Martial arts sub-clubs give Sports Club second chance

By Lee Yuen Mei Student Contributor 13 December 2006 The martial arts sub-clubs in NUS have shelved plans to break away from the NUS Students’ Sports Club. According to Chan Jia Min, chairperson of the NUS Capoeira Sub-Club, the decision came about due to a new, “more receptive,” Sports Club management committee. Capoeria is one of the martial arts disciplines that have formed sub-clubs in NUS. Other disciplines include judo, fencing, kendo, wushu, taekwondo, karate, aikido, nam wah pai, silat and taiji. “The new committee members are very nice people,” Chan said. ““They really want to help out - a great improvement from the previous committee.” Help from the new Sports Club committee include the organization of fund-raising activities for the sub-clubs and the canceling of Race Adventura, an outdoor adventure race, to free up about $2,000 to $3,000 worth of funds for the sub-clubs, Chan added. Yang Ting Ting, chairperson of the NUS Kendo Sub-Club, agreed with Chan. “They are enthusiastic and friendly,” Yang said. “They also said that they are working on improving relations with sub-clubs and serving sub-clubs better. I can see that.” According to Ong Guan Hong, chairperson of the NUS Judo Sub-Club, the initial idea for the martial arts sub-clubs to break away from the NUS Sports Club stemmed from “certain issues.” These “issues” included a lack of funding, unequal support for different clubs, lack of representation of martial arts sub-clubs within Sports Club and the large number of meetings that sub-club committee members are required to attend. Chan added that existing rules used to assess sub-clubs were “not fair” to clubs that had a lesser number of members. Chan explained that sub-clubs are graded on how active they are, as based on the sub-club review system, and a portion of such points are given out based on the number of members a club has. “Capoeira had only 10 members in the past, of whom six were active and committed to the club,” she said. “The members had to work very hard to keep the club alive.” The idea to form a separate breakaway martial arts committee from the Sports Club had been kept confidential from Sports Club committee members. Jasper Goh, current president of the Sports Club, said he is glad his club’s efforts are well-received. “There were a few changes and I'm glad that they are positive to sub-clubs,” he said. “We'll continue to foster the relationships with the sub-clubs in the coming year.” Nonetheless, both Ong and Chan admit that the possibility of a breakaway of the NUS martial arts sub-groups has not been completely ruled out. While both said the idea is currently far from their minds, judging from the recent improvements, a separation could still happen “if things do not improve this year.” “I feel that there is a need to review a system for better management,” Ong said. The chairperson of the NUS Judo Sub-Club added that he hopes the Sports Club will take the issues raised a “constructive criticism” and continue improving the current system for the welfare of the sports sub-clubs. The writer is a member of NUS Kendo Club.