Saber Forum

I have been getting many PM's here and on FX-Sabers on what the proper way is to form an LED Saber club. This is a subjective question for many a reason because people make clubs for various reasons already. I have seen many a club come and go over the years, and here are some things that I have learned based on my experience. You may do what you want with my suggestions, but keep in mind that if you do become active in the LED Saber Community via forums, Facebook, etc. your actions or inactions will determine your credibility.

1. What is your mission?

If your mission is just to get together with your friends and swing sabers around and pretend you're Jedi, then cool. If you have no interest in learning how to use an LED saber other than to pretend duel and learn spins, more the power to you.

However, if your focus is to form a tangible group with members that are serious about learning how to use a LED Saber, whether it be for stage combat, real sparring, serious spins, etc. this is a whole new ballgame.

What to NOT do:

                Call yourself a master, grandmaster or teacher unless you have REAL experience.
                          
                            The LED Saberplay Community suffers from far too much of this. People think because they form a group that they are automatically a 'Master" and suddenly have the rights to teach LED Saberplay because of one reason or another, although they have no formal training in anything martial arts, weapons or combat related. If someone who got their 1st degree black belt in say, a style of karate (which is nowhere near Master Instructor Level) went and opened a school and suddenly changed their title to 'Master' simply because they owned the school, would most likely be deemed a fraud by his or her peers and shunned in the martial arts community. Don't call yourself a 'teacher' with 'students' if you are on the same level as them in saberplay. And watching and studying the fight scenes in the SW films does NOT make you a master of any sorts. It just makes you good at pausing and rewinding on your DVD player.  ;)
 
                   Think because you formed the group that people are going to automatically respect you.
                      
                           Respect is something earned by not only your real teaching and leadership experience, but by your actions as well. If you are open to learning new things, listening to your group members and always being a fair person, you will find that you get a lot more respect than if you are the type to say "I am the leader of this group, you listen to me and do what I say or you're out."....members will drop like flies and rightfully so.

                    Not be open to other teacher's and saber club's ideas

                            Wanna get ostracized quickly and not grow as a group and a person? See above sentence.

What TO do:


                           Get some experience if you haven't got any.

                             Take some martial arts classes, either at a professional school, college or a rec center depending on your budget. Take sword training, fencing, something that can pertain to LED Saberplay. Formal instruction will help you in more ways than I can type here. But most importantly, it will give you a foundation to build upon.

                            Acknowledge your experience.

                             If you start from scratch with zero experience, it's OK to say "I have no experience whatsoever but am looking to learn and grow with a group" that sentence right there will show all the things that it takes to be a leader because you already have acknowledged many things.

                           Post videos with your tutorials

                             This is how I got my name out there, to let the saber clubs know who I am, what my credentials were and how I could contribute. They saw firsthand what I was able to do, and hopefully knew I wasn't just some goofy nerd who was pretending he knew how to swing around a noisy flashlight.  :D

                            Make a Facebook fan or group page

                              Social Networking is the present and future. Facebook is a great way to reach out and connect with many others. Plus, you can create events and invite people. Your group can be either open or private.

                             Make a YouTube Channel and join a picture sharing site (Photobucket, Picasa, etc)

                               Share those vids and pics with the community!

                             Make sure you have a reliable place to practice.

                               Nothing is more frustrating than forming a meet, just to have the meet canceled because of rain, or some other act of God that is beyond anyone's control.  In the warmer months, practice at a local park (make sure it's in a nice area and check with your local law enforcement peeps to make sure it's OK first....just to be safe). In the rainy or cold months, depending on what you have at your disposal you may want to see if you can use someone's garage, covered patio, etc. If you get into renting a facility, be prepared to pay a heft sum for both space rent and insurance.


Hopefully this helps those folks out there who want to form a group of some kind and have had some questions. Please feel free to add to anything I just said and post anymore questions here.

Good luck!
                              

    

Master Caine: Thank you for taking the time to write this up. Clear. Concise. No BS.

This post needs to be stickied.

Ask and you shall receive.  ;)

Just what the doctor ordered!  These guidelines should definitely be followed by ANYONE already in or forming an LED saber group.  ^\^

May I humbly inquire if there is certain class out there, or specific training to help acheive an honored position such as "Master"?
My background has numerous trainings including martial arts, and professional stage combat, foil and longsword work.

Where should we watch our step on such things as intellectual property and copyrights.  There are some heavy hitters in this arena, and I think we would rather stay out of trouble with them.

Good question! Basically, I wouldn't use anything with the word "Jedi" or "Lightsaber"  since those are copyrighted. Words like "Saber" and "Knights" (in lieu of Jedi) or anything else is fine.

As far as costumes and sabers....those are pretty safe. Lucas is aware of Ultrasabers, as well as other saber companies and everyone seems to be still alive and well.  ;)


Sounds like you have yourself some good experience! My only question would be how many years of combined experience do you have? And if you want to get specific, how many in each area?

