Question about the Force and blocking blaster bolts

I waved my lightsaber around, but Nick said my movements needed to follow my eyes, because you have to see the laser bolts before you can block them.

Now this is Ewan McGregor from an interview on TOS, and Nick is obviously stunt coordinator Nick Gillard.

What I'm particular interested in is the quote "because you have to see the laser bolts before you block them".

Does a Jedi really? Shouldn't he just be able to sense them coming? I've wondered about the semantics of blocking blaster bolts for a really long time now. In Shadows of the Empire, when Xizor fires at Luke, Luke just lets himself go and the Force controls his movements, putting tje saber blade into position. In I,Jedi, we get a more personal look at it. What it appears to be now is that the Force gives the Jedi very precise information on where he needs to put the blade himself, in order to block the shot. But does a Jedi really have to be able to see the bolt? Shouldn't he be able to sense it through the Force? I know this isn't a big deal, but it does kind of limit a Jedi's power in my mind. I start to get an idea of why thousands of just why Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan couldn't have fought the war with the droids for Queen Amidala. I mean, why not just levitate your lightsaber, sit it horizontally, and send it careening through the ranks of droids one row at a time, bisecting them? I guess there are just some things a Jedi can't do...

JMA

 

Remember in ANH, luke was taught to do it with a blast mask covering his vision.

 

"Remember in ANH, luke was taught to do it with a blast mask covering his vision."

You're right, and I did think of that, but this other information seems to suggest that that should have been...impossible?

JMA

 

Nick Gallard is not in-universe word of wisdom, what he was teaching them how to act, how to move the lightsaber realistically. What they were trying would have looked like they were waving a feather duster. What he was teaching them was to make it look real and precise to the movie audience. Lessons in choreography.

 

Yes, Val's absolutely right. He was teaching them how to move the saber precisely, not waving it vaguely in the direction of the blaster bolts.

If you notice in the new Clone War trailer, Obi-Wan blocks a blaster bolt as he's spinning, his back towards Jango. Clearly he couldn't have seen it, since he was facing in the wrong direction.

 

"Nick Gallard is not in-universe word of wisdom, what he was teaching them how to act, how to move the lightsaber realistically."

? But just because Obi-Wan wouldn't have seen it coming wouldn't mean that he would have to be "waving it around like a feather duster". He can be precise, and not looking at the bolt, with enough practice.

Anyway, the comment just struck me as odd, seeing as how it stands to reason that Gillard is probably getting instructions from Father George on the matter.

JMA

 

"? But just because Obi-Wan wouldn't have seen it coming wouldn't mean that he would have to be "waving it around like a feather duster". He can be precise, and not looking at the bolt, with enough practice."

Nick Gillard was teaching ewen mcgregor how to act(not teaching obi-wan ways of the force). Movie making. You must seperate reality from fiction. He is a Holywood choreography teacher. Nick is not a continuity editor or jedi master, he wasn't teaching wisdom of the force... He was teaching choreography. In the movie making world if you do not move a weapon realistically it looks fake to the audience, like the feather duster analogy.

"Anyway, the comment just struck me as odd, seeing as how it stands to reason that Gillard is probably getting instructions from Father George on the matter."

Sigh seperate reality from fiction and understand movie making aspect, how choreography works. To make it realistic to the audience choreography instructors teach that way to make it seem real. I have had a bit of some experiance with choreography instructors back in high school so I understand it when they say things like that in real-life acting aspect of things.

When it comes to the in-universe fictional aspect as can be seen in ANH, what is seen is "Trust your feelings you do not need your eyes". Luke could block blaster bolts with his eyes closed, he could shoot torpedoes without a computer. That is GL's vision.

 

*sigh*

I give up.

I understand very well the "separate reality from fiction" concept, Val. I'm a film major, and have been for two years now. I'd just always thought that everyone came to Lucas when asking how Jedi should act, and that Gillard's comment might imply that Lucas had told him that a Jedi needed to be able to see the bolt to block it, which is why ANH kind of had me screwed up. But just forget it, it's not that big of a deal. Just a question.

