Reflecting blaster bolts

[pepsiaddict]

Ever since I was a kid I always thought the coolest part of a light saber was not the glowing sword part, but the ability to deflect and reflect blaster bolts.

I made my first "light saber" when I was 16 with a section of pipe, decorative chain and 32" long 1 1/2" dowel. Hundreds of hours spent having my siblings throw tennis balls at me. I got relatively good at batting them back, stopping them dead, and even redirecting their momentum. We had a massive point system going depending on what I did and what they did - which kept things competitive and them interested, the loser doing the winner's chore. I must have mowed the lawn the entire summer when my older brother learned to throw a curve ball. But eventually....I learned to watch for and hit a curve ball.

Does anybody else actively practice deflecting/reflecting?

[obliviondoll]

That is a skill I want to train up to some degree. I have several nerf guns, and I've read that there are people who practise deflecting nerf darts, so that might have to be a part of my training when I can get a chance to practise it. I love your story about the curve ball! That's awesome.

[pepsiaddict]

Nerf darts? Brilliant!

[Taegin Roan]

I have a Nerf gun in the shape of a blaster that I use, but I'm not very good.

[Lord Bladewraith]

Always thinking about light sabers and Star Wars when I'm watching other movies, considering what crossovers would be like, and I was thinking how would light sabers defend against bullets? Sounds dumb asking that question because maybe it is but since the bullets would instantly burn up when they hit the saber, it would be just a matter of the wielder's speed and could it be possible that a Jedi or Sith (to all you Sith out there, don't get too presumptuous about this question) could be fast enough to deflect them?

[obliviondoll]

To be fair, most nerf guns are about as accurate as stormtrooper rifles anyway.

Which also plays into them being a good choice for Star Wars themed LARP.

[ThreadJack]

I'd love to practice, if I had someone to fire Nerf darts at me....it would be a very cool skill to develop, if only a "watch what I can do" skill.

[obliviondoll]

I was thinking about the bullet question, and I have an interim conclusion:

I suspect an un-deflected bullet would be less painful to be hit by than a spray of superheated liquid metal or even more extremely superheated metal vapour (which you end up with depends on the speed of the saber, the duration of contact and the type of projectile). Using the force to stop/deflect the bullets would probably be a more effective practise than using a lightsaber. Or just wearing basic projectile-resistant armour of the kind that's probably woven into the usual Jedi robes by the time the Old Republic era starts.

[Vivectius]

You kids are so cute.

<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=ppe4O1H4tIw" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtube.com/watch?v=ppe4O1H4tIw</a>

<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qzhs1Z8Rwnk" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qzhs1Z8Rwnk</a>

[obliviondoll]

I was REALLY hoping someone would post the Isao Machii videos. He's rather impressive.

Interestingly, the stance he uses is distinctively recognisable as being quite impractical for anything except cutting a high-speed projectile, lending some credibility to the concept of having a specific martial form dedicated to deflecting blaster bolts like they do in Star Wars...

[Lord Bladewraith]

I was thinking about the bullet question, and I have an interim conclusion:

I suspect an un-deflected bullet would be less painful to be hit by than a spray of superheated liquid metal or even more extremely superheated metal vapour (which you end up with depends on the speed of the saber, the duration of contact and the type of projectile). Using the force to stop/deflect the bullets would probably be a more effective practise than using a lightsaber. Or just wearing basic projectile-resistant armour of the kind that's probably woven into the usual Jedi robes by the time the Old Republic era starts.

Interesting points you make and I hadn't thought of the overspray you mentioned. Force push against bullets could work, I mean if Magneto can do it. 😊

[JdiKnhtJMH]

Ever since I was a kid I always thought the coolest part of a light saber was not the glowing sword part, but the ability to deflect and reflect blaster bolts.

I made my first "light saber" when I was 16 with a section of pipe, decorative chain and 32" long 1 1/2" dowel. Hundreds of hours spent having my siblings throw tennis balls at me. I got relatively good at batting them back, stopping them dead, and even redirecting their momentum. We had a massive point system going depending on what I did and what they did - which kept things competitive and them interested, the loser doing the winner's chore. I must have mowed the lawn the entire summer when my older brother learned to throw a curve ball. But eventually....I learned to watch for and hit a curve ball.

Does anybody else actively practice deflecting/reflecting?

If you want a really good time and you can find one, grab a Nerf Firefly blaster. It charges and shoots glow in the dark nerf darts at you, so it looks like real blaster fire at night. Combine that with a lightsaber and youve got a really fun Star Wars experience there.  https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-49597-N-Strike-Firefly-REV-8/dp/B00083HJ26 Get us some video too! I've done this before, but I could only get about half of the blaster shots fired at me, though I dodged all of them if I couldnt hit them. I'm just more focused on saber to saber combat.

[pepsiaddict]

If you want a really good time and you can find one, grab a Nerf Firefly blaster. It charges and shoots glow in the dark nerf darts at you, so it looks like real blaster fire at night. Combine that with a lightsaber and youve got a really fun Star Wars experience there.  https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-49597-N-Strike-Firefly-REV-8/dp/B00083HJ26 Get us some video too! I've done this before, but I could only get about half of the blaster shots fired at me, though I dodged all of them if I couldnt hit them. I'm just more focused on saber to saber combat.

If only the reviews didn't say the shot distance is short and inaccurate, and the "glow in the dark" aspect is just stickers. That fall off easily.

Gets me thinking though...

[pepsiaddict]

You kids are so cute.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qzhs1Z8Rwnk

As someone who shoots air soft and pellet a lot.....WOW!
Point to you.

[JdiKnhtJMH]

If only the reviews didn't say the shot distance is short and inaccurate, and the "glow in the dark" aspect is just stickers. That fall off easily.
Gets me thinking though...

You could get one of the guns and some nerf darts and paint the darts with glow in the dark paint. You can get that stuff pretty cheap and it works well/wont come off. I don't think accuracy of the blaster is too big an issue if youre only training to deflect the darts, and lets not forget blasters ARE clumsy and random haha. All in all I think this is a great nerf gun, its the only one I still have. I had one of the Vulcans though at one point, but I don't think using a fully automatic chain fed nerf gun would be good for deflection training...