Most couples have a first dance at their wedding reception. Jacob Lehman ’06 and Jennifer Wholey Lehman ’10 had a sword fight. To music from a Pirates of the Caribbean film, the couple dueled in full bride-and-groom attire in front of their guests—a moment that was years in the making.
The two had met through Ring of Steel, a student-run stage combat club that blends martial arts and theater using steel swords, wooden staves, and even lightsabers.
“There’s an intrinsic need for play that never goes away,” says Jennifer, who majored in communication in CALS and now works in Alumni Affairs while serving as Ring of Steel’s staff advisor.
“I think that everyone, at least a little bit, wants to feel like a badass, and that you can be the hero in your own story.”
Founded by Jacob, an English major in the College of Arts and Sciences, during his freshman spring in 2003, Ring of Steel trains its members to choreograph and recreate fight scenes inspired by films like Star Wars, Highlander, and The Princess Bride, using replica weapons and costumes. It puts on performances at events like ClubFest and Spring Fest, as well as on May the 4th—a.k.a. “Star Wars Day”—when lightsabers take center stage.
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