JMA

 

Well you sort of overlooked the important phrase: "but Nick said my movements needed to follow my eyes"

That is a standard choreography command, the rest of the phrase just explained it further in the acting and choroegraphy sense.

I highly doubt lucas knows anything about fighting styles, that's why he hired Nick in the first place.

 

I agree with Val 100%. There's a lot of blocking you have to do with the actors that don't make it easy to convey the dynamics of a binding energy Force that's not real to begin with.

In addition, the Lightsaber Combat technique from the RPG used the Jedi's Sense skill to aid their Lightsaber skill to deflect bolts with the lightsaber. Hence, the more skilled the Jedi was both with their weapon and the Force, the more skilled they were at blocking blaster bolts. What makes this a salient point is that the deflection of blaster bolts using a lightsaber was specifically attuned to the SENSE skill, which would imply, given it also attuned a Jedi's danger sense, life sense, general perceptions, etc. that a Jedi would not necessarily have to be facing the direction a bolt was coming from.

 

I highly doubt lucas knows anything about fighting styles, that's why he hired Nick in the first place.

My original question wasn't one of fighting styles, but of how much the Force exactly took care of in the matter of blocking blaster bolts. And George IS the end all, be all of knowledge on matters of the Jedi and the Force, so I was thinking that maybe behind Gillard's statement was some instruction from George on the matter.

JMA

 

Oh and don't forget, blaster bolts are traveling at the speed of light aren't they? So, if you were to see it first it would have already hit you.

Just a thought.

 

You wouldn't be able to see them on the screen if they were travelling at lightspeed.

 

Just another POV - the "Jedi Knight" view. Kyle Katarn (and Mara Jade for that matter) have to be facing the general direction of the blaster shot to block it.

I won't comment on whether that would be official basis for all lightsaber use, or if it is merely a limitation of Katarn and Jade's abilities. Or, one could also chalk it up to the "truth" - that it's simply a gameplay feature, and you'd have to be stupid to apply it "in-universe."

 

Just another POV - the "Jedi Knight" view. Kyle Katarn (and Mara Jade for that matter) have to be facing the general direction of the blaster shot to block it.

I won't comment on whether that would be official basis for all lightsaber use, or if it is merely a limitation of Katarn and Jade's abilities. Or, one could also chalk it up to the "truth" - that it's simply a gameplay feature, and you'd have to be stupid to apply it "in-universe."

Yeah, Genghis, you're correct, it's simply a gameplay issue. A limitation of the software at the time.

Obi-Wan blocks a blaster bolt shot from behind him in the new Clone War trailer, thus demonstrating that Jedi do not have to be facing the shot to deflect it. It's in the first sequence of Jango and Obi-Wan's fight.

 

Yes, after having frame-by-framed the new trailer at least 30 times, I can assure you that Jedi can "block" blaster bolts without looking at them.

It makes sense, given what we know from ANH, that a Jedi need not "see" the bolt to see the bolt, know what I'm saying?

AotC SPOILERS!!!
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*In Obi-Wan's battle with Jango Fett, on more than one occasion, Kenobi twirls his 'saber around to block shots and does not "see" where he's going.

 

I understand that you wouldn't be able to see a blaster bolt traveling at lightspeed from the side. However, what is seen on-screen could simply be a visual representation of what's going on so that the viewer has something to look at.

Then again, I could be totally wrong. I am assuming that blaster bolts are just intense light energy.

 

Nope, they're are bolts of superheated plasma, IIRC.

 

Nope, a blaster bolt is super-heated gas travelling at significantly slower speeds than the speed of light.

 

Thank you. I humbly retract all of my speed-of-light arguments.

I do however still believe that they are going too fast to allow someone enough time to see, analyze, and react to an attack. It seems much more likely to me that seeing the shot is not necessary.

 

Now that were on the topic of blocking blaster bolts, I want to know how in ESB, how did Vader Block the bolts with his hand when Han Shot at him?

 

Combination of force absorb to dissipate the heat, and the "Glove of Darth Vader", (Oh, and yes that is what the EU had to say about it, indeed, ).