Lightsaber combat officially recognised as sport
- 5 years ago
Whoever thought you'd be able to actually compete using lightsabers from the movie "Star Wars"?
Well, you can in France.... because lightsaber fencing is now recognized as an official sport there.
Our Hong Yoo tells us more.
In the ring, colored sticks light up the dark and are used to attack opponents.
Using lightsabers that not only light up but also make sounds like in the movies, Star War fans are acting out their Sci-Fi fantasies.
"We have some very basic ones which are just with on-off buttons and with different colors or shapes. But there is also much, much, much improved weapon which can have sounds, blade effects."
Just like the blades used in traditional fencing, the lightsaber is used to score points. Successfully hitting an opponent's head is worth five points, arms and legs are worth three points, and hands are one point.
Each round takes three minutes and the player that scores 15 points first wins.
The French Fencing Federation's recognition of lightsaber dueling as a sport came from its intention to get young people to be more active and do something away from their digital devices.
In the past, popular characters like Zorro, Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers helped attract people to fencing.
Now, the federation hopes Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader can fill that role.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.
Well, you can in France.... because lightsaber fencing is now recognized as an official sport there.
Our Hong Yoo tells us more.
In the ring, colored sticks light up the dark and are used to attack opponents.
Using lightsabers that not only light up but also make sounds like in the movies, Star War fans are acting out their Sci-Fi fantasies.
"We have some very basic ones which are just with on-off buttons and with different colors or shapes. But there is also much, much, much improved weapon which can have sounds, blade effects."
Just like the blades used in traditional fencing, the lightsaber is used to score points. Successfully hitting an opponent's head is worth five points, arms and legs are worth three points, and hands are one point.
Each round takes three minutes and the player that scores 15 points first wins.
The French Fencing Federation's recognition of lightsaber dueling as a sport came from its intention to get young people to be more active and do something away from their digital devices.
In the past, popular characters like Zorro, Robin Hood and The Three Musketeers helped attract people to fencing.
Now, the federation hopes Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader can fill that role.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.