'Highlander' Adrian Paul to Teach Sword Experience Event at Drexel University
After the nearly five years that Sam Dotson, computer science ‘24, has been a Drexel Dragon Jedi in the Drexel University student organization of the same name, she’s settled into her personal style of lightsaber choreography. Now, she confidently wields a dual-bladed staff during the lightsaber choreography organization’s weekly practices and once-a-term performances. Like many Drexel Dragon Jedi, the College of Computing & Informatics student didn’t really know what she was doing when she first came into the club, but she’s picked up a lot over the years.
“It’s fun to learn different things because even though it’s choreography, you do have sort of a basis in martial arts and where that choreography is drawn from,” said Dotson, who is the Dragon Jedi’s treasurer. “One of our instructors is good at German long sword, and another one of our instructors is very good with Japanese sword styles and Chinese long and short swords. [Sword choreography] is a great way to stay active while still enjoying the nerdy side of things, even if you’ve never seen ‘Star Wars.’”
In January, Dotson, several of her fellow Dragon Jedi and anyone in the general public can learn a lot more about sword choreography during a two-day Sword Experience event that will take place partly in Main Building on the University City Campus. The event will culminate with attendees filming a scene called “Resist or Die,” which will be reminiscent of “Star Wars” battles.
On Jan. 20 and 21, budding Djedhi (as the Sword Experience names trainees, based off an ancient Egyptian order) will be learning the laser sword-specific Vitae Vi Virtus Institute (VVVI) curriculum taught by Adrian Paul, who played Duncan MacLeod in the “Highlander” series and movies during the 1990s and 2000s, and studied various sword styles while doing it. With some support from Drexel faculty, the Dragon Jedi have been helping organize the event with Paul.
“I’m looking forward to being able to watch a master do his thing,” Dotson said. “From our meetings, it seems as though we have the general same baseline of what we teach new people, but I want to see how it differs from what we do and how he deals with certain things.”
Jeff Salvage, computer science teaching professor in the College of Computing & Informatics, had a connection with the Drexel Dragon Jedi and a curiosity about what Paul was up to these days. He learned of the Sword Experience and asked if the organization would come to Philadelphia.
They needed a location. The Great Court in Main Building would be perfect for the dramatic finale of the experience, Salvage figured. Add in the Drexel Dragon Jedi to help sponsor the event and you’ve got the right mix for a smashing (or slashing) success.
“I try to teach students that you have to make your own reality, and if you can combine your job with your passion, you’re not working,” Salvage said. “This is a connection of something that’s nonacademic with something academic and being at Drexel allowed this to happen. Students have to have something more than the classroom.”
Sword Experience students will certainly be learning a lot with Paul as their teacher. Paul, who studied martial arts and learned katana style as the Highlander, founded the Sword Experience in 2016 after hosting a sword workshop at a convention in 2015 while raising money through his charity PEACE. He’s still the primary instructor for events and now he estimates he has taught more than 150 Sword Experience events around the world, teaching people techniques, footwork, targeting and other skills, plus filming a short movie at the end of each workshop.
“It’s a lot of fun, and I think people get into the fact that they’re filming as well,” Paul said. “We go from the beginning of how to move your feet and the bokken [wooden practice sword], to practicing with somebody, to practicing on film. It’s a progression that works very well, and it’s fun to watch people get it.”
Paul has developed a technique of teaching sword styles, like a standardized system for strikes and blocks and keeping your fighting partner safe. Sword Experience events are usually practiced with bokkens, but the new VVVI program gives participants a path to become a Djedhi Knight through the paths Consulari (philosophy), Custos (self-defense) and Bellator (laser swords). It’s the Sword Experience with laser swords, as well as mindfulness, meditation and physical fitness.
There will be six Drexel Dragon Jedi participating in the event, learning how to hone their craft even more alongside Paul and the members of the public who sign up. There are multiple types of tickets because the event is two days; those who only want to spectate can buy one or two-day tickets, and there are three levels of participant tickets. Due to University filming rules, participants must be 18 or older, though children under 18 can still spectate.
For Dotson and other Dragon Jedi, participating in the event is like a dream come true. The student organization was Dotson’s first home on campus, she said, and she’s now excited to meet new people through the Sword Experience event. She also said the best part is about the friends she’s made in the club and the bonds and memories that will last forever as she and her fellow students create fights, memories that she’ll make more of in January.
“I want to make the most of it and we want it to be a fond memory,” Dotson said. “Being taught sword fighting by Adrian Paul is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”