7 Reasons Why Adults Are Training Light Sword Combat as a Real Martial Art (Besides the Fact That There Are No Children in the Room)
Most people who pick up a saber as adults have nowhere to take it seriously: a toy aisle, a costume club, or a children’s class. This is a codified martial art with nine forms, a sash ladder, scored sparring and a federation behind it, taught on three licensed floors and at home. Here’s exactly why adults are choosing it.
Why adults are taking the saber seriously.
It is a codified art: nine forms, a lineage, and a sash from white to black.
The Light Sword Martial Arts curriculum is nine forms built by Sijo Nathan Young, a two-time world champion in the Bruce Lee lineage, and taught in Virginia Beach since 2015. You learn Form I first and test for your sash the way any martial artist does. Nothing about it is a prop.
The sparring is real, and it is scored.
Padded polycarbonate blades, federation-standard armour, a referee and a ruleset. The Light Sword Martial Arts Federation sanctions four competition formats: Forms, Paired Forms, Combat-Classic and Combat-Electronic Score. When the bracket is published, the result counts.
It is an adult practice. Thirteen and up, and no children’s classes.
Temple Warriors is an adult room. Members are 13 and up; members under 18 are enrolled by a parent or guardian. There are no children’s classes and no birthday parties on a licensed floor. You train with people who came to train.
Your rank travels with you.
One Global Roster records every member, every sash and every floor of record across the academies and the Circles. Earn a sash at home as a Shadow Warrior and it is honoured when you walk onto a floor in Norwich, Ripley or Virginia Beach. Never a reset.
Ready to take the saber seriously?
Adults and teens 13 and up · The Sifu Promise, 60 days
Find your floorYou can start tonight, with or without a floor near you.
Shadow Warriors is the home path: the nine-form library on your phone, Form I open from day one, your form video reviewed by a master every week, your sash tested remotely. $97 a month, cancel any month, or $970 a year with two months free. The Sifu Promise stands over it: Phase 1 in 60 days or every dollar back.
There is a floor if you are near one, and a free Saturday if you want to try it first.
Three licensed academies run the art in person: Saber Core in Norwich, Connecticut; Rising Order in Ripley, Tennessee; Light Sword Martial Arts in Virginia Beach, Sundays at Drop Fitness. Shadow Circles host free Saturday floors in Norfolk, Denver, Los Angeles, Lincoln and Honolulu. Each academy sets its own membership price.
The people who booked it as a date night are now chasing a black sash.
Students who tried a session on a whim found a martial art. “Didn’t expect to be inducted into a legitimate martial arts group. We are both hooked and have our goals set on getting a black belt one day.” Chris F., verified review. Over 1,500 warriors trained since 2015.
Choose Your Path
No floor within reach. Shadow Warriors is the home path: the form library, a master’s eyes on your form every week, your rank on the Global Roster.
- Adults and teens 13 and up
- Nine forms, one sash ladder
- Real sparring, scored
- Your rank travels
Shadow Warriors
- The nine-form library, Form I open from day one
- Your form video reviewed by a master every week
- Your sash tested remotely, on the Global Roster
- The Sifu Promise: Phase 1 in 60 days or every dollar back
Temple Warriors
- Weekly classes and live sparring
- Rank testing on the floor
- The video library included at no charge
- Your Shadow Warriors subscription pauses when you enrol
A Saturday floor
- Loaner sabers on hand
- Drills, then light sparring
- No sign-up, no card
- How most Temple Warriors started
What is included
- The nine-form library, Form I open from day one
- Your form video reviewed by a master every week
- Your sash tested remotely, on the Global Roster
- The Sifu Promise: Phase 1 in 60 days or every dollar back
The facts
Guarantee, delivery and returns
Register as a Shadow Warrior, train from the library and submit your form video. Reach Phase 1 of Form I within 60 days, with a master’s eyes on your form every week, or every dollar comes back. No contract beyond the month you are in. On a licensed floor, the academy’s own terms apply.
Not sure which saber or which path? Take the sixty-second fitting and we will tell you.
The Sifu Promise.
Register as a Shadow Warrior, train from the library and submit your form video. Reach Phase 1 of Form I within 60 days, with a master’s eyes on your form every week, or every dollar comes back. No contract beyond the month you are in. On a licensed floor, the academy’s own terms apply.
We made starting a martial art, like, ridiculously easy.
Tonight. $97.
