They have the abilities of Jet Li and command a crowd like rock stars. The University RSO, the Wushu Club, has all the right moves.

The Wushu Club, which literally translates to “military arts,” practices Chinese martial arts. The club’s goal is to unify and discipline the mind and body through hard work and dedication.

Tony Guo started the club, and the club has been expanding and teaching the community about what wushu is ever since.

Nicholas Liu, senior in LAS and president of the club, has been doing martial arts since the age of 7. His first martial arts teacher was Guo’s father.

The group has grown immensely in the last few years. There were eight people in the club three years ago; today there are 40.

“I was drawn to the Wushu Club because they teach you hand-to-hand combat and how to use weapons,” said Leira Perez, freshman in LAS and member of club.

The Wushu Club has been attracting a large amount of publicity, like during the basketball game against Gonzaga when the club performed during halftime.

For club members, performances can give them a chance to show off their hard work.

“The moment after we finish a big show is the best feeling our club has and I have. Everyone after is excited, and they want to do Wushu,” Liu said.

“We are an audience-driven group; we react a lot to positive feedback,” said Patrick Edmonds, Wushu Club member and junior in LAS. “It feels good to hear the applause and people screaming for more.”

Some things that get the audience excited are the different weapons they use.

“We use two types of swords — staff and spear are the long weapons — and then there are some nontraditional weapons. We use a three section staff and also a chain whip. The chain whip is the crowd pleaser,” Liu said.

The Wushu Club can be found practicing Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Armory. They will perform next semester at a women’s basketball game, women’s gymnastics meet, Relay for Life and numerous shows around the Chinese New Year.

This past October, the club performed in a competition in Urbana and anticipates competing more in the future.

“I hope to bring more students to another competition in Chicago, being that it is bigger and has even more people. Competitions are a completely different scene from learning martial arts for fun in the club and doing shows. The competition scene is much more intense and gives a whole different perspective on martial arts in general,” Liu said.

The Wushu Club is completely open to beginners. Edmonds had no martial arts background and has seen vast improvement in himself and the group as a whole.

“They have great teachers and they are all students so it is really relaxed. You can connect with them a lot, which makes it easier to ask them anything without feeling too intimidated,” Edmonds said.

Liu also agreed that the Wushu Club creates a learning environment for martial arts enthusiasts, regardless of their experience level.

“Any martial arts or no martial arts, I am here to teach. It has become more of a social and a learning club (for newcomers),” Liu said.

The club is an exciting way to get a taste for what martial arts truly is.

“The Wushu Club is a great place if you want to meet fun people and become better physically,” Perez said.