Today on the blog I’m joined by one of the best fighters on the Tour, and certainly one of the players with the most distinctive attire – François Ducrohet.

——————————————————————————————————

François, welcome to Saber Talk, let’s start at the beginning, how did you first get involved with LED Saber as a sport? And what’s the most rewarding part of competing in the international tournament system for you?

Thanks William. I’m glad we have this talk. You do an amazing work to promote our sport. We’re lucky to have you in the Saber Tour® family. 

I’m an old member myself of this family. I got involved years ago.

During summer of 2016, I spent some times with my cousin who perform as a musketeer in the Castle of Les Milandes, in France. For the record it was the property of Josephine Baker.

I thought artistic fencing was the perfect hobby for my son and my nephew. Once back in Paris I seeked a course for kids, in vain, BUT I discovered the Sport Saber League.

After one year of coming with the boys I took my licence. I started competing a few month later and I still do!

I love the continuous assaults. Knowing that you may be hit by a counter attack or two forces you to build efficient drills, to anticipate parries and counters.

If I achieve a fake move, dodge, two hits in counter attack, parry and a last hit, it makes my day (and a 5-0) in a blink.

You’re based at SSL Paris – what’s the training environment like there? Has the club culture influenced how you approach competition?

Yeah, most of the best fighters of Saber Tour Tour®   train at SSL Paris, the oldest and bigger club in France.

Training with the best forges you. Everybody works together, from newbies to big guns. We do our best to make everyone feel comfortable, safe and have fun regardless of the reasons that make them come. Just for sport or to learn martial stuff or to compete, it does not matter. We train together.

Those shares are the heart of our way. It gives confidence, a very important ingredient to cook a strong mindset.

As proof I could tell you about a young fighter, 16 yo. She used to train with kids, then teens and now with adults. She competed in her very first sport tournament ever a few weeks ago, in Paris, and gave all she’s gots and enjoyed so much against two beasts ranked on Top16.

We make people doing and loving sport.

LED Saber has seen a huge surge in popularity in recent years, what do you think makes it so special? And what would you say is one misconception that most people have about the sport?

I lost the count of people I initiated but I can tell you that everybody’s eyes are going bigger the very moment the blade turns on. It’s more than a sword. It’s magic, real magic. It’s a smile factory. The reste is poetry.

In my own opinion it’s still confidential, anyway, and it’s gonna take years to gain the fame it deserves despite increasing popularity. I think it’s too cool to be serious for many people.

Anyway, having fun is a serious matter, isn’t it? So grab a hilt, press the button and let’s fight baby!.

A lot of fighters will listen to music while warming up or practicing, is this something you’ve ever given a try? If so, did you find it helped you to focus or improve your performance at all?

I tried but I need to feel the vibes of the day to stay connected and focus.

“Roar” of the crowd is more my cup of tea.

You’ve fought in a lot of different events now – do you find the atmosphere or energy varies much between tournaments, and does that change how you perform?

I’m not sure to know. I mean, I’m so involved in the organisation that I feel at home everywhere, I met and know many fighters after 8 years of competition.

Therefore, it seems that we’re getting closer, even with new fighters. Coaching is spreading and becoming a new way of sharing valuable moments. I mean, coaching is often improvised : “Oh we fight in the same pool but could you stay in my corner during the other combats? Sure, I’ll do my best to help you.” We are moving from “waiting our turn” to “sharing every minute”.

I guess that gives me positive energy.

As a highly-ranked and admired fighter, how would you sum up your style in the arena? Has it changed at all over your time competing?

It changed, for the better. I bet it will do, again.

We have to keep in mind that our sport is young; 10 yo. There’s still a long way to reach very high skill levels. Imagine we have something like colored belts, as traditional martial arts do, I am pretty sure none of us, even Sebastien or Amaury, would wear a black one, not yet.

Even so, there’s gaps, milestones :

– I started betting all on pure speed and vivacity… til I lost because my attacks weren’t seen enough.

– Then I worked to manage distance and fought with a lot of fake moves and bold lateral close assaults with lots of success but that was not enough to overcome the best and winning was becoming harder as the competition level increased.

– And I fell. I lost confidence during Open77 on october 2024. I got back to work with the aim of building a new way of fighting. I did and still improving it:

– Today, I drive my duels with a very offensive presence, low stance and attacks that integrate parries. I’m very inspired by longsword techniques from HEMA these days; excluding thrusts ofc.

Do you have a favourite match from any tournament you’ve attended? If so, who was it against—and why does it stand out to you?

I do!

I’ve still got in mind my first semi final: Open de France 2023, against Amaury. I think it’s the duel with the longest attacks and parries exchanges I ever fought.

BUT!

My best achievement was my victory against Sebastien in the quarter final at the last Open de France. First win in 8 years of trying. He shaped me to do so. I did. History.

A lot of the fighters in the circuit are likely familiar with your distinctive frog attire and green saber, how did this aesthetic come to be your main look in competitions?

I know people love stories. I give them a character, like wrestlers do – I watched WWF on TV. And they wrote the story of the frog.

But if you want to know,  the suit sum up several most sophisticated inspirations : helmet design is an interpretation of the Dragon Cloth from Saint Seya, with the mecha look and feel of Iron Man, suit design is more like a cyber armor with a bit of Tron plus viking and vedic accents, 99 stands for Gally (Gunnm / Alita) in motorball, Deathscythe and the green blade for the death gundam from Gundam Wing.

Anyway, I’m ok with the frog. I’m a fan of Jiraya and his toad ermite mode from Naruto: an old fool guy, that sounds like me  ^_^. 

Finally, if you could step into the arena for a full three-round match under official Saber Tour rules against any opponent—historical or fictional—who would you choose to duel, and why?

Ahaha! The painful question: choosing one means giving up the others.

I think I would fight against Caerula Sanguis. She’s a fictional character from the manga Gunnm (Alita Battle Angel) Last Order. A vampire so trained to combat that she could predict her opponent’s next moves from his stance.

I do my best to trick my rivals on my intentions, she would be an exquisite instructor.

Or maybe I would fight Lady Oscar from La Rose de Versailles or Charlotte from Soul Calibur (video game)… or the whole cast from Demon Slayer… or…

——————————————————————————————————

A huge thank you to François for taking part in today’s interview!

Thank you all very much for reading!

May The Force Be With You