Live Saber Duel Attracts Nerds
During this weekend’s huge opening of Star Wars Episode 3, the Arclight
theatres in Hollywood staged several live martial arts demonstrations
complete with John Williams’ score and real lightsabers!
Well, as close to real as you can get. Master Replicas makes the worlds
only officially licensed replica movie props taken from the Star Wars
franchise. They’ve obtained access to the Lucas archive to create the
most realistic looking sabers available to the public. Part of their
line of uber-toys is the ForceFX versions. Though slightly larger to
house the electronics in the units, these sabres actually glow their
designated color, depending on the prop, their blades growing and
shrinking when turned on and off. Additionally, waving them around
produces the all too familiar hum and striking them together or against
other objects will blast the same sound effects conjured by sound
effects wizard Ben Burtt so many years ago.
I met with the
performers after an impressive 3 minute sword battle to learn that
several different martial arts practices are utilized. For these two in
particular, their east coast dojo focuses on the mind-body-spirit-world
philosophy similar to the fictionalized Jedi teachings used in the
film. Using combinations of Aikido and Aikijitsu, the two battled it
out in mock combat, elating to me that although durable, they went
through more blades then they could count.
Check out our video for the performance and visit http://www.masterreplicas.com for information on owning your own replica saber, blaster or several other props from various movies.
