‘Breaking’ the mold: Big Country man to defend world martial arts title

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Longtime Big Country resident Larry Fields has a long history in martial arts. He’s won 55 world titles and eight world records, and has been featured on multiple national broadcasts. Now, despite recent health setbacks, he’s returning to the U.S. Martial Arts Open to defend his title and make sure West Texas has a voice on the international stage.

“Representing West Texas in something like this, with all the world competition that comes to this event. I love it. I look forward to it every year,” said Fields.

Beginning Thursday, July 17, Fields will compete in the 2025 U.S. Open ISKA (International Sport Karate Association) World Martial Arts Championships in Orlando, Florida. His field of competition is known as breaking, in which participants break boards, slabs, or other solid objects with strikes from the body.

“There’s a big Russian team there, a German team, and an Australian team. There are teams that come from all over for this event, so it’s like the Mecca of breaking,” Fields said.

Just last year, 2024, Fields took home the world title in creative breaking, but it was the illness that hit him a few years prior that took the heaviest toll. And the same reason is that he is looking forward to bringing home a title again this year.

“It would mean a lot. I’ve been after it for a while… I had COVID really bad… They took part of my lung, they did CPR on me for 30 minutes, I wasn’t expected to come out; they expected me to go to a nursing home… But I went and won; out of the four titles, I won two world titles,” said Fields.

During his recovery, Fields experienced difficulty remembering things he had known prior to his illness. However, he found that practicing martial arts helped him reconnect with his mind. The muscle memory from the various forms he had memorized helped him recall forgotten information. This experience, along with his ongoing success on stage, taught him the value of confidence and determination.

“Don’t doubt yourself; there are plenty of people in the world who are gonna doubt you. I have people in my dojo who are 71 years old. It’s not about age; it’s about want. If you want it, I can teach you,” Fields said.

For those who want to follow along in Fields’ journey, that event will be covered live on ESPN+.