Martial arts clubs offer fun, fighting

While many Princeton students spend their free time pretending to legislate, watching serial television shows or playing instruments, a select few are learning the art of self-defense.

There are four main martial arts club sports at Princeton: karate, aikido, shotokan karate and taekwondo. Though some people crave the competition inherent in any sport, most people join these clubs as an escape from schoolwork and as a means to partake in a more interesting type of exercise.

Club karate holds classes three times a week in Dillon Gym. The members of the karate club find developing their skills to be both useful and fun. They learn classical karate movements, sport jujitsu and "street fight" self-defense.

A club evaluation of the instructors and members reads: "The instructors are well qualified and very understanding, but what makes the club so special are its members. The people are all cool and understanding, with upper belts respecting lower belts, etc. The class, moreover, is not excessively large in size, so there is a certain degree of personal attention."

From beginner to advanced, members say that karate can positively affect anyone's life both physically and mentally.

Kokikai Aikido is another type of martial art that is a self-defense training system based on timing, centering and coordination. Force is of less importance. The club strives to help its members reach their strongest state and realize their full potential. This is true with respect to self-defense, but members say it also relates to their daily lives.

The club practices three times a week in Dillon Gym. The instructors are John Trask, who is a fourth-degree black belt, along with Mame Reynolds, Jan Hempel and Morris Doctor, who are all third-degree blackbelts.

Taekwondo is a martial art that originated in Korea and includes styles from Chinese, Japanese and Korean fighting techniques. The president of the club is senior Ben Massey. The club also has night classes in Dillon gym. Unlike some of the other martial arts clubs, the taekwondo team participates in competition.

The club competes in the Ivy Northeast Collegiate Taekwondo League and participates in most of the league's tournaments. It also sporadically participates in local tournaments such as the Garden State Cup — the only tournament it has competed in this year. Senior Tarik Jones — middleweight black belt division — was a gold medalist. Massey also won a gold medal in the forms part of the competition. The next tournament is at NYU on Feb. 25.

"This year, our team is stronger than it has been in a while. We have some strong black belts, including Marc Osherson, David Hule, Tarik Jones and Sieu Ha," Massey said. "We also have a growing colored belt contingent and some new yellow belts — this year's white belts just tested and are itching to go to their first tournament."

The shotokan karate club concentrates on techniques including blocks, closed-and open-hand strikes and kicks. These movements require body power and the ability to balance in various stances. The club has around 30 members, including undergraduates, graduates and guest members from the Princeton area, with some coming from as far away as Philadelphia.

Shotokan and the other martial arts clubs are forms of finding a fun way to exercise and break out of a dull everyday routine for many students.

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"I'm an electric engineering graduate student and spend a lot of time in the lab or in front of my computer," Kuni Cherenack, a graduate member of the club, said. "So, this is the one time in the day when I can totally stop thinking and focus on my health."

"We don't compete much and training is very traditional. The emphasis is on fundamental technique and forms, and the class is rather physically demanding, although one does not need to be fit to start," assistant instructor and graduate student Genia Kozorovitskiy said. "It's an amazing workout for the body and mind. Personally, I began training as an undergraduate here and am now about to finish my Ph.D., and I consider shotokan karate an essential, defining experience of my academic life here."