Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.

I always wanted to know this. I think it's a combination of many but which real-world sword fight is the closest.

To me, the way C. Dooku fights looks like fencing with the way he so awesomely does it with one hand against Obi Wan and Anakin in Ep.3

Dooku's style is based on Spanish fencing, somewhat. It was altered last minute.

The OT battles were based on kendo and some broadsword techniques.

PT battles combine more Chinese flashiness with unrealistic sword-fighting mistakes like spinning, flipping, casual sword twirls, etc. For weapons that have almost no weight the Jedi always full swing them when instead they could be fighting almost completely with their wrists. (Imagine fencing or fighting with a flashlight with a weightless blade, and that's it. Half of those strikes make no sense, because there isn't enough weight behind a lightsaber to stagger an opponent and break his guard; instead the fights should all be faster and more efficient.)

Whats the point?

They all sense eachothers moves. Its a matter of pure technique when its a Jedi vs Sith. Who is the first to make a mistake will be the first to die.

Uh, the point is that the way they fight now is ridiculously telegraphed even for non-Force sensitives. The greatest duel in the series (Obi-Wan versus Anakin) was the fastest (Arguably... Dooku versus Yoda was also fast) and was still horribly pretentious and unrealistic. Now, forgive me for wanting a movie where swordfights are realistic (Tristan in King Arthur perhaps best honors this) but if you're gonna have flashlight handles with light blades on them, have them move like it. Jedi fighting should be a combination of blurred movement and precise strike, parry, etc. etc. Not a bunch of kung fu spinning and flipping and the same two handed strikes over and over again. (Really, any real swordsman who was the master of the lightsaber would not need to use two hands. Of the group, Dooku and Exar Kun best emphasized this.)

It says that in ANH, Obi-Wan imitated the kensai-fighting style of the Samurai, while Darth Vader used no style at all, just randomly raising his saber and blocking and swiping.

I think they used the I've Got A Wooden Fragile Prop style myself. That fight was worse than two four year olds duking it out with spoons.

I STRONGLY disagree with the analysis that the moves are telegraphed. In fact, that strikes me as totally ridiculous. The fights in the PT are very carefully designed.

They seem silly to moi, like a bunch of flashy crap trying to divert the audiences attention from the poor quality of the PT movies themsleves.

Really? And when Qui-Gon Jinn does a complete turn before extending his lightsaber to swing at Maul... that's not horribly telegraphed? And when two combatants raise their swords above their heads and exchange meaningless blows... And then the whole needing to hands to do grazing blows at point blank range... Oh, and don't get me started on Sidious and his HORRIBLY obvious stabs.

I think the style of a lightsaber will be very different of other real swords since a lightsaber can cut to every side. Certainly real life swords styles depend on if they cut only in one side or two, like for example, a katana which cuts only in one side, and because of this its style is very different from a longsword for example.

All the more reason for the fighting styles to be less open and more precise. Dooku's style works best because it utlizes mostly one hand and thrusts and stabs as opposed to chops which are something one does with a one-edged blade.

I would think that lightsaber fighting would be incredibly dynamic because of the possibilities such a blade offers, but that's not the case in-movie.

Yeah I never found Ataru effective either, just cool to watch.
Makashi is probably the best.

I found Ataru horribly wasteful. I don't like it at all. Yoda spins and flips like a top and the most he achieves is being annoying to hit. It doesn't give him much of a saber advantage. Qui-Gon just looked like a fool spinning like a top. And when Maul actually counterattacked, Qui pushed back on his heels and at a loss for a good defense.

Same in KotOR II. That horrible flurry move where the character does a twirl then hits them. Why!? You would get cut in half!

I want to feel embarssed for Niam when he does the spinning slash in that hallway.

With a lightsaber, no matter where you touch it, your gonna lose some skin. That being, the whole blade is dangerous, there's no one sharp edge.

With that, the wielder should be able to do anything with the blade. Really, any combo. or style. It doesn't matter where they hit because it'll do damage. So with that in mind, any style the Jedi pick are dangerous.

It's just the fact that they're Jedi. No matter waht move you make your opponent sees it before hand. So with their speed it goes from one attack to another, (same with blocks) again and again and again. Until one of them f*cks up and makes a mistake.

Quiggy's twirling and the little "lightsaber twirling contest" Obi-Wan and Vader had in ROTS, in the control room, were just horrible though.

Remeber that the style of REAL sword fighting is based on the strength and shape of the sword.

Fencing swords are light and sharp and thin, hence making it easier to handle, but not as strong.

Broadswords or big and heavy, and the attacks tend to be either hit or miss.

Katanas are very strong, but the shape of them only allows for short reach.

Lightsabers are indestructable, have good reach, and weigh nothing.






How would you fight?

It is easy to stab and slash with a lightsaber, whereas there are usually swords designed to stab (fencing swords, rapiers, etc.) and slash (broadswords, katanas, etc.)

