Students spar inside Indianapolis' Lightsaber Academy
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - It starts like any other exercise class.
First there's stretching, warm-up drills to fast-paced music. Then the class breaks into groups: Newcomers in a small cluster, returning fighters in a larger circle, brandishing their weapons.
Soon, the formerly dull plastic beams come to life in shades of electric blue, purple, green, orange and red, and participants in the Indy Lightsaber Academy are sparring in an otherwise empty classroom at the Irsay Family YMCA at CityWay.
Instructor Michael Tucker doled out combat tips as he danced through the classroom, sparring with class attendees. Watch foot placement, move quickly.
On the other side of the classroom, the newcomers learned basics: Arms and elbows relaxed. Feet need to be squared up; pushes need to be absorbed, not leaned into. Control the blade. The tip of the blade should be parallel to the dominant shoulder. Line up the base of the saber with the non-dominant hip.
Tucker, 25, has been teaching the class for two years, having helped develop it using his decade of experience in stage combat and martial arts.
Tucker teaches seven forms of lightsaber combat, which he said he developed using historical combat forms and skills that he thought to be somewhat similar.
For instance, the first form is modeled after a talwar, a curved sword with Indian origins. The second, from rapier skills, similar to those seen in Errol Flynn movies. The third, a Zulu spear, and so on.
The skills had to be adapted, he said, to fit the weapon.
"It's not quite the same when you're working with a lightsaber," he said.
Nancy Hiquet, 45, said she's been driving from Columbus, Ind., to attend the classes for about a year.
She said she started coming to classes with her daughters after "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was released late last year, but continued making the trek even after her children lost interest in the class.
"I kind of like the fighting aspect of it," she said. "It's kind of a controlled way to let out a little aggression."
Hiquet sparred with Tucker surrounded by classmates, her red saber clashing with his blue.
"It makes me feel a little bit naughty, a little bit evil," she said. "It's kind of good to be the dark side."
But the class also fell on a particularly sad day for "Star Wars" fans.
Actress Carrie Fisher, who portrayed Princess Leia in the iconic films, died Tuesday at 60 after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 23.
Within minutes of the news of her death, celebrities and Star Wars fans alike took to social media with messages of mourning.
Tucker said Fisher was a "beacon" and role model for those who might have needed a role model most.
"She struggled with things that most of us couldn't dream of," he said. "I think she showed that even if you are a woman who struggles with abuse, who struggles with substance abuse, who struggles with mental illness, that you can still be amazingly successful, amazingly charismatic, and be someone that everyone loves and adores."
Hiquet said she's been a fan of the films since she was young. News of Fisher's death shocked fans into a new reality - one without their beloved Princess Leia.
"Star Wars is just a nice fantasy to kind of get away from reality," she said. "Carrie Fisher's just like, this icon. ... It's really very sad. I don't even know how to feel about it yet, honestly."
For Hiquet, the class she often calls "lightsaber therapy" came at the right time.
"It's good to be with people who like Star Wars."
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Source: Indianapolis Star, http://indy.st/2hoPsqK