Personality characteristics in lightsaber styles

Well, I guess my disclaimer didn't work.

It's a matter of imagination, frankly, and how far you're willing to go to make the film work in your mind. Clearly, nobody with a sword in these films is moving at speeds we can actually comprehend. Not if they able to deflect things like blaster bolts.

 

Tholme: I happen to really like his style it's both elegant and practical. The only draw back is that he usually ends up fighting swordsman who are superior swordsmen like Sora Bulq and Dooku

Quinlan Vos: His style is way too flashy. And it frequently results in his getting his @$$ kicked. He only wins his battles when he loses his flashy style.

Aalya Secura: I think she has found a perfect balance between Tholme and Quinlan. This makes sense especially since she was trained by both. She utilizes the practicality of Tholme and the flash of Quinlan which works well in her battles with Bok and Aurra Sing

 

Sorry Double post

 

Sorry, but I had such high hopes for that scene after reading the novelization (high hopes for the movie in general, actually), and that was one particular part in which the movie slid over the line to god-awful for me.

Anyway, EU characters ...

Saba Sebatyne was an interesting character to read in a fight. Denning had her mostly using her superior strength to batter down her enemy's defenses, and being quite surprised when her opponent (a Dark Nest-empowered Dark Jedi) could match and exceed her blows. So she probably uses (you guessed it) elements of Djem So, but seems to be even more offensively minded than most Djem So users, because her fighting style is all attack attack attack, never letting up even after sustaining severe injuries. One might think this suits her predatory instincts, but most predators actually give up and attempt to escape if their prey turns out to be that dangerous; the fact that she doesn't even after sustaining a bad head wound and being shot with Force Lightning is a testament to both her brashness and her love of fighting. She's also extremely adept at using her entire body: when faced with an unavoidable disarming move, she simply lets go of her lightsaber and slashes her opponent across the face, and once she has her saber back she launches an attack that has her saber hitting high and her tail hitting low, and a foot trailing just behind her tail in order to catch the opponent as he jumps to block and evade the tailswipe. This is a Jedi who's good at fighting, not just at dueling; in the movies we rarely see any of the Jedi do much good without their lightsaber, the notable exception being Obi-wan against Grievous. When deprived of their lightsabers against each other, Anakin and Obi-wan seem to almost turn clumsy; Saba, by contrast, seems to prefer hand-to-hand combat, as her fight degenerates into it quickly rather than featuring a protracted exchange of lightsaber swings.

 

So thanks to Fury and Jedi vs. Sith The essential guide to the force it is now continuity that luke and his students know about the seven classic styles of lightsaber combat. So now maybe we can speculate better about their styles

 

Upping due to recent SW in da JAYCEECEE!!!! moment.

It has come to my attention that the lightsaber style used by [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEn37-vvCP8]the apprentice in this game sequence[/link] has become more common among representations of lightsaber fighters. (Thanks to Scummy for the video clip!)

So . . . holding your lightsaber backward, as if you were Norman Bates holding a kitchen knife . . . a bad idea, or the worst idea?

(Or if you've had success in using it, what was so good about it?)

I'm thinking RL fencing/martial arts here rather than in-universe stuff, although if you have some in-universe reason why picking up your lightsaber with the blade facing the wrong direction is a great plan, let us know.

 

It's cool.
That's the only reason.

 

Well, the blade on a sabre does cut in any direction, so you could hold it pretty much however the hell you wanted...

Just so long as you're fast enough to get it to where it needs to be in time, anyway.

 

If you're referring to the Unleashed game, what does it matter? Characters deflect without actually having to learn anything, so as long as it looks cool to gamers it works aesthetically. Force powers are hyper exaggerated anyway.

Makes no sense in real sword fighting 99% of the time. But every move has its time and place. Traditional Japanese sword employs the grip in limited circumstances, but the point of holding a weapon like a lightsaber or sword is to impose it between you and the opponent. Hiding the sword (or any weapon) behind the body is a very common tactic because it keeps the opponent from judging its length.

 

I think this is the effect of using Ataru in confined spaces.^^

 

Aha! Here's an opening for a point I've wanted to bring up for awhile:

The inaccuracy of Qui-Gon being an Ataru stylist.

