Best lightsaber technique?

And Luke's not even the only member of the NJO who likely could boast that. Jacen Solo has almost certainly passed him and has equal potential. As for non-Skywalkers Kyle Katarn probably has become more powerful than Anakin ever reached, though he's also got less potential than the Skywalkers. That's all EU of course.

Which is why I say Anakin had potential that only Luke can match but, he didn't ever fully achieve it.

 

Every Sith master must know that his apprentice will one day replace him, by hook or by crook. Anakin eventually achieved his potential as Palps expected long ago when he dueled Yoda, but Anakin achieved that potential as a Jedi, which Palpatine never expected.

Luke, on the other hand, never achieved his dark side potential in Palpatine's eyes, nor initally in his father's 'Sith' eyes. But Luke also achieved his full Jedi potential, which turned his father back to the light side and allowed Anakin to finally achieve his full Jedi potential.

 

He killed Palpatine, but he didn't become more powerful than either him or Yoda. He simply threw him down a pit.

True, but given that Palpatine referred to his power, Luke never reaches his full potential in that regard during the films given his limited training.

 

No, it's not. Football requires a team, good coordination of that team (teamwork), plus individual performance. One-on-one duels require only two people, one on each side, and just about every single time the stronger, more powerful duelist will win. I know there are factors that effect the duel, but they effect both duelists. I'm assuming when you were referring to factors you mean like weather conditions and surroundings.

You quoted Palpatine before his duel with Yoda, but you almost proved my point in your later sentences. Anakin did not reach his full potential, he was defeated by Obi-Wan on Mustafar and was left with none of his real limbs. If he did reach his full potential he could have evolved into one of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy, but we will never know for sure, so there's really no point arguing.

 

Football is a team sport, yes! And the Jedi against the Sith are not?

Palpatine did not achieve his power all on his own. Plagueis was his coach. He needed his various apprentices as the PT progresses to do his dirty work. He needed the trade federation to confront the Republic and expose its weaknesses. He needed allies in the Senate to gain and keep power.

Same goes with the Jedi and the true Senators of the Republic. But within the 'team sport' analogy we have individual stars who make or break the game. These are Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Sidious and (listed different due to his Sith personna) Vader, along with the various special teams players we meet along the way.

So I do not feel that the team analogy is wrong by any means. The duels were individuals on each team doing their part for their side, as when Yoda tells Obi-Wan to destroy Anakin while he, Yoda, will destroy Sidious. 'Teamwork.' And even after Yoda's defeat, he needs Bail to escape. The Republic/Jedi 'team' regroups together and after Padme dies, they adopt a survival plan to hold on and then try the old 'Hail Mary' play to win the game.

As for Anakin reaching his true potential -- he did reach it as the Chosen One. He did what he was destined to do 'when he was ready to do it.' As far as his Sith potential . . . . had he reached that, he would have become Galactic Emperor and Padme his Queen. But this was not his true destiny! If he were meant to reach that destiny, Obi-Wan would not have defeated him on Mustafar. The force was with the Jedi then, as it was with Luke on DSII.

 

My view on this is slightly different than yours. See IMO, if a Sith Lord is a practioner of Form VII, then they would already be close to Vaapad. Take a look at these points of contention:

"Juyo was viewed as undeveloped and rarely used by the Jedi and the Sith. Noted that Darth Maul, Palpatine's apprentice, was a Juyo practitioner.

Form VII required intense focus, a high degree of skill, and mastery of other forms.

Form VII demanded the emotional and physical intensity of Form V, but it much more effectively controlled it?if mastered. Form VII, when fully mastered, resulted in extraordinary power.

However, Vaapad bordered on the edge of falling to the dark side, as it channelled one's enjoyment of fighting into the attack."

(O-C, That last point would be moot for a Sith as they are already immersed in the Dark Side.)

You are right on point, O-C. Here is some more to chew on.

"Darth Maul, a Sith Lord who appeared to have mastered Juyo, was so immersed in the dark side, yet so much in control of his anger that he could employ his own deadly variant of Juyo without fear. Coupled with his martial prowess, Darth Maul used this variant to defeat several skilled Jedi, including Master Qui-Gon Jinn. However, Darth Maul only devoted to the Form's physical focus, thus he remained silent during the duels on Tatooine and Naboo. Maul desired pure physical victory, rather than the "higher" Sith tradition of Dun Möch, which could dominate the opponent's spirit through taunts that expose inner doubts and weaknesses.


Darth Maul, a Juyo stylist.With that said, Vaapad was not just a fighting style. It was a state of mind and a power. The state of mind required that a user of Vaapad allow himself to enjoy the fight. He had to give himself over to the thrill of battle, the rush of winning. Vaapad was a path that led through the penumbra of the dark side."

