Calling all Star Wars fans! There is an academy in Madrid in which you can train to become a Jedi! Or a Sith, if you are drawn to the Dark Side.
Since it opened its doors in November of 2015, the Light Saber Combat Academy (C/de Jerónima Llorente, 7) has attracted the attention of a lot of devotees of George Lucas’s emblematic saga and various newspapers and TV channels have documented the rise in popularity of this discipline in Spain.
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What is Ludosport?
This combat sport, which is called Ludosport (a compound word made from the union of the words “ludus”, “game” in Latin, and “sport”), was created in Milan in 2006 by Gianluca Longo and Fabio Monticelli. They adapted the styles of combat and techniques that the Jedi masters taught their padawans so that they could fit real life training. Each of the styles is composed of different moves (whose names are in Italian regardless of where the academy is located) both of defense and attack and is based on five basic principles: power, protection, speed, unpredictability, and physical effort. These are all present in every style but not equally dominant in all of them. There are a set of rules regarding various aspects of the sport such as what must you wear in combat and the validity of the strikes. However, the basic and most important rule is one called Se.Cu.Ri. (Servizio, Cura, Rizzpeto. In English: Service, Care, Respect). Service is understood as supporting and encouraging your fellow pupils instead of rivalling them, Care as in being in control of your moves as to ensure everyone’s safety, and Respect means that you should be aware of your own limits and strengths so that you don’t underestimate yourself nor anyone else.
Ludosport in Madrid
Madrid’s academy is currently composed of three teachers and more or less one hundred pupils. There are classes going on from Saturday to Thursday mornings and evenings and the pupils of each class form a clan with their own name (Disharmony, Starkillers, Guardians of the Temple…). A clan can have a maximum of fifteen members and it doesn’t usually matter if not all of them have the same level because at the end of the day each of them makes progress at their own pace.
If you would like to enrol in this Ludosport academy, you may visit the building where it takes place (address stated above) or you can visit their webpage: http://spain.ludosport.net/.