These words are based on a quote by Tom Lang Sensei during the jo staff seminar here at Fox Valley dojo.

On April 20, 1995, the Japanese Open Vale Tudo Tournament was held at the Budokan, where an assortment of international fighters were flown in to exhibit all three aspects of the martial arts. Other qualities showed through as the competitors displayed heart, great conditioning, and also fantastic strategies that just started their repertoires. It could be said that the general public has overlooked this grand determination to display the natural instincts and bestial will to survive.

Vale Tudo, shoot fighting, and other more commercialized events with few or no rules are the only sport-oriented outlets to our hidden nature. The importance of such events will become obvious in the next few years. Realize there is much more class to these sports than that which lies on the surface.

By no means would it be safe to believe that all viewers in the States will see the beauty of this seeming brutality, but the martial arts community may someday see aspects of its importance. Also, more qualified fighters will demonstrate the art and the need for balance, both physical and spiritual. However, it won't ever be obvious.

May we see with our martial hearts …

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