So As a Shodan(for 12 years) I can't call myself a master? ....But I have the glow?  ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWVhiIisH30# (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWVhiIisH30#)

Oh and what about those chain schools that sell you your Master rank. You buy into the chain and they Hand you the "master" title and all the course work, even if you have never trained a day in your life??  ::)(sorry I got off topic...they just irritate me)

Sounds like you have yourself some good experience! My only question would be how many years of combined experience do you have? And if you want to get specific, how many in each area?


Nothing special, just a hodge podge:
Almost 2 years of professional stage combat training at a major theatre company in Minneapolis
Same goes for the Foil and Longsword training
2 years of Gymnastics
2 years of Capoeria
1 year of Savat
Some Gracie Jiu Jitsu
My father tried teaching me some Southern Chinese Praying Mantis while he was still around
1 year track
At least a decade of theatre and performance arts skills(plenty of dance and movement training)
and a couple of park program stunt classes

Havent been keeping up due to the hard economic times, but plan to as soon as things get better.

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!  :D

I've been training in the martial arts since I was 5.  That gives me 19 years of experience, the vast majority of which is in TKD with cross training in Adrenal Bullet Man System, JKD, Aikido, Iaido, Kendo, brazilian jiu-jitsu and shotokan karate.

Nero Attoru has been in fencing for over 10 years and is nationally ranked in competition if I remember.  So together we have over 30 years combat experience.  What would you suggest we add to this to bring us to the next level?

You both certainly have plenty of experience to start and lead a group in my opinion. You have the knowledge and experience to call yourself an LED Saber Master Instructor with no doubt.  :)

Thank you!  And I just double checked, Nero has been fencing for 9 years.  At any rate your words are warming!

Fight on!

Somebody needs to move to Fargo     PAAAlease

Indeed, it's been 9 years (oh dear lord that really makes me feel old saying that) since I started fencing... I used to fence nationally until college, where I continued it as captain of the foil squad and co-captain of the team.  Now I have returned to my school as assistant coach, and let me tell you it's weird being the one giving lessons!  Very gratifying though, giving back and being able to "pass on what I have learned" as Yoda would say.

What about a Star Wars LARP group?

Would Love To See This Personally ;)

I second that.  Never LARPed, but a Star Wars version sounds pretty intriguing.

LARP can be really fun as long as people think of it as such, I went LARPing a few times with some friends and the first two times were loads of fun. The third time however a lot of people who had been on vacation had gotten back and they just took it way too seriously and completely wrecked the fun factor, never went again after that.

I didn't notice this mentioned as of yet, but another place to go to try to find other people in the LED Saber Stage Combat community SaberWars is a good place to check.  There are groups in many parts of the U.S. and a few clubs worldwide.  For more information please check out http://www.saberwars.com/forum/index.php (http://www.saberwars.com/forum/index.php)

Im considering taking fencing either once i get the cash or im out of high school (most likely the latter sadly :( ) anything i (and anyone else interested) should know?

i think a saber flash mob kind of deal would be really cool honestly. ;D
just thought id throw in something ive been thinking about since i got my saber. haha.

So, perhaps this is more of an issue of ethics, but, hopefully those much more experienced will know what to do.

Where I live, there are dueling groups available. Three, in fact, although only one is truly applicable, as the other two are much too brutal of groups who just want to hit each other until they're black and blue.

The one dueling group is partially under the... control, for lack of a better word, a friend of mine. I was once a part of the group, but due to many reasons, subsequently left. My friend is wanting me to rejoin the group, be retested, and be apart of things again.

However, I... don't really want to join, I rather start my own group. A dozen reasons come to mind, the fact they're on school grounds at 2300 at night being one of them, another that last time I was there, more people were standing around smoking and gabbing. (Including my "master", whom of which was supposed to be teaching me. When asked, she shrugged me off and went back to talking to her boyfriend.) Sure, I get it, social event and all, but when you have more people standing around than participating, even though they're "members", should they really even be there? Anyway. Highschool drama aside, the group isn't very well formed.

Would it be wrong to wish to start my own, even though I am rather untrained? Or, at least, recruit former members? Help?

Sorry you had a bad experience. That group is certainly not for you. If all people want to do is jack around and smoke and goof off, they're NOT a saber group. Period. And as far as being "tested" in being in a group? Unless the group is strictly a performance one, that is a bunch of lame nonsense IMO.

Yes, you have every right to start a group. Just follow the proper steps....acknowledge your inexperience to the members as far as your training goes and that you certainly want to grow and learn as a group. Have no rankings or titles since you are all pretty much peers in the way of skill. Does that mean you can't be a group founder? Of course not. You can and should be. As long as certain things are understood at the outset, then all will be fine.

I luz you now. If I was near, you would get hugs and cookies now. THANK YOU~! I really needed to hear that.

