PHOTOS: Lightsaber Demonstration at the USA Fencing Nationals held in Phoenix Arizona, courtesy of Chad Eisner.

The Global Rise of Lightsaber as a Martial Art

                                                                                                                                                                By Gene Ching

In 1977, the world was transported to a galaxy far, far away with the release of the groundbreaking movie Star Wars. That film spawned a global franchise that not only encompasses movies, but also  television, books, videogames, toys, fashion, theme parks and much more. However, no one foresaw that it would launch a new form of martial arts. Based on the iconic weapon of the Jedi Knights, Lightsaber has gained recognized as a martial discipline and competitive sport across the planet. 

Founded in 2006, LudoSport is one of the world’s leading Lightsaber martial arts proponents (La Spezia Comics and Games, 2012; Gauntlett, 2014; Ludosport, 2022). LudoSport offers competitions and teaching certification,  propounding a fighting style that merged medieval, Kendo, and film-based techniques. The organization now boasts 80 schools around the world. Like most Lightsaber users, the Lightsabers are made from LED lit polycarbonate ‘blades’ and appropriate protective gear is used for safety. There are many independent makers of ‘combat worthy’ Lightsabers now.

The Impact of Lucasfilm and Disney

As a longstanding Lightsaber combat organization, LudoSport declares “Ludosport™ and the Sporting Light Saber Combat are not associated with the Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm Ltd, LFL LTD or other owners of intellectual property connected with the Star Wars® Trademark.” This is an important distinction. In 2016, Lucasfilm sued the Lightsaber Academy in New York for trademark infingement (Gardner, 2016). Nevertheless, Lightsaber Academy is still open at this writing. That same year, Lucasfilm settled a similar lawsuit out of court with Newmindspace, which held an event called ‘Lightsaber Battle.’ Newmindspace was forced to rebrand their event as ‘The Giant Battle of Glowing Swords.’ (Katz, 2016). Notably, Newmindspace never propounded their events as martial arts. These were celebratory gatherings held for charity. 

Disney only offers limited ‘official’ training sessions in Lightsaber at their theme parks and within their Star Wars™ Day at Sea on Disney Cruise Line (All Seasons Travel, 2016). These official ‘Jedi Training Academy’ versions are where “where young Padawans learn lightsaber maneuvers” however free sparring is not encouraged.

Independent Academies

Beyond Disney and Ludosport, many independent lightsaber classes have appeared. In 2008, the same year when the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released, the Shelton Martial Arts Studio offered Jedi

Camps (Fellows, 2008). Master Larry Shelton, Moo Duk Kwan exponent, said that martial arts and Jedi have the same three main aspects – body, mind, and guiding principles. Regarding the mental aspect, Shelton said “Focusing on maintaining a clear mind should not only be done as a Jedi or martial artist, but carry over into every aspect of their daily lives (school, job, extracurricular activities, etc)." These ideas are echoed by many other parallel independent programs. Shelton’s Jedi Camp included a class field trip to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars in the theater.

Also in 2008, an amusing YouTube parody video surfaced. JEDI GYM (VanRoble, 2008) followed an alleged Master Jeremy Flynn, who claimed a background in Western Fencing and Philippine Escrima, describes his program as a method to “work out, meditate, and improve their lives.” All goes well until he confronts a ‘real’ Darth Vader. Although clearly satire, it exposes the growing phenomena of Lightsaber classes at the time.

In successive years, more Jedi Academies appeared, many as feeder programs within independent martial arts schools but some as completely independent programs. Some of those include Agoge Integrated Martial Arts in Denver that offered a program specifically targeting youths with ADHD and ADD, as well as other troubled youths (D’Arbonne, 2010), a “Jedi Temple” offered to children in Chile (Carrasquillo, 2011), the “Golden Gate Knights” in San Francisco which offered classes for both teenagers and adults (Chiu, 2013). Lightsaber classes have spread as far as Singapore (Lachanel, 2015; The Saber Authority, 2015). Japan has spawned a unique variation called Sassen in which competitors use short, illuminated batons akin to lightsabers (Zieglar, 2023).

Authoritative Endorsements 

Actor Ray Park, who played the villainous double-ended-lightsaber-wielding Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, fully endorsed Lightsaber martial arts. Before getting into acting, Park was a Wushu champion and remains a staunch advocate of martial arts. “That’s the great thing about Star Wars and the martial arts,” states Park. “You don’t have to be a martial artist, but you can be inspired by it” (Ching, 2016).

In 2016, noted martial scholar Ben Judkins pondered the validity of lightsaber martial arts with several thought-provoking essays (Judkins, 2016a, 2016b, Judkins and Eisner, 2018). Judkins concludes that Lightsaber is “certainly” a martial art (Judkins, 2016b) and adds “The transformative power of myth lies in its ability to inspire empathy, individual effort and the creation of communities. The success of lightsaber combat, in its many incarnations, reminds us of this.  It is no wonder that so many martial artists today are drawing inspiration not just from the burning of Shaolin, but the destruction of the Jedi Temple as well” (Judkins and Eisner, 2018). Myth is common within many traditional martial arts. For example, Monkey Kung Fu evokes the 16^th century Chinese classic Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en (Chan, 2001; Rivera, 2012). 

Official Recognition

In 2019, France’s fencing federation officially recognized Lightsaber as a competitive sport (Leicester 2019). In a similar gesture, USA Fencing invited Terra Prime Lightfencing as a demonstration event at their 2023 Summer Nationals (Wendell, 2023; Ryan, 2023). Chad Eisner, the President and Director of Terra Prime Lightsaber Academy, looks forward to further advancement of Lightsaber (or as he calls it ‘Lightfencing’). “Lightfencing has the potential to become an all-inclusive worldwide sport,” claims Eisner. “It reaches new generations giving them a fun activity that is more relevant to their sensibilities than traditional disciplines. Its inclusiveness, diversity, and accessibility make it a very special sport that people of all ages can play together. I am excited for the future!” (Eisner, 2023).

※ Views in this writing are the author's own.

References

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