Did the Jedi NEED swordfighting skills?

Until the Sith "revealed themselves" again in TPM, was a jedi ever involved in a lightsaber fight, like, lightsaber to lightsaber? Wasn't the Sith dormant for 1000 years or something? Thats a long time for no swordfighting....pretty much the lightsaber was used to deflect lasers in that time.

I suppose they have to stay sharp and be ready for the Sith whenever they might rear their heads again...so they practice...but why was "swordsmanship" so important to them when nobody existed who used one?

My dissapointment stems from the fact that there's only 2 sith. Lame. I always hoped for an army of them, ya know? But thats just me.

They probably should have spent more time on their skills in detecting the dark side.

 

That's quite a good question actually. I can't see them having to fend off lightsabre attacks, but they're still good defense from laser blasters. The question is, can a lightsabre defend itself from a machine gun attack? Maybe the Sith should have armed up on those.

 

First of all, I like your name.

Secondly, I seem to remember in the lead-up to AOTC that Dooku was one of the few Jedi who actually studied the more ancient "fencing" style of lightsaber combat, which is a style more suited to dueling with an opponent rather than deflecting blaster shots.


And let's not forget tradition. The Jedi have been around for over a thousand generations and the lightsaber is the traditional weapon of a Jedi Knight. To be skilled in the use of a lightsaber is simply part of the training discipline.

 

The Jedi know that the majority of their enemies at the time of the Clone wars generally use blasters so the majority of Jedi practice lightsaber Form III, IV, or VI which utilize wide blocks and sweeps handy in deflecting blasterfire.

Now why don't they just strap on a deflector shield generator to their backs instead of only something as obsolete as a rod of laserbeam...something called tradition you'll find plenty of religious orders doing the same thing or employing the same method because that's the way it's always been done before.

 

I think it was mentioned in the TPM novelisation that lightsaber to lightsaber combat hadn't been experienced for a long time which meant that the Jedi, while not totally incapable, would definately have been at disadvantage against the Sith. It's also mentioned that Qui-Gon Jinn was one of the finest swordsman currently in the Order, a fact that is glossed over in the film. I would assume that once the SIth were confirmed as having returned to the Galaxy, the Jedi Council would have worked towards training Padawans in proper lightsaber combat in the 10yrs between TPM and AotC (although it's not openly stated anywhere).

Obviously with the swing towards blasters, the Jedi has to adapt their teachings to protect themselves against them. As you notice in the Geonosis ARena battle, most of those present are the Jedi Council and their Padawans, most of whom are quite fine with figthing against blasters until the odds are simply too great. As Herman Snerd mentioned, I think that older style of lightsaber combat is easily visible in Dooku's style...short, sharp and very fast.

 

How did Darth Vader deflect Han's blasts in ESB? Was it his suit, or was he using the force?

 

I think he absorbed the energy like Yoda did in AotC

 

Nah, surely he just put a barrier of Force between the bolt and his hand, similar to what Dooku did when Yoda sent his Force lightning back at him AotC.

Edit:The bolt actually bounces off his hand...doesn't it? ?

 

I thought that dueling one another would be an excellent way for Jedi to train. Maybe it wouldn't be the highest priority but it seems like a great way for them to challenge their skills.

When/if they have practice duels, what do they use as weapons? Not real light sabers, I assume...

 

In the jedi academy they would train with a saber that would only singe the opponent. If you read the young adult jedi academy series about the training of obi won by qui gon it explains in more detail. (but i would not read those unless i had to)

 

I agree with I-poodoo. It was a tradition; Jedi had ligthsabers. Maybe it was also intimidation on some level, 'cause facing down a well-trained swordsperson armed with a sword that can cut through you with a single slice would scare ME.

 

im sure that there were a few dark jedi through the thousand years between the sith wars and tpm for the jedi to defeat in lightsabre combat, now i also have heard that the jedi masters do practice sparring against one another.....like mace and yoda practiced a lot and thats how they became such experts at dueling......

 

Secondly, I seem to remember in the lead-up to AOTC that Dooku was one of the few Jedi who actually studied the more ancient "fencing" style of lightsaber combat, which is a style more suited to dueling with an opponent rather than deflecting blaster shots.

I like this idea. Their combat may have changed to allow for deflecting laser bolts etc, with the traditional style put to the back burner, but I'm sure they get plenty of practice. Put it this way - if I owned a mint sword I would practice till I was **** hot just because I could do, not because I needed to.

 

If a metal sword work against bullets like a lightsaber works against blaster fire, police officers and soldiers would still be wearing them.

GL, in his universe, made the only technological change that differs from our world. When gun powder was invented, it altered the evolution of military tactice.

Compared to swordsmanship and archery, teaching a person to fire a musket required a fraction of the training and experience. Now swordsmen and archers who had to train for years to develop their skills could be brought down by a single shot fired by a women using the force of her trigger finger.

 

They don't need to practice swordfighting. A jedi just needs to practice and learn to use/feel the force. That's it. The force guides them.

