Star Wars Jedi Duel
Outline: Adorned with Star Wars character masks, students are guided around the classroom trying to extirpate the other teams' saber-wielding opponents by listening to their teammate's directions.
Teaching Suggestions:
In regards to the light sabers, NO HARD SWORDS! This was learned the hard way.
Mask making - when you make the masks, it's suggested glue the print-outs onto cardboard. Additionally, attach a small cloth around the sides of the mask so the student can't use their peripheral vision.
Procedure:
Move all the desks to the back of the class to create a large open space.
Break the class into 4-6 groups and have each group choose a Star Wars character mask. The masks don't have eye-holes to prevent the wearer from seeing through it.
- The teams have to decide mask-wearer to do battle and one student to be the command-giver.
Have the Jedi from two groups dress up in the outfits and masks. Give them the light sabers. If you note the picture on the right, the best sabers can be found at your local festivals, in between all vendors selling candy-sprinkled chocolate-covered bananas and cuttlefish-on-a-stick vendors.
In addition to the regular direction vocab, teach the students the commands 'hit' and 'slash.' A hit is a vertical movement, while a slash is horizontal. Also, teach them words like, "duck" or "crawl" to encourage various team strategies.
Allow the groups to practice the directions in their corner and plan their strategies, then begin the game.
When you say "FIGHT," the command-giver leads the saber-wielding student out onto the battlefield. The object of the game is to be the last warrior standing. The commander leads their warrior around the room trying to hit other team's Star Wars character. The commander must not touch the student, and if they speak Japanese, their warrior must automatically crumple dead to the floor.
The last warrior standing receives a point for their team.
Variations:
Play the Emperial March from Star Wars in the background to enhance the mood.
Make the room as dark as possible to enhance the effect. The ultimate is to spotlight the center of the room.
Have you ever seen Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail? Instead of a hit ending a warrior's life, just like the movie, have each hit render that body part immobile. Meaning, if a Jedi loses ther light-saber arm, they must switch hands, or if their leg is hit, they must stand on one leg. However, a body or head shot is automatic death.
Place desks in the battlefield as obstacles. This effectively slows down charging forward students. If this doesn't work, make the desks 'shokku desks (shock desks),' where the warrior automatically dies if they touch them.
To avoid hilariously funny random slashes, give each team a set number of attacks. If they run out of attacks, their team is finished, but the warrior must remain on the battlefield to be slain.