Learning the “Flow”
So, learning Lightsabers and Lightsaber combat has been with us for a while. This Wired article that covers some of the basics is from 2013. However, as lightsaber prices have come down and there are more and more companies making them due to the resurgent popularity of the movies, lightsaber combat and training videos are popping up more frequently, and there are more and more websites dedicated to helping people learn the “art” of lightsaber combat.
As a child, I actually had a “lightsaber.” I put in quotes because it was an actual “lightsaber” like the ones we have today. Now, obviously, none of the “lightsabers” are “real” lightsabers that contain energy that can slice off a hand or melt doors. However, the lightsaber that I had as a child was just a more rudimentary version of the ones out now. My childhood lightsaber was two pieces of molded plastic. The hilt had the bumps and groves of a lightsaber handle with stickers to mimic the “buttons.” The second part was a colored piece of plastic “blade” that then screwed on to this saber’s hilt. Less than $10, this was a cheap plastic toy in all the ways it could be, but it still gave me the impression of being a “jedi knight.” The blade was even hollow with a bit of plastic on the top, so that when swung very fast, the air would make a “whooshing” sound that was reminiscent the distinctive sound that lightsabers make. However, my the lightsabers of my childhood do not hold a candle to the current lightsabers as the more expensive ones are made from metal now and have LED lighting effects and (most) have some sort of sound chip for accurate sound effects.
One of my projects over the summer is to try to learn lightsabers, lightsaber combat, and to buy myself a fairly good lightsaber.
The Flow
So, I’m in the process of learning what’s called, “The Flow.” It is a discipline that has some applications to martial arts, but is more of “trick”-style of manipulating the blade. I’d like to learn that first before moving on to more martial arts/combat/forms for the blade. The “Flow” is much more involved with flashy twirling moves than with actual combat or fencing. There’s a lot of spinning and manipulating of the blade going on with “The Flow.” Below is a YouTube video of a really good professional lightsaber combat artist who is proficient with the “flow”:
Michelle C. Smith — YouTube Lightsaber Spinning Video
She has a beginning tutorial on “The Flow” and links it to working with the staff. Her rationale: learning on the staff gives you all the requisite skills for lightsaber use and is much easier while learning on the saber is a lot harder (and, for me, the implication is that it won’t necessarily be transferable back to the staff).
I’ve learned one of the techniques so far that she has described in the following video, but haven’t yet learned the second (related technique).
“Basic Flow” for Freestyle Staff — Michelle C. Smith
I still have quite a way to go, but I’m hopeful that by the end of the summer I will have learned enough in the way of lightsaber “Flow” skills to advance to at least one or two of Michelle Smith’s “advanced” videos, but we’ll have to see how it works out. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome! 
