Barony of the Seven Sleeping Dragons

So as promised, here are some pictures and footage of our sword-making activities this past Saturday. The swords are called boffer swords. What is a boffer? The term 'boffer' refers to a contact weapon (swords, spears, clubs, arrows, hammers, etc.) that is made from light weight materials and padded with foam to prevent injury. These were made out of pool noodles, installation foam, rods, duct and electrical tape, and cloth covers.

The group who helped us make them are the Barony of the Seven Sleeping Dragons, a boffer combat group that meets in San Luis Obispo to hold mock combats, role play, have fun, and learn fighting skills. They have cool rules, like if someone strikes you in the arm with a sword, you "lose" that arm and have to put it behind your back. If you get hit in the leg, you "lose" that leg and have to go down on one knee. You are considered dead and must sit out the rest of the combat if 2 limbs are hit, or you are hit in the torso, back, or chest. Savanna didn't even want to come, and by the end of the day, I couldn't get her off the battle field! The boys, of course, were in Heaven surrounded by other boys with play swords and fake deaths all over the place! They learned new words every four and five year should know, like "execution" and "decapitation." Overall, besides it being absolutely FREEZING, it was super fun. They adore their swords. It took us almost 3 hours to make them! A lot of time and detail go into making these boffer swords so they are safe, and so they last. Who knew???

Putting the pool noodle on the rod

The before

The pommel of the sword is pink bouncy ball

The after: Savanna's finished sword

Ben found a shield bigger than him

Savanna's first battle

The boys with their finished swords....
and Ben's demise!