TORRES EARNS 1ST GOLD @ STAR CASH TOURNY

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TORRES EARNS 1ST GOLD @ STAR CASH TOURNY

SUMMARY

RESULTS

  1. Matt Torres

  2. Vance Cole

  3. Richard Finn

  4. Dakota Eggert

    (more below)

PROMOTIONS & RERATINGS

  • Vance Cole: E->E

  • Richard Finn: U->E

  • Matt Torres: U->E

The Star Cash Tournament was Star Temple's first cash prize tournament. It was hosted at Addison circle park on March 27th, 2022. The tournament was structured as a double elimination that switches to single-elimination for the semi-finals and finals. A concept not used in LSL before. The tournament was seeded using rankings from previous tournaments and Star Temple challenge nights. The higher the rank, the higher the seed.

 Leading off we had a fight between the number 2 seed, Dakota, and the number 7 seed Sebastian. Dakota took the match but it was hard-fought. After that, there was an intense battle between the number 5 seed, Richie Finn, and the number 8 seed, Travis. After some good back and forth points, Richie kicked it into overdrive to take the match. Followed in suit by the number 4 seed, Ty, and the number 5 seed, Matt. Both of these warriors pushed on each other with their incredible skills and Matt turned out victorious. Travis then won a match against Selasi due to forfeit after Selasi was late to the tournament.

This led to Vance, the number 1 seed, and Selasi, the number 3 seed having their match. Selasi was the reigning Star Temple champion and Vance is a former champion. This match was long-lived, fast-paced, and extraordinarily intense. Both fighters wanted to win. Vance came out on top after a fierce duel. To follow that up was a match between Ty and Sebastian that ended with Ty on top after his counterattack style caught Sebastian off guard.

This was followed by Richie and Vance, which was the longest fight of the night. It took nearly 10 minutes of back and forth due to multiple simultaneous hits, connecting blows that were too hard for judges to see, and mind-bending defense from both duelists. In the end, Richie came out on top by a single point. Dakota and Matt followed that intense scene with something to keep everyone on their toes. Both fighters fought wildly and with incredible speed, taking up the entire ring with expert movements. In the end, Matt defeated Dakota by a single point after Dakota had made up a 6 point gap. Travis and Vance then produced an incredible duel. Travis displayed how much he had improved since the last time we'd seen him compete but Vance displayed his champion-level skills to take the match.  

The semi-finals then began with the first match being Richie versus Matt. Both fighters were undefeated to this point and neither was going to let that change easily. In the end, Matt stood victorious in a battle that shook the earth. Both men were full of kindness towards one another afterward and discussed how incredible the match was. Vance then took on Dakota, both men trying to avoid being eliminated. Both had two wins and one loss, neither wanted to go down. Despite Dakota's erratic movements, Vance's impenetrable defense took the victory. Having scored two ripostes and multiple shots that pierced Dakota's defense as he retreated. Richie was awarded third place after a medical forfeit from Dakota. The final match between Vance and Matt for first place was colossal for Star Temple. It saw a new champion fall into place. Matt, using the skills he's acquired from training rigorously and with the knowledge of the day, took the match by storm. He was able to overcome Vance's mighty defense and produced a fight that Vance himself called "a beatdown". This led to the final positions being Matt Torres in first, Vance Cole in second, and Richie Finn in third.

Thank you to the staff of Star Temple for making this tournament happen. 

 

DAKOTA EGGERT

LS Fort Worth / Star Temple
Squadron Leader

STAFF

Dakota Eggert
Ty Esquenazi
Vance Cole

COMPETITORS

Dakota Eggert
Ty Esquenazi
Vance Cole
Richard Finn
Matthew Torres
Selasi Quashie
Sebastian Finn
Travis Whitcraft

WIN DATA

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DINAH KOLASA OFFICIALLY JOINS LSL STAFF

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DINAH KOLASA OFFICIALLY JOINS LSL STAFF

Hello, Cang Snow here. I’m super pleased to announce the first permanent employee of Lightspeed Saber League, Dinah Kolasa! Dinah is a member of Lightspeed Saber Irvine and has taken on the role of Executive Assistant, working directly with myself.

The EA role requires a highly adaptable and quick-learning person, which Dinah has proven to be. So far, Dinah has:

  • Rejuvenated our social media presence

  • Helped to write our rules and referee exams

  • Shot and produced numerous photos and videos

  • Wrote a guide for using Discord

  • Created custom Lightspeed emojis and memes

  • And plenty more.