Ataru is described as being highly acrobatic in nature; a prime example of this is Yoda. Flips, jumps, etc are all incorporated.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ataru

There's one very big problem with this: Qui-Gon does not flip, jump, or do much of anything acrobatic when he fights Maul, or the trade federation's droids. If anything, his style is much more representative of Djem So, which his build would be uniquely suited for-Qui-Gon is a big man, with alot of physical strength and a penchant for being highly offensive in combat. Look at the Maul-Obi-Wan-Qui-Gon duel-Qui-Gon is nearly constantly attacking, and when Maul screws up and kicks Obi-Wan off the ledge, Qui-Gon is extremely quick to exploit it by backhanding him off the walkway and then attempting to outright end the duel by sticking his sabre through his chest. Qui-Gon likes big, powerful strikes when he fights; he uses alot of over-handed strikes on Maul, and is not the least bit hesitant to use the Force as a weapon, on droids at least.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Djem_So

The explanation for him losing to Maul is still the same: Djem So doesn't spend much time on defending yourself, like Ataru.

Plus: Anakin is a Djem So stylist. If he idolizes Qui-Gon so much, which he obviously does IMO, then it'd make sense for him to adopt his late master's form, wouldn't it?

 

I think Qui-Gon is too used to using Ataru and is not good at other forms of ightsaber duelling except maybe Form 1 and Form Zero.So when he goes fighting in confined spaces ,he screwed up,coz it is difficult for him to do acrobatics and stuff plus "the nature of Ataru could greatly tax the body. Fatigue may have been a contributing factor in Qui-Gon Jinn's defeat at the hands of Darth Maul."quoted from wookieepedia.

Yeah,maybe he wasn't using Ataru against Maul in Naboo after all since it might be pretty difficult.If he is using Ataru ,then he is using MAKESHIFT Ataru moves since he cant jump a lot in confined spaces.

 

Then why wasn't he using Ataru during the desert duel with Maul? He clearly had an entire desert to move around in; he could've done just about whatever he likes.

There's nothing remotely Ataru about Qui-Gon's style.

 

Does anyone know how computer games create swordplay? What appeals to most people is the fact that they get to look like they're sword fighting, when they aren't. Shooting a gun toward a person is precise work, yet game play is designed to make each shot hit with pin point precision.

The same for the reverse lightsaber grip; a block is effective 100% of the time if the correct button is hit when oncoming blaster fire is coming. In real life, a reverse block is possible, though perfect circumstances are rare for its use.

Apart from this unrealism aspect, is the reverse grip still a cool grip in people's minds?

 

I don't get the fascination with the reverse grip lightsaber. It could work well for deflecting incoming fire (like Kenobi did in the arena), but it's useless against another blade. Reverse grip works well with a knife, but for a sword? In kenjutsu we only use it for batto (drawing), and even then it's only for certain situations, or to be used against a downwards cut. But it has zero defensive capabilities. Someone cutting with a standard two-handed grip will plow through a reverse grip. It's just not stable at all. Worst of all, you remove your own ability to thrust, unless you do some sort of awkward icepick stab (ok with a bowie knife, but not a sword). The thrust, even in an art that utilizes a weapon designed primarily for cutting, is the single most important weapon in the arsenal.

 

A reverse grip is also good for sheathing the sword.

What about the lightsaber tonfa? Look cool to anyone?

 

Sith Rising: I think your point about it being good for deflecting blaster fire is why Jedi use it. Even during the prequels, when the Sith were finally out in the open again, sabre duels were exceedingly rare; much more common was a few Jedi against masses of blaster-firing opponents, in which case adapting your fighting style to dealing with blaster deflection rather than duelling would probably be a logical move.

 

Yeah I think it would work well like that. Say, you're a Jedi in a narrow corridor with six super-battledroids slowly advancing and firing. Everyone knows the ol' Conan reverse-grip figure eight twirl. Given the light weight of a lightsaber, and the assistance of the Force, it could intercept a barrage of incoming bolts, high and low.

 

Dooku would probably disapprove.

But that's about the only problem I can see.

 

The Secret Apprentice's reverse-grip seems designed only for looking cool. Considering that he holds it behind his back most of the time, it's simply a handicap when it comes to defense, both against blaster bolts and incoming lightsaber strikes. Heck, a simple quick thrust to his chest becomes a hard move to block instead of a mere flick of the wrist.

It also makes no sense that the SA uses that style. Vader doesn't, ever, and Vader's been this kid's only teacher for his entire life. He could have simply come up with it on his own, but ... why? When the person he fights most is Vader, and Vader's style is all about simple, effective motions of the blade, economy of movement, and sheer brute strength that will overpower a one-handed grip quite quickly?

 

It's a video game. He also pulls down a Star Destroyer.

 

Well, this entire thread is pointless, because Star Wars is just a movie series

 

That's technically true; I find myself a lot less banned when I discuss these films with myself.

 

Are you sure it is only for looking cool?I see anime characters use reverse grip before.

 

It's just for show. Any blade more than about 12 inches or so is wasted with a reverse grip.