I fully agree with master caine on that. he hit everything about spot on. and yeah i agree highschool drama can be a b***h sometime

Tengen...if you're looking to fence...my old master teaches at this place...
http://www.fencingacademyofnevada.com/ (http://www.fencingacademyofnevada.com/)

it might not be far from you.

I looked at that place and i thinks its a little far but im not sure how much. and I would but i need to make the money first before i can do it, sadly. I want to, but i have my senior year of high school in a month, then i have graduation, the seniors trip, I HOPEFULLY wanna get a car and my license by the end of next year as I wanna road trip to comic con next summer. itll be hard but i think i can pull it off

Greetings!

I would also like to echo Caine's sentiments.  It sounds like the group you left was not serious, and you are to be commended for your maturity and foresight in realizing that it was not an organized, forward-thinking organization focused on learning and growing.  Hangin' out with buds and kickin' it (or whatever the term is these days) is well and good, but that's NOT what an LED saber club should be about.  You make it clear that you have other goals in mind, and again you are to be commended for that.  As a member of Golden Gate Knights in the SF Bay Area, Novastar is constantly asking us;  "What are your goals, and how do you plan to achieve them?"

I would recommend you order a copy of the NCSCS dvd and begin studying the wealth of information it has to offer.  You may not be a "Master", but you have the desire to learn, and that's a great place to start!

Dave S.

I agree as well. How about you suggest that they, set up a time after practice for refreshments and chat?

In the process of forming a saber club in Vancouver, WA. Got a few friends getting ready to order their first Ultrasabers. We'll start off with about 5 people probably and will be on the hunt for more! I'm very excited about it. We plan on getting Nova's instructional video to actually learn how to use our beloved sabers. We don't want a bunch of mindless swinging  :P

MTFBWY and let us know how it goes!  If you ever need help/advice you know where to turn.

Oh yeah i definitely know where to turn. We have an amazing community here on this forum. I have honestly never found one with as many awesome people as we have collected here.

Word, Stockton!  We're here for ya...  :D

I wish all of us were rich so we could have one big get together. It would be the biggest and best saber enthusiast gathering of all time...

LOL... you should check one of my most recent threads... although--has NOTHING to do with being rich, heheh...

Well if we were all rich, every one of us could make it to your gathering!

For me it's not as much about being rich, it's more of a time commitment thing.  Then again, if I were rich I probably wouldn't have to work as much, so that would allow me to do it.

Sorry, off topic again.  Back to the discussion!

I grew up in Vancouver, what part of Vancouver (The Heights, Fruit Valley, Lake Shore) will be meeting?

Haven't really decided on a specific place. There are a ton of parks around though.

If I get things to happen MY WAY... it won't be expensive at all!

Granted... yeah... people may have to fly or drive there.  That's life, I cannot invent magic teleporters.  But... you guys will see--I'm going to try making it as "fair to all" as is possible.

If things go the way I'm hoping... no one will be able to claim that I'm giving "bias" toward any given area.  You'll see.  Again, it's... kind of an obvious thing where I might be holding the camp.  :)

As I posted before,I would like to start a Saber Duel Club here in the Rhodeisland Area,I have no eperence in dueling,but Ihave an idea of trying to get the attention of someone who has experence in Saber dueling to possavbly join,and teah me,and whoever I can get to join,anybody think that would be a good course of action?

Here is probably a good place to start.  Our members here live in all parts of the world, so I'm sure you can find a few people to join you.

Also, I would recommend seeing if you can get your friends into it, preferably anyone you know with any swordsmanship experience.  That's how Artorius and I got into it - what sword nut wouldn't love the idea of dueling with lightsabers?

i would love to be a part! i live in forest grove oregon so not too far away....yet im only 16 and dont have a car lol one day perhaps, i have enough sabers to share even;)

What is the general or specific thought on age limits for an LED saber club?

Don't dance around the issue with a PC or Yoda answer  ::) 

Speak your mind...gut check...first thought answer.

I do speak of lower end age limit of course, the old guys know when to call it quits or get beat on a regular basis  :)

This has popped up twice in fairly related topics...LARPing and looking for dueling partners...with mixed results.

Curious what this side of the house thinks.

I'd say you have to be at least 16.

I am of the same thought.

16-17 with notarized letter of consent from parents.

*****

Insurance?  A requirement for dueling or not necessary?

Personally, I'd require participants to have SOME degree of medical insurance.

I agree that 16 should be the average age. That being said, we've had 14 year olds come in here and handle themselves better than our grown adults. The main thing to look for is maturity.

And yes, parental consent

Great info!  And while most of it might qualify as "common sense" knowledge, why take the risk of assuming we already knew.  Definitely helpful to have it refreshed to my own thinking.  Thanks, Master Caine!