Register at Virtual Saber Academy, your membership portal. Form I opens, and your first form review comes back inside the week.
Saturday. Free.
A Circle open floor or an academy Saturday. Loaner sabers on hand. Show up, salute, spar.
The Floor. Your academy prices it.
Enrol at Norwich, Ripley or Virginia Beach on the academy’s own sign-up. Your Shadow Warriors subscription pauses when you do, and your rank carries.
1,500+ warriors. Most of them started on a whim.
Verified reviews from the Norfolk and Virginia Beach floors • the founders’ record • three licensed academies
Sifu Edward Armstrong
Entrepreneur of the Year, a Board-Certified Tai Chi Instructor and a published author. Founded the Light Sword Training Academy in Virginia Beach in 2015 with Sifu Julliana; opened the Norfolk academy in 2019.
Sifu Julliana Armstrong
3× WEKAF National Champion, a two-time World Champion under GSBA and a Team USA competitor. Delivered the curriculum under U.S. federal contract at Langley AFB and Fort Eustis.
“Didn’t expect to be inducted into a legitimate martial arts group. Just thought it was a fun date idea for me and the wife. We are both hooked and have our goals set on getting a black belt one day.”
Chris F., verified Yelp review, Norfolk“As a 15-year traditional martial artist, I was skeptical. After one session I understood. This is a complete, legitimate system. The 9 forms are grounded in real combat traditions.”
Marcus T., student“Our instructor was fantastic, very entertaining and friendly. We went through the basics and then had the chance to all fight each other! I can’t recommend this enough.”
Ava, verified Airbnb review“As a woman in martial arts, I’ve dealt with a lot of uncomfortable environments. LSTA is different. The Code of S.A.B.E.R. creates a culture of respect that I’ve never experienced anywhere else.”
Amanda P., student“My expectations for this experience were blown out of the water and we had so much fun. Edward was so great and we will absolutely come back the next time we’re in the area!”
Lizzy, verified Airbnb review“I visited as a tourist in Norfolk. I stayed as a student. Sifu Armstrong is the real deal.”
a visiting student, NorfolkReviews are verified student reviews from the Norfolk and Virginia Beach floors (Airbnb and Yelp) and named students. They describe their own experience, not a promise of yours. The one proof figure, 1,500+ warriors trained since 2015, is the academy’s own record.
Built in Virginia Beach. Sanctioned by a federation.
Where the nine forms were built.
The founding academy of Sifu Edward and Sifu Julliana Armstrong, where the curriculum, the sash ladder and the safety rules took shape, and where the art is still taught on Sundays.
A real governing body.
The Light Sword Martial Arts Federation, a Virginia nonprofit, writes the rulebook, trains the referees and sanctions competition in four formats. Athlete dues are $39 a year.
One record of every warrior.
Every member, every sash, every floor of record, across the academies and the Circles, on Club Sabernet. Your rank is a fact wherever you train.
Read the label.
Path Facts
Questions
Do I need to be fit, or have any martial arts background?
No. Form I is taught from the first stance. Most adults who train with us had never held a saber or stepped on a mat before. The fitness comes with the forms.
What is the minimum age?
Thirteen. Members under 18 are enrolled by a parent or guardian. There are no children’s classes.
Is it safe?
The blades are padded polycarbonate and sparring is fought in federation-standard protective gear under a referee. The free Saturday floors run drills and light sparring with loaner sabers.
What does it cost at a floor?
Each licensed academy sets and bills its own membership. LSTA publishes no floor price; the academy’s sign-up page does.
I already own a saber. Does it count?
Any polycarbonate-blade saber trains. For sparring and competition the Legacy Student Kit carries the helmet and gloves the rulebook requires.
What happens to my Shadow Warriors membership if I join a floor?
It pauses at the end of your paid month, or ends, your choice. Your rank and your record carry to the floor. Nothing is paid twice and nothing resets.
Can I cancel?
Any month. The Sifu Promise returns every dollar if you have not reached Phase 1 inside 60 days.
The art is real. The floor is near, or it is your living room. Start tonight.
Register as a Shadow Warrior for $97 a month, or find your floor and enrol with the academy. Either way your first sash is on the Global Roster, and it travels.
Find your floorNot sure which saber or which path? Take the free sixty-second fitting.
Four questions. We tell you the saber that fits your hand and height, the path that fits your week, and the nearest floor. No account, no card.
The same fitting every new warrior takes on their first Saturday.