"All lightsaber forms involve the same marks of contact."- Cin Drallig

Originally I was going to discuss the master duelists of the Jedi Order, but I didn't think it belonged in this particular thread series. So this will be the finale of the Lightsaber Forms series and this will be the longest entry.

Cin Drallig makes his final instructional recording...

All lightsaber combat forms involve the same marks of contact, target objectives organized as categories of damage that you can inflict on your opponent. These marks help focus your offense and defense on a few clear categories rather than diffusing awareness across an infinite number of possibilities. The names of these marks remain unaltered from the language of the earliest Jedi Sages.

Sun djem is the ancient term for "disarming." Because relieving an opponent of his weapon or destroying it could win victory without causing injury, sun djem was especially consistent with Jedi conduct and was the primary goal of early Form I masters. However, advances in Form II made sun djem extremely difficult in lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat, as all Form II masters trained to prevent themsleves from being disarmed.

Shiim is any kind of wound that is made with the edge of a lightsaber blade. An inconclusive mark of contact, shiim is considered inferior to other marks that decisively end a battle. Thus, its appearance expresses mothing more than a struggle with a powerful opponent. According to Jedi Archives, it was not unusual for some ancient combat veterans-Jedi and Dark Jedi alike- to forgo corrective surgery for wouds so that they might wear their lightsaber-induced scars as a badge of honor. Not surprisingly, this tradition seems to die out about the same time as the discovery of bacta.

Shiak is "stabbing." Jedi tradition holds that shiak is an honorable method of inflicting serious injury because it causes the least visible injury to the opponent's body. Thus, shiak can express a Jedi's respect for an opponent and the living Force even as it delivers a fatal blow.

Cho mai translates as "to cut off weapon hand." Because this strike instantly ends an opponent's ability to use a weapon but does not kill, cho mai is always a preferred move in combat. The precision of cutting off only a hand is considered a mark of a superior lightsaber master.

Cho sun is "to dismember," but the term is used specifically in reference to removing an opponent's entire arm. This move lacks the precision and elegance of cho mai, but cho sun is the move most oftem necessary in the heat of conflict or where no chance can be taken.

Cho mok translates as "to otherwise maim," targeting legs, limbs, or appendages that will disable your opponent. Although emergency situations may sometimes leave you with few options, I discourage cho mok unless you have an essential comprehension of your opponent's physiology. Obviously, it is crucial that you know the location of vital organs before you strike.

Sai cha comes from the ancient words "separate" and "head," and as you might expect it describes the act of using a lightsaber to behead an opponent. Jedi commit sai cha only when battle is at its most deadly serious and threatening, or when an opponent is considered extremely dangerous even to a fully trained Jedi.

You ask for an example of such a situation? Six years ago, the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his then Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi encountered Baroness Omnino of Vena on the planet Ord Mantell. Guilty of trafficking savrips, abducting Supreme Chancellor Valorum, and murder-among other things- Omnino wore a physical augmenter, a sophisticated device that enabled her to control the minds and actions of virtually anyone she wished. Although the device did not work against Jedi, Omnino had manipulated Savrips to sieze Obi-Wan while she also made two Senate Guards aim their blasters at Chancellor Valorum's head. Understand, Padawans, that with a fleeting thought, Omnino could have urged the guards to pull the triggers of their blasters and made the savrips tear Obi-Wan to pieces. Qui-Gon knew that the only way to prevent Omnino from harming anymore victims was to stop her from projecting any more thoughts, and that knocking her unconcious was not an option, because her mind might have remained active. It was under these circumstances that Qui-Gon distracted Omnino and resorted to sai cha.

Sai tok roughly translates as "to cut body in half." Jedi have long considered the bisection of a living opponent's body as a form of butchery, a desecration to be avoided if possible. Sai tok represents a potentially Sith-like desire to destroy one's enemies, whereas the Jedi goal in combat is an inner focus on defeating the danger of opponents, not striking with hate or wishing utter destruction upon them. Sai tok is generally used only against enemy droids.

Should a Jedi hesitate to use sai tok to kill a Sith Lord? An interesting question, and one you might better direct to Obi-Wan Kenobi, who used sai tok to fell the Sith on Naboo. But because he is not present, I shall take it upon myself to answer the question.

No. A Jedi should not hesitate to use any combat technique to kill a Sith Lord. Again, I stress the goal is not to wish destruction on the Sith, but to defeat the danger they pose.

The Jedi are taught to defeat an opponent without causing any serious injury, but are also taught to use the advanced techniques in the more dire circumstances.

I hope this was an interesting read for you all. This was the finale of the Lightsaber Forms series. I shall be moving on to Force powers next.

If you have a topic you would like to see in the future, post them below or PM me.

Could you put a "space" between each of the points of contact? Would make it easier to read.

Fixed. I thought I did when I originally wrote it lol

Fixed. I thought I did when I originally wrote it lol

Thank you kindly! I remember reading about these a while ago but I forgot the details behind each one.

Thank you kindly! I remember reading about these a while ago but I forgot the details behind each one.

These recordings give a great look at Jedi training techniques. Unfortunately I don't have any recordings on Sith training techniques that I recall. I'll look into it.

Interesting points.

Question did you look up those styles i told you to take a peek at in the Jer'kai thread concerning a long and short blade offensive and defensive techniques?