You guys know anyone in the DFW/Tx area with loads of experience in fencing or kendo? I'm interested in starting a saber group in DFW - or joining one if one exists; so far I don't think so - but unfortunately all I have to contribute is on the theatrical/stage/creativity side. I know character development. And a mustard seed worth of Northern Shaolin Gung Fu.

So, any teacher contacts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Try...

David Sierra@cutting edge fencing center  http://www.cuttingedgefencing.com/ (http://www.cuttingedgefencing.com/)

Brenda Waddoups@fencing institute of texas  http://fenceintexas.org/ (http://fenceintexas.org/)

and others...Dallas area is loaded with fencing clubs

http://www.dallasfencers.com/ (http://www.dallasfencers.com/)

http://www.rfcplano.com/ (http://www.rfcplano.com/)

http://lonestarfencingcenter.org/ (http://lonestarfencingcenter.org/)

Awesome! Thanks!

Loads of martial arts also...handfuls of kung fu if interested   ;D

I am from Vancouver as well Stockton! And I am currently practicing with a couple friends in choreographing!
perhaps we should introduce each other at some point!

Oh no way man! We should totally hook up!

I need somebody to move to Dallas, Tx lol. I want to join a saber club. I know I cant be the only saberlover in the DFW but it sure seems that way. I have no sword training but I'm more than willing to learn. I just got my first saber and a few other friends are looking to get one. Could be the beginning of our own club. We'll see.

Check with these guys...perhaps someone is close

http://www.stargarrison.com/forums/index.php (http://www.stargarrison.com/forums/index.php)

im 21, and i have read through this thread a couple times, and it spiked my curiosity. i have at least 9 years of karate-do training, that includes staff and kama training, and some katana ,(but not much) would that be enough to start a club of sorts? im not in any way claiming to be of any master rank. just some thoughts and opinions. i do however found i am capable with the led lightsaber dueling. i have some technique(sloppy if it may be). and how successful has any of you been with it? :)

It's really up to you.  If you can round up a group of friends, and hopefully obtain some sort of legal protection (insurance or whatever), then that sounds like a good time.  While 9 years of martial arts training may not make you a master, it certainly gives you enough experience to know what you're talking about.  Passing on that knowledge would be very beneficial!

RE: Ages- We have several members who's younglings wanted to participate, so what we started to do was this.
The first practice of every month (we meet weekly) is deemed "kid friendly". During those nights, we do forms/kata/dulons ONLY. No sparring, no blade on blade contact at all.
Each Adult member can bring, and is responsible for working with 1 child. You have to be responsible for the child you bring, and are required to see to it that they follow all rules. If you, or the child break the rules, you get one warning (unless it is a major issue like striking at someone with intent to harm), after that, you are required to leave for the night. If we have an incident where the same child is asked to leave for the night on 2 occasions, they are no longer welcome at the event.
We have 4 instructors for our group, and we simply rotate who deals with the younglings group, so no one is continually stuck with them (you'd be amazed how many favors, saber parts, and or free meals you can barter by being willing to take someone's turn in the rotation for them!)

Hope the info was useful, it seems to be working for us so far, other than those nights, we have a firm rule of 18 or older to attend with no parent, and liability waivers are required for all who attend.

A very good rule that will go a long way to save your collective butts  :)

I'm in DFW.

There are several forum members in that same area!

This is good solid info. Great to know that someone out there cares about the collective good of us all.

Agreed, its good to see some information come up that feels like quality guidelines.  Too often I have asked similar questions and got back things like "just hang out with people you know and call it a club" and my favorite on the age questions was "does it really matter?"
Any way thanks to those here putting out some great info

WOuldnt mind if their was a saberclub in my area of Australia...

 I wouldn't mind being in Australia   ;D

Orly.... The onyl bad thing is that i have to save up an extra $80 to buy an ultrasaber to get it shipepd to Australia
:(

What part of Australia? This week has seen the beginnings of a club in Sydney. Only time will tell how it goes, but a couple of experienced Mediaeval metal weapons fighters are seeing how we can convert swords to sabers. So far, so good!

Oh, and we are pulling together a group order of sabers to save on postage...  ;)

In DFW? Who?

Try here   ;D

http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=6439.0 (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=6439.0)

Thanks!

I heard there were fellow Aussies in here! Hello from VICSabers in, obviously, Victoria!

Also, this thread is great for those willing to start. :D

Very interesting thread, some very good pointers as me and a friend is playing around with the idea of trying to get a club up and running.
Sadly we have no experience with any sort of sortfighting, so the only thing we have to go on are various videos on youtube and our own imagination...and sadly the only experience I have is 8 years of Tae-kwon-do (when I was 8 till about 16) and some 15 years of roleplaying ^^ so nothing as impressive like I've seen from others members!

This is one of those times I wished I lived in the US, seems to be alot more interested there for this sort of thing.

