Arts & Life, Events, Features

Tricking club jumps into Week of Welcome

As many as 250 clubs and organizations will be popping up tents for Week of Welcome today and Thursday as students explore the variety of student-run groups and what they each have to offer.

Alongside some of the more common student associations, there are a number of unique clubs on campus, such as the Cal State Long Beach Beach Cats, Yo-Yo-Club and the Martial Arts Tricking Club – the last of which will only be present on Thursday because they did not register on time to be present today, according to club president Andre Pel.

The Martial Arts Tricking Club practices the titular sport of martial arts tricking, described as “a melting pot of styles” by club secretary Neil Medina. This “melting pot” consists of acrobatics like flips and twists and sports like breakdancing and capoeira.

According to club members, the sport emerged from karate tournaments in the 1980s. After heightened levels of competition emerged in the 2000s, the sport remains relatively unknown among the general public.

The club seeks to promote the sport of martial arts tricking by teaching people of all skill levels how to participate in the sport.

One way the club does this is through open gym sessions held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. and Sundays from 12-3 p.m. in KIN 150.

The club’s open gym sessions usually attract around ten participants, but it has held larger events like competitions where practitioners show off what they’ve learned and can see how far everyone’s progressed, according to the club’s guest coach Adric Tang.

These competitions have attracted practitioners of the sport from nearby areas, such as Orange County and Los Angeles.

Tang said people should give the club a chance and visit an open gym session so that they can learn how to back flip.

Though the Martial Arts Tricking club will be present at Week of Welcome for only the second day, the duration of the event will be host to a wide range of clubs, activities and other entertainment.

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