For theatre arts instructor, Christopher Gadomski, a registered student organization he enjoyed as an Eastern student back in the ‘90s is returning, with him as the new group’s adviser.

The possibly new RSO, The Sword Fighter’s Guild, is a product of Gadomski, and some of his students who wanted to get a formal group together to simply “have fun.”

“When I was a student here, we had a Sword Fighter’s Guild as an RSO,” Gadomski said. “We would get together and sword fight, making our weapons out of PVC for the core and wrapping them with foam. We did it just for the fun of sword fighting.”

He said the weapons are safe and require no armor or protective gear because the weapons are padded.

“This is a contact sport but it is not grappling,” Gadomski said.

“There is no punching or wrestling; there are sanctioned rules, such as saying the head is completely avoided. In general, it is not a sport or game where people get injured.”

Brieanne Reid, a sophomore theatre arts major, has been working with Gadomski to try to make the Sword Fighters Guild an official RSO.

As a recruiting tool, Reid said she tells them: “you really don’t have to do much; you just whack people with foam swords.”

Reid said the club it is still in the stages of being approved by the Student Senate. The application process was easier than some other RSOs, because Gadomski said the group already had the basis for a constitution.

“Two years ago, another student of mine was going to start the sword fighter’s group, so we just used the constitution that he wrote and…now it is going through the process of becoming an RSO,” Gadomski said.

For the new students who will be required to make their own weapons (with Gadomski’s help, if requested), the adviser will recommend making the weapons to national standards.

Two national groups, Dagorhir and Belegarth, host battles around the country. The students would be able to join the two groups if they wished.

“Those two groups are nation-wide, and the weapons that we use for our own Sword Fighter’s Guild are not compatible with their rules,” Gadomski said. “I told the students to build their weapons to those specs.”

“Whoever finds the fun in a contact sport like sword fighting or spear fighting, come on out and have fun with the group,” Gadomski said. “There are no fighting styles. This is just ‘get together and have fun’ fighting.”

The group does not yet have any official dates set to meet, but a few members have been getting together since last semester on their own to fight for fun.

“Sword fighting isn’t a traditional sport, but sword fighting is a fringe thing,” Gadomski said. “It is just fun, and I think anybody who gives it a try will have a very enjoyable time with it.”

Jack Cruikshank can be reached at 581-2812 or jdcruikshank@eiu.edu.