Flynn Michael calls his students a “bunch of Star Wars dorks.” But that doesn’t mean he’s any less passionate about the sci-fi series himself. Especially since he’s created a whole club on the concept of Jedi, and teaches his trainees how to use the Force to navigate the pressures of living in New York City – be it a stressful workplace, a rowdy bar or a crowded subway. His project is called the New York Jedi Club.
Born Michael Brown, the sound engineer from Brooklyn calls himself a “sci-fi, heavy metal, over-the-top geek.” During his growing-up years in Rhode Island, he watched the first Star Wars film 32 times, and when he saw Luke Skywalker learning the way of the Force, like millions of other fans he wanted to be able to do that himself. Michael’s childhood was not unlike other geeky kids’, he was bullied and beat up a lot. He says that the lightsaber helped bring out the hero inside him, and helped him stand up for himself.
Photo copyright New York Jedi/Facebook
Michael’s lifelong passion for Jedi finally garnered a huge reaction when he staged a lightsaber routine along with a few buddies at the 2005 Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village. It was then that he realized the potential of his knowledge and created the spiritual discipline for the modern urban Jedi. The club also draws from Michael’s experience with martial arts, sword-fighting, dance and Tibetan Buddhism. New students are given inexpensive, factory-made lightsabers, while senior ones progress to custom sabers they make for themselves. According to Michael, “A Jedi is not a Jedi till he makes his own weapon.” Apart from meeting weekly, the club also performs at comic book conventions, Star Wars themed events and birthday parties for kids. An added bonus? Nothing attracts the ladies like a lightsaber, observes Flynn Michael.
Photo copyright New York Jedi/Facebook
This isn’t the only instance where The Force has spiritually inspired people in real life. Previously, we have written written about how over 15,000 Czechs had put down ‘Jedi’ as their faith in an official census, and about the Jedi Academy founded by a Taekwondo instructor, in Chile.
Photo copyright New York Jedi/Facebook
Photo copyright New York Jedi/Facebook
via New York Times
