Editing Lightsaber (section)

=== Lightsaber Styles ===
Fighting with a lightsaber is more than simply swinging your laser sword and hoping to hit the enemy while blocking his attacks. Lightsaber combat is considered a true martial art that developed different styles and forms over the ages as eras moved on and needs changed. There are a number of canonical ''(and non canonical)'' lightsaber combat styles with their own pros and cons.

*'''Form I - Schii-Cho:''' When lightsabers were invented, the first style was based primarily on existing sword-fighting techniques. Schii-Cho was the ''basic'' lightsaber style learned by most beginners and is the gateway to lightsaber combat with most later styles building upon its principles. Few actually go on to master the style properly, which is unfortunate because Form I is a perfectly functional style in its own right - in other words, it's the "boring but practical" form. It is best suited for melee combat against multiple opponents, though it pales horribly against ranged weapons. Kit Fisto (the Green-Abe-Sapien-with-dreadlocks guy mostly seen in Episode III and Clone Wars) was said to have mastered and stuck to this form in the Visual Dictionaries. Obi Wan's fell back on Schii-Cho in his last fight against Darth Maul in ''Rebels'', much to the latter's shock.
*'''Form II - Makashi:''' If Form I is "sword fighting," then Form II is "fencing." It uses a more precise and elegant method of attack and defense versus the sweeping movements of Form I, though still operating on traditional "sword form" techniques. Makashi is a style best suited for one-on-one combat, though as with Form I it offers no defense against ranged weapons. Its name is Japanese for "to defeat." Count Dooku's style.
** The story goes that late Christopher Lee, given his background in fencing, refused to use the lightsaber as a broadsword instead wanting to show off his world champion fencing ability so they altered his style. Thus the movie version incorporates Christopher Lee's fencing experience.
*'''Form III - Soresu:''' Someone somewhere noted that the first two forms were useless against ranged weapons and moved to correct this, creating an all-new style that catered to defense and was the first style to truly teach how to block blaster bolts. In melee combat it placed emphasis on small, efficient movements, outlasting your opponent(s), and waiting for them to tire and/or make a mistake. Its inoffensive nature marked it as the ultimate expression of the Jedi philosophy but meant that inexperienced initiates were left without effective means of attack. Obi Wan took up this style after Qui-Gonn's death and is considered THE master of Soresu. Maul also adopted a Soresu stance ''immediately'' when confronted by Sidious on Mandalore, notable for being the only time he has ''ever'' used Form III. In Maul's case, it serves as an example of just how scared of Sidious Maul was, that he was on the defensive right from the start.
*'''Form IV - Ataru:''' Forms IV and V were developed concurrently, as lightsaber masters looked at Form III and decided it was far too passive a combat form, as simply waiting for your enemy to tire out isn't really an effective means of fighting. "Ataru" therefore was developed as an "aggressive" form that placed emphasis on overwhelming attack; teaching its practitioners to strike relentlessly and acrobatically from multiple angles, requiring high agility and endurance on the part of its users. The main problems with Ataru are that it is not suitable for long encounters, or for closed environments. Also, its emphasis on acrobatics means its strikes often lack power, and thus are easy to parry by another lightsaber, especially if the defender is on firm footing or physically stronger than the attacker. Its name is Japanese for "to hit." Yoda uses Ataru exclusively, as does Anakin Skywalker in episode 2.
**It should be noted that Yoda's small size helps do away with many of its downsides. He's smaller and thus he's a more difficult target to hit during acrobatics. Not even Dooku or Sidious could hit him with a lightsaber. He's lighter thus jumping and movement requires less physical energy than a heavier user and can last longer. His weapon's shorter and therefore easier to manage in closed environments. Thus even without Yoda's considerably far above average experience and Force skill, he's a perfect fit. If one were to stat Yoda, he'd have a rule softening a few of Form IV's flaws.
*'''Form V - Shien:''' As with Ataru, the developers of Shien looked at Form III and said that being passive was a poor form of offense. But rather than overwhelming an opponent with relentless attack as with Form IV, the Shien style maintained its emphasis on defense but taught how to redirect an opponent's strikes, moving around the battlefield and creating their own opportunities for counterattack. It is considered to be one of the better styles for combat against ranged opponents and multiple attackers, but is less suited as a dueling style (because it requires superior strength, see below). Its name is Japanese for "support", which is fitting for a non-offensive style. Ahsoka Tano and Galen Marek use Shien while using their lightsabers in a reverse-grip.
**'''Djem So:''' The more physically demanding variant of Form V, the style is still grounded in the same principles of controlling your opponent and creating opportunities for counter attack, but is more suited for fighting against a single opponent as it instructs the user to physically dominate the fight by battering their way through the guard of the opponent, or opening the opponent's attacks into new opportunities to strike. As a true evolution of lightsaber-on-lightsaber combat; a Djem So practitioner ''with sufficient strength'' could overcome a skilled Makashi duelist. The specific failings of Djem So are that it is criticized for having a lack of mobility (powerful strikes require a firm footing), and is less useful for physically weak practitioners. Anakin Skywalker, learning his lesson of not recklessly charging a master of the dueling form (that is, Dooku) after losing an arm, primarily uses Djem So during the Clone Wars and episode 3. As Darth Vader, he uses a mix of Djem So, Soresu, and Makashi. The close of Anakin's fight with Bariss in Clone Wars is Djem So at its finest.
*'''Form VI - Niman:''' The "Moderate" form that combined elements from all of the previous forms into a single hybrid style, allowing its practitioners to learn the basics of lightsaber combat in all areas, eventually replacing Form I as the ''"standard"'' style by the time of the Clone Wars. Critics point out that this form is insufficiently demanding, provides no decisive edge in battle, and is ill-suited to both dueling and the open battlefield. However, Form VI does encourage its adherents to be highly flexible and to incorporate more Force techniques in combat, encouraging the user to strike and guard telekinetically and control the fight intuitively. This made ultimate mastery of the Niman style very difficult, so as with Form I, most initiates eventually gravitated towards a different style to suit their preferences. However, true masters of the art, like Exar Kun (who is pretty much unmatched in melee except by freakishly powerful beings like Vitiate and Luke) are incomparable in combat, having no weakness in form to exploit, closing the advantage gap by sheer skill.
**'''Jar'Kai:''' Technically the "Jar'Kai tactic" refers to fighting with two lightsabers at once, regardless of the chosen lightsaber form. However the ''"Jar'Kai Style"'' was a specific predecessor to the Niman style that existed before the actual invention of the lightsaber and was later incorporated into the Form VI curriculum. Therefore while Form VI is a style unto itself, those who wish to learn how to use two lightsabers often find that the principles of Niman lend themselves well to two-weapon combat, occasionally combined with a Shien style reverse grip.
*'''Form VII - Juyo:''' The "Ferocity" form, and is one of the most physically and emotionally demanding forms. It was designed specifically for lightsaber duels, being compared to the directness of Form V combined with the energy of Form IV, although the movements come across as chaotic and erratic, often appearing raw and unpolished, the goal was to be unpredictable and vicious, with a heavy emphasis on offense. Juyo was sometimes labelled a "Sith style," Form VII is particularly aggressive and opens the users mind up to the dark side of the force if they are not careful. Darth Maul and Emperor Palpatine used Juyo in the movies.
**'''Vaapad:''' The Mace Windu variant of Juyo that was only perfected much later. Vaapad was exactly the same lightsaber style as Juyo with a different mindset; Vaapad requires the practitioner to exert a certain measure of control by channeling the emotion back into the fight rather than letting it overcome the user. Though this was difficult and required a constant stream of Force use to achieve, therefore it was actively discouraged by the Jedi council as being too risky to attempt.

