Brandy Aguirre-Cruz walked into Jim Rumps’ room, losing motivation.
But a few weeks and a pair of boxing gloves later, everything began to change.
What started as an “underground” club led by Rumps would soon turn her grades…and her life around.
James (Jim) Rumps is an English teacher here at Normal West High School.
He helps facilitate the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) club and serves as the head sponsor of the Boxing Club.
However, this year, he’s expanding his agenda by bringing MMA and Jiu-Jitsu to Normal West’s atmosphere.
Western MMA combines Filipino Boxing and Muay Thai, emphasizing striking techniques like punches and kicks, while Jiu-Jitsu focuses on grappling and choking out or breaking away from opponents.
The club will start meeting on Wednesday, October 29 and will continue practices every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
Starting the club wasn’t easy.
When Rumps first proposed the idea, he was turned down by the school’s administration, claiming that it would be too violent for students.
However, in 2021, a freshman Aguirre-Cruz approached Rumps.
She was failing, frequently absent, and looking for a reason to stay in school.
2 weeks after that interaction, Rumps had officially brought boxing to the students of Normal West.
“I went to the principal and I said, ‘Hey, so I started this thing’. The Principal was like, ‘I expected you actually to do that sooner, and not listen.’ They were right,” Rumps recalled.
Rumps and his team started by having underground meetings for the boxing club, making it an official club in the fall of 2025.
Seniors and team captains Natalia “Naterbug” Schmeiser and Cooper “Hero” Post have both been members of the club since early 2025.
Both state that they were new to the sport when they started, but Rumps’ enthusiasm drew them in immediately.
“I was a little skeptical about being one of the only girls in the club,” Schmeiser admits, “but everyone has made me feel so welcome, and it’s improved my self-confidence a lot.”
For Rumps, the club isn’t just about learning to fight. It’s about building discipline, confidence, and academic responsibility.
Rumps explains that his original goal was to create a new culture at Normal West.
“I’ve definitely gotten a lot better at Muay Thai, but it’s definitely made me more disciplined,” Post stated.
“This isn’t gonna’ be just like Fight Club,” Rumps emphasizes, “I’m not going to teach people how to fight and then let people just go loose in the school, like we’re not doing stuff like that.”
Members are required to maintain passing grades to stay involved. Students with any F’s aren’t eligible, and anyone with a D must attend tutoring.
“At the end of that semester, Brandy had [almost all] A’s and two C’s. She went from having the majority of F’s to the majority of A’s, and [it] gave her [a] reason to be at school,” Rumps proudly shared.
With the help she received from this club, she was able to become her best self physically and academically.
As Rumps expands the program to include MMA and Jiu-Jitsu, he hopes even more students will find the same sense of purpose that Brandy did, one punch, one roll, and one ‘A’ at a time.
