The workshop schedule for Lightspeed National’s later this month has been finalized! There’s a full day of workshops on Wednesday, followed by a dinner and game night, with workshops continuing into Thursday morning.

These workshops will have a strong emphasis on teaching and instruction. They’re designed for experienced fencers looking for new knowledge and strategies to bring home to their bases.

Here are the workshops:

Fundamental Footwork, Basic Strategy & Tag o War (30-40 minutes)

The very first thing taught at Lightspeed Academy is footwork, and there’s a reason for that. Understanding footwork and effective distance is a crucial element of not only successfully hitting your opponent, but also not getting hit in return. Learn our footwork and then get comfortable with it during a game of Tag o War where you’ll be asked to think carefully about how many steps you can, should, and need to take in order to tag your opponent.

Day One Sparring & Target Practice (30-40 minutes)

Go over the most essential offensive and defensive moves that beginners should learn on their first day, so they can begin fencing and stand a chance even on Day One. Put it all into practice in the Target Practice exercise.

Hooks & The Wall (30-40 minutes)

Hooks are the key to clean fencing in Lightspeed. They allow you to evade and strike simultaneously—getting you out of range of your opponent’s attack, while getting your blade in range to attack. Learn all four kinds of hooks, plus understand when to use each one in this workshop designed to help you perfect these moves. Then put it all into practice in The Wall training exercise.

Better Use of Force (30-40 minutes)

Review the most common ways excessive force is applied and then learn alternative movements that are not only less impactful but more tactically effective. Bring this back to your bases!

Identifying & Solving Excessive Force (30-40 minutes)

In this workshop you’ll watch videos and live demonstrations of excessive force and learn how to spot the signs. Then you’ll learn techniques on how to coach and de-escalate violating fencers and get them into compliance.

The Secret to Great Reffing (40-60 minutes)

Want to improve your refereeing? Looking for a way to rid yourself of refereeing anxiety? Kevin’s got the secret ingredient that will not only improve your officiating aptitude, but it will also make refereeing fun. Get excited again about the best front row seat Lightspeed Saber League has to offer through simple interactive instruction and reinforcement drills that you can take back to your bases.