I used to have sparring sessions at cons a few years back. We used to do them at AX, ALA, PMX, Fanime, Mikomicon, Wondercon, and a few other ones before they started getting too crowded. Nobody ever got hurt, we always had plenty of gear, and we always made sure that everyone coming in actually had some prior training before letting them in. Now we only do lightsaber fencing since it's a lot less equipment to deal with.
I like how quickly this went from “what’s a yaoi paddle?” to “fighting at cons”
I feel like that’s a different case than what Anon is describing, though. Having gear and proper training and safety considerations is one thing, and a bunch of people with no training standing in a circle and fighting for the hell of it is something else. (I imagine it’s mostly teens and other younger folk, but I could be wrong.) Proper sparring sessions sound like fun, whereas “anime con fight club” sounds like a potential disaster waiting to happen.
Doesn’t Fanime have a dojo, where they actually teach martial arts?
Though I do remember “sparring” with everything from bokken to large sticks as a young teen. Ahh~ memories. and watching too much anime where people fight with swords.
