The Martial Arts Association had its first interest meeting on Sep 21. It is the school’s first club that involves self-defense and combat of any kind.
The founders hope to share their love of martial arts with the rest of the school.
“We are most excited to meet new people and be able to perform together,” cofounder and officer of Performing Martial Arts Joanna Shin said.
The club will be split into performing martial arts (performance-based; PMAC) and practicing martial arts (training-focused; MAC).
“The PMAC side of the club will be introducing tournament opportunities to win medals and we will be performing with the group in various events as a demo team,” Shin said. “In the demo team, we will include poomsae, kicking, weapons, and other skills.”
The practicing martial arts club is more focused on teaching the techniques and foundations of self-defense like karate and taekwondo.
“MAC is a club for people who are interested in learning new skills and techniques in martial arts,” President of Training Martial Arts Tiffany Yuan said.
PMAC plans to attend tournaments and create short demonstrations at events like I-Fest.
“We may even make our own event for a fundraiser for the club,” PMAC co-president Samuel Yeh said.
The co-founders hope that members can bring out their competitiveness and improve their strength.
“I’m most excited to see what we can create this year, and how many people will stick to it for the rest of the year!” Yeh said.
Christopher Turner and Bo Sun are the official sponsors of the Martial Arts Association.
“I sponsored the martial arts club because of the passion I saw in the students that requested I do so,” Turner said. “The club is divided into training and demonstration groups, and the beauty, poise, discipline, and drive it takes really impacts the student’s self-esteem and confidence.”
