Why Lightsabers ?

[Pullo]

How come we are all building lightabers ? I mean what is it about these long glowing sticks that has us all buzzing with excitment when we here that ignition sound. Is it just the appeal of the Star wars movies or has the saber scene surpassed that now?

For me it is simple...
I had a really bad childhood. Beaten and abused from an early age, My mother ended up in what we used to call an asylum, and I ended up in care. My farther tried to do the best that he could but... well lets just say i am fine now. I have grown up and have my own family and am very normal. I don't believe in blaming all the crap things in your life on the things that happened to you as a child. You have to deal with it as best you can.
ANH came out when I was eight. I loved it, I truly believe that without Star Wars my life would have gone a differant way. I'm not saying "Star wars saved my life man", but it taught me a basic differance about goodguys and bad guys. I so wanted to be Han Solo.
I've done that therapy thing and although I am now 37 i still love Star wars as much as I ever did, my therapist said that Lightsabers and blasters, Deathstars and tiefighters mean so much to me because star wars is one of the few really happy memories I have from childhood. Because of that "apparntly" i am trying to recapture the happyness denied to me in childhood buy building lightsabers and collecting other bits and pieces.

Or it could be that they are just so damn cool it's unbelievable........

I hope I haven't embarassed anyone telling you about why i love "The electric glowstick of power" so much but I would love to hear about why they mean such a lot to you guys.

[Angelus Lupus]

Sorry to hear about the crappy childhood, but glad you're in a better place now.

I summed up my interest once by saying I'm more of a Jedi fan than a Star Wars fan: I like sci-fi, I like swords, I like the medieval period (chivalry, etc) and I like robes. Put it all together and add in a childhood love of magic and you get someone wants to wear robes, wave a 'glowing stick' around and would like to have force powers... aren't we all trying to recapture our childhood here? :D

[valeon]

That is a really inspiring story. Star Wars touches each and every one of us in a different way. So many different aspects of it, and most of all, it teaches us how to be human.

[LordBane21]

I wanted to make my own saber since i was a child. i kinda has the same childhood as Pullo. but it was more mental than physical. Having loved Sw as a small child i always felt as if i belonged to something, yeah its not real but its something i love. and hold dear. i will be making saber till i die. and my wife will also wen i meet her. lol

[VeggieJedi]

To put it simply: because lightsabers are the coolest weapons in the galaxy!! :D

[swear000]

so I can walk around at night without bumping into things!

[Fe'Ral]

I honestly like Star Wars blasters more than lightsabers, but as far as toys in real life...the lightsaber is far more satisfying. There's no getting around in your mind that a blaster is a prop. It can't do much more than make sounds, and maybe shoot a Nerf dart without film effects. However, these lightsabers we build exceed in producing the illusion of holding an exotic, unearthly blade made from pure energy. I can't wait until mine is completed. :D

[jedi/storm]

I agree with you Pullo every expereince in your life (good or bad) makes you the person that you are,so if you're happy with that person you have nothing to go back and change.

[sekrogue1985]

i was 5 when i first saw star wars and when luke powered that lightsaber for the first time, as my dad put it my eye were so wide you'd probably get lost in them. I was hooked and since then tried to build a lightsaber ever since.

[ThreeQuadFive]

'Cause blasters and vibro-swords are just messy.
Lightsabers cut AND cauterize!

[ArkaiHalon]

Because the
"Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster, a more elegant weapon, for a more civilized time"
and
"for over 1000 generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace"

[Gray Exile]

Pollo,
glad you got well, brother. You have more more company on this road than you know. My story story parallels Banes, but yeah, I've been there. Why do think I'm a GRAY Jedi? I have walked through the midnight of my own soul. I know what the dark side is, I understand its seduction and I understand the lie of what it offers. :evil:
Most people just see the metaphors. Good on 'em. Nobody should have the knowledge we posses. But I can't do anything about that; got my hands full keeping myself straight. Hammerfall: Last Man Standing. 'Nuff said.

