By Dr. Eric Moon, Contributing Editor

At the heart of all sports is man’s drive to compete—a primal urge to lock horns in combat. Deep inside, fueled by adrenaline, mankind harbors a killer instinct once vital to the very survival of our species.

In today’s civilized world, it is unacceptable to embrace this facet of our being. We suppress it. We deny it. We tuck it away. But, whether we acknowledge this fundamental aspect, it exists, subconsciously driving us.

In the civilian segment of modern society, we allow expression of these instincts only in the controlled arenas of sports created to provide an outlet for our competitive natures. Hockey, rugby, football, basketball, even soccer. All are symbolic paradigms or war . . . battlefields without bloodshed.

Humans compete with raw passion. We are obsessed with sports. Even those on the sidelines harbor patriotic loyalties to their teams, along with militaristic opposition to the “enemy.” There is no doubt that sports play a vital role, providing an outlet for the more violent and confrontational aspects of our nature. Sports are integral to American culture, and although not everyone participates, most definitely love to watch.

We long for a good game. We need to feel the competitive spirit and experience the thrill of pitting ourselves against others. We hunger for it. This demand has turned the sporting world into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Professional athletes are our modern-day heroes. Our adoration for them has elevated them among society’s elite: The rich and the famous.

But isn’t something missing? Forgotten? If our combat instincts are the very basis of sports, in general, then why aren’t we paying more homage to the sports that most embrace this primal nature? Why don’t we hear more about the sports featuring competition in the purest form? Where are the combat sports . . . where are the martial arts?

No one can deny that martial arts epitomize the very nature of the sports world. They feature true combat. Mano a mano. Warrior against warrior, hand-to-hand. No balls, pucks, or Frisbees. No goalposts or baskets. No empty symbols of victory or painless manifestations of defeat. The martial arts strip away all of that to feature pure combat in raw form. Indeed, the martial arts are the “ultimate sports.”

We can all appreciate the guy who intercepts a pass, dodges three opponents, and then drags a fourth into the end zone to score a touchdown. But such a frivolous display can’t compare to the awe inspired by a perfectly executed Ippon Seoinage throw which lands a man flat on his back, pinned helplessly, his arm locked in a tight Jujigatame arm-lock, about to break.

Sure, it’s fun to watch a man dribble a ball, toss it under a leg, then leap through the air to drop it through a hoop. But that is mere court-jester trickery compared to the sight of a fighter who simultaneously throws a low kick, ducks beneath an incoming punch, then spins around to deliver a back-fist to his foe, dropping him to the mat.

There simply is no purer form of competition in sports than martial arts. Victory cannot be more clearly expressed than through a swift KO, or through the verbal submission of another fighter who has found himself helpless at the hands of another.

I am not certain why the media has, for so long, largely ignored martial arts in favor of lesser games and activities. But those days are behind us, at least for those fortunate enough to live around the Windy City. Fighting Arts Media & Entertainment (FAME) now launches Chicago Fighting Arts Magazine, a bimonthly publication featuring all aspects of combat sports. Boxing. Judo. Jiu-jitsu. Aikido. Muay-Thai. Hapkido. Karate. Kung fu. And my personal favorite, the mixed martial arts, which brings them all together.

I have nothing against the Bears or the Bulls. I like the Cubs, and the White Sox are okay, too. But that’s just not my thing. Martial arts are the ultimate sport, and that makes Chicago Fighting Arts the ultimate magazine. So, if you want to know about the martial arts scene, and in particular, the scene in Chicago, then you’ve finally found your source. You won’t find any balls or Frisbees here. We’ll leave that to ESPN. We’re all about swift feet, heavy hands, and true athleticism. That’s what we have to offer.

Dr. Eric Moon is the founding promoter of Chicago’s Ironheart Crown mixed martial arts tournament and a veteran of many no-holds-barred matches as a competitor. He has previously written for Grappling Magazine. In addition to his martial arts background, Dr. Moon is an emergency medicine specialist, practicing at Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Thorek, St. Bernard’s