Did you know that a "sport" involving lightsaber "combat" has come into being in Europe and that there were now dork-filled lightsaber "battles" with actual rules and winners? Yep. If you've tired of suiting up for Ren Faire sword fights and really want to up the ante in your dorkdom, this is just the sport for you.

This of course isn't the first time anyone has tried to legitimize the pretend lightsaber battles of your childhood and make them seem like perfectly acceptable activities for adult men — SFist even attended a SoMA-based lightsaber "training academy" back in 2012 just for shits and giggles (see photo below). But it seems that this branch of the lightsaber-battle-as-sporting-event came into being in Italy in 2006, and has evolved to include a training academy that teaches seven forms of combat, arriving in the UK a year and a half ago. The outfit behind all this nonsense, LudoSport, has developed a "an ad hoc technique ... that can be used specifically and only with the instruments and the presumption of the existence — in imagination — of a light saber or more commonly a saber." Further, "This instrument is a weapon with a weightless blade, with a 360° edge that cuts everything except itself."

Like with actual fencing, specific rules have developed under LudoSport around the "validity of strikes," with certain strikes to the body considered winning or "mortal" targets. Also, "Pupils start with a blue bladed lightsaber. Later on, they will choose their path and, consequently, the colour of their blade." If you reach the third level of Sith/Sith Knight/Sith Master, you get to use a red lightsaber.

Not to be confused with the occasional, just-for-fun lightsaber "battles" that have been convened in major cities the last few years, like the one in SF in December that apparently resulted in some damaged grass, these saber battles actually require appropriate "uniforms" for each combatants level of prowess, and "certified" competition judges who may or may not still live with their moms.

The first ever San Francisco lightsaber battle with rules and judgements and winners will take place January 30 through February 1, though no location is given in the video above or in the release we received by email. Interested parties should probably reach out to info@ludosport.net.

And, take note, this appears to be a legit (or semi-legit) business, with franchisees buying in at a starting cost of 20,000 Euros, which includes 15 lightsabers for "academic purposes."

Previously: Using The Force, SFist Attends Lightsaber Training School

When we first caught word that San Francisco had its very own lightsaber training school, two thoughts popped into our heads: First, "Ha! Look at those nerds!" Followed by, "...so where can I learn how to wield a lightsaber?" To investigate what it takes to become an amateur pretend Jedi, we spent an otherwise sunny Sunday afternoon swinging LED-equipped swords around a dimly lit SOMA dance studio.

Learning the lost art of lightsaber play should require at least some Yodaesque effort on the part of the student. so you'll have to make a short pilgrimage through some shady blocks from the Civic Center BART station to Studio Garcia, tucked down an alleyway off Eighth Street in SOMA. (Luke Skywalker had to go all the way to Dagoba, remember. San Francisco, thankfully, tends to have much better weather.)

After meeting your instructor — in our case: Golden Gate Knights organizer Alain Bloch, dressed in full Obi Wan getup — first timers get to take their pick of lightsabers. Just as there are people who have spent days studying fight choreography from a movie that is a quarter of a century old, there are plenty of people who have spent countless hours building real versions of the fictitious weapons by hand for the sole purpose of looking neat while they duke it out on the floor at Sci-Fi conventions. And may the force be with all of them. There is really nothing quite like swinging around a glowing laser sword* as your excuse for Sunday afternoon physical activity.

As for the class? It's a three-hour-long hybrid of an introductory yoga class, live action role-playing and dance lessons. Like a first time deal at a yoga studio, a class at Golden Gate Knights is designed to help the student get over that barrier for the practice. In the case of this incredibly nerdy but altogether satisfying sport, that barrier is really just the price of a lightsaber and a practice partner. The number of people who want to spend time pretending like they are Luke Skywalker ranks significantly higher than the number of people willing to spend significant portions of their paychecks on toy swords and custom tunics. Some people just have different hobbies, is what we're saying.

