The standard, in writing.

The curriculum and the Code.

The nine forms were built by Sijo Nathan Young, a two-time world champion in the Bruce Lee lineage, and have been taught in Virginia Beach since 2015. Form I, Foundation Strike, is the path to the White Sash and is taught in four phases, each unlocked by the one before. Form II, Flowing Defense, opens with the Yellow Sash.

The Code of S.A.B.E.R.

Security. Aptitude. Bravery. Ethics. Resolve. The Code is read at the start of every class on every floor that carries the LSTA name, and it is enforced. It is the reason an adult room stays an adult room.

The hour

Every class runs the same shape: warm-up, technique, drills, live sparring, Sacred Circle. Sparring is fought with padded polycarbonate blades in federation-standard protective gear under a referee. Members are 13 and up; members under 18 are enrolled by a parent or guardian. There are no children’s classes.

The federation, and its paperwork.

The Light Sword Martial Arts Federation (LSMAF) is a Virginia nonprofit. It writes the rulebook, trains and recognises the referees and judges, keeps the national rankings, and sanctions competition in four formats: Forms, Paired Forms, Combat-Classic and Combat-Electronic Score. Athlete dues are $39 a year at lsmaf.org/join.

The governing corpus, registered at lsmaf.org/documents

• Constitution: the founding authority of the Federation
• Bylaws: board governance, membership rights, meetings
• Code of Conduct: athlete, coach, official and club standards
• Competition Rulebook, Forms Regulations: the solo technical standard
• Competition Rulebook, Paired Performance Regulations: the two-person standard
• Competition Rulebook, Combat Regulations: full-contact competition, safety and scoring
• Referee and Judge Recognition Standards, Levels 1 and 2
• Anti-Doping Policy
• National Rankings System: the permanent competitive record
• Results Reporting Procedure
• Membership Enrollment Process: consent-based, seven categories
• Technical Committee Charter
• The operational forms, complete set

The register names the principal instruments; the Federation states that any instrument is available on request to members, institutions and governing bodies through the address on that page. We link the register rather than restate it, so that what you read is the Federation’s own copy.

Competition formats

• Forms: solo, judged to the technical standard.
• Paired Forms: two-person choreographed performance.
• Combat-Classic: full contact, scored by a three-judge panel. Combat-Electronic Score: the same bout scored by instrumented armour.

Who certifies, and who does not.

• Only LSTA Corporate certifies instructors. No licensed academy, no Circle and no Commander may certify anyone, and none claims to.
• A Commander runs a licensed floor and holds rank in the art. The in-person class on that floor is Temple Warriors, which is Light Sword Martial Arts taught in person; the two names are one program. The licensed academies and their Commanders are listed, with their own sign-up addresses, at Find a Floor; the list grows as floors open. Each sets and bills its own membership; LSTA publishes no floor price.
• A Shadow Circle is a free Saturday sparring floor hosted by a chartered Circle; the current Circles are on Find a Floor. A Circle is not an academy and does not teach rank.
• The Global Roster on Club Sabernet is the one record of every member, every sash and every floor of record. If a rank is not on the Roster, it is not a rank in this art.

The word “certified” on this site is used for exactly two things: instructors certified by LSTA Corporate, and Sifu Julliana Armstrong’s own NASM credential. Nothing else is called certified.

The Promise, and the terms in plain words.

The Sifu Promise, 60 days

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; cancel any month. One email does it.

🛡 The Promise is kept by email, not by a form. One email: [email protected].

Shadow Warriors billing

$97 a month, or $970 a year with two months free. Nothing is struck through and nothing is a founding rate; the price is the price. Virtual Saber Academy is the membership portal: registering there creates your login and Form I opens the same minute. When you enrol at a licensed floor, the subscription pauses at the end of the paid month, or ends, your choice; the library stays with you at no charge.

Gear

Any polycarbonate-blade saber trains. For sparring and competition the rulebook asks for the helmet and the gloves, which the Legacy Student Kit carries at $134, the exact sum of its three parts, from the Trading Post. The store’s own shipping and return policies and its 90-day warranty apply; we link them rather than restate them.

On a licensed floor

The academy’s own terms apply to its own membership. LSTA sets the standard, the curriculum and the Roster; the academy sets its schedule and its price.

The record we point to.

• 1,500+ warriors trained since 2015. The one proof figure we publish, the academy’s own record. We publish no other count.
• Verified reviews. Every review quoted on this site is a verified Airbnb or Yelp review of the Norfolk or Virginia Beach floor, or a named student. They describe their own hour, not a promise of yours.
• The founders. Sifu Edward Armstrong: Entrepreneur of the Year, a Board-Certified Tai Chi Instructor, a published author. Sifu Julliana Armstrong: three-time WEKAF National Champion, two-time World Champion under GSBA, Team USA, a NASM-certified personal trainer. The curriculum was delivered under U.S. federal contract at Langley Air Force Base and Fort Eustis.
• Lineage. The nine forms are Sijo Nathan Young’s. The lineage page names the line.
• Disclosure. Light Sword Training Academy is an independent martial arts organization; see the footer. Training equipment is purpose-built for martial arts training and is not a film-franchise product.