Look at Luke in ANH. Apparently no practice with a lightsabre, or any other similar weapon. Had a blast shield blocking his view, but for a brief moment, he used/felt the force, and blocked the shots like a pro. He didn't have to practice methods striking and swinging the sabre. The force guided him.

Look at AOTC. Obi Wan seems to fight pretty well with that lance/spear, maybe the jedi have a few weeks of lance/spear training, but I doubt that. I'm thinking Obi Wan is good at using/feeling the force, so it guided him. This is also the case in TPM. While they're going through the planet core, what do they say, "we've had a lot of training in using underwater craft to navigate through the interior of planets of which we have never seen, so we can reach destinations that we do not know the exact location of", or do they say, "don't worry, the force will guide us?"

Since a lot of the technique and swordfighting style stuff is EU, here's a contradiction of that. Can't remember the book(sorry), but Luke is fighting some dark jedi or something, and during the fight they both enter a 'field' of one of those ysalamri(sp?) things. What happens? They both start fighting like two people who have never picked up a sword/lightsabre, and commence to awkwardly hack and slash at on another like novices. One would think that someone who studies actual swordfighting, adopts a technique, and actually practices all that would at least be able to properly attack and parry with, at worst, a decent amount of skill, but they don't. They lost the force, so they lost their swordfighting ability.

Using/feeling the force is key for the jedi. It's the practice and mastery of that that allows them all their wonderful abilities. I know some think it's a cheap idea that jedi just feel the force, and can suddenly become a full blown badass with a lightsabre, but it's not quite that easy. They still have to spend a good twenty or so years practicing feeling the force and being able to maintain that state of mind and concentration.

 

The Jedi learned their swordfighting techniques training against each other in mock duels.

But when you think about it, blasterbolt blocking is a form of swordfighting, since you have to put the blade at a particular place to stop a blow from landing. So training to fight against another person wielding a saber wouldn't be that much different.

 

Who cares it looks badass!!!!

 

i believe the jedi wield lightsabers
in defense against lightning attacks and other projectiles~

 

So basically the Jedi don't have to learn a thing at the academy or from a master except to concentrate on the Force?

I don't know of any reality or myth where you get something for free and expect to be made great or powerful. The whole point of telling stories about people becoming powerful is that there are set backs if you abuse them. If we all got power for no reason and knew how to use them properly, we wouldn't need to tell stories which teach us.

So I think that Jedi's do have to train. Uh, kinda like in ESB.

 

I don't really think it's free. Sure, they're born with the ability, but they have to learn how to harness it, and it takes a long time. Take Luke, in TESB, after the wampa attack, for example. He had know about the force for a couple of years, but with no teacher, he was left with trying to learn what he could on his on. Even then, he still had to bust his ass just to move a lightsabre a couple of feet. Then, you look at ROTJ. He's actually had some real force training from someone, and a little more time to practice and train the right way, and not just try to wing it. It's a totally different story then, but he didn't just get it for free.

What swordfighting is taught TESB? I know we didn't see everything that happened for the possible months or whatever that Luke was there, but there's nothing that even hints at swordfighting training. He only uses his sabre once, and Yoda tells him that he want need his weapons. The majority of the training shown just depicts Yoda teaching Luke to feel and concentrate on the force, and there's the cave scene, which IMO, is just a lesson in the dangers of the darkside, but regardless, I can't think of a way swordfighting training could be attached to that scene.

What does Obi Wan tell Luke in ANH?

Obi Wan: Remember, I jedi can feel the force flowing through him.

Luke: You mean it controls your actions?

Obi Wan: Partially, but it also obeys your commands.

He doesn't mention anything about techniques or swordfighting. He just talks about feeling the force, and how it controls your actions.

 

As I think I have read somewhere, the Jedi used swordfighting skills in the days way before TPM. And that the lightsaber was only really used as a means to deflect blaster bolts. Seeing as the sith had not been around in some time. I would see the Jedi still training in sword play because of tradition possibly. Just my thought.

 

Star Wars Insider issue 62:
The third great lightsaber discipline was first developed in response to the advancment of blaster technology in the galaxy. As these weapons spread widely into the hands of evil-doers, Jedi had to develop unique means to defend themselves.

It is clear, that over the centuries...Jedi focused more on the ability to block blaster fire, then engage an opponent in one-on-one combat. With the appearance of Darth Maul (as described by Obi-Wan) the jedi may have taken a renewed interest in the dueling aspect of a lightsaber...as they may one day be facing against a Sith.

 

They went on lots of dangerous missions, and had to be up to snuff.

 

The Jedi do not recieve their abilities for free...

The point is that they train their swordsmanship and they aquire a decent level of skill.

But combined with focusing on the force they bring out their true potential.

I is the same in sports performance. anyone who wrestles or boxes or any high reaction sport can tell you. you practice complex and complicated moves over and over. but when your focused, and on point you can do moves you didnt even know you could, in a chain of action, and at speeds you couldnt neccesarily replicate anytime you wanted to..

ofcoarse the better at focusing you get the more control you have over bringing out your potential.