Angelis: I have to admit, everything you said was true! :D

[Donnovan Sunrider]

For me, it's a little different. I was about 6 when the first SW movie hit, but I was drawn to the droids more than the lightsabres. I wasn't into swords at the time really, but I've loved robots all my life.

For me, the Jedi and lightsabre thing is an adult fascination for me. I had some very hard events about 15 years back that nearly drove me to the brink of, well... the final conclusion.
What kept me from being so stupid was that I had a good friend that was also in a bad place and needed help support and help. I cared deeply for her, and chose not to leave her alone in that situation with the added grief of my actions.
At that point, I decided that if I didn't care about my own well being, I should focus on the well being of others. I thought off it as a Jedi Code sort of idea, being that I'm a lifetime sci-fi geek.
That gave me the drive to push forward with my life, and basically saved it.

Now I'm long past that bad patch, and live quite happily with my wife and step-son. But there's still the Code. It helps me to remind myself to strive to be a better person than I may actually be. It doesn't always work, but at least I have a compass that will always lead me in the direction that I should be going.

[Gray Exile]

Because the
"for over 1000 generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace"

Great Hyperspace War, First Sith War, Mandalorian Wars, Jedi Civil War, 2nd Great Sith War, Clone Wars,... :roll: oh yeah, they've done a SWELL job. :D

[Gray Exile]

But there's still the Code. It helps me to remind myself to strive to be a better person than I may actually be. It doesn't always work, but at least I have a compass that will always lead me in the direction that I should be going.

Donnovan,
I think we often obsess on the "Jedi" part, and forget about the "Knight" part.
-Exile

[Novastar]

Pullo, great to hear your story! That's the way it SHOULD be. Letting go of your childhood is the LIE that "the people behind the curtain" want you to do so that you act as more of a slave in this world vs. your own, creative, curious and enlightened human being. But... anyhow...

Ok, why sabers? It went in order like this:

* Always been into MA
* Always been involved in performance in one way or another
* Took fencing classes, my instructor suggested I learn to BE an instructor (although I'd no intention of doing so initially)
* Did lots more paid staged combat projects than before (mainly for things like Peter Pan, Shakespeare stuff, Robin Hood-ish stuff, etc. -- both kid and adult shows)
* One day decided I wanted to see some sabers LIVE--not rotoscoped--on stage... and not just some BS 30 second thing
* Technological props/items have always fascinated me
* Light & Sound and interactive-ness is something EVERY human being loves. It's in our DNA. Light attracts the eyes, sound attracts the ears, motion attracts the eyes as well. Interactiveness... attracts and inspires the SOUL! :)

And NOW look what's happened!!! At first, I set out to just make a single live show. Turned into two. I want to at least do a third... and look at all the rest!!! CF... CF sounds... helping others... building on the community... good stuff.

I think the "helping others" part is the best though. Seriously. Otherwise I wouldn't stay. :)

[Novastar]

... At that point, I decided that if I didn't care about my own well being, I should focus on the well being of others. I thought off it as a Jedi Code sort of idea, being that I'm a lifetime sci-fi geek.
That gave me the drive to push forward with my life, and basically saved it.Sorry for the double-post, but... I had to support D. Sunrider on this one...

When you devote most all of your life to doing what you can for OTHERS... it actually comes right back to you and enriches your OWN life as well.

Look at Tim. Sure, it's his business, TCSS. But if you really think about it--he's in the business to SERVE OTHERS. From that core idea, the rest falls into place.

When it all becomes about profit for YOURSELF or what can you get out of this world for YOURSELF or what others should do for YOU... believe me--it will start to fall apart.

So yeah--take a lesson from Donovan. Get the hell out there and SERVE some others. You'll be surprised at how it comes RIGHT BACK TO YOU, twofold... sometimes tenfold. ;)

[chone66]

Hi everyone,

I would like to know if there are actual names given to each commonly known sabers? Example: Mace Windu's lightsaber is called????

