If the lightsaber, the plasma or energy sword made popular by the Star Wars movies and shows, were a real weapon, how would you use it?
That’s a question that the members of Fredericksburg’s Riverbend Saber Club are dedicated to answering.
The club was founded in 2020 and its small but looking to grow. The members are mostly students at Riverbend High School. Club president Grant Bush-Resko says it’s a “nerdy experience.”
"You get to fight with light sabers. You know, we all did that," Bush-Resko says. "We all fought with sticks, at least as kids, so now we’re getting to do it in, I guess, an artistic way, that as a sport is really fun."
But, he says, it’s not just cosplay. Riverbend Saber Club is one eleven official teams in the Lightspeed Saber League and the only one in Virginia. Cang Snow, who founded the league in 2018, has a background in traditional fencing, but he says he became interested in exploring how the plasma sword would change the strategy used in that sport.
"When I am teaching my classes for the first time, for first time students, one of the first things that I like to hammer in is that this is a light saber or a light speed saber. It is not a sword. A sword has a cross guard to protect your hands," Snow explains. "And so you need to learn how to use this in a way that you are able to protect your hands without that."
At practice, Riverbend Saber Club members spar with blades made of white polycarbonate tubing with an LED light source, fitted into a hilt. They accumulate points based on how often their saber makes contact with their opponent and how well they deflect their opponent’s blows. They’re required to wear hand and elbow protection as well as head protection, usually a fencing mask.
"You get to customize your helmet and that’s like a trademark for you. Every one is unique to itself," says Arden Blum. Blum has been part of Riverbend Saber Club since it started in 2020. He said the sport appeals to him because not only can you be creative in how you decorate your gear, but in how you fight. "You can create your own fighting style. Even in traditional fencing, everyone really uses the same exact style most of the time, or like very similar styles. In this, everyone has their own kind of style," Blum says.
Arden’s dad, Josh, a high school art teacher, started the club to provide Arden with an activity they could do during the pandemic shutdown. When things started to reopen, he invited other students he knew to join. He said he wants to see the squadron continue to grow.
"I’d love to have other high schools do it so we could compete," Josh Blum says, "but I’d also like to get more people from the community so we can have a more broader range of ages and skill levels involved."
He said a benefit of the sport is that it draws in people who don’t connect to mainstream sports. "We pull in a lot of kids who are like, I am not an athlete, but they come here and it’s physical activity, there’s strategy, there’s practice involved and some competition, but yeah, it’s also a solid community too."
Cang Snow says that’s one of the things he’s most proud of. "Light saber fencing definitely draws in a certain type of person and I particularly really like the people who come in who haven’t enjoyed traditional sports before because I was just like them when I was growing up, actually."
And because saber dueling is a new sport, those who join now will have a chance to shape it going forward. "There’s definitely a possibility to contribute to the growth of the sport," Snow says, "contribute to what it’s like, it’s strategies, it’s tactics and of course the possibility to be the top person in the country or the world, given that it’s a small sport."
Grant Bush-Resko, the club president, said saber dueling is a sport that is open to everyone. "You don’t have to be a fan of Star Wars. You don’t have to be a fan of fencing," he says. "If you’re literally just looking for some physical activity, you’re welcome. If you’re looking for a different kind of fencing or a different kind of sport, that’s fine. Or even if you’re just like, ‘Star Wars is cool, I’m in,’ or if you’re like, ‘Fighting’s cool, I like that,’ come in. Whatever purpose you’re here for, you’re welcome."
Riverbend Saber Club competed in a regional tournament in Rockville, Maryland this month and members Emily Watson and Asher Trask will compete in Lightspeed Saber League’s national competition in June.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.