Fanclub **Guardians of Light: The EUC Jedi ~ ~ Close Your Eyes... Feel It... the Light. ~ ~**

Pardon me for changing the subject, but I just discovered a blast from the past, video of me fighting with spears about 12 years ago. (I'm "Pete" in the video. "Pete the Pirate" in the Schola.)

 

@Kyber Acyk

Ths words of the Jedi Masters pierced the shadow of doubt in my mind. The abyss awoken by the Tetrentaka cleared and there was Light. I felt a weight inside loose, and a vision commenced:

I heard voices, and mulitiude arrayed in Light of turquoise hue. I heard the words of these voices saying:
“Use the Force!”
“Learn to let go of everything you fear to lose,”
“The Force will be with you always,” “There is no death, there is the Force,” “If you are struck down, you will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
“The Jedi are selfless, they care only about others.”
“The Force us all around us, it binds us, and gives life to all things. To be a Jedi is to live in the Force which is life, so there can be no death for a Jedi.”

Beyond the sea of voices there was luminous Light, like a thousand suns with rays wrapping around those innumerable in blue hues. The Light.. I reached out and it drew nearer.. Ashla?! The word then woke me from the vision. I began breathing heavily, my heart racing, and a hand print of golden coloring on my breastplate.

Master! Master!

*I turned to see my Master mediating, his concentration no doubt helped me capture this unusual glimpse in the Force, as well as the mediations in the Garden of other Jedi such as Master @Adalia-Durron and @ConservativeJedi321 *

Master! There is no Death! I sae it in the Force! Everything you said and Master Adalia spoke of is true!

 

@Kato Sai

*I nod in agreement with my padawan* I am glad that you have finally found a solution to your problem Kato.

 

@Kyber Acyk

I could not have had this revelation without your guidance, and the meditations of our Jedi brothers and sisters. I am at peace in these matters, however, “much to learn I still have.” I seek your guidance and wisdom in the trials ahead. *Bows*

 

Good evening on Sunday my fellow Jedi! Checking in @Kev-Mas_Colcha to see if there is a new task for me this week

 

That's very interesting. Can you share more what its like to experience in the heat of the battle? Psychological aspect, etc.

 

Recently, watching the TPM and AOTC, I noticed some distinct qualities in the duels.

In the Duel of Fates, Qui-Gon, a Consular is slain, while Kenobi a Jedi Guardian defeats Darth Maul. Guardians tend to be expert dualists and so this makes sense. In the duel with Dooku, Kenobi lasts longer than Anakin, both are Guardians. Yoda, a Jedi Consular causes a stalemate with Dooku. In ROTS, Dooku is defeated by Anakin, and Yoda’s duel with Palpatine ends in a stalemate.

Consulars: -1, 1, 1 =1
Guardians: 1, -2, 3=2
Numbers reflect wins and losses for the classes.

In the Arena battle
10 Jedi Consulars Survive
5 Jedi Guardians, 6 if you count Mace.
This proved Consulars are better at Shien form and fighting mutiple opponets. Even Luke on Jabba’s Sail Barg is able to dispatch many enemies.

Consulars: 10, 1 =11
Guardians: 6, -2 =4

The consensus is Consulars are better at fighting groups, while Guardians thrive on one on one combat.

 

For me, the main impression mentally is intense focus. I'm totally concentrated on the fight. I need to be aware of my opponent and his weapons, movements, and intentions, any terrain or environment around us, my own movements and position, and how to achieve my goal without allowing my opponent to achieve his. (Usually the goal is simply to stab the other guy, but sometimes there are other goals such as escaping, disabling, or capture-the-flag.) So there's a lot to keep in mind, and I have zero room in my brain for extraneous thoughts about what's for dinner, paying the bills, that girl I've been seeing, or anything else. This kind of fight does an amazing job of clearing your mind.

However, I don't do a lot of conscious thinking while I'm fighting. Things happen so fast, there's no time to think things through. Actions and reactions have to be learned in training so that they become ingrained, almost automatic responses to the perceived situation. (We referred to that as "programming the battle computer.") So for me, automatic reflexes took care of most of the instantaneous strikes and parries, and any thinking on my part was more about the big picture, overall strategies rather than specific tactics. "I want to work my way around his right flank, so I should move to my left, hey-look-at-that-he-struck-and-I-parried-and-riposted-with-a-thrust-toward-his-face, now I've made my way around to his side and I should try to hit him while he's shifting to face me and there-goes-my-spear-feinting-low-and-thrusting-high-he-parried-and-thrust-at-my-hip-my-spear-parried-his" etc. But those thoughts aren't mentally expressed in words, those are the ideas and impressions that flash though my mind, and often have difficulty finding words for them afterwards.

