The Convention Fans Blog

Would you like to swing a lightsaber with authentic Jedi prowess? Yeah, I thought so. Me too.

Hands down the coolest, most captivating part of the Star Wars movies is the lightsaber. We all want one. And we all want to duel with them (minus the losing a hand part).

It’s one thing to extrapolate Jedi fighting technique from the movies, theorize from the comics, reference great-blog-article-N, or rely on so-and-so-said-Y-on-forum-X. It’s quite another thing to get a two hour class on Jedi lightsaber dueling technique from an actual Star Wars fight director.

Oh yes, you heard me right.

CombatCon 2011, in addition to it’s other sci-fi/fantasy and WMA programming, will feature an exclusive master class event called “Jedi Fighting”. The two 2-hour seminars will be taught Friday, June 24, by Nick Gillard (assisted by Kyle Rowling). Gillard was fight director for the Star Wars prequels.

The last two people to learn Jedi fighting from Gillard were Ewan McGregar and Hayden Christensen. So, you know, that’s what they mean by ‘exclusive’.

I’ll pause now to give you a chance to run around the room shouting “squeeeeee”.

All good?

What the “Jedi Fighting” Master Class Will Cover

Nick Gallard and staff teaching Revenge of the Sith fight choreography to Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen.

What, exactly, will Nick Gillard be covering in his world premiere “Jedi Fighting” light saber seminars Friday at CombatCon 2011? Here’s the description from the CombatCon website:

In this master class Nick will teach a complicated run from Revenge Of The Sith which covers all of the Jedi moves while explaining the rules involved in Jedi fighting. He will also teach how to write it yourself. This World Premiere master class will be the first time it’s been taught since Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen learned it

I especially like that part about “… teach how to write it yourself.” Because we don’t just want to replicate a fancy movie duel (though that is in a special category of awesome). We want to put together our own duels, strike authentic stances for photos, and other fun and geeky stuff.

Additional Fees Apply

“Jedi Fighting” is a special ticket event (additional purchase) and is only open to CombatCon attendees:

This special master class will be a separate charge, but only participants registered for Combat Con will be able to attend so register now. You can register for Combat Con at either level (General or Premium) to be eligible. The Jedi Fighting class will be $150 above the cost of Combat Con registration. It will be two hours and there are two sessions to choose from (12-2pm or 3-5pm). Registration will open the week of May 15th.

$150 may seem a little steep at first, but it’s not something you can get anywhere else. And you may never have the chance again to learn Jedi lightsaber fighting techniques from the man who created all the fights for Star Wars I, II and III

Registration for “Jedi Fighting” will open THIS Thursday, May 19 (if all goes according to plan)

They’ve gotten a lot of inquires about this special lightsaber master class, so tickets to this special CombatCon event are likely to go in less than twelve parsecs. REMEMBER, you must have a membership for CombatCon before you can purchase a “Jedi Fighting” ticket this Thursday.

Other Star Wars Related Programming at CombatCon 2011

The schedule for CombatCon 2011 is still in flux (they’ve finalized less than 65% of the program so far). Here’s the other Star Wars related items they’ve got as of May 15:

• Making a Cultural Icon: The Fights of Star Wars (panel)
• History of Film Fight Directors: Pre-Star Wars (panel)
• Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy: Surviving a Canteena Fight (class)

And that’s just the Star Wars related programming for CombatCon 2011. There are various other movie tie-in panels; Bull whip demonstration by the instructor who taught Harrison Ford for the Indiana Jones films, Princess Bride duel choreography class, etc.

CombatCon is a multi-genre convention with a unifying theme of Western Martial Arts; sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk, horror, and pirates. The 2011 event will be held June 24-26 in Las Vegas at the Tuscany Hotel. Registration is currently open and ranges from $35 to $150.