Hello from Sydney Saber Arena! I believe I've already pinged your Facebook. There is discussion in Rebel Legion about another group in Perth and interest from South Australia as well. Queensland has a group, Sith vs Jedi, but they do choreographed duels rather than fighting proper. Our group has about 15 combatants at this stage, some regular attendees at training, some less so,  ;D We have based our initial training on Mediaeval combat styles, and quite a few of our members and trainers are mediaevalists. We have recently also been training with a world longsword champion and senior Bujinkan instructor who has been working with us to introduce better technique. We also have organised public liability insurance through the Bujinkan association as affiliates of their dojo. I heartily recommend approaching local martial arts federations for help with insurance, this has been a great help for us.

There was discussions about age limits. Initially, reading discussions here and elsewhere, we set the age limit at 18, which is the age of majority in Australia. However, one of our members is a single father with a 13 year old son. At home, he trains with his son daily. When we trained with our Bujinkan instructor, the boy trained with us and is as good as any one at our techniques. Better, in some cases, I am the senior instructor and he corrected my steps when trying a new sequence! ;) We discussed his situation with the Bujinkan association, and they said that they had no problem with him fighting under their insurance. His father is present and fighting on the battlefield, and the boy fights directly under his supervision. This is a case where rigid rules are not all that effective, and the group is happy for the boy to fight with us, he is an asset to us!

Fyr

I'll be adding your group to my list of clubs at some point. I must say, what you're doing is rather different, from what I've seen Sydney Saber Arena makes/wears costumes in your videos and yet are practicing sparring/fighting, not choreography? That's pretty different, most costuming groups do little sparring and most sparring groups do little costuming.

Thanks for the info about Sith vs. Jedi, do they have a website or Facebook or do they just use Rebel Legion/501st forums to organize?

Please keep me in the loop about the other developing clubs, no matter whether they do sparring or choreography or both. If they have websites/Facebooks/etc. I will add them to my list.

i might put a group together at my univeristy i currently run the martial arts society and that demands a lot of my time my ranks are

 3yrs renactment and stage combat displays (did some full contact tournaments and 'battles')

1 years tjj including stick fighting

2 years fung yang sau kung fu and sanda/sanshou under same instructor

1 year muay thai and 1 year budo tai jutsu ninjustsu

my progression went reenactment 15 - 18 began tjj at 17 ditched those because i moved to university began training in bjj just before i left, ninjutsu, kung fu and the kickboxing there (a damn busy first year i had 6 hours of training for my sunday afternoon)

2nd year at uni (19) i stopped the ninjutsu and muay thai as the instructors moved away (became secretary for  MA society for dedication)

had a seminar with bjj instructor from our local gym awarded two stripes

3rd stopped doing kung fu as well as i lacked time as i now run beginners classes/open mat sessions at the university. voted society president.

ninjutsu contained bokken kata that was very useful for swordsmanship.

Essentially do you guys think i have enough experience to teach a sabers group there are loads of larpers and norman reenactors who im sure would be interested and we have a secure location.

I dont do flashy spins and stuff (unfortunately, though i do do tricks and spins with nunchaku so perhaps i can pick it up quickly from that)
however i do know how to practice  hard sword combat safely, i know how to pull shots and were to aim to avoid joints face etc and the dangers of lunges leaning forward etc

what do you guys reckon? id of kept up with the weaponwork/other martial arts more but bjj 5times a week plus fitness is tough with doing my dissertation.(im doing my dissertation on comparing pankration to modern pankration and mma and research is long lol)

sorry for the near diary entry there lol

Unfortunately, I have found out the hard way that putting together a saber club is not as easy as you may think.  Though, it is also a very rewarding experience... or will be once I finally get the documentation written and begin the classes.

Look at what is out there.  I would suggest Saber Wars (http://www.saberwars.com/) for a first step.  It is where I began my research.  There are people who can help and it is also a good place to use as a sounding board for ideas.  Oh, not to mention, it is a great place to make some contacts in the sabering community.

Ask yourself what kind of a program you want to offer?  My personal idea is a performance program.  So, with that, I am planning to teach katas (dulon in SW speak), Choreography (Sequences in SW speak), and Spinning (Su in SW speak).  I have a little martial arts experience (http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=1271.msg94846#msg94846) and am teaming with a dojo owner with lots of experience, and a fellow black belt with youth teaching experience.  We three are getting everything set before we begin so we don't miss anything.

Will you be doing this for performance or health?  Will you include a ranking system or a free-style learning system?  Will you include sparring?  Will you include costuming?  Will you include scripting for routines?  Will you be performing at all and if so where?  What demographic are you looking at for this?  What costs will be required for this?  Will you be seeking dues, donations, or both from your students to help with expenses?  Finally, ask yourself, are you doing this just to have fun, just to teach others, or both?

That final question is the most important, in my opinion.

