Loyola’s Mixed Martial Arts club isn’t what the general public has seen on television.

There are no screaming, burly men yelling people into submissions, and there are no gladiatorial vibes.

Rather, the Loyola MMA club’s practices take place in a calm and relaxed setting, with Head Coach William Duhe present to guide and teach participating students. There, the students learn and practice several forms of martial arts, which include taekwondo, judo and karate.

Duhe, a Loyola alumnus and the club’s coach, has been a part of the club since its beginning in 2012.

He is currently a professional MMA fighter with a background in cage fighting. He is also one of several people who are proud to say that they’ve fought with Loyola president, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., in the ring.

“The main thing is getting the word out and getting more students involved with this club. This is great because we’re setting things up with UNO, Tulane, some clubs and other schools around us to hopefully have some matches soon,” Duhe said.

Cuong Anthony Nguyen, bio-chemistry sophomore, said he has been a part of the club for two semesters. He said he was happy to find out that MMA isn’t just about what television has glorified it to be.

“It’s more than just what pay-per-view has shown us. Duhe shows us more than just one aspect of MMA,” Nguyen said. “It’s really relaxing and something I look forward to at the end of the day.”

Members of the club are sill in the first stages of their training. Their focus has been on technique and the proper ways to defend oneself. The club’s practices have been simple walk-throughs on how to fall down properly or how to take someone down if they are on top of you.  Club captain, organizer and finance junior Dameleon “Donte” Johnson has been prepping the club for moments like these since last semester.

“Right now, we’re just learning on how to defend ourselves if we’re going to be attacked. We’re still going over the basics, but I really want us to spar and/or have an in-house tournament by the end of the semester against Tulane,” Johnson said.

The club’s goal at the moment is looking for tournaments to take part in and trying to build a reputation as one of Loyola’s greatest clubs.