Ever since people first saw Obi-Wan Kenobi take on Darth Vader in Star Wars: A New Hope, the world became fascinated by lightsaber duels. In subsequent films, with Vader battling Luke Skywalker, Anakin taking on Count Dooku, or Finn and Rey tangling with Kylo Ren, the fan love for such scenes has only risen, and intrepid Star Wars devotees have made their own films showcasing lightsaber skills. But if you really want to fight (safely) with lightsabers and live out your galaxy far, far away dreams, then the Saber Legion is the group for you.
Founded in Minnesota in 2015 by Josh Linden and Terry Birnbaum, the Saber Legion is an international group of about 3,000 like-minded folks who train and spar in duels using real prop lightsaber, even launching tournaments. But this is no backyard wrestling but with laser swords; Saber Legion takes the safety of their competitors very seriously, requiring full pads and fencing gear, with masks, helmets, and gloves a requirement .
With such stipulations about safety, you wouldn’t imagine the actual duels are just people waving the glowing sticks at each other wildly; in fact, there’s Shii Cho, the first form of lightsaber combat, which uses real martial arts, fencing, and basic swordsman techniques to create a truly unique fighting style. Once you’ve reached the level of knight in Shii Cho, you can move on to other styles, growing in your ability to wield the universe’s most elegant weapon.
What if you’d like to get involved in The Saber Legion? There are many chapters across the globe, but in order to gain entry, you’ll need to remember, it’s a saber training AND combat club, and much like Tyler Durden’s unspeakable pummel meet-ups, you will at some point need to fight. The Saber Legion recommends the following pieces of equipment to get you going, but just like sabers themselves, your gear can be customized to fit your specific fighting needs.
You can view dozens of videos of actual tournaments and equipment starts on The Saber Legion’s official YouTube channel, and many more bits of info can be found on their official website.
Images: The Saber Legion
