To some, learning martial arts is nothing but learning how to properly defend yourself in a threatening situation. However many people tend to forget that martial arts are considered an art form, and the meaning behind it is much more skin-deep than just learning how to fight. The SSU FMA Club meets twice every week on Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m., and on Fridays from noon – 1 p.m., both in Niagara Studio on the second floor of the Rec Center.

Established in the fall semester of 2021, the FMA club is relatively young when compared to other student organizations on campus, founded soon after the first-semester escrima class was offered as a P.E. credit class. As the name suggests, the SSU FMA Club centers itself around Filipino Martial Arts, specifically the most well-known form, escrima. Escrima, also known as arnis, kali, or kali escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines, centered on combat using blunt, bladed, and improvised weapons, as well as empty-handed techniques.

While students can learn to master many self-defense techniques, however, learning Filipino martial arts, as well as any other martial art for that matter, can provide so much more than that. SSU FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) Club President Lucas Tomkins says that he hopes “they never have used their training in a self-defense way. The values they learn and incorporate into their day-to-day lives.”

When learning a martial art, you are both improving your physical capabilities, and your moral code as well, allowing students to learn respect, self-discipline, humility, and many other essential morals.“The longer someone stays committed to the martial arts, the more of these values they will see spread into their everyday lives,” says Tomkins.

Fourth-year communications and media studies major, and club attendee, Daniel Capone-Buchanan says that “Fighting should be a last resort but should also be used for your own protection”.

In the future, if the club has enough members at the right time, club members might attend escrima tournaments to see what full mastery is like, and possibly readily prepare a group to compete in a match. However, Tomkins says the current objective is recruiting new members and preparing for the demonstrations for the Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage month and Pacific Culture Night later on this semester.

If you want to learn more about the club, you can follow their social media account on Instagram, @SSUFMACLUB.