did Obi-wan move up?

First, there's no levels 10-12. Just level nine.

Second, Gillard came up with this based on Lucas's assertions about Palpatine, Mace, Yoda and Anakin. That only Mace and Yoda could compete with Palpatine in battle and that Anakin could destroy Sidious. Gillard made it easier by giving us numbers. The Jedi reach level eight, which is pretty much the limit for all of them. They can reach level nine, but it's difficult and takes time. Yoda and Mace pulled it off without turning. Sidious is the Dark Lord of the Sith. Anakin makes the jump to level nine, but he cannot handle the power and it goes to his head. Especially when he turns and fights Obi-wan, who uses his anger and arrogance against him. Against Palpatine, he wouldn't last as long as Palpatine's much more refined in his fighting ability. He's less prone to making mistakes and loosing control of his anger.

In a duel against Palpatine, I could see him lasting a while, but once Sidious starts using the Foce against him, he's toast.

Thanks to the title of this thread, I now have the Jefferson's theme song running through my head.

Anyway, rankings do not matter.

I can even remember an old story that someone basically said when Ben and Vader fought, Ben was an 8 and Vader was a 6, or something like that. I don't remember who said that, but even then I remember thinking that it doesn't matter.

now that is an interesting matter entirely. I forgot all about the Obi/Vader duel. (in ANH of course) but yeah, the numbers dont really matter that much. what it comes down to is who beat who. but you have to apply it correctly.

How powerful Obi-Wan is at the time of ROTS is something that has been discussed extensively in other threads but I?ve noticed that people don?t seem to allow him the ability to become more powerful with age and experience.

In Anakin?s opinion at the time of AOTC, Obi-Wan is ?as wise as Master Yoda and as powerful as Master Windu?. However, Yoda tells him in ROTS that he is not powerful enough to face Sid/Palps although Yoda and Mace both would have handed Sid/Palps his head if things had been allowed to continue.

A big deal is also made about the number of times that Anakin saved Obi-Wan?s life but doesn?t that speak loudly also of Anakin?s vanity and Obi-Wan?s humility. I?m sure Obi-Wan saved Anakin?s butt a few times as well as Qui-Gon?s when he was in a similar position as a Padawan but he?s not exactly going to brag about it or compare stats with Anaking because that?s not his style.

So if we look at this in terms of experience: 1) Sid/Palps is in his 60?s and very experienced; 2) Mace Windu is probably about the same age as Sid/Palps (Mace is supposed to be a little older than he looks, right?); and Yoda is over 800. Obi-Wan is maybe in his early 40?s at the time of ROTS. So why do we assume that another 15-20 years wouldn?t give Obi-Wan enough experience to open a can whoop-a** on Sid/Palps assuming he didn?t have to worry about keeping Luke and Leia safe?

I also have to admit that I think there was a breakdown in the logic of dueling hierarchy in the movies. It has been stated elsewhere that hypothetically just because Person 1 can beat Person 2 and Person 2 can beat Person 3 doesn't necessarily mean that Person 1 can beat Person 3. However, in most cases the fighter with the best overall skill set will generally win unless there are large differences in style that give large advantages in different situations (e.g. in martial arts, a jujutsu (grappling) fighter will almost always beat a fighter that depends greatly on kicking if the two fight in a slippery environment that favors a quick transition to ground-fighting. We don?t see these kinds of differences in the dueling between the Jedi and Sith so it becomes more like boxing where Person 1 could reasonably be expected to beat Person 3. So then why is it that Obi-Wan can beat a full-on dark-side Anakin/Vader yet not get very far at all with Count Dooku (whom a mostly light-side Anakin manages to beat in the second duel)? I think GL wussified Obi-Wan in his encounters with Dooku in a manner that was inconsistent with the skill and power that he demonstrated elsewhere.

Yes, I agree, Obi-wan and any other Jedi can grow more powerful as they get older and they can get better through experience

just after yoda told obi-wan he wasn't strong enough to fight sidious, anakin says he is mor powerful than sidious and can overthrow him. Then Obi-wan beats him. I know that's like the fighter 1,2, and 3 thing but it works for me.