There is one tried-and-true method to prove you are a true Bruin: You can eight-clap on command. Whether you’re sitting at the 50-yard line of the Rose Bowl, leaping up at Pauley Pavilion, or just watching the Bruins on TV (and also occasionally leaping out of your chair), a snappy rendition of UCLA’s signature chant is gasoline in the engine of your blue-and-gold spirit. Here, how to make sure you are doing the famous UCLA cheer properly — and some fun factoids about its colorful history.

 

STEP 1
Put both hands in the air. Bend forward slightly so your palms are facing the ground. Raise your hands as you straighten back up. 

 

 

 

 
 

 

STEP 2 
Then, bring your hands down in front of you and clap vigorously eight times. 

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 3
Shout “U!” while pumping your right fist into the air, then clap three times. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 4 
Now yell “C!” as you pump into the air with your left fist. Clap three times. 

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 5

Now “L” with your right, followed by three claps.

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 6

And then “A” with the left, with three more claps.

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 7

Quickly repeat steps 3 through 6, but without the claps. You’re going for a piston motion: Shout “U” as you pump your right fist in the air, “C” with the left, “L” with the right, and “A” with the left.

 

 

 

STEP 8
Finish by pumping your right fist in the air three times, yelling “Fight!” each time.

 

 

 

 

Read more from UCLA Magazine’s Fall 2023 issue.