There are Star Wars fans who obsessively collect the action figures. There are Star Wars fans who meticulously follow the cartoon shows, the novels and the comic books (most of which have been sadly de-canonized since Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. Sigh). There are Star Wars fans who painstakingly dress up like their favorite characters.
Then there is FightSaber Philippines.
FightSaber Philippines is part of an international Star Wars lightsaber performance and costuming organization (which include ASEAN neighbors Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia). In other words, these are Star Wars fans who like to dress up in costume and artfully whack each other with lightsabers (or as Glenmarc “Flash” Antonio of FightSaber so elegantly puts it: “It’s tango with lightning rods.”)
And at the rate that they’ve been performing for Star Wars-themed events and parties in anticipation of The Force Awakens, it looks like they might need nuclear reactors to start powering up their lightsabers.
Despite his busy performance schedule, I forced (Get it? Get it!?) an interview with “Flash” to find out how you can join FightSaber Philippines, where you can watch them perform and how many stormtroopers he has already decapitated.
RJ LEDESMA: Was FightSaber established by the Jedi Knights who escaped the purge in Episode III?
“FLASH” ANTONIO: FightSaber was the brainchild of a Malaysian gentleman named Azmi Danuri who eventually moved to Singapore and now works for Lucasfilm.
Wow, a fan who made his way all the way to Jedi heaven without having to be decapitated by a Sith!
Azmi met Marc Macalua (the founder of FightSaber in the Philippines) at an Asian Star Wars convention. Marc is also a member of the Pinoy 501st (the local affiliate of an international costuming organization whose members dress up as the baddies of the Star Wars universe).
I see that allegiance to the Rebellion or to the Empire in the Philippines is as solid as the allegiance our politicians hold to their political parties.
Mark is also part of one of the largest lightsaber groups in the country — the Philippine Lightsaber Guild — whose members range from lightsaber collectors to fans who like to dress up (like their favorite Star Wars characters) and duel with their lightsabers. After meeting Azmi, Marc was interested to set up a local version of the group. So during meet-ups with the guild, he asked who among them would like to twirl a lighstaber or duel in costume. Eventually, he put together enough people for a performing group.
I understand you are a Lucasfilm-recognized organization? How does George Lucas recognize you? Do you have to have watched American Graffiti, understand what R2D2 is bleeping or swear that you enjoyed the prequels?
It’s critical for a FightSaber member to know choreography.
So he should be adept at flamenco, ballroom dancing and hip-hop?
Lightsaber choreography.
That being the case, I’ve got the agility of Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan. I just bought those collapsible lightsabers, but I can make those whooshing sounds while we duel.
You can’t use lightsabers (that you find in toy or hobby shops) because you could ruin the string LED. Nor can you use “master replicas” — those that resemble a Star Wars character’s lightsaber complete with the lights and sounds — because they might break when you “duel.” You need a “dueling grade” saber that can withstand impact.
What is the equivalent of that grade in the K to 12 system?
There are third party groups like Saber Forge or Ultra Sabers that manufacture aluminum hilts with polycarbonate plates that look like the movie versions of the lightsaber, which can withstand high impact.
So how do you join Fightsaber? Do they test for midichlorians in your blood?
Being a Star Wars fan helps. (Laughs) Next, it’s critical to have a dueling grade saber. You can buy these sabers online and, together with shipping, the investment is about P10,000. Then, if you find a find a good tailor, you can get a good costume made for about P3,000.
If Anakin built his own protocol droid, can’t we build our own lightsabers?
Yes, people can customize their own blade, as long as it can withstand impact.
(No Girlfriend Since Birth [NGSB] representative: My customized saber has had years of withstanding impact.)
Do you have to have previous training before joining the club or is it enough that you like to play with your saber?
It helps. We’ve got about 23 members who come from diverse backgrounds and they’ve all leveled up from being a casual lightsaber fan. We have members who are ballerinas, who are into Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) like Arnis, or into wushu, fencing, kendo and other (forms of swordplay). Personally, my background is street dancing.
So when your lightsaber sputters out, you and Darth Maul can do a hip-hop showdown.
If you’re a Star Wars fan (with that type of background), you can do twirls, jumps, rolls, somersaults and incorporate all that into choreography. For the duel, we follow the seven basic forms for lightsaber dueling, which are Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Shien, Niman and Vaapad.
Hold on, getting a nosebleed from the overload of Star Wars geek trivia.
Over the course of time, there have been fans who have documented certain lighstaber forms to differentiate them from each other. For example, there are forms that resemble kendo and there are forms that resemble fencing. It’s like lightsaber martial arts.
But with some pirouettes and chest popping thrown in to distract the opponent.
We actually have a Pinoy FightSaber member that is an FMA enthusiast and instructor who was a Jedi in Episode II. He does all the rolls, backrolls, cartwheels and somersaults like a real Jedi, and he does it in costume!
Is he the one whose lightsaber makes a maniacal laughter sound when he lights it up in the movie? Does anybody get hurt during these performances? Anyone now sporting a robotic hand?
Medyo bugbog sa fingers because sometimes you catch a lightsaber on your finger.
Are there any ranks within the organization? Anybody a padawan?
Wala naman, but there are certain members that are more proficient and agile than the others Those members usually get more “screen time” during a performance, which lasts about three minutes or the length of a song.
Are your members usually Jedi or Sith?
Most of the members are Sith. For some reason, the dark side is cooler. (Laughs)
Tell those Siths not to show their faces in Davao. What do you guys do when you get together aside from playing with your sabers?
There are meet-ups we coordinate with the Lightsaber Guild where we teach interested newbies the different forms in lightsaber choreography. And then there are FightSaber meet-ups where we create fight choreography for performances. The past two months have been particularly unforgiving because all of the events coming up for The Force Awakens.
On what planet do you guys practice? Medyo malayo ang Coruscant.
We usually practice in parks. The most common venues are Capitol Commons and Bonifacio Global City by 28th Street.
What do you get for the return for all the Star Wars geekhood? How many stormtroopers have you decapitated so far?
It’s the rush of roleplaying a Star Wars character that you want to be! About 15 years ago, it wasn’t cool to be a geek. You were ostracized from the mainstream.
(NGSB representative: Tell me about it.)
But now it’s cool to be a geek! You can wear your fandom proudly. Now you have the capacity to buy your own lighstaber! And you can get to hang out with people who share your interests and passions. It’s living the geek life!
Wear that R2D2 underwear loud and proud.
It also gives you an opportunity to coordinate with Disney. When there are Disney events, the group gets invited to perform at movie screenings, May the Fourth day, Force Friday (the day The Force Awakens toys were released) and Star Wars Reads Day.
Can people hire you for parties and events and to get rid of their political opponents?
We do both paid gigs and charity events. (One of my favorite charity gigs is when we visit) hospitals. We enjoy seeing the faces of the kids light up when they see a lightsaber that lights up.
That’s a great way to awaken the force.
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For comments, suggestions or a laughing lightsaber, email Ledesma.rj@gmail.com or visit www.rjledesma.com. Follow @rjled on Twitter and @rjled610 on Instagram.
You can contact FightSaber at www.Facebook.com/FightSaberPhilippines or fightsaber.ph@fightsaber.com.