The Pugilism club is an organization that allows students the opportunity to explore and learn the disciplines of martial arts through the instruction of their fellow students and peers.
Cameron Leong ’26 joined the club his freshman year. Since the beginning of his sophomore year, he has been a student instructor of karate as a part of the club’s leadership.
The club also has several other forms of martial arts taught by student instructors during club sessions.
“Right now, we have four martial arts, so boxing, kickboxing, karate and taekwondo,” Leong said.
Outside of his time in the Pugilism Club, Leong has 12 years of karate experience under his belt.
“Martial arts has kind of been something I’ve been doing my whole life. I like to joke around and say that it’s my only personality trait, and I didn’t really want to lose it when I came here,” Leong said.
LC’s Pugilism Club has allowed Leong to continue practicing martial arts in a collaborative and supportive environment, which is one of his favorite aspects of his long-standing membership within the club.
“I think it’s just having a space to do what I like to do. I don’t really have the opportunity to do that outside of the club, and I guess also, just sharing that with other people,” Leong said.
While Leong’s extensive experience with martial arts has kept him committed to the club, it is equally welcoming to beginners. The supportive environment helps to ensure that new members, regardless of their prior skill level, can learn and grow at their own pace.
“I’d say a lot of the classes are definitely more geared towards beginners because a lot of the people who come don’t have any prior experience,” Leong said.
Leong emphasized that the club and student instructors’ primary approach is to accommodate newcomers, guaranteeing they have a solid foundation of the skills needed in order to progress to more advanced techniques.
“Every semester, the first few classes are always just gonna be beginner stuff, and then we always build up from there, starting from the base,” Leong said.
The Pugilism Club’s extremely beginner-friendly approach and informal membership process makes joining more accessible to students.
“Just show up. I know it can sound super scary, and people are like ‘Yeah, I’ve never really hit anything in my life.’ But I think we do it in a pretty cool and lowkey way to the comfort level of whoever shows up,” Leong said.
Pugilism Club’s ability to foster, inclusive and flexible learning environment speaks to its primary aspirational purpose.
“The goal has been creating a space for people to practice and kind of combat the notion that it’s something that’s, well I guess it is inherently violent, but not in that way. It doesn’t have to be like that. It can also just be a community thing,” Leong said.
The Pugilism Club meets every Monday at 8 p.m. in the mat room on the lower floor of Pamplin Sports Center. Everyone is welcome to participate.
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