Despite the muffled shouts and sirens of the volleyball game outside, Ball Gymnasium Room 125 was tranquil. Traditional Chinese guzheng music played off tai chi instructor Junhong Xu’s phone through a small, round speaker. Students stood scattered around the dance room, facing the wall-sized mirror on one side.
Some stretch while others huddle in circles, waiting for the event to start. Kung Fu Club meetings usually start a little late to give members time to get there from their evening classes. The stragglers trickle in two or three at a time.
Before long, instructor Luke Bonvillian leads the group in high kicking warm-ups across the wooden floors.
Senior business administration major and club president Judy Zhu assembled Kung Fu Club this year to bring together masters and students, as well as to share kung fu culture with Ball State.
Zhu began practicing kung fu in China, and she said she particularly enjoyed studying sword techniques.
“At first, I just practiced to protect myself,” Zhu said. “But after a while, I began to feel that this was something really cool.”
No prior experience is required to get involved in the club and the organization offers more than just lessons.
The organizers host movie nights, speak about culture and host dinners of homemade Chinese food to educate and promote member friendship.
Other students, like sophomore Japanese major Aaron Gant, attend the club for health reasons.
Before the start of the meeting began, he demonstrated the trembling of his hand from tension.
“If I get overly stressed, I’ll get out of my desk and do the tai chi,” he said. “It calms me.”
Gant found Kung Fu Club at the Ball State Activity Fair and joined it, looking for an outlet to burn excess energy. He said he appreciates the tai chi that the club has taught him so far and he looks forward to practicing more physically intense martial arts.
But for Gant, the benefits supersede the physical aspects. While he practices tai chi, he also takes time to pray.
“It’s for physical and spiritual health,” he said. “As a Christian, I believe that God is there, and I need to find time with him.”
Chinese business administration student Siwei Chen goes to Kung Fu Club because it helps her stay in touch with her heritage.
“I like kung fu,” she said. “In China, everyone learns it in gym class for exercise.”
Zhu also uses the club to accomplish philanthropic goals. Recently, she traveled to Africa, and the experience encouraged her to raise money for Projects Abroad Kenya, a charity that provides aid to poverty stricken regions.
Member dues are $10, and 20 percent of that is donated to the organization, as well as 30 percent of ticket sales from the club’s upcoming Kung Fu Fashion Show at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center. The fashion show will feature models, dancers from within the club as well as Chinese music and dress.
Zhu also vetted the two masters, sophomore computer science major Xu and senior international business major Bonvillian.
Xu and Zhu knew each other prior to the formation of the club. Bonvillian met Zhu at International Conversation Hour, a club that focuses on cultural exchange, understanding and friendship. Zhu performed a demonstration on a kung fu sword, which she said she hopes to teach to students once they learn more.
Bonvillian focuses on acrobatics and fitness, drawing from eight years of gymnastics experience and three years as a diver.
He said it is challenging to teach a group of students with varied levels of experience, some of whom have no experience at all. This affects what he teaches his students significantly.
“I have to keep [experience] in mind and maintain balance,” he said. “It gives me a leadership role.”
Whatever the motivation to participate, Kung Fu Club offers substance to each of its members.
“It’s something cool to know,” Emma Kemp, a senior Japanese major, said. “When you first meet someone, you can be like, ‘I know kung fu’ and they’re like, ‘That’s different.’”
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