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Fresh Beginnings
The LSU Shaolin Kung Fu club is open to anyone who is a part of Loughborough Students’ Union. We cater for both beginners and existing martial artists alike, regardless of age or sex, etc. Each year we aim to take in roughly 50-60 new members, most of whom have little or no previous experience of martial arts, and so we have become quite adept at providing instruction for novices. Our first few weeks’ training is always tailored to suit the needs of complete beginners, but existing martial artists will also benefit from this, as all martial artists know that time spent rehearsing the basics is always worthwhile!
Getting Fit
If you haven’t done any martial arts or similar sports before, the first couple of weeks will seem quite hard as your body adapts to the pace of the training, but stick with it! Your fitness improves a lot faster than you might think, and if you want to become stronger, faster, fitter and more skilled then you won’t be disappointed. What you’ll find particularly beneficial about our training is the effect of working together in a group, where everyone’s collective effort acts to inspire us all to work harder. Perhaps most importantly you’ll learn something about your own limits, and how to surpass them. That said, you won’t be pushed further than you can handle. Our black belt instructors are highly experienced and know how to get the best out of us.
A Chance to Shine
The pace of the training will help you to develop quickly if you push yourself to do so. Before long, you will have the chance to earn a belt grade in our first grading session of the year, as well as have the chance to test your skills at the Hung Kuen National Championships! Both events are held before the Christmas break and give all members the opportunity to acheive something within their first term practicing kung fu. While there is never any compulsion to grade or compete, these events give you something to aim for over the longer term (as well as earn bragging rights back home!).
Socials!
No Loughborough sports club would be worth its salt without a healthy social scene to complement the training. Our first social of the year usually takes place in week 2 or 3 and is always huge, giving freshers the chance to see Loughborough’s nightlife without the obligatory presence of Hall friends and ‘Fresher Helpers’! Our team of social secretaries also provide events suited to quieter, more relaxed tastes, so members can look forward to a varied social calendar throughout the year.
Get the T-Shirt
It’s been said that only two things in life are certain – death and taxes. Recognising that ‘students love stash’ also belongs in this list of universal truisms, our kit monkeys are already hard at work preparing the new club hoodies (and other goodies) for purchase in or around November. So if you want to join up it won’t be long before you can get your hands on a personalised ‘Kung Fu’ hoody, and start scaring the life out of shopping centre security guards up and down the country.
Go the Distance
After the first few weeks are over, we hope that all our new members will have found themselves at home as part of our club. We will do our best to help you all settle in, but then its over to you to make the club your own. As with any student society, there are plenty of chances to get involved beyond the actual training we do, and as the year unfolds our new members have further chances to socialise, compete, and grade, as well as run for committee, volunteer to help with the events we organise, or otherwise contribute to club life. As well as teaching martial arts to a high standard, our club offers a great number of opportunities to its members, and we hope that you decide to take them on.