I’m really glad to have her with us and very excited to see what she does in and outside the box!

Cang Snow
Chief Executive Officer

 
 

Only elite referees and test designers get to use this signal.

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ANDRE GONZALES PROMOTED TO ENRICHMENT & PROMOTIONS OFFICER

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ANDRE GONZALES PROMOTED TO ENRICHMENT & PROMOTIONS OFFICER

Hello, it’s Cang Snow, writing to inform you that Andre Gonzales, much storied captain of the Lone Wolves in Escondido, California, has been promoted to the position of Enrichment & Promotions Officer. As EPO, Andre will fulfill two functions: 1) the promotion of stellar and promising individuals and teams via social media, and 2) the enrichment of that social media with technical, tactical, and a strategic analysis, for the benefit of all our fans, members, and followers.

Get ready to see clips of amazing kills, dodges, blocks, and crazy moments from all over the country every week on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. But, Andre will need your cooperation to make this work. For that, I’ll let you read it from the man himself:

Hey everyone!

As Cang mentioned, my name is Andre, the creator and co-founder of Lone Wolf Base. A lot of you will know me as “Moose”. I am pleased and proud to take on the role of EPO! I have made quite a few videos and clips in the past, using footage from Lone Wolf Base and tournaments. It’s always fun to be able to break down plays, understand the outcomes and just appreciate the styles and moves of your fellow competitors!
With about five years of experience in the competitive lightsaber scene and almost seven years of lightsaber training experience, I have been a part of and witnessed many feats of agility, cunning and respect!

Which leads me to everyone else!
Part of my job as EPO is to highlight ALL OF YOU and your bases! I want to see your fun training sessions, your “did that just happen!?” clips, your “uh ohs” and just anything that you feel would be absolutely awesome to share with the rest of the social media community!
Want me to analyze a full fight?
Want me to react to some crazy exchange?
Just want to share a new and upcoming fencer?
Shoot me your clips, your live streams and your highlights!

How to share: Officers can refer to the Discord #Officer-and-Staff channel for my Drive link, my email to share your Drives with, or if you’re not an Officer, please feel free to reach out to me on Discord! Smaller clips can be placed in the #show-off channel.

Thank you all for your cooperation.

Get out there and show me your moves!

Andre “Moose” Gonzalez
Captain of Lone Wolf Base
lonewolfbase@gmail.com

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ORTIZ-MIRANDA TAKES ANOTHER 1ST, NEWCOMERS PEREZ & JOHNSON TAKE 2ND & 3RD @ TIGER TOURNY

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ORTIZ-MIRANDA TAKES ANOTHER 1ST, NEWCOMERS PEREZ & JOHNSON TAKE 2ND & 3RD @ TIGER TOURNY

SUMMARY

RESULTS

  1. Jose Ortiz-Miranda

  2. Steve Perez

  3. Andrew Johnson

  4. John Mullins

  5. Raphael Estrada

  6. Kieran Haile

PROMOTIONS & RERATINGS

  • Jose Miranda-Ortiz: D

  • Steve Perez: +E

Krait Base in Los Angeles, CA hosted the first SoCal tournament of the 2022 year, kicking off a season of getting back into more regular events with a solid showing from all fighters.

Throughout the event the energy was high, fighters had amazing performances, and the effort of all fighters were evident, with a whole lot of amazing attacks coming from everyone out of nowhere, throwing everyone watching into cheers.

Coming out on top of the pools gunning for the top was Steve Perez of Penguin Saber Academy in his first Lightspeed competition, with a highly mobile style with amazing accuracy on hand picks, controlled and fast strikes, and great distance management. Jose, backed with experience and lots of top placements, found a major challenge to overcome with Steve, who he had fought with previously in another league under different rules, still showing a great performance, and adapting well in fights he didn’t expect to have challenges in. Andrew Johnson came third in pools, a new competitor from Lightspeed Saber Irvine with an athletic style and previous sports background showed up and his distance control and determination and quick style adaptation really did him well in his first performance.

Not to be outdone, John Mullins, Raphael Estrada, and Kieran Haile all pulled out the stops, John dominating positionally and making everyone work hard for every point earned, Raphael with some extremely aggressive lunging and near sliding putting his opponents off-guard and jumping up and back trying to avoid his strikes, and Kieran with some amazing change-ups and picks that made his opponents all need to carefully plan how they went in on him.

