In general, I think everyone would agree that war and fighting are ugly, and should only be considered as a last resort. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) (By the way, I don’t believe this particular verse has anything to do with pacifism; sometimes the only way to fight evil and end conflict is through the use of violent force. That said, such pure evil is rare in our day-to-day lives here in America, and other methods, such as building trust and using persuasion, yield much better long-term results in the vast majority of cases.)
There are, though, people who have studied the human form and movement, and applied that knowledge to fighting; this is the basis of all martial arts. While some forms of martial arts are explosive, violent, and unpleasant, other forms, generally classified as the “soft” martial arts, can actually be quite beautiful to watch. I would offer Tai Chi, most forms of Chinese Kung Fu, and especially Aikido as great examples of this.
Do you agree that a martial art can be both elegant and effective? Let me know what you think in the comments below.