As I am in the middle of setting up a club right now, please PM me with any questions you might have.  It is probably something I am facing or have faced and I can help.  If not, then we can both find out the answer together.

I would be following the style i learnt reenacment/medieval swordsmanship in. it would function as a university society so thankfully rank will be in place as 3 people start the society and have exec positions, participants would be fairly easy to find i think because lampeter is full of reenacters larpers and star wars geeks
 the syllabus for sword work would work like this in levels taking from my old sword school syllabus (il ask their permission first)

 but level 1 will have basic shots and defenses and safety a sword form called the arabesque from the silver ring.

level 2 would have safer versions of the same shots more precautions and the next slightly more complex sword form

level 3 would be the same again of course with pullled and drawn shots and the 3rd sword form i know

level 4 would be top level basically once i think you can participate in a safe manner then you do a simple sparring session possibly against more than one person not having to win just keep your cool and enjoy it being safe all the way through

after level 4 i would allow people to start using staffs and otherstyles that i have some training in once people are safely dueling and have good weapon control spins and other such movements will be up to them to learn and aquire and they may practice these techniques at training and use these weapons in training. they dont have to be able to do flashy spins etc with a staff just be able to discern between hitting hard and soft, safe and not.

basically the safety rules would be, no head shots without protective gear, no shots deliberately aimed at the hands, shots when duelling will always be aimed from a downward 22 degree angle - acceptable targets would be bicep/tricep area thighs side of the rib cage and front of the bellow, bottom of the back (no lunges will be permitted) no shots are to cut upward in unchoreographed swordplay it can lead to face shots and groin hits.

so yh thats it basically and sword forms after that people can adapt their training etc

i personally will be cosplaying a jedi, bu thats it no intricate story line if people want to make announcements for events they are attending/ aquire outfits, roleplay etc they can do it at the end of the session as i plan on doing a line up and salute. if people wish to organise club trips they can do so whenever they want it isnt up to me to limit peoples fun but neither will i organise trips i am not personally attending however i will claim for uni funds etc as the soc president.

i also passed a sword competency test to use a hanger style 17th century sword under sealed knot reenactment as well so i have experience in historical 17th century fencing too.

That's one badass and a damn long list of martial arts.  :o

On the other hand, I've never thought about "serious" saberdueling etc. before reading these past few topics, sounds pretty interesting to watch even though I think I'm going to refrain from participating. I have a years worth of ZNKR iaido and some kendo lessons on my back but nothing more.



That's actually a fun sounding idea. If someone did this and shot it on video it would be awesome.

I'm afraid I've been running my group for a few years now and I didn't follow these guide lines very well.   :-[

My name is Kirk and my partner is Lamont, i started my page on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/NEO-lightsaber-club-of-sparring/477178499015383?ref=hl (https://www.facebook.com/pages/NEO-lightsaber-club-of-sparring/477178499015383?ref=hl)) it is called NEOLCOS, North East Ohio Lightsaber Club Of Sparring. Prominently my partner and great friend Lamont and I duel daily in the mornings, I figured maybe I should spread out what we do to others, my only intentions are that I would like people to join my page, maybe hit me up if you live nearby, or far away but seeks out duels, maybe comment and critic on our fighting (I know we're not that good, but we still like to do it and want to get better), and maybe even help people learn how to duel for their first times. I posted one video, and I plan to post more, for any reason you want to comment or join or ven just talk, just hit me up from the link above, I always respond.

Movie link:    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=478257545574145&set=vb.477178499015383&type=2&theater (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=478257545574145&set=vb.477178499015383&type=2&theater)

Welcome to the forum!

 ;D

I think this is a great thread.  And Master Caine, you nailed it on keeping it blunt, honest, but fair on how to set up a group.  I also think it's great there are others here willing to start a group even if they don't have any formal training and are willing to accept "founder" instead of "master."  You'd be surprised who may show up for your saber club depending on how dedicated and focused you are. 

On another note, someone stated that they think we should have a Star Wars weekend/ big get together, and I thought that's what Dragon-Con, and SD Comic Con were all about!? :D

all kidding aside though, "when/if/maybe" are just that, "do or do not, there is no try" as our favorite green alien would say.  I know plenty of people that save up the entire year for just one, one event for a couple days.  A lot of the people around me aren't the richest by any means, we're country folk and keep things simple around here.  My Knight Instructor for the Adrian Empire likes to call em all "Joe Six-Pack Reenactors" and that's what we are.  My lady and I are good at garb, so we help everyone have the really awesome soft kits.  Others are good at carpentry, shield making, even armor making.

What I'm trying to say is it's possible.  Regardless of who we each are, regardless of where we're from, if we sat down and decided "on this weekend in 2014 we're all going to get together and meet up at this place" it can happen.