In the Semi-Final brackets we saw a close match between Steve and John, Steve adjusting to John’s height and style to take the match. Jose fought with Andrew all over the box back and forth as they lunged and fled back and forth constantly barely missing each other until Jose got the upper hand with a few shots well earned. Once the Semi’s were done, we saw John and Andrew fight for third - both knew each other’s styles, with Andrew’s mobility taking the victory. Finally, we saw Steve and Jose square off for the top spots, and Steve wasn’t playing around while Jose was caught completely off-guard by the effort and precision Steve showed, taking an almost blowout-lead in a series of back to back to back points that almost had Jose’s number perfectly figured out. However, Jose showed a great eye and noticed the distance and strike shifts he needed to stay out of the way of Steve’s blade, and when to best avoid Steve’s hand shots, shifting his hand away and making a herculean effort to both keep his hands away from Steve’s kill zone and get past Steve’s defense to grind his way back to take 1st place.

Jose certainly earned his top spot this tournament, and we are incredibly excited to see Steve and Andrew’s progress as they get more competitions under their belt with how well they showed in their first LSL competitions! And we look forward to seeing more great growth from the other fighters who all showed awesome amounts of growth and improvement from previous events!

 

SEAN HOLTZMAN
Southern California Director

DIRECTORS

Sean Holtzman

REFEREES

Tony Zaldua
Priscilla Haile

SETUP/assist

Tony Zaldua
Dinah Kolasa
John Mullins

MEDIA

Dinah Kolasa
John Mullins

COMPILATION

Dinah Kolasa

COMPETITORS

Jose Miranda-Ortiz (KB)
Kieran Haile (KB)
Raphael Estrada (KB)
Andrew Johnson(LSI)
John Mullins (LSI)
Steve Perez (Penguin Saber Academy)

TOURNAMENT DATA

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COMPETITION RULES UPDATED

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COMPETITION RULES UPDATED

The official competition rules manual has been updated with some necessary clarifications. These include:

  • Standard competition box size set to 15’x30’

  • Standard fight times for some match types set

  • Referee signals clarified

  • Replaced Special Match Conditions with Priority section

  • Clarified repeat-attack rules under Reckless Fencing section.

  • Violation penalties updated to include a warning and a second red card.

Head over to the Rules page to download the updated manual.

Note that these are still considered the 2021 rules to denote that no major changes are being made at this time.

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JOHNSON MAKES 3RD, DEMARTINO MAKES SILVER, ZALDUA MAKES HISTORY @SOCAL CHAMPIONSHIP

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JOHNSON MAKES 3RD, DEMARTINO MAKES SILVER, ZALDUA MAKES HISTORY @SOCAL CHAMPIONSHIP

SUMMARY

RESULTS

  1. Tony Zaldua

  2. Thom DeMartino

  3. Jamar Johnson

  4. Andre Gonzales

  5. Jeremiah Rodriguez

  6. Rico Thompson

  7. Walter Simbol

  8. William Alonzo

PROMOTIONS & RERATINGS

  • Tony Zaldua: +A

  • Thom DeMartino: +B

  • Andre Gonzales: C

The Lightspeed Saber SoCal championship, from its very inception, was always to be a prestigious event. For months, competitors vied for position to ensure that they would be qualified to have a chance to be named the regional top dog. But ultimately, only 8 would be allowed in, and those 8 brought some of the best Lightspeed Saber fencing we've ever seen.

The roster included old favorites and veterans, including long-time champion Tony Zaldua, Jamar Johnson, William Alonzo, Andre Gonzales, and Thom DeMartino. The new class, having only earned their qualifying grades this year, were Jeremiah Rodriguez, Walter Simbol, and Rico Thompson. The tournament stood at 3 B's and 5 C's, making it the highest rated tournament in Lightspeed Saber history.

The evening's matches started slow; with all fencers vying for position rather than making it into the playoffs, conserving energy was a key strategy for the 8-person pool and tournament. But that didn't mean some amazing exchanges and points were not scored.

Walter “Stylin” Simbol vs Tony Zaldua (jumpsuit)

Walter Simbol stunned opponents with his quick and accurate stop-hits and his stellar fashion sense. Thom DeMartino, known for his similar style and level of attack accuracy, let loose with many a flying overhead attack, leading to the most devastating headshots of the night. Not to be outdone, Rico Thompson had to have been the most accomplished floater of the night, nimbly avoiding any low attacks (for Thompson, this would count as anything below his neck) with a Yoda-like grace as he brought his countermoves down to bear. But if Thompson was the most agile in the air, Jamar Johnson had to be the quickest and the most agile on the ground. Fighting left-handed for most of the pool, Johnson intentionally played the psychological game and sowed seeds of doubt and confusion for the elimination rounds. Johnson, also known for strong defense, fended off opponents' attacks well as he moved at will throughout the ring.