Instruction begins with some light stretching and calisthenics. You'll probably feel pretty goofy doing calisthenics led by a man in a cloak and tunic, but then again you're also not the one wearing the cloak and tunic. After warm-ups, you'll be twirling, swinging and flipping your lightsaber around for a solid hour. If that sounds intense, it really isn't.

After warmups and saber-handling basics, attendees get to spend the last hour or so of class going through choreographed motions and crossing swords with an opponent. (Or, more accurately: the friend you convinced to come with you.) The thrill of getting all up in someone's face while lit by the green glow of a lightsaber is pretty much the only reason we all showed up in the first place, so after a few tries getting the steps and saber swings timed right, we found ourselves completely lost in an imaginary duel with fellow classmates. Really, the hardest part of the whole class is trying to avoid making embarrassing lightsaber noises with your mouth.

Finally, class ends with everyone seated on the floor with the lights out for a five minute meditation session by saber-light. It's geeky, sure, but at no point did the class ever feel like the instructors or our classmates were taking this too seriously. By which we mean: no one was complaining about Jar-Jar Binks or cursing George Lucas for introducing Ewoks. (At one point, chief Jedi in charge Alain even asked if his tunic made his butt look big.) More than a Star Wars event, lightsaber classes are one of those things San Francisco is so frustratingly good at: using grown-up budgets and know-how to indulge in long-lost childhood whims.

Classes are taught Sundays at 12 p.m. at Studio Garcia, on 19 Heron Street in SoMa. RSVP is recommended due to increasing popularity. Check out the Golden Gate Knights website or Facebook page for more info.

*And, to be clear: these things are fairly substantial. You'd have an extremely difficult time slicing off someone's hand with one, but you could probably leave a nasty bruise if you accidentally clocked your sparring partner with it.

Using LED Lucasian swords, the Golden Gate Knights teach lightsaber courses each week in San Francisco. Headed by a former choreographer for George Lucas' Star Wars films, the classes (for kids-at-heart 17 and older) teach saber choreography that will help budding jedis become experts at "spins, flourishes and a whole lot more." The classes are broken up into four parts:

- Stretching & Warmup: "We begin each class with a simple warm-up, stretching, and calisthenic exercises to get ourselves limber and prevent any injuries."

- Flourishes: "You will be taught how to do fancy lightsaber flourishes and spins. This includes forward and reverse spins, inverted grips, figure eights and a whole lot more!"

- Choreography: "The heart of the class. You will be taught Novastar's stage choreography system. We will start with basic moves which can be linked together to form dazzling sequences. We will also be teaching film and stage techniques so that your sequences will look great in either medium."

- Meditation: "Our training is internal as well as external. To get us all in the best mental state, we perform a 5 minute meditation right before class ends."

Sabers will be provided for free for the first month, then they'll charge you $5 per session. However, feel free to bring you own saber, but beware: "Saber blades have different strengths so pairing up your blades against ours might not be good. If your blades use a LED strip such as those found in Force FX sabers, it is not wise to use them for practice. The LEDs in strips have a tendency to get knocked out over a period of time thereby producing dead spots in the blade."

You can also come dressed in costume (e.g., Princess Lea, Han Solo, Padmé Amidala) or in comfy sports gear. Just make sure you can workout in your attire.

Classes are every Sunday (except this coming Sunday, February 19th) at Studio Garcia, home of LevyDance, at 19 Heron Street. (It's near the Civic Center BART Station.) For more details, visit the Golden Knights' site.

[Laughing Squid]

Well, it won't be destroyed so much as it will be sent into space. And then vaporized, or zapped, or something.

Anyway, someone sporting a Chewbacca outfit handed over Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber prop to NASA representatives at the Oakland Airport today. Apparently it's all a part of Star Wars' 30th anniversary celebration -- this kind of fanfare will happen every five years, folks, so get used to it now -- and "NASA has agreed to carry the...weapon into orbit and jettison it in space." Aw.

The valuable item will takeoff with the space shuttle Discovery, when it's scheduled to launch on Oct. 23.

To see video of the handoff, go here.