After serving as the President of Knights of the Y, BYU’s foam fighting club dedicated to LARP (live action role playing), Jacob Lowe was granted the title of warlord.
Lowe, or “Sir Jacob” as he is commonly referred to by his fellow knights, is a senior graduating in April in public relations. He is also the founder and leader of Knights of the Y.
As the realm leader, Lowe was charged with running club nights, delegating tasks to officers and giving rousing speeches to the knights in attendance.
Sir Jacob was doing just that when Marc Beckstrand, one of the founders of foam fighting in Utah and the original warlord, and Jarom Rush, who served as a warlord in Orem for the last eight years, decided it was time to bestow that same honor onto Lowe.
“It was an amazing moment where he was leading the group and everybody was paying attention to him. He paused for a minute and we stopped him and Marc was like, Jacob, take a knee,” Rush said.
They then dubbed him a warlord.
Rush and Beckstrand had no intention of making him a warlord that night. However, they said they have known Lowe for years and he is an amazing person, and they saw how he was leading, so they both looked at each other and decided it was time they gave him the title they believed he deserved.
Rush described being a warlord as a leader of a realm of foam fighters, and Lowe expanded on that idea by saying how the Knights of the Y focus on people, using sword fighting to bring them together.
“The beautiful thing is it’s inherently an honor game and such honor should be shown not only in our interactions with others but on the battlefield with every swing. A warlord ought to exemplify those traits they want to see in their realm. To be able to delegate, being able to lead, be able to serve and lift others and being able to help everybody,” said Lowe.
Beckstrand further explained the importance of honor in foam fighting.
“For a person to do this you have to be friendly — we are hitting each other, so kindness and good competitive spirit have to be there. We never say, ‘I got you.’ We only say, ‘You got me.’ The whole nature of the game revolves around honesty and fairness,” he said.
Isaac Dillman, another student who is a member of Knights of the Y, is a junior in civil engineering and is currently the officer of law for the club, which means he runs the battle games.
He joined the Knights of the Y shortly after its founding two years ago and said it has made a difference in his life
“It’s taught me control, discipline, as well as just general honor and how to treat others,” Dillman said.
Dillman described Lowe as a natural-born leader.
“Jacob is everything you would look for in a warlord for the sport. Essentially, he is somebody who cares very deeply, first and foremost, about the people in the sport and the people in the field over the game itself,” Dillman said.
Although Lowe’s tenure as realm leader has resulted in him becoming a warlord, it will soon come to the end. In preparation for his inevitable graduation, the Knights of the Y voted for a new president to soon take his place — Andre Tatro.
Students have met, and will continue to meet, Tuesday nights in the Wilkinson Student Center to practice battling with swords, to make friends and to practice such values as integrity and honor.