Rico Thompson floats against Thom DeMartino

Of course, we could not speak of defense without 2021's most seasoned competitors: Tony Zaldua, Andre Gonzales, and Jeremiah Rodriguez, who made it clear that the 3-point counterattack was essentially a normal healthy breakfast for these fighters, as they turned their opponent's energy and offense against them. Still, no matter how skilled the defender, they could only weather so many attacks, and William Alonzo from Krait Base brought out his characteristic 100%-always-on-no-mercy style to the fore, never giving his opponent's an inch of breathing space as they fought desperately to withstand his numerous assaults.

Andre Gonzales shields against Jamar Johnson’s attack

By the close of the pool, champion Tony Zaldua led the pack from far afield, with 7 of 7 wins, leaving Jeremiah Rodriguez a distant second with 5 wins, followed by Rico Thompson, Thom DeMartino, Walter Simbol, Andre Gonzales, Jamar Johnson, and Wiliam Alonzo. This meant that the 7th and 8th place positions, Johnson, and Alonzo, were in significant danger, as they had to face tough battles against the top placers in the very first round, lest they be eliminated.

First up were Andre Gonzales and Rico Thompson, two wolves, often tasked with eliminating each other as their skill levels are about equivalent, though with very different styles. Gonzales fights in a more orthodox fashion, with a wide range of moves and skills, while Thompson is much less predictable, using unorthodox stances and relying heavily on his trademark float-over. The battle included several bolts from the wolf captain, though never without answer from the second in command, bringing the hammer down whenever Gonzales mistimed his step. Other exchanges were won by mere inches as the two carnivora traded attacks and dodges. Ultimately, Gonzales won out yet again, taking Thompson out of the lineup and putting Gonzales into the top 4.

Next, Tony Zaldua faced his own teammate, William Alonzo. Alonzo's aggression was high as usual, but Zaldua's stop-hits and remarkable abil;ity to find the opening were too much for Alonzo, who lost in a lopsided 10-1 bout against the number one contender.

Jeremiah Rodriguez bolts against William Alonzo

Thom DeMartino and Walter Simbol faced off next, again in a very lopsided bout where DeMartino crushed his opponent with superior speed and timing. Though they are both similar fighters, DeMartino was simply more mobile, and better at controlling the pace as well as the space of the battle, giving him the win.

The most-talked about battle of the first round, however, might have been the fight between teammates Jamar Johnson and Jeremiah Rodriguez. Based on pool performance thus far, Rodriguez was favored to win. But Johnson had the advantage of experience, as well as the surprise reveal that he, in fact, is not left-handed. This ended up being a very clean fight, with the both of them delivering thrilling and dramatic exchanges, each of them doing an admirable job of stopping the other's attacks. Ultimately though, Johnson earned an upset win over Rodriguez by a single point, knocking out the former cadet down to 5th place overall, his lowest placement in 2021.

William Alonzo (front) vs Thom DeMartino

With four fencers knocked out, the tournament came down to the semi finals, where Zaldua would meet Gonzales, and DeMartino would face Johnson. DeMartino and Johnson had a close battle, Johnson clearly being faster and more agile, but DeMartino having the advantage of greater accuracy and reach. Ultimately it wasn't quite enough for Johnson, who lost by two points, allowing DeMartino, once again, to contend for the first place finish.

Andre Gonzales and Tony Zaldua also had a close battle. Gonzales took an early lead, and the champion looked to be in trouble as yet another upset seemed to loom. However, Zaldua rallied, and brought the score even before landing the final points and snatching away the victory from the wolf captain.

And so, as it was in December 2019, Tony Zaldua and Thom DeMartino faced off once again for the crown, and for the league's very first 'A' rating. DeMartino surely remembered the old battle well, as 2019 Zaldua changed up his gameplan, relying on a defensive posture that stunned the former Skull Squad fencer. It only remained to be seen what game plan Zaldua would run this time, and whether DeMartino had one of his own that would beat it out.
As the match started out, it certainly seemed to be the case. The Lightspeed Saber champion seemed gassed, having fought hard to top out the pools, and fought even harder to make up the difference in his previous battle against Andre Gonzales. In a crucial exchange, Zaldua was ahead in time but narrowly missed a hand snipe, letting DeMartino crash down with a powerful blow against Zaldua's helmet, bringing the score to 6-0 in favor of DeMartino.