How do you think "Wars" like Pennsic and Estrella got started in the SCA, which are now thousands of people strong?  How do you think Cowboy Action Shooting grew like it did? :D

And to be honest, I've been around the block with the Star Wars community.  I got re-activated and disappeared for a spell thereafter too, but I remember what it was like with white Lux3's and discs with no hopes for sound.  If I had known then what UltraSWG, Novastar, and the others would grow into... heck I'm shocked right now.  We're growing amazingly so, and with the power of the internet it's getting even easier.

Just saying it wouldn't be that hard to coordinate something.  That's how all those "big events" get started.  A small group of people get together with a like-minded concept.  Our's is swinging around with "noisy flashlights" pretending to get chocked in the air! As others have said, not a lot of difference between that and "magic missles" or my friends and I spending thousands of dollars to play Cowboy or Templar for a weekend a month :D  I say let's go for it!

This is a great source of info! Thank you for taking the time to write this. I've been thinking about forming a group here in the Charleston, SC area (unless there already is one) and though I have 19yrs of experience in Tang Soo Do and TKD, I have no experience with swordplay. So before I do all this I've been watching a lot of open source videos on you tube (mainly TPLA) and am loving it and like others have said before, I want know what I'm talking about first. Now I have an idea on what I need to do when I feel confident enough to start a group. Cheers!

I have training in Yoshiki, taekwondo, and kendo, and I have been fighting with edged weapons ie rapier, sword, florentine, pike, staff and spear since 1987.  I am interested in possibly starting a group in the Panama City, Florida area.  What else would I need to be considered a saber master?


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I am also a Knight' Marshal ( head safety officer) (going on 5 years) for all weapons styles and forms for the SCA.  It is a reenacent club with European sword fighting martial arts.


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Hi I'm from IL too bad I'm in the Tinley Park area Been a huge Star Wars Fan since 83 when ROTJ came out and I have seen all the Movies for enterainment reasons but I always wanted a Lightsaber and learn how to use it then in 1983 when I was 10 and ever since then I always wanted to learn some Lightsaber  but I'm out here in the Boonies where no Saber club is here to Join unless there is one and I didn't see it  8) .

I had thought of something similar, actually. I know this is probably bringing up some old dust, but I've been dabbling with some rulings and attempting a rather sci-fi LARP ruleset that may just include UltraSabers! I'll have more info if people are interested enough... and it's own thread somewhere if there REALLY is a good amout of interest...

Caine, or Master Caine? 
Regardless thank you for making this post! I am brand new to the forum and would like to learn and participate as much as i can. Aside from how to start a saber club, how do i become a good member of this forum?
Thanks again,
Kylo Ken

Great write up. Would you like light or dark side points?

started a group in my area. 19 members, fb page up and active. meet and greet later this month, some members already seeking formal combat training, some costume...I may have founded, but I am only a guide.

my next goal is a place to spar and practice at least once a month.

I'm a green belt in karate :)
I can fight. Somewhat.

Hey guys made a va face book sparring page..check us out if your anywhere near the Hampton va area hit me up


https://www.facebook.com/VALightsaberFightClub/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

and heres the group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/176559929389241/

Hey guys,
Just started a group out in Colorado Springs. Little to no experience required and we are all looking to grow together. Please check us out if you are in the area. :)

https://www.facebook.com/FalconLudosport/

Hi! I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a place to practice? I've been shut down in the courtyard at my apartment complex because of the noise and the local parks all close at 11 p.m. I work the night shift, which makes day-dueling a scarce and fleeting opportunity. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks!

I have the exact same problem. Except in my area, there isnt' any room to duel. and where there is, it's uneven and usually occupied by people or furniture.
My suggestion is this; find a day off, even if you cant make it consistent , find a time and discipline yourself to make sure you duel/practice/workout during those times. If the issue is just timing, plan for it when you wake up or before you go to bed. If there is a will, you will find a way.
Most parks close at the latest 10pm where I am at, I've had to make the effort to travel to a park a 30 min drive away one day a week for the most dueling. It's worth it. We've attained a lot of attention and have gained members since. Being at a park, you can play music, be loud. You just got to find time, even for an hour to devote to it.

excellent guidelines. thanks.

backyards works well
but that depends on the size of the group

Late to the party with an answer, but I wonder if you have any local artist collectives or studio space that you could rent? Any studio that has space for dance or exercise classes will usually rent their space for a reasonable rate during off hours, and then the noise of the dueling won't be an issue with neighbors. Bonus: these spaces usually have mirrors to assist with the visuals of choreography.

I have been thinking about this and I Like it. I think I am going to start a you tube thing for our new group and put on some interview vids for each fighter talking about sword fighting experience and what not.

Hey guys Jeff here. So my saber fighting group  is getting off the ground. We had our first potluck yesterday and practice last night. We had 13 people on the field, because that was all the light sabers we had. We had 7 people in our group just coming to hang out and watch, 2 kids and a dog as well. We are a family friendly group so we try to keep the cussing down and make people with kids welcome. So yeah it is going really well. I just put in an order for 12 more grab bags so I can arm more people.