I've been asked by students what I focus on while fighting. Some claim to have the best fights by concentrating on something in particular; some favorites are eyes, hands, weapon points, body targets, or feet. To me, all those are important things to watch, so rather than focus on one thing, I relax my eyes and try to take in everything at once. Peripheral vision can take in a lot, and my attention will automatically be drawn to whatever moves within my field of vision. Things that don't move are seldom a threat and can generally be ignored until they do move. So I like to be in a sort of Zen state of relaxed alertness, or alert relaxation.

So, in a nutshell, mental concentration and thoughts too fast to think about. Also, learning to ignore meaningless distractions like scraped knuckles, bruises, and pulled muscles. Cuz pain is just weakness leaving the body, right?

 

Come to think of it Master Adalia, I once dueled ten people at once and prevailed: i thrive on the Force’s energy when there are multiple opponets. I am an accomplished duelist in one on one combat like Kit Fisto as well; my Swordmaster (Euro Martial Art Forms, cross hilted lightsaber) Is a expert duelist and Jedi Guardian. However, in hindsight I do recall combat with multiple opponets is my speciality. I am a Jedi Counsular through and through.

 

Semajj as a consular is probably better in groups, though is fully capable in one-on-one combat.
Yet the size of the group is also relevant. When dealing with large numbers, it is perhaps better to have similarly large numbers on your side.

 

Indeed. Much like the contingents of Jedi and Sith dueling each other in the Invasion of the Temple:



Satale Shan is a Jedi Consular (despite her blue bladed staff saber), and she is able to best Darth Malgus:



Satale like a true Consular survives and wins the duel by her command of the Force. I woukd very much likecto learn the ability to create a field of the Force over my hands and be able to counter and stop a saber’s blade. This could also be useful in protecting my hands in dueling; they get knicked up quite a bit.

 

"There we were, two against a thousand. They were the toughest two we ever fought."

Multiple opponents make a fight much more challenging. The alertness and awareness developed for 1 on 1 has to be widened and expanded considerably, making it much more difficult to keep track of all the threats and dangers surrounding you.

That's me in heavy armor and red and black surcoat with white ram emblem, ravine battle at Gulf Wars. Usually a couple hundred in each army there.


Rapier Field Battle, that's me in the middle with my pirate mask, purple bandana, and stripey pants.


Then add more challenging terrain and obstacles, such as the portable "ship" we built:


Video from about 10 years ago, 2 vs 3 fencing battles on the deck of the good ship Briar Rose. That was a fun day.

 

@Sarge, I find the opposite is true as a Jedi Consular in a group battle. I find that multiple combatants with their comrades tend to lapse and be overconfident, exposing weaknesses. They think they are safer in numbers, so their guard is down and it allows me to feed on the Force that is everywhere, and take advantage of their false sense of security.

In contrast, a one on one duel is by far more difficult. The opponent is aware they have no back up, and so their resolve is doublefold. I use for example the Duel of Fates, Darth Maul gains power through the overconfidence of Obi and Qui-Gon, who are echoed by Anakin and Obi who think they can best Dooku, but they fail. Maul is only beaten when Kenobi is alone and desperate, hanging over the pit, and he then with Qui-Gon comatose commands the Force and slices the Sith in two. A duelist is most dangerous in a solo fight, look at Dooku who defeats Obi and Anakin seperately, then causes a stalemate with Yoda. My point is Jedi and Sith in numbers get overconfident and open themselves up to a Soresu or Makashi blow. Maul was a great example of an animal backed into a corner that is far more lethal than the pack surrounding it.

 

I'm with @Sarge on this... it is very difficult to keep your awareness open to multiple opponents. While my IRL combat of choice doesn't use weapons (I did enjoy my brief foray into the rapier but I didn't have time to keep it up, sadly) I've been involved in multiple 2 on 1, 3 on 1, and 3 on 2 fights. It's not easy to keep track of multiple opponents, and they can team up against you if they know what they're doing. Keeping up defense alone is hard enough, turning the fight around is even harder. The 3 on 1 was brutal, and I lost badly-- goal was to just play defense and not lose too many points but even in an open gym, using the wall mirrors... it was extremely hard. Only our highest ranked members against lesser opponents could even hold their own.