Zaldua (left) vs DeMartino

Shortly after, Zaldua visibly began to change plans, altering his tempo and landing his first big score with a double-lunge remise to DeMartino's chest. Zaldua then scored TWO 3-point returns, shooting up the scoreboard and bringing the score to 11-10 with one second remaining. With no time left to lose, DeMartino charged out of the gate with a flying attack into Zaldua's corner. Zaldua, however, bought himself just enough space to dodge the initial action and score a CLEAN counter against DeMartino, finishing the fight at 13-10 as the buzzer sounded, and showing us all why Tony Zaldua is still the reigning Lightspeed Saber champion, and why he is Lightspeed Saber's FIRST 'A' rated fencer.

Despite Zaldua once again taking the top spot, it was no small feat for the other fencers of the top 4. DeMartino earned his 'B' by taking second, and Jamar Johnson earned 3rd place, which was among his best performances in Lightspeed Saber. And Andre Gonzales took 4th to re-earn his C, ensuring his place in the advanced division for the next 12 months.

This tournament could not have happened without the help of the staff and all the supportive moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and friends who came to cheer our fencers on. Thanks to John Mullins for his photography and video clips, thanks to Jowanna Lewis for her great commentary, thanks to Patricia Bauler and Sean Holtzman for directing and reffing the tournament, and thank you to Dinah Kolasa for helping with setup, data, and photography. We'd also like to thank South Coast Fencing Center for hosting us. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you all again in February 2022.

1st: Zaldua, 2nd: DeMartino, 3rd: Johnson

 

CANG SNOW
Chief Executive Officer

DIRECTORS

Cang Snow
Sean Holtzman

REFEREES

Sean Holtzman
Patricia Bauler

STREAMER

Jowanna Lewis

SETUP/assist

Cang Snow
Dinah Kolasa
John Mullins
Sean Holtzman
Patricia Bauler

MEDIA

Dinah Kolasa
John Mullins

COMPILATION

Dinah Kolasa

COMPETITORS

Tony Zaldua (KB)
William Alonzo (KB)
Jeremiah Rodriguez (LSI)
Jamar Johnson (LSI)
Walter Simbol (LSI)
Andre Gonzales (LWB)
Rico Thompson (LWB)
Thom DeMartino

Final Eight

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TEXAS REGIONAL DIRECTOR STEPS DOWN

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TEXAS REGIONAL DIRECTOR STEPS DOWN

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with George Luetkemeyer, Texas Regional Director for Lightspeed Saber League since 2019, and co-owner of Kyber Combat, Texas’ premiere lightsaber combat academy. We talked about the league and where it was going, and we talked about our individual lives and where we were going. It was at this time that George submitted his resignation to me, and I accepted.

George showed his leadership acumen almost right away, once he officially joined up with Kyber Combat in May of 2018. George brought a level of professionalism and training seriousness that all Lightspeed squads should strive for, and it wasn’t long before the team began to excel. George led classes for the group, wrote training protocols and class procedures, established the team’s ranking and promotion system, helped design the Kyber team games, and established the group’s code of conduct, upon which the official Lightspeed Saber code of conduct would later be based.

Needless to say, George’s service and commitment to his squadron brought the attention of Lightspeed Saber upper officers, and the offer was made to bring on George as regional director for Lightspeed Saber in Texas. In this capacity, George brought on numerous new groups into the Lightspeed Saber family, helped manage and lead local tournament efforts, acquired connections with major organizations and venues for competitive and outreach opportunities, and still much, much more.

So it is with sadness that we bid farewell to George and the great passion and service he has brought to our sport, and the league cannot thank him enough for all he has done. However, George has promised that he won’t be going away. As a competitor, George has proven himself just as fast and agile as any of his Kyber compatriots, and has served as a pioneer in the Ren Saber space, a still large and crucial gap in the Lightspeed Saber canon of knowledge. So we fully expect to see more great things from George, just not from above the ring, but inside it, with a flaming crossguard. Thank you George, and we’ll see you in the box!

Cang Snow
Lightspeed Saber League
Chief Executive Officer

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

With the resignation of Director Luetkemeyer at the end of the year, we are currently putting feelers out for a new director in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The role serves as the lead authority on Lightspeed Saber in the region, including handling personnel, member issues, tournament series, and team outreach. The role requires good communication, writing, and interpersonal skills. If you’re interested, contact Cang Snow or email kybercombat@gmail.com.

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