It occurred to me, as I was doing a little light reading on Jar'Kai (two lightsaber) fighting over on the wiki, that the majority of the regular dual lightsaber wielders we're exposed to are female. I define 'regular' as people who default to that style, rather than those who use a second lightsaber situationally or sporadically. The only two males that come to mind as regular dual wielders are Galen Marek (or maybe it's one of his clones, I dunno; never played those games) and I suppose Darth Krayt, whereas with females, we have Asajj Ventress, Ahsoka Tano, Maris Brood, Keelyvine Reus, etc.

 

Just curious why that's the case.

I think it boils down to the style associated with dual wielding lends itself towards being very fast and agile, and in general that comes across as a more "female" aesthetic - so while it's not an absolute rule by any stretch (one of, if not the first proper dual wielder created in SW fiction was the male Boc from Dark Forces II), it does tend to skew that way. Edited March 24, 2014 by DarthDymond

That's a bit odd in and of itself, given that one of the major downsides to Jar'kai is the comparatively higher level of upper body strength it demands to be successful defensively - blocking an attacker's blade with one hand on your own weapon requires a lot more strength than blocking it with two hands on your weapon.

Also Komari Vosa

That's a bit odd in and of itself, given that one of the major downsides to Jar'kai is the comparatively higher level of upper body strength it demands to be successful defensively - blocking an attacker's blade with one hand on your own weapon requires a lot more strength than blocking it with two hands on your weapon.

There's a difference between the logic of "wait, how would that physically even work?" and the aesthetics, the look and feel, of how the style is shown in the fiction. Ventress, Ahsoka, Aayla Secura, etc. all evoke a sense of speed and lithe grace in their fighting style that goes well with air of dangerous finesse that comes from dual-wielding blades.

 

It's the way those two aspects complement each other visually, rather than the mechanics of whether it would be practical, that leads to how often we see them paired up (no pun intended).

There's a difference between the logic of "wait, how would that physically even work?" and the aesthetics, the look and feel, of how the style is shown in the fiction. Ventress, Ahsoka, Aayla Secura, etc. all evoke a sense of speed and lithe grace in their fighting style that goes well with air of dangerous finesse that comes from dual-wielding blades.

 

It's the way those two aspects complement each other visually, rather than the mechanics of whether it would be practical, that leads to how often we see them paired up (no pun intended).

Certainly true, though to be fair, the issue with strength and blocking is mentioned in the Jar'Kai article over on Wookieepedia, so it must've made it into some source, somewhere.

 

But I agree with you that the dual wielding thing is often portrayed as speedy and graceful, and thus fits better with female characters. That may be why I like the Return trailer for this game so much; Malgus was fast and brutal with two blades, which is more how I'd personally conceptualize it.

I've always thought that female force users so often used two blades as compensation. Women are generally weaker than men. A second lightsaber would allow a female combatant to overcome her inability to put out as much raw power as her opponent. We see Malgus use two sabers to overcome his opponent in the trailer. Female characters in the series are also much more physically inclined to a fast and furious fighting style to make up for their lack of brute force. Two lightsabers lend well to that sort of thing.

I've always thought that female force users so often used two blades as compensation. Women are generally weaker than men. A second lightsaber would allow a female combatant to overcome her inability to put out as much raw power as her opponent. We see Malgus use two sabers to overcome his opponent in the trailer. Female characters in the series are also much more physically inclined to a fast and furious fighting style to make up for their lack of brute force. Two lightsabers lend well to that sort of thing.

The only thing that doesn't add up about that theory - and I agree, that does seem to be how it's portrayed - is that dual wielding (successfully) would actually require more upper body strength than going the single blade route, not less.