 

@Rebecca_Daniels, are you are Jedi Guardian, Sentinel, or Consular? Same question to @Sarge

I am doing research on how each of us Jedi Classes (Guardian, Sentinel, and Consular) respond to combat and the Force definately. To be clear, I am not try to instigate debate, rather I appreciate how we all differently serve the Living Force in our respective roles, “Each Jedi.. brings something unique to the Temple.” (Qui-Gon-Jinn)

 

I chose to study as a Sentinel, but I find the Jedi classes are restrictive and reductive of each Jedi's unique strengths. Everyone learns combat, everyone learns the Force, each class is more of a philosophical difference than anything else. Saying that I am one or another doesn't really give you any further information on what sort of Jedi I am... my history and experiences do. I would suggest looking less at class and more on what skills each brings as an individual.

And for the record, all classes and rankings of our members are in the first post of the thread.

 

My Master, @Kyber Acyk, is a Jedi Sentinel. I am, going to be redundant in saying this, but I am a Jedi Consular. The classes are philosophies yes, and also life styles and focuses/emphasis. For example if you are Jedi who prefers seeking the deeper mysteries of the Force and being diplomat rather than combating the Dark Side head on, you are a Jedi Consular. However, as you said combat and knowledge of the Force is not restrictive to one class, there are major Consular duelists like Kit Fisto, Yoda, and myself who in Lightsaber combat appear to be Guardians. However, the Jedi classes help as guidelines to how we want to spend our time, predominately, serving Ashla; we cannot be all things, “a jack of all traits is a master of nothing.” We all have sympathies, preferences, and focuses. The Jedi classes help us discover and hone those focuses, and there is no restriction if you want to be Jedi Guardian and yet know the Force deeply like Master Yoda. There is no restriction, “there is the Force.”

In case my words seem impertinate as a Padawan Learner, I am Lore Keeper, and so I study things deeply. I do not mean to be lecturing, I simply love to learn and teach.

I have been checking the classes of members, but some either have not decided or have not listed their Jedi Class on Barden Jusik’s list, page one, post one of GoL.

 

And yet, was Obi-wan himself not known as one of the best diplomats, while still a Guardian? What class would you call Luke Skywalker, who had no such restrictions placed on him, or Rey as well, further down the line? This is what I mean by reductive-- it classifies people when there is no need. The Jedi Order is about individuals and their unique powers, and putting them into neat little boxes is one of the failings of the old Jedi Order, in my mind. As guidelines, maybe the structures work, but on an individual, smaller scale it falls apart. Just something to think about.

 

Obi-Wan actually blasted and sabered most negotiations, ask General Grevious, Nut Gunnery, Durge, Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress, R4, Jango Fett, and the myriad of other individuals who would argue Kenobi was no diplomat, unless you count “agressive negotations.”

I would say Luke is Jedi Consular based on the fact he self trained himself on Tatooine and the Jedi Temple Ahch-To, and was able to use Force Projection to confront Kylo Ren. Luke is a true Consular, he even tried to negotate with his father, Vader, and tried not to fight him, “I will not fight you,” which is the philosophy of a Consular, “a Jedi Consular uses diplomancy and only draws a lightsaber as a last resort.” (Jedi Path). Luke even tried hard to negotiate with Jabba the Hutt, not resorting to violence tell absolutely necessary.

I personally do not see the Jedi classes as restrictive, but descriptions of natural tendencies, focuses, and gifts Jedi have. There is no rule a Jedi cannot have traits of all three: Guardian, Sentinel, and Consular; but usually a Jedi will lean more in one class, even if its by 1%.

You are entitled to your view, I simply see the classes not as boxes or molds, but as logical focuses, giftings, and descriptions that exist within the Jedi Order.

 

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/The_Negotiator/Legends

 

I agree with @Rebecca_Daniels , there is so much variety in individuals that it can be counter-productive to put a lot of emphasis on classifications. They might indicate one's preferences or natural gifts, but they are not the sum total of one's being. All of us are expected to learn and know something of all Jedi arts. And when I try to classify myself, I feel like I'm trying to fit my square peg life into an impersonal system's round holes.

 

Well Kenobi’s “negotiations were short.” (Obi, TPM). And remeber Kenobi said of himself to Anakin, “Anakin, let's be fair. Today you were the hero and you deserve your glorious day with the politicians.” (Obi, ROTS). To be a Jedi Diplomat and Ambassador you have to mingle with politicans sometimes. And Obi also vented his disdain for politicians to Anakin at Padme’s apartment, Courscant, Episode II.