In a sports stadium in inner suburban Perth, a Jedi and Sith Lord are facing each other, lightsabers raised and ready for combat.
But it is not a film shoot for the latest Star Wars blockbuster. It is a class for women keen to learn the strategy and choreography of lightsaber combat.
The weapons they are using are "combat rated" and made of a strong polycarbonate tube — designed to bend rather than break when hit — that light up and produce sound effects worthy of the global film franchise.
"It's such an iconic cultural thing," Ladies Who Lightsaber instructor David Winchester said.
"When you give someone a lightsaber, their face lights up, and they just know what to do with it.
"And then when you give them an opportunity to act out their lightsaber dreams, their Star Wars dreams, it's just fantastic."
Mr Winchester is the founding force behind Mos Eisley Swords Club — Western Australia's only club devoted to lightsaber sports — and has been struggling to keep up with growing demand.
"I realised it was not that far away from fencing, which I love, but also a little bit simpler, a little bit more inclusive, a little bit easier to understand and a lot more fun," he said.
"I really wanted to do it, but there was no place around in Perth where I could get a lightsaber and beat someone up.
"So the only option was to start my own club.
"In spite of all of the technical stuff that we do, which is mostly designed around making sure that when they do get into combat, they won't hurt themselves or other people, the choreographed stuff is just pure imagination and fun."
Huge demand for women-only events
Mr Winchester found that while women wanted to join lightsaber technique classes and groups, it was a male-dominated niche.
"We started running ladies-only lightsaber events. We've run two already and we've been inundated so we've had to put extra sessions on," he said.
He said he would like to see lightsabers available on the market modified so they were more comfortable for women.
"There's still some work to be done to bring the equipment forward in a way that suits women better," Mr Winchester said.
"The lightsabers are a bit on the heavy side so people fatigue easily and can get sore wrists and shoulders."
Lightsaber combat globally recognised
The French Fencing Federation in 2019 officially recognised lightsaber duelling as a competitive discipline with similar rules to fencing.
"It's very validating that you can see it as a sport and as a martial art, but also as a performance piece," instructor and Star Wars enthusiast Tracey Nelson said.
"When I was a child I loved Star Wars when it came out, but there were no female Jedi.
"But years later when [the character of] Rey was introduced, I was thinking, 'It's our time'.
"After all these years of being the only girl who played with the boys playing Star Wars, I have my own lightsaber now."
Linda Perkins said it was a love of combat martial arts and the Star Wars franchise that attracted her to lightsaber sport.
"I think it was the first movie I ever watched as kids way back in the 70s," she said.
"I used to do wushu years ago, so I've done Chinese broad swords, but this is the first time I've used one of these.
"I can pretty well apply the same methods."
Childhood dreams become reality
For participant Jannica Costello, playing with lightsabers was a childhood dream.
"Ever since I was in high school and got into Star Wars, I was like, 'I want to have a lightsaber'," she said.
"I just wanted a community of people who like Star Wars and like doing Star Wars things to be active.
"I feel like a lot more men are into these sorts of things and now I'm finding out there are other ladies who are into this sort of thing as well."
Along with learning combat techniques, the class breaks off into smaller groups that choreograph a battle based on a Star Wars scenario.
It has resulted in Ms Castillo pointing her red lightsaber at another class participant.
"I'm usually a Jedi, but today I'm embracing the dark side," she said.
