I grew up in the suburbs around Paris and started fencing when I was five. I kept it up until I\u00a0was about 22, but then began looking for something else. I\u00a0started running marathons instead. The good thing about running is that you can go whenever you want \u2013 but that also means you can put it off all the time. I wanted a sport that had more structure.<\/p>\n
I considered options like the canne de combat, a martial art in which people fight each other with a wooden cane. But then I listened to a podcast that mentioned plans to create a fighting sport using lightsabers. I\u00a0thought: I\u2019m a geek. I like Star Wars<\/a>. I\u2019ve done fencing. Let\u2019s try it.<\/p>\n That was 10 years ago. Since then, I\u2019ve never stopped. In 2019, the French Fencing Federation registered \u201clightsaber duelling\u201d as an official sport<\/a>, so now there are lightsaber clubs in most big cities. Our Paris club has about 150 members.<\/p>\n Most people know Star Wars and have seen the movies, but are not necessarily hardcore fans. They\u2019re more attracted by the fact that it\u2019s fun. I\u00a0mean, we are fighting with lightsabers; we cannot take ourselves too seriously.<\/p>\n For a lot of people, it\u2019s a chance to do some fighting, but in a more relaxed way. For combat sports, like boxing, you need strength to win. But in our sport, you are only meant to touch, not\u00a0overpower, your opponent.<\/p>\n It\u2019s more a precision sport. It\u2019s mixed gender and there isn\u2019t a masculinity or aggression to it. Also, aggression is not a good strategy. You\u00a0need to defend yourself before being able to attack. When you duel, you lose points when you are touched with your opponent\u2019s lightsaber. It\u2019s\u00a0very strategic.<\/p>\n Some people like to show off a bit, wear elaborate colourful masks and clothes, and spin their lightsabers like they do in the movies. Though, in reality, if you fight theatrically like that you will lose. If you turn your back to your opponent, you will take a strike. Unfortunately, we don\u2019t have \u201cthe force\u201d like in the films.<\/p>\n People use different lightsabers; you can buy them from dedicated stores. The blade is made of polycarbonate. <\/strong>There are rules about the length and weight, but you can shape the blade however you want. Some people have ones modelled after the lightsabers in the films, but mine are more shaped for performance \u2013 I\u2019ve made them from a custom 3D print with specialist grips to have better control of my moves.<\/p>\n S\u00e9bastien B\u00e9rard (on right) in action. Photograph: Jo Fidelin<\/p>\n We have different sizes of competitions. For regional ones, you will have about 40 to 50 fighters, a bit of audience, right up to the French Open, where there\u2019s about 500 people in the audience and 80 or 90 fighters from all over Europe<\/a>. I stopped counting how many tournaments I\u2019ve won. I think it\u2019s about 40. I keep the most significant medals in my office, and give the others to my children \u2013 they love playing with them.<\/p>\n There is no official world ranking, so\u00a0maybe it\u2019s a bit much <\/strong>to say I\u2019m the best in the world, but there\u2019s one for Europe, and I\u2019ve been the No 1-ranked player for as long as I can remember. I\u00a0think the fact that I fenced when I was younger really helps me to succeed and, also, while I\u2019m not saying that other players don\u2019t train, I train a lot.<\/p>\n But the more the sport evolves, the higher the level gets. Today, if you take the top eight fighters, there is not a single easy match. It\u2019s getting harder and I\u2019m getting older. I\u2019m now 40. We\u2019re all friends, though. Many of us train together. There\u2019s real community.<\/p>\n I earn good money in my job at the foreign exchange market, so when I win, I don\u2019t keep the prize money. At the lower end, it\u2019s not a lot, say a few hundred euros; that\u2019s enough to get the beers in for everyone after a competition. Anything more than \u20ac1,000, I refuse to accept; I\u2019d rather the money be invested back in the sport.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still very new, but it\u2019s growing. Clubs are popping up all over the world. We have started livestreaming tournaments, and thousands of people watch. Even my colleagues from work have started to come and support me.<\/p>\n As for me, I love it. Who could have imagined when I started fencing at five that I would end up the lightsaber champion of Europe? It might look a bit silly to some, but it\u2019s skilful, fun and a sport like no other.<\/p>\n As told to Daniel Dylan Wray<\/p>\n