A park on the south side of Mexico鈥檚 capital lights up with the multicolored glow of lightsabers, as a man slashing a white luminescent sword through the air shouts: 鈥淐heck the defense!鈥�

Onlookers watch curiously and a dog-walker asks about the duel, which breaks out four nights a week.

The Jedi Knight Academy, founded in 2019, is a lightsaber combat and choreography school in Mexico City and a dream come true for fans of the Star Wars franchise.

鈥淲hen students arrive some of them drop the saber. They don鈥檛 know how to handle it properly, and with the passing of time you see them grow,鈥� said instructor Ulises V谩zquez, also known as the Jedi master. 鈥淭oday they are youngsters who became excellent athletes and excellent lightsaber fighters and fencers.鈥�

During daily three-hour sessions, fans of the George Lucas saga can learn how to perform lightsaber combat in true Luke Skywalker-style.

Based on Jedi and Sith teachings 鈥� initially based on ancient sword-fighting techniques 鈥� these duels and choreographies between Jedi are not only fun and spectacular to watch, but also a complex discipline that integrates elements of martial arts like kendo, aikido and tai chi.

Classes usually start with meditation and a warmup. Instructors then show students different exercises, which they perform again and again as they strive for perfection. Some later duel with protective equipment that looks like a galactic fencing uniform. Their sabers are made of ballistic-grade polycarbonate and illuminated from within in a rainbow of colors.

It all started 15 years ago when V谩zquez and his best friend, Gabriel Mendoza, started toying with the idea of founding a lightsaber combat school. V谩zquez had always wanted to learn how to fight like Anakin Skywalker 鈥� the main character of the saga, later known as Darth Vader 鈥� and both him and Mendoza had experience with martial arts.

They thought other people would be interested in learning and they weren鈥檛 wrong.

When they decided to open the academy in Mexico in 2019, lightsaber dueling was already rippling across the world and had been as an official competitive sport.

Their hope was to encourage young people to engage in regular exercise. That was the case for Maroli Mart铆nez, 19, a university student fighting on the lawn on a recent night.

鈥淧eople here have a lot of influence in how we learn. This is a very tight and lovable family and that is what I love about this place,鈥� said Mart铆nez, who鈥檚 been taking lightsaber combat lessons for three years.

A few meters (yards) away from her, another group is practicing an intricate choreography. Students draw their colorful swords and engage in a dance to the tempo of instructions. A rainbow flag tied to a tree waves behind them.

They are the Pride faction of the academy. Both V谩zquez and Mendoza took on inclusion workshops and got in touch with different local LGBTQ+ organizations to better understand how to run a safe queer-only space, which marked a year this June.

鈥淚t鈥檚 massively satisfying to realize that all the effort we put into the training program has been so successful,鈥� said V谩zquez.

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