You Too Can Become a Jedi at Lightsaber School

For many Star Wars fans, it's been a lifelong dream to wield a lightsaber and master the combat of a more civilized age. Now, thanks to one determined fan, you can make those dreams a reality.

Alain Bloch, a 32-year-old San Francisco-based software engineer and lifelong devotee of the epic space saga, came up with the idea to start his very own combat choreography school designed around the Jedi and Sith weapon.

"There are a lot of really awesome costuming groups in the Bay Area, but there was no one that was doing reenactments of the lightsaber battles that you find in movies, which I find to be some of the most exciting parts of them," Bloch told Hero Complex in a recent interview. "So I went around and was actually looking for somebody who could possibly teach me how to do this sort of choreography."

That somebody was Matthew Carauddo, a fencing instructor and martial artist working nearby in Los Altos. Also a proclaimed fan of Star Wars, he trained Bloch, and the duo soon founded Golden Gate Knights. Two years later and the lightsaber school is still going strong and meets once a week, averaging 25 would-be Padawans a session.

The Force is strong in this lightsaber school! (Image via Hero Complex)

"We have people who have their own lightsabers and really want to learn how to use them and look cool flourishing them around," Bloch said. "We have people who are into film who want to learn how to do some choreography for their film projects. And we have just a lot of people who are interested in fun weekend activities who want to come out and do something interesting.

"The lightsaber is a very iconic element to Star Wars," he continued. "It's the sword. You see that in all sorts of stories and movies -- it sort of represents this force of change. And there's a virtuous element to the light saber; it's made of light, and only those who are keen to the Force can wield it effectively."

For Los Angelenos, Bloch points out another school known as Saber Guild. For everyone else, he said, there's a handy series of instructional DVDs (co-created by Carauddo) for sale at SaberCombat.com.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com