Less then two minutes after meeting William Weidner, he was throwing punches, chops and elbows half an inch away from my face.

"I can make you stand straight and stand proud," he yelled at me in what I would learn is his normal tone.

The 21-year-old music major was at a table promoting the karate club he founded this semester. For $70, students get a karate uniform (gi), belt, weekly lesson and "one solid punch that will stun 'em." His class is every Friday from 3 to 5p.m. in Burk Hall 6.

Five more minutes and I was in front of a punching bag he tied to a light post in the quad. In the next half-hour I would learn a basic punch, block and hold. I'd also watch Weidner take breaks to talk detailed karate theory with passers-by, tell a girl he just met that "up front, you're gorgeous," and even chase around a bird, trying to punch it.

"No, I love birds," he said to make sure it was obvious that he was joking.

In addition to being a black belt karate student, he is also an opera singer. With sloppy, plain clothes on his stocky body topped off with a stringy blond bowl cut and unkempt beard, he looks like a stereotypical theatre kid. It is when he moves that one can sense the power, strength and grace of his other side.

Weidner fell in love with Kenpo Karate four years ago when he began studying at Northern Tiger Kenpo in his native Outer Sunset, his stomping grounds. Kenpo is a martial art form which uses move clusters to beat down an opponent. After a year of preparation, he is hoping to bring this love to SF State students. Through building both mind and body, he can teach a person the self-confidence that he himself exudes, said Weidner.

Take Szem Ming Hong, an exchange student from Malaysia and the club's treasurer, who was silently sitting next to us. Hong joined the club after seeing a flyer and is one of the two people that regularly attend the Friday sessions. He wanted to both stay healthy and "learn to overpower the enemy".

"When I first met him he was slouching," said Weidner while imitating the "old Hong". "I already see this guy starting to stand strong."

"He takes care of every mistake," Hong said to me in return.

I was sold. After an awkward hand pound, I told my new sensei I'd see him on Friday.

I walked into the martial arts room to find only the same characters as the other day: Weidner and Hong. As the three of us stepped onto the mat Weidner said he was busy with schoolwork. In addition to being in the school opera "Bartered Bride", he is also taking 21 units.

"I can't stay here forever," he said loudly about trying to graduate.

Five minutes into the workout Weidner told me he was impressed and shouted "Yeah!", something he would do throughout the session. He was convinced that I had taken martial arts before. I told him that was true but I was 12 years old and quit after six months.

"Still, that's muscle memory," he said.

The first move I learned was a stance in which I went from standing straight to a spread squat with fist-in-hand that Weidner then showed me can "sandwich a head." He said he likes to keep the moves combat-related.

All examples he used involved the simulated defeat of his club's treasurer. Hong serves as a perfect student for Weidner, always willing to hold a punching bag or be demonstrated on no matter the possible pain.

After each move the instructor would imagine a situation in which it could be used.

"Umm.... now come at me overhead with a knife," he said once before blocking and twisting Hong to the ground.

Weidner's attention to detail was remarkable. The majority of the lesson was spent on one kata, a pattern of movements involving stances, attacks, and defenses. Every step requires a very specific way of placing each section of the body. At one point Weidner told me my arms were at a 95-degree angle rather than the correct 90-degree angle.

The instructor broke the kata down step-by-step, using plain language such as telling us to "reel the fish in" to describe a relevant motion that brought an opponent closer. By the end of the lesson I actually knew almost 40 moves.

Despite his strictness, he also constantly cracked offbeat jokes. He poked fun at Hong's mistakes and told the photographer to get him a burrito.

"Or at least a tamale," he said chuckling wildly.

We ended the day with a bow special to the brand of Kenpo Karate we had done. With sweat running down his face, he explained to me the duty of a black belt to give respect back to his art by teaching others.

"It's just not fair to do otherwise," he said.

We said goodbye with another awkward hand pound. Weidner hurried out of the gym, informing me he had to go sing Gregorian chants at a dance show that night.