# FMA for college credit



## fangjian (Mar 18, 2010)

(Also posted on FMATalk)

Hi everyone,

So here's a small victory for you. For the past few years I have been teaching Chinese martial arts for college credit ( at Eastern Connecticut State Univ.) in the Health and Physical Education dept. I have been pushing for FMA as well and finally got my boss to except it. Mind you the schedule says 'Stick Fencing'. I figured if it said 'Arnis', nobody would know what that meant and would not enroll in the class. 

The class meets once a week for almost three hours. The first class was yesterday and it was a lot of fun. I have about 15 students. I taught them the 12 basic strikes in the Balintawak style, the 12 basic defense and a few disarms at the end to break up the monotony a little. 

All of the classes I teach also come with academic requirements with examinations at the end. So, a few days out of the semester are devoted to lectures. I'm very comfortable giving my lectures about the history, evolution, and variations of CMA. However, I am having to study all of these things about FMA now, so I know what I'm talking about 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





. 

I am very excited that I am able to offer this at a university.  Does any one else do this as well?


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## geezer (Mar 18, 2010)

fangjian said:


> (Also posted on FMATalk)
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> ...



Yeah, its kinda cool to see the FMAs get a bit of respect, but it's not a path I'd take right now. Years back I taught "non-credit" classes at our local community colleges and had a club at ASU. Recently I looked into getting something going again and found out that the local community college non-credit program had been scaled way back, with some martial arts classes now being offered _for credit_ instead. Unfortunately, the facilities are pretty tightly booked up, the paperwork to get approved is a bit of a headache, and finally, the classes will be more expensive (to cover the credit hour fee) than what they might cost elsewhere. 

So right now I teach _Ving Tsun_ at a local Y, and may offer an _Eskrima_ class there too. They have a great facility and can reach more people for less money. I'll leave the  college credit deal to professors and others who are better positioned to get those classes set up. Ironically, I never saw a class like that attract many dedicated students. If they really get hooked, they will want to move beyond the limitations of a college class anyway. So, for me at least, it's not worth the trouble.


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## Guro Harold (Mar 18, 2010)

fangjian said:


> (Also posted on FMATalk)
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> ...



Great job spreading knowledge about the FMAs!!!


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## Morgan (Mar 28, 2010)

fangjian said:


> (Also posted on FMATalk)
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> ...


 
Hello Fangijan,

Nice report.  Great to see that the Balintawak System is getting some 
exposure in a very different venue.  Which branch of Balintawak are you
teaching?  I wish that I could help you in some concrete way, but I'm
not teaching anywhere yet.

Morgan


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