Junior Derek Gabreski stood a few feet to the side of the rest of the sword team during its practice March 28 in the Fitness Center. With his yari, or Japanese spear, in hand, Gabreski began a form, or kata, featuring a dazzling array of twirling moves and spinning cuts.

The two-minute display seemed fit for a Star Wars lightsaber choreography rather than a casual practice on the basketball court of the Fitness Center. But the rest of the members of the Sword Team of Ithaca College (SToIC) didn’t take a second glance. They are used to sights like that.

Watch a package on the Sword Team of Ithaca College practicing in the Fitness Center.

SToIC was created four years ago by Bill Winston ’04 and former Ithaca College professor Kevin Hufford. Hufford, who runs his own dojo in Trumansburg, was approached by Winston about the prospect of starting a unique club on South Hill. Though real swords are not permitted on the Ithaca College campus, the forms can still be taught using replica weapons.

“The club started in the spring of 2003,” senior Steve Fulghum said. “Bill approached Dr. Hufford and said, Hey, I want to start a sword club.”

Hufford teaches the members of the club the art of SanBuSaku Iaijutsu, which Campbell said essentially incorporates three different aspects of swordsmanship.

“The style we use is SanBuSaku, and really it’s a combination of three different disciplines within sword,” Campbell said. “There’s Iaido, which involves the techniques of noncombative forms, and on the other side of that is Kenjutsu, which is the combative stuff where we spar. And then the third part is called Tameshigiri, which is the live cutting with sharp blades, which we obviously can’t do on campus.”

Each practice begins with members running through various forms using bokkens, or wooden swords, which are executed slowly so that proper technique is learned.

“It weighs slightly more than a kitana, and we use them to practice cuts and other forms, Gabreski said. “We then break into things like blocking sets and more self-defense–type things, and then we do some situational sparring.”

The forms, known as katas, are different sword-related moves or cuts strung together. Senior Darren Campbell, president of SToIC, said the various forms work on defense from every possible angle.

“A kata is a set of specific moves and techniques that we do,” Campbell said. “They work with eight basic cuts. Each kata deals with an attacker coming from a different direction.”

After about a half hour of practicing the various katas, members pair off to begin sparring exercises. Using padded swords, known as choken (long) and kodachi (short), and wearing protective headgear and gloves, the members attack each other with a barrage of overhand cuts and jabs.

While the loud thuds echo throughout the Fitness Center, the impact of the chokens and kodachis sounds worse than it actually is. In fact, many members of the club say sparring is the most enjoyable part of being in the club.

“It’s a relaxed way to get together and hit someone,” Gabreski said with a smile. “It’s a good stress relief.

The club, which consists of 10 to 12 consistently active members, practices twice a week in the Fitness Center. However, some of the members of the team, including Campbell and Fulghum, said they often travel to Hufford’s dojo, Dragon Fire Martial Arts. Every once in a while they even practice with real swords, something that is not permitted on Ithaca’s campus.

Campbell, who just last weekend earned an instructor certification in SanBuSaku from Hufford’s certification class, travels the half hour or so every Tuesday to see Hufford. Fulghum, who earned his master instructor certificate last weekend, said that while handling real swords can be exciting, extreme care must be used.

“You don’t want to screw around,” Fulghum said. “It’s like a gun. If you’re cleaning a gun, you don’t wave the gun around. You’re going to get yourself shot.”

While Gabreski has extensive martial arts experience, Campbell and Fulghum had little to none prior to joining the club. In fact, Campbell, who joined the club as a sophomore, said it was basically an accident that he ended up with SToIC.

“I saw a flier for the sword team, and my first thought was that it involved fencing, actually,” he said. “So I went to the informational meeting and found out it was Japanese swords, so I decided to give it a try anyway. Then I got into it and really started enjoying it.”

Sophomore Tammy Duvall only joined the team last Monday but said she already feels comfortable because of her previous experience.

 “I’m not new to martial arts in general,” Duvall said. “For about 10 to 12 years I’ve been a student of martial arts. My husband and I run a martial arts studio back home. It’s more of a fitness through martial arts studio.”

The club, which features a large portion of upperclassmen, is hoping to recruit more dedicated members in the coming year.

“Four of us are graduating [this year],” Fulghum said. “We really want to find people. I think that Ithaca is big enough to support a club like this. We just need to find the right-minded people. We all want to see the club thrive.”