MANCHESTER, Conn. — May 4th has evolved into an unofficial celebration of all things Star Wars, a special day at the Academy of Martial Arts & Personal Development in Manchester.
For nearly a decade Grandmaster Joel Waldron, a 6th-degree blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do, has also been the force behind the “Jedi Ninja Warrior Program”.
“I invented the Jedi Ninja Warrior Program as something to combine my love of Star Wars, my love of gymnastics, my love of martial arts and we put it all together,” Waldon said.
Lightsabers glow, students tumble and vault and combat forms are practiced in the new facility that Waldron recently opened on Tolland Turnpike in Manchester.
Waldron noted that in the first year of the Jedi class, there were only around 15 students.
“Now we have 60 or 70 students and we have a class that is just devoted to the adults because they are the ones who grew up with Star Wars,” Waldon said.
“We treat this like it is a martial art, we teach it like a martial art, it’s the gymnastics, the acrobatics, all put together but with a martial arts twist,” said Instructor Eric Howard, from East Hartford.
Hanna Swenson who travels from Winsted to take the class said she likes learning.
“Everything from sword work, tumbling, vaulting to sparring to ropes to grappling and strikes and kicks,” said Swenson.
Waldron insisted that the Jedi Ninja Warrior program isn’t a bunch of cosplayers rolling on a mat.
“It’s not just running around with noodles whacking, we really train, we really learn how to use swords, we take it seriously but it’s a great physical fitness program,” he said.
To learn more about the Jedi Ninja Warrior Program click here.
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