If anyone can direct me to where I may find these specific names of each lightsaber, please let me know.

Thanks everyone,
Chad

[LaManoNera]

Because lightsabers are the most badass gadgets/toys/weapons/things ever invented. I would pay any ammount of money to go back in time to be able to invent them before George Lucas did.

Even people that don't have any idea of what goes on here love lightsabers. For example:
Last night my best friend finally put the finishing touches on his Rubies Supreme Darth Vader costume for Halloween (I plan on being the Emperor). This thing is badass, and when he's in the room it's kinda freaky, the kinda presence the costume has. So we go to his dad's house to show all his realtives- he walks through the door (we had the lights out), and we had the breathing going through some speakers and an MP3 player in his helmet, and he turns on his Vader Force FX. What followed was simply hilarious: no one gave a flying **** about the $500 costume- everyone just wanted to play with the lightsaber. Seriously, 40-50 year old grown ups were fighting over who got to hold it next. His girlfriend (who hates everything, just like all women ;) ) said "THAT'S SO STUPID!" when she heard about him ordering a Force FX. Lo and behold, once she got to hold it she wants one for Christmas, and so does his dad and his brother and me (no Sidious FX :( ) etc. etc. Lightsabers are man/woman's best friend, just like dogs and diamonds.

[Logan Cade]

For me, it's a little different. I was about 6 when the first SW movie hit, but I was drawn to the droids more than the lightsabres. I wasn't into swords at the time really, but I've loved robots all my life.

For me, the Jedi and lightsabre thing is an adult fascination for me. I had some very hard events about 15 years back that nearly drove me to the brink of, well... the final conclusion.
What kept me from being so stupid was that I had a good friend that was also in a bad place and needed help support and help. I cared deeply for her, and chose not to leave her alone in that situation with the added grief of my actions.
At that point, I decided that if I didn't care about my own well being, I should focus on the well being of others. I thought off it as a Jedi Code sort of idea, being that I'm a lifetime sci-fi geek.
That gave me the drive to push forward with my life, and basically saved it.

Now I'm long past that bad patch, and live quite happily with my wife and step-son. But there's still the Code. It helps me to remind myself to strive to be a better person than I may actually be. It doesn't always work, but at least I have a compass that will always lead me in the direction that I should be going.

That was a good story, Donnovan.

And I agree with you about the code. That’s what I admired about Star Wars. It wasn’t the droids, the ships or Chewbacca…. it was the Jedi and the Sith…. Good against evil.

It was about Warriorship.


We all heard about people being referred to as Sheep or Wolves. The Sheep being the common people, just going through life, raising a family and making the best they can from it.

The Wolves (Sith) are the predators, the selfish ones, the ones who step on everyone to get ahead.

Then there’s the Sheepdog (the Jedi). The guardians over the sheep.
They live by the Code of the Warrior. And where once it was a birth right; now it’s a calling. It’s a very powerful way to live, a life of duty and devotion. And at the heart of it all, where all the Warriors power comes from is in his sense of Honor!

Honor is the gift a man gives himself. It’s about understanding your obligations and responsibilities as a human being and having the courage to see them through.

You, like others, have shown that in your stories.

[Ghostbat]

Hi everyone,

I would like to know if there are actual names given to each commonly known sabers? Example: Mace Windu's lightsaber is called????

If anyone can direct me to where I may find these specific names of each lightsaber, please let me know.

Thanks everyone,
Chad

Near as I can tell the convention of naming your saber is more of our thing than something taken from the stories. I may very well be wrong as I ignore the books and most supplemental materials and even treat the prequel movies as suspect (I'm a bit of a trilogy snob).

I think it comes from the desire to add a little something more to an object we have spent so much time working on and probably is actually a bit against the more Buddhist bits of the Jedi philosophy that touch on non-attachment and asceticism. It's just a tool after all and if all things are equal then why hold a particular saber above another?

I'll still name all mine though :)