Interesting points.

 

Question did you look up those styles i told you to take a peek at in the Jer'kai thread concerning a long and short blade offensive and defensive techniques?

Yes I did. And I do believe that it would be a fairly good advantage. Especially if you use the shoto as a sort of sneak attack.

Side note: I will be looking for those books you mentioned as well.

Yes I did. And I do believe that it would be a fairly good advantage. Especially if you use the shoto as a sort of sneak attack.

 

Side note: I will be looking for those books you mentioned as well.

Well R. A. Salvatore did write Vector Prime, which many do hate because of chewie

.

But, as far as swordplay writing, i think R. A. Salvatore is one of the best in the business. Half the reason why the Drizzt books do so well because he can write a battle.

But i do like your lightsaber form posts. well thought out and well done sir!

Well R. A. Salvatore did write Vector Prime, which many do hate because of chewie

Salvatore kills off chewie, but hey Chewie goes out with a bang. They literally drop a moon ontop of his head.

.

 

But, as far as swordplay writing, i think R. A. Salvatore is one of the best in the business. Half the reason why the Drizzt books do so well because he can write a battle.

 

But i do like your lightsaber form posts. well thought out and well done sir!

Yeah, I wasn't a big fan of Chewie getting the short end of the stick, but at least he went out with style.

Thank you very much! I enjoyed writing them.

Nice. Thanks for this, it's a great additional knowledge to the lightsaber forms. Some comments/questions.

Shiim is any kind of wound that is made with the edge of a lightsaber blade. An inconclusive mark of contact, shiim is considered inferior to other marks that decisively end a battle. Thus, its appearance expresses mothing more than a struggle with a powerful opponent. According to Jedi Archives, it was not unusual for some ancient combat veterans-Jedi and Dark Jedi alike- to forgo corrective surgery for wouds so that they might wear their lightsaber-induced scars as a badge of honor. Not surprisingly, this tradition seems to die out about the same time as the discovery of bacta.

In Episode II, Dooku uses two precise Shiim strikes to incapacitate Obi-Wan. I think Jedi would consider this as even superior to cutting off the opponents weapon hand. It creates less lasting damage.

So this is one of the things which prove that Dooku was a very skilled duelist and that he was a fallen Jedi, who fought differently than Sith who had never been Jedi. He didn't aim to kill Obi-Wan, but instead wanted to finish him in a way which proves him as really, really skilled to Jedi eyes - and then kill him.

Shiak is "stabbing." Jedi tradition holds that shiak is an honorable method of inflicting serious injury because it causes the least visible injury to the opponent's body. Thus, shiak can express a Jedi's respect for an opponent and the living Force even as it delivers a fatal blow.

So why don't we see Jedi stabbing more often? Especially Ataru could use some more stabs/thrusts, in my opinion.

(Stabs are my favorite moves, so I might be a little biased there. Palpatine just looked so cool when he did this.)

Going back to the forms, I have another question:

How do non-humanoid Jedi fight with lightsabers? The forms are definitly created for humaoids. Think, for example, of a Colicoid Jedi. The position of his arms (and legs, I think) wouldn't allow for many of the moves each form uses.

Nice. Thanks for this, it's a great additional knowledge to the lightsaber forms. Some comments/questions.

 

 

 

In Episode II, Dooku uses two precise Shiim strikes to incapacitate Obi-Wan. I think Jedi would consider this as even superior to cutting off the opponents weapon hand. It creates less lasting damage.

 

So this is one of the things which prove that Dooku was a very skilled duelist and that he was a fallen Jedi, who fought differently than Sith who had never been Jedi. He didn't aim to kill Obi-Wan, but instead wanted to finish him in a way which proves him as really, really skilled to Jedi eyes - and then kill him.

 

 

 

 

So why don't we see Jedi stabbing more often? Especially Ataru could use some more stabs/thrusts, in my opinion.

 

(Stabs are my favorite moves, so I might be a little biased there. Palpatine just looked so cool when he did this.)

 

 

Going back to the forms, I have another question:

 

How do non-humanoid Jedi fight with lightsabers? The forms are definitly created for humaoids. Think, for example, of a Colicoid Jedi. The position of his arms (and legs, I think) wouldn't allow for many of the moves each form uses.

Dooku is one of the most skilled duelists of all time and displayed his mastery multiple times before and during the Clone Wars. The Jedi respected his dueling skills and considered him a dangerous opponent.

We mostly see PT Jedi fighting droids so there really isn't a reason for them to stab when they can just slice them in half.

Sort of like we see with General Grievous and Pong Krell. Their multiple arms allow them to use more lightsabers, usually in complex styles suited to their multiple limbs. General Grievous used his four arms to create an unorthodox lightsaber style that caught many Jedi off-guard. Humanoid creatures and such would have to use the lightsabers in ways that tailor to the strengths of their multiple arms.

Hey all! I wanted to update you all on the new scheduling for An in-depth look.

An in-depth look at: Count Dooku will be released on Sunday, Oct. 28. Long threads like characters and events will be released weekly. Smaller threads such as Force powers, superweapons etc. will be released daily starting Monday, Oct. 29 with Force Powers.

*Note that this scheduling pertains to those living in the U.S.

Take care all!