Below is a chart comparing the strengths of the various forms in relation to each other, from the perspective of how they would spend points to buy what they're good at if each had 5 points to spend. Color coded points denoting some sort of mastery, and hollow stars denote half-points.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Form !! vs 1v1 !! vs Many !! vs Blasters !! Notes
|-
| Form I - Schii-Cho
| ★★<span style="color:orange">☆</span>
| ★★<span style="color:orange">☆</span>
| 
| Starting form for beginners.
|-
| Form II - Makashi
| ★★★
| ★<span style="color:orange">★</span>
| 
| For lightsaber duelists.
|-
| Form III - Soresu
| ★<span style="color:orange">☆</span>
| ★<span style="color:orange">☆</span>
| ★★
| Impenetrable defense. Won't lose, has difficulty winning.
|-
| Form IV - Ataru
| ★★<span style="color:orange">★</span>
| ★☆
| ☆
| [[Fist of the North Star|ATATATATATATATATATATA!]]
|-
| Form V - Shien
| ★<span style="color:blue">★☆</span>
| ★☆
| ★
| <span style="color:blue">Djem So requires +4 Str.</span>
|-
| Form VI - Niman
| ★<span style="color:green">★</span>
| ★<span style="color:green">★</span>
| ★
| <span style="color:green">Liberal use of force powers and perception.</span>
|-
| Form VI - Jar'Kai
| ★<span style="color:magenta">★</span>
| ★<span style="color:magenta">☆</span>
| ★<span style="color:magenta">☆</span>
| <span style="color:magenta">Dual wielding.</span>
|-
| Form VII - Juyo
| ★<span style="color:red">★★☆</span>
| ★
| ☆
| <span style="color:red">Feel the power of the dark side.</span>
|-
|}

In the Legends Continuity, there are a number of other styles and techniques used in lightsaber combat:
*[[Meme|"I have the high ground"]] is an actual style... Or more appropriately a methodology called '''Sokan''' which teach the user how to use their environment to their advantage: bottling the enemy into small spaces to restrict movement, using open spaces to generate speed etc, and of course; gaining the advantage of higher terrain to limit your opponent's avenues of engagement while increasing your own.
*In a unique case of gamers getting shit done, even one fanon technique made its way into the continuity. '''Trakata''' is a technique which takes advantage of the fact you can turn a lightsaber on and off very quickly, allowing for rapidly re-positioning the blade through an opponent's guard. This was first named as a distinct technique in the [[Star Wars D20|Saga Edition RPG]], and since made its way into expanded universe materials.
*The Jedi Knight series of [[/v/|video games]] created the '''Fast''', '''Medium''', and '''Strong''' lightsaber styles for those trained in the New Republic Era, ostensibly as a gameplay mechanic, since three styles are easier to animate than seven or more. But this was later explained in EU materials as a necessity due to Luke's informal training and the scarcity of written materials following Order 66, meaning that New Jedi Order had to practically invent brand new styles based on the limited information available to them and unrelated melee combat techniques.
*The sideways Disney-canon guidebooks indicate that the Sith have access to all of the styles of the Jedi ''(aside from Vaapad)'' but have modified them to suit their purposes and have discarded elements as they feel necessary. Condensing the seven forms to only three: '''Strong:''' with its foundations in Djem So and physical domination, '''Fast:''' with a focus on footwork and precision, and finally '''Juyo:''' which remains unchained from the standard curriculum, lending credence to its status as the "Sith" style.
* '''Cho-Mai''': Disarming a foe by slicing off their hand. Of course you can technically do this with a regular sword, axe or whatever but between their cutting power and the automatic cauterization this option is a lot more viable if you have a lightsaber if your aim is to quickly and very emphatically neutralize a foe without actually killing them.