health & fitness
out of your comfort zone
Try new athletic endeavors through many club sports offered at the University. BY LAUREN REIDY
It happens to the best of us. After years of playing high school sports, we come to college and adopt sedentary life styles. We lack the skills to play basketball for Bill Self, so we hang up our basketball shoes. But entering college doesn't mean you have to end your athletic career. KU Recreation Services sponsors more than 20 club sports that are open to all students. We decided to scope out some of the sports we were less familiar with. Here are four activities you never thought to try, but should.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The Lowdown: The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club offers students the opportunity to learn a martial art, while teaching them about Brazilian culture. KU graduate and coach Dave Durnil started the club one year ago. "Our emphasis isn't just trying to teach moves and positions," Durnil says. "It's about teaching people to respect and enjoy the art." Last year the club had 35 active members and this year Durnil anticipates the number being closer to 60. "We do a lot of tough training, but we make it fun," he says. "This year,
The University of Kansas novice Crew team practiced Monday afternoon on the Kansas river. The team is preparing to go to Rockford, Ill., for a tournament this weekend.
Megan True/Kansan
The Pitch: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is open to all full-time KU students, with or without experience. "We don't cut anyone," Durnil says. "Jiu-Jitsu is difficult but doable. You just have to put in the work." He encourages both women and men to try the sport.
Fun Fact: Although we may be unfamiliar with the sport, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is very popular in South America. "I just got back from Brazil," Durnil says. "There, Jiu-Jitsu is as much a part of the culture as skateboarding is here." Durnil tries to instill club members with a sense of Brazilian culture to help them understand the sport.
I'd like to build a competitive roster."
Background Info: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art that originated in Japan and developed into its own, unique form in Brazil. The art focuses on ground fighting or grappling.
Benefits: Practicing Jiu-Jitsu can improve your general health, speed, strength and flexibility. Participants also learn valuable self-defense tactics.
Joining up: Interested students should contact Durnil at kubji@hotmail.com or visit the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Web site at people.ku.edu/~pharper/bjj. Durnil plans to hold practices four days a week when construction on the room that will be used is complete at the new Student Recreation Center. Club members must pay the recreation services fee plus monthly dues.
Crew
The Lowdown: Crew, the University of Kansas' club rowing team, takes students off of dry land and onto the water. Club members are assigned to different boats and row in races called regattas. Boats vary in size and number of rowers, but each is steered by a director called a coxswain. Although rowing is not offered at most high schools, it is the largest club
sport at the University, according to novice coach Jeremy Struemph. This year, the club is comprised of 40 returning varsity rowers and 50- to- 60 novice rowers. "Crew is great because it really gets people to work together as a team," Struemph says. "There's a great sense of camaraderie."
Background Info: Crew teams first began competing against one another on the Kansas River in the late 1800s. KU Crew has been an active club sport since 1977.
Benefits: Crew helps students to build muscle tone, endurance and friendships. "You really get to know and trust your teammates," says Struemph.
Fun Fact: Every spring break, the Crew team spends a week training on the Cane River in Natchitoches, La. The 1989 movie Steel Magnolias,starring Julia Roberts, was filmed at this same location.
The Pitch: KU Crew is open to all fulltime students, and the novice team is primarily comprised of new rowers. "Ninety percent of collegiate rowers have no previous experience," Struemph says.
Joining up: Interested students should contact Struemph or varsity coach Tom Ryan at kucrew@raven.cc.ukans.edu. Struemph holds novice practices at Burcham Park, Second and Indiana streets, every week day afternoon at 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. The varsity team practices every day at 5:30 a.m. at the same location. The club requires novice members to pay semester dues of $120 for equipment, travel expenses and recreation service fees. Dues for returning rowers lessen each year.
Lacrosse
The Lowdown: KU Recreation Services sponsors both men's and women's lacrosse teams. Lacrosse is a field sport in which two opposing teams try to send a ball into each other's goals, using crosses or sticks
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thursday, October 9. 2003