Lightsaber Combat

I have posted a few more lessons from the Second Life Jedi curriculum, including one on lightsaber combat as practiced in the virtual world around 2006. As with most of our lessons, I do not know who the authors of the lesson were, and I welcome any information readers may have.

At the time, taking lightsaber combat practice seriously (in the “real world”) was the questionable practice of someone who was “just a roleplayer” … like those of us who wrote fanfiction and developed the Second Life Jedi organizations.

In current practice, however, lightsaber training has gone mainstream, with a variety of in-person trainers and YouTube videos to show you how to get started. While I often flinch at the idea, I have to admit that it is no stranger than practicing karate kata or playing pickleball. Anything that gets people way from large and small electronic screens to work up a sweat is a certifiable good thing.

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Barbara Z. Johnson

Barbara Z. Johnson is a professor of computer science at an undisclosed small, liberal arts college and also has taught in education and media arts/game development departments at several universities. She is also a sci-fi/fantasy geek who researches the educational uses of video-games, fan-fiction, and online simulations. Currently, she is researching science education in Minecraft.

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