--Isn't that what a Sith does in battle?
It may not have been called Vaapad by Darth Maul, but he did have his own variant.

Perhaps. An interesting point you have made, that is for sure. I don't know that I would have drawn that same conclusion, but after reading your post, I am willing to rethink it. I wouldn't have thought that the Sith would withdraw, but since Vaapad is also a tool: "The power of Vaapad was simple: it was a channel for one's inner darkness; and it was a reflecting device." Then it would be wise for the Sith to control their emotions when facing a Jedi who employed he same form. Lots of possibilities with this one. Also, the reverse is possible:

"When Palpatine unleashed his Force lightning on Mace, the Jedi was able to use his lightsa

 

What I'm saying is that one-on-one duels are not team sports. Despite the fact that the Jedi work together to confront the Sith means little or nothing when both a Jedi and Sith are in a duel. Sure, teamwork may have gotten them into that situation, but it doesn't help either combatant once they are engaged in combat. The stronger Jedi/Sith almost always wins the duel and that was the point I was trying to get across. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

 

QFT.

 

Jedi_Master_Ron -- Thanks, but no need to apologize. T'was I who did not understand your POV.

Me thinks we speak large portions of the same truth, from different prespectives! However, rumsmuggler apparently agrees with your perspective more than mine.

 

I do believe every Jedi learns Form 1 as a youngling, then adopts the style of his/her master as a Padawan, and as a Knight masters a form of his/her choosing. Usually, the other styles are picked up by sparring with a weapon master of a particular form in one's spare time. Obi Wan, for instance, learned Ataru from Qui Gonn but chose to master Soresu on his own later. I can imagine he did so by studying holocrons and by training with other Jedi who used the form extensively.

 

I have a bit of sword experience, so I see where he is coming from.

 

Mace's still of fighting is unique and powerful, but Greivous was able to defeat him in the book Labryinth of Evil.

 

Grevious has a chip in his head that helps him analyze fighting techniques to give him a better ability in fighting Jedi.

 

In my opinion, Ataru is the most powerful fighting style. It has all the power of Juyo and all the grace of Makashi. It is also fast, frantic, and leaves the opponent no time to plan any devious tricks. Ataru is focused, lightning-quick, and more often than not, victorious.

 

Vader's...uh...form V. Vader bisected plenty of Jedi during the Purge - he had to be good.

 

I feel the most powerful form was Vaapad, as Windu defeated The Sith Master using it, if not for pesky anakin (*shakes fist angrily*), however, because of the dangers in using it (the two jedi other than mace who learned it both fell to the dark side, temporarily in the case of Depa Billiaba, and permanently in the case of Sora Bulq), Shii Cho is the greatest form in my book, it is easy, and threat free to learn, and is the most all round form. Kit Fisto was one of the Order's greatest swordsmen, until his death, and he utilized the form with such a skill that Obi Wan respected him as a better/equal swordsman.

Bit of an in dpeth in universe answer, oh well.

 

Vaapad was certainly the most unpredictable of all the Saber Forms, and arguably one the most powerful. Since so few ever mastered Vaapad, I find it difficult to argue that it was the best. Djem So, is widely regarded as the "most powerful" of light saber combat Forms since it was derived from the aggressive offensive capabilities of Makashi and the defensive principles of Soresu.


The best Form, is the one that matches the user's personality... IMO.

 

Yep..

 

For flash - Anakin

For gracefulness - Obi-Wan

For personality - Mace

For Energizer bunnyness - Yoda

 

The best one...is the one that kills their opponent

 

Indeed..

 

Katarn is not in the same league as Anakin. Unless a jedi is super powerful they are out of there depth against a Sith Lord. Also Jacen is currently as strong with the force as suited Vader (read the cover of betrayal).

 

The only non-Skywalker/Solo Jedi that is close to having Skywalker level power in the NJO/Legacy era is Kyp Durron imo. He was a short time Sith apprenctice(or under the influence of a Sith) as well.

 

I think the best way to be a good saber fighter would be to use an eclectic style. I think every Jedi should have a very strong education in form 3. to me it makes sense to teach the Padawans how to best protect themselves, after all they are the future of the jedi order, you don't want to get shot by some droid or carved up in a few seconds by a dark Jedi. I think once the jedi starts moving closer to knighthood, they should start trainig in more offensive forms like 4,5, and 7, once they get proficient in one of those they should continue to work on their previous forms and also start learning some of the more exotic forms of combat like sokan, form 2, and Vapaad.

 

Good points.