MISSION The UCLA Martial Arts Program exists to provide opportunities for the UCLA community to participate in a diverse array of martial arts styles, activities and arenas. It’s goal is to provide an avenue for participants to expand their knowledge in martial arts for a variety of reasons (self defense, self awareness, competition, fitness, cognitive & social health etc…). We aim to establish a nationally recognized program via its diversity of offerings, excellence in quality of instruction/coaching and development of martial arts in the modern day world. We will do this via programming a diverse set of martial arts classes and programs, hiring and training of the highest quality instructors via their qualifications, experience and character and applying the martial arts to academic research, university safety and athletic performance.
VISION UCLA Martial Arts aims to be the most diverse, progressive and developed martial arts program in the world. We will achieve this via programming that provides experiences to UCLA students, faculty and staff that lead to lifelong involvement in martial arts.
Expanded Vision
Diverse - Our aim is not to be an MMA or Fight Gym, nor to be a Combative/Military training center, nor to be a traditional Dojo. All of these types of programs are incredibly important in martial arts development, history and application. The UCLA Martial Arts Program encompasses a little of all of them. For us diversity in martial arts means that we will strive to find a happy balance of traditional arts, hybrid arts, defensive arts, offensive arts and competitive arts. All martial arts are welcome at UCLA in the right context and time frame. While we cannot host space/programming/funding to all martial arts that exist we can analyse the most popular trends and accommodate our populations via open minded development of all opportunities that are presented to us.
Progressive - For many of the instructors that teach at UCLA Martial Arts, being a practitioner and teacher of the arts has changed their lives in a very positive way. We want to be able to continue changing lives via a very progressive ethos in how martial arts are presented to the world. While the foundation and core of our program is in the instruction and coaching of martial arts we are also highly involved in cutting edge research, we are respected collaborators of safety programs on campus and we apply our combative training to increasing the performance of NCAA Division 1 athletic teams and athletes (including several Men's Water polo National Champion teams).
Developed - Our program will never be static, we will always be looking for ways to improve, whether that is through continued research of pedagogical principles, trends and principles or just through opportunities presented to us via University programs we will always be developing the program to fit the needs to today's participants. The development of martial arts to us can be described in a variety of ways; ensuring that an art does not disappear from society, taking martial arts and utilizing them in a different way, packaging certain arts differently to attract different populations or creating programs that are available to anyone and everyone.
Lifelong involvement - Because of the great benefits that we have received via being highly involved in martial arts we want to provide the same opportunities and experiences that can lead to a life as beneficial as we have had. We anchor these experiences using the True Bruin Values - Respect, Accountability, Integrity, Service, Excellence. We believe that these values are inherent in many of the martial arts philosophies that we offer. Click Here to read about how the design of the UCLA Martial Arts Logo compares some of our martial arts to a basic list of 5 values/principles/tenets etc...