Lightsaber Dueling is Actually Real (and Pretty Cool!) [WATCH]
You can bet that very soon this will come to central Minnesota. It seems really 'geeky' but actually looks like it would be a blast, and a great workout!
There's more gyms in central Minnesota than I can count on my fingers and toes combined. If you're not into the boring treadmill running, or iron pumping, this might be up your alley.
There's a league called the "Lightsaber Combat League" and it's VERY serious about the sport. Sure, they're toy lightsaber swords (like what you get a kid for Christmas) but when you put skillful sword fighting techniques and non-stop moving into it - there's quite a eye-catching workout involved!
The competitions are very strict, and the scoring is based on hitting the opponent in different areas of the body. In case you're wondering, you don't have an advantage if you dress like a jedi knight, but that kinda goes with the whole sport.
I would totally try this at a local gym! All you need is a large enough studio to hold a dozen people and to be able to make the room dark enough to see the glowing lightsabers. Why not? My only worry would be seeing people taking it too far and walking around the gym in a Darth Vader giddy-up, asking people to join the dark side - as they're trying to push up 200 lbs on a bench press.
Anyways, if this looks interesting to you, here's the "official" website for the sport. You can see the cost and locations in the U.S. where they teach this sport.
The video below will give you and your child an idea of the experience to take classes. It reminds me a lot of the same type of kids I saw playing "Dungeons & Dragons" when I was a kid, but getting a little more exercise.