By Erica Richards
Special to The State News
The peaceful lawn of the Administration Building turned into a medieval battlefield Saturday afternoon - but fighters wore T-shirts and used weapons made of wood, leather and duct tape.
A small group of students and instructors from the Aegis Sword Academy in Pinckney took turns fighting within a ring of green rope as part of a swordsmanship demonstration. About a dozen spectators were drawn to the unusual performance out of curiosity as they passed by.
"It's just extremely fun to go ahead, take a fake weapon and go after your friends," said computer science and engineering senior Holly Hunt, who is a member of the group, but only came to watch.
The fighters were sometimes very serious, circling and analyzing each other for several seconds before attacking. Other times they broke into fits of laughter as they were "killed" by the touch of an opponent's weapon.
The group does the demonstrations to get the word out about the swordsmanship classes they offer, said Caryn Malokofsky, marketing manager for Aegis Consulting, LLC, which runs the academy. The academy recently had two performances at the University of Michigan and will be traveling to Eastern Michigan University next week, and will be holding one at a science fiction convention in Lansing in October.
"We're doing something entirely different from what everyone else teaches," Malokofsky said about the western European martial arts style the group practices. The group only uses fake weapons made of softer materials when fighting other people, but they sometimes use real metal weapons when practicing alone.
Howell resident Tracy Worcester, who has been with the group for more than two years, chased instructor Matt Bernard around the ring carrying a padded ax and a shield with a sticker reading " ? and the geeks shall inherit the Earth," before both of them fell to the ground laughing.
Worcester, who described herself as "someone who should be playing women's rugby," said she first saw the swordsmanship group perform at a convention and was intrigued by the style of fighting they teach because it can be adapted for any body type.
"We've got every range from delicate to brick-like," she said, indicating the group of demonstrators, who varied greatly in terms of age, height, weight and gender.
Malokofsky said she values the self-defense techniques she has learned because they could help her protect her 7-year-old daughter. She's been practicing with Aegis for about five years and is now an instructor.
"Even if I didn't care enough about myself to learn to fight, there may come a time when I need to defend her," she said.
Luke Gray, a Lyman Briggs freshman, came to watch the demonstration after seeing a flyer on campus and took pictures of the performance.
"I've always liked sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat," he said. "It's interesting because hand-to-hand combat is more personal than modern combat, and it's good to watch people who are good at it."
Mechanical engineering senior Eric Johnson said he was interested in the demonstration because he has a background in Kendo, a form of Japanese swordsmanship.
"Kendo is very disciplined," he said. "This would probably be more fun."
Malokofsky agreed that the demonstrations aren't just fun for the audience, but for the performers as well.
"Fighting itself is a thrill," she said. "It's invigorating, it's energizing, it's a thrill."
