As a new mom, I’m always looking for new ways to exercise and work on my fitness. Right now, I’m attending a spinning class every weekend but it’s really far (but so affordable!). That’s why I was so happy when I found out that Miami had its own Jedi Academy (amongst other reasons, of course). South Florida doesn’t tend to be very fandom-friendly, so I was floored. The owners of SaberCraft, Alfred and Santiago, are a total joy and wanted to make sure that they brought quality combat techniques to Miami’s chapter after training with San Francisco’s Golden Gate Knights. The classes are more choreography-based, so they teach you the moves you loved to watch on screen. There is also a little Hatha Yoga incorporated since there is a definite overlap with those teachings of The Force.
I had the opportunity to take a class along with my chapter of Geek Girl Brunch last month and I can say that it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. We initially started the class with a quick (but peaceful) meditation and then got to start learning moves with a foam saber. This way, everything was as safe as possible while we got used to maneuvering with our peers. The masters level students were also in attendance to help us, and we would often split into partners where they would instruct us 1:1. It was beyond amazing, and surprisingly empowering. When I would flow through the 6 moves in succession successfully, it was such a rush!