Family.

It’s the eighth and final value listed on one of the posters hanging in the multi-purpose room of State Gym, where the Iowa State boxing club practices.

It’s also perhaps the value that the club takes most seriously, as members have created and cultivated a welcoming environment for all, leading to members joining from many different walks of life.

“Boxing here has related us, especially [international] students,” said Rafik Basbous, a sophomore in civil engineering. “We didn’t grow up here, so we want to make friends and that’s one of the good things we’ve built.”

Basbous, who hails from Morocco, is one of five international students who are actively training for competition. A lifelong fan of boxing, he joined the club this year after transferring from Kirkwood Community College.

Since joining, the tight-knit atmosphere in the club has allowed Basbous and other members to fulfill their wish of making friends on the team.

In fact, students from varying backgrounds can often be found spending time together outside of the gym, whether it’s eating meals together or just casually hanging out.

“That’s how we’ve built an open culture,” Basbous said. “We live in a small America.”

As close as they’ve become because of their time outside the gym, the bond that members share might be even tighter because of their time spent in the gym.

As multiple club members note, those with aspirations of fighting competitively often dedicate at least two hours a day to training, for five to seven days a week.

Just being around others that often almost forces a connection, but also, as sophomore All-American Mikaela Blount says, the grueling physical demands of training to be a competitive boxer builds a sense of camaraderie among club members as well.

“It’s so important in boxing because the training is so difficult, we have to be able to push each other through it,” Blount said. “I think that’s’ the reason we’ve been so successful. We push each other to be more successful, and we’re always there to support each other.”

Helping further is the fact that martial arts sports such as boxing are taught throughout the world, according to Blount, making martial arts almost a universal language.

While members from other countries may not all have the same style and training, each tends to bring their own unique perspective, giving other members an opportunity to grow as fighters.

Assistant coach Clayton Mooney has noticed this as well, and adds that those experiences that some international students bring is mutually beneficial, as both parties learn techniques from each other that they didn’t know previously.

“We’ve had some international students show up with actual bouts under their belt, so them sharing their experiences has been really helpful,” Mooney said. “But then from another angle, they get to realize that we’re a defense focused gym.

“Every gym teaches differently, but in here, it’s all about defense and fundamentals first.”

This transition in style is made easier by the fact the international students in the club all have strong work ethics, according to Mooney.

Given that all are here on scholarship and still manage to come to practice almost every day, Mooney says that it’s allowed them to adjust to the philosophy the club teaches, while also inspiring other members to put in just as much work.

Also helping matters is the fact that the club’s international students all hold the coaching staff in high regard, and are generally all ears when they have a teaching point.

Ye-Lim Lim, a senior studying psychology from South Korea, has boxed since childhood, yet is still always open to any advice, particularly when it comes from head coach Jon Swanson.

“He’s a really good coach and he’s really knowledgeable,” Lim said. “I feel like we’re getting stronger and now we have more confidence.”

Previous experience is by no means a requirement, however. The club welcomes any and all members that are interested in boxing, and will train anyone to be competitive so long as they’re willing to put in the work and listen to coaches.

Lim’s sparring partner, Xin Long, is a perfect example of this. Long, a senior from China studying anthropology and criminal justice is currently training to compete this year despite having no experience prior to coming to the United States.

In fact, Long didn’t watch boxing or have any favorite fighters growing up. Instead, her interest in the sport came as a result of watching an iconic movie. No, not “Rocky”, one a little bit different.

“You know the movie “Fight Club”? That’s the first thing I knew about boxing,” Long said. “I’ve always wanted to try [combat] sports because I’ve never done those things before, so that’s why I joined.”

Regardless of what inspired each of them joined, students both international and domestic that stay do so because the gym has, in a sense, become a home away from home. Meaning that club members are almost like a second family.

That’s exactly what Swanson had in mind.

As someone who’s done plenty of traveling, Swanson enjoys different cultures and the influx of students from outside the country. He’s also very proud of the fact that those students feel welcome in the club.

“We try to keep this as family-oriented as possible,” Swanson said. “Everybody is pretty friendly in here.”

Swanson says it all comes back to that eighth and final value that hangs on the wall of the multi-purpose room in State Gym. Ultimately, the most important thing to him and the other members of the club isn’t your cultural background or experience.

Rather, it’s how much effort one is willing to put in.  As long as a member is willing giving it their all, they’ll always have a place in the club.

And they’ll always have a strong support system to lean on.

“We don’t care where you’re from or anything about you,” Swanson said. “As long as you just show up and do the hard work, you’re in.”