As far as fighting skill goes we range from brand new to a couple people who have been doing sword fighting for like 22 years. So at the start of every practice we break off into groups and go over things and really take the time to talk about each others fighting form and how to make people better fighters. Then we Circle up and do some one on one dueling. Then we go into games for the rest of the night. It is a lot of fun to have the larger battles and I hope they get even larger. We did have quite a few random people taking video so it may start popping up on the net.

If anyone one wants to come check us out we are at a Park Called Twila Reid in Anaheim and we meet every Sunday night around 9 pm. Our Facebook Group is just "Orange County Saber Fighting"


Thanks
Jeff

sounds organised and well formed, well on your way in the right direction.

+1

Thanks we try. Goal is to have fun and be safe. Before we started kind of the teaching portion of the practice a guy got hurt like bad. He made a leap at some one and landed on one leg. He was a big guy and his knee went the wrong way. Now one of the things we go over is where your feet should be. Foot work is just about as important as blade work.

Caine, thank you.

I have tried to form a group or join one in my area for awhile now.

Your post gave me ideas and inspired me in the group forming area.

been doing pretty well here too...over 30 members and always potential for more. just talked to a few today even.

Some good advice there.
I'm trying to start a saber club and it's not an easy thing to do.

What is the best way to find people if you do not have a group of friends?

check the groups section and see if any near you, FB isn't a bad search either.

Yeah, FB is generally a good place to start...
or there's the Giant list of saber clubs thread for reference, though I don't know how updated it is...

...Speaking of which...

Admins / Mods, I request a club detail update for my location in Melbourne, Australia.

The group currently known as VicSabers will be shortly disbanding.
I've reformed a new group called the Southen Rogues Saber TCC (Theatrical Combat Corps)
Details here:
Page: https://www.facebook.com/SothernRoguesTCC/
Group discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthernRoguesTCC/

Okay, so I have in my possession or at my disposal 8 ultrasabers, and to quote Everett Ulysses McGill...

"Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!"

It's more like an hour from everywhere, but you get the idea. Country community (they call it a city, HAAAA!) where getting high, drunk, and watching tractor pulls are the highlights of the realm.

What I'd like to do is start a group of obviously amateurs (because we're an hour away from all the weapon dojos too) and train maneuvers, orbits, choreography and something SaberFit-ish, but have dueling sessions for senior members while junior members can concentrate on (for reasons of safety) choreography and (maybe) light sparring. This also allows for younglings (can I use that without being smitten by Lucas force-lightning?) to have the cheaper sabers.

How feasible do you think such a concept is? I know I used to enjoy sparring with my kid on the banks of the Ohio River with those cheap plastic collapsables, and I'm pretty sure I can get at least 5 interested not including small children. Even if we weren't doing this for profit, would I need some sort of release of medical liability form in case of injury?

Thoughts, comments?

I suggest good padding, a disclaimer form just cause who knows. can always use TPLA format for good form and practice (TPLA is a facebook group.)
spin zone tutorial isn't a shotty idea either.

Thanks for the info bigBear. This is still in the planning stages, and we planned on doing something for armor, definitely headgear and armored gloves at the very least.

We are also thinking of incorporating LED lit Frisbees into a sport heavily influenced by the disk wars in TRON. When I was a kid, some friends and I took disc golf disks and took them onto a baseball diamond. One guy in the middle with a few hit points more than the guys on the bases, and a modifier if the "monkey in the middle" opted to use a weapon or shield. There were more rules, but you get the idea.

Considering that there is plenty of opportunity and devices for LED style sporting now, and a few geeks at home who are toying with the idea of embracing their inner nerd, we may be incorporating that into the club too.

Thanks for sharing this.


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For anyone interested in starting their own group, I highly recommend at least looking at Terra Prime Light Armory (TPLA).  As BigBear mentioned, we have a Facebook group (Learners in Exile), and now we have a forum as well.  We use the forum to train our Initiates and Apprentices, they submit videos of their progress which the instructors view and critique.  If anyone has questions, or interest, feel free to shoot me a PM!

By the way, we're working on a more condensed version of our curriculum which centers around sparring specifically.  It's going to fall under Djem So, and will be a bit different from the involved process through the Initiate and Apprentice stages.  I'll let you all know when it's finished!

a list of chapters for the Jedi council. and as always, willing to expand.
Mi: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JediCouncilOfMichigan/
Oh: https://www.facebook.com/groups/762562070598910/
Il: https://www.facebook.com/groups/520016065013413/
Tx: https://www.facebook.com/groups/205733286662539/

So the links just go to the login page. What are the group names?


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Jedi Council of Michigan
Jedi Council of Florida
Jedi Council of Ohio
Jedi Council of Texas
Jedi Council of Illinios

It isn't :)