We got a question from Matt Hopper asking about ways to prevent your sparring sessions from becoming blood sport too fast. So let's talk about basic training games.

Unlike a sword, which has significant weight and edge alignment is important, the lightsaber or plasma sword is extremely light while also being extremely deadly with no edge alignment needed. So you can be quite effective by simply "spazzing out". Unfortunately, a lot of people fight this way, especially when they have no formal training. So let's look at some methods to bring the spaz down.

• Hand hunting: in this sparring method, only the hands and hilt count. You want to stand within attack range of eachother, and more or less stay in place-- you should be able to play this seated in chairs if you wanted to (we have, in fact, done this). Use this game to practice deflectors and counterattacks. Remember only the hand and hilt are target.

• Head n hand hunting: This opens up this game, and prevents anyone from simply pulling their hands back so they are out of their opponent's reach, since they now need to protect the head. This helps incorporate shields into your defense, so use Shield 3, 4, 5, and 6 to protect your head while also being sure to watch your hands as well.

Now, while these games are great, they can still involve someone swinging for the fences. So penalties are a great addition. Apply penalties whenever someone hits off-target. This forces them to slow down and carefully aim for what they are hitting. It also forces them to be circumspect about whether they have a high likelihood of hitting something they don't intend to.

Hope that helps!

Text not enough to get the picture? Become a Patron to see a full video explanation and demonstration of these concepts!