Not really that easy to compare fighting styles to real ones. They were all choreographed, rather than training the actors how to fight with real styles, which they would need years of training to do. Like, decades.

That's true. In any case, I've heard tell that Soresu is basically made up from Ewan's use of the blade.

The fights were cool to watch but like Deus Ex said...unrealistic.

Originally posted by Darth Traya
Same in KotOR II. That horrible flurry move where the character does a twirl then hits them. Why!? You would get cut in half!

Not to mention, if you kill something that is sleeping, it stands up so that it can fall and die.

Originally posted by jollyjim311
Not to mention, if you kill something that is sleeping, it stands up so that it can fall and die.

Blame it on game mechanics...

Originally posted by Veneficus
Blame it on game mechanics...

...and bad acting.

Or cheap budget.

The mystery is solved!

Cross that one off on your list of un-answered Star Wars questions!

Lightsaber fights can't be realistic because their is no weapon in the real world matching a lightsaber.

- a lightsaber has no weight
- it can be used as slash or thrust weapon
- it can simply cut through people or pierce through them even if you have no real "power" behind you hits.

So I have to agree with Janus at the point what lightsaber styles should look like: one-handed fencing.

On the other handside there is a reason to use two-handed strikes: Generate more physical energy. Medieval swords could simply brake bones by hitting somebody even when not being sharp. And if you use fencing styles you have a problem again: Fencing relies pretty much on thrusting. Giving somebody a thrust with a lightsaber is not very effective because of immediate cauterization. You give them a thrust-wound and they won't bleed. I always wondered how Maul did kill Qui-Gon by stabbing his abdomen. You can put opponents out of the fight with that (see what Dooku did to Obi-Wan in AotC) but even Dooku relies on slashing movements sometimes (cutting Anakins arm off and when he wanted to kill Obi-Wan).

And again this would look unrealistic because there is no weapon that can be used as fencing AND slash weapon at least not powerful enough to cut some limbs off.

So lightsaber fights can't look realistic because of the nature of lightsabers AND because of the nature of the opponents. We're talking about people with superhuman reflexes that can "predict" the future to a certain degree. Yoda can spin around like that because he knews where his opponents next attack will land.

And the last point: Star Wars is entertainment. If this fights would look "realistical" it would be quite boring. Ever watched a fencing fight ?

Why more physical energy with both hands !? The damage will be the same independently of the strengh of put in the strike, you just need to make the blade pass through the body of the enemy. Anyway I agree it would look like a different type of fencing since it can cut to every side, has small weight, and such...

Originally posted by Deus Ex
Uh, the point is that the way they fight now is ridiculously telegraphed even for non-Force sensitives. The greatest duel in the series (Obi-Wan versus Anakin) was the fastest (Arguably... Dooku versus Yoda was also fast) and was still horribly pretentious and unrealistic. Now, forgive me for wanting a movie where swordfights are realistic (Tristan in King Arthur perhaps best honors this) but if you're gonna have flashlight handles with light blades on them, have them move like it. Jedi fighting should be a combination of blurred movement and precise strike, parry, etc. etc. Not a bunch of kung fu spinning and flipping and the same two handed strikes over and over again. (Really, any real swordsman who was the master of the lightsaber would not need to use two hands. Of the group, Dooku and Exar Kun best emphasized this.)
You say the Jedi should do more parry, precise strike and whatever but none of the Jedi were basically trained to fight another lightsaber user because most of their foes use blasters. Jedi use two hands base on the form they learned. Form 2 is the closest to fencing and is bested used in lightsaber duels which Count Dooku knew.

Originally posted by ESB- 1138
You say the Jedi should do more parry, precise strike and whatever but none of the Jedi were basically trained to fight another lightsaber user because most of their foes use blasters. Jedi use two hands base on the form they learned. Form 2 is the closest to fencing and is bested used in lightsaber duels which Count Dooku knew.

Uh, you obviously don't get the point- ideally they should never need to use two hands since there's no weight to counter in the blade.

Second, two handed is really only neccessary for saber locks and bracing against attacks. Oops... here's Dooku dispelling that apparently...

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/3109/anakinobiavatar6kw6zi.gif

Note he's casually defending Obi and Anakin's last chop with one hand. The Force obviously aids his blade.

And Nai, I have seen quite a few fencing matches. Some were very good and engaging. I prefer combat where people concentrate on killing one another quickly and not on flashy overblown BS myself.

If you watch, all Jedi duelists aim for the other's lightsaber, not the opponent's body. Also, Jedi usually come within idiotically close and within the range of the opponent's lightsaber and still remains untouched. Real fights are short, utilizing as little energy as possible to perform maneuvers, and are at a WAY slower pace. Imagine you and your enemy both have weapons that can be swung as fast as your wrist, both weapons of the same length. Are you going to rush headfirst into a swing without thinking?

Actually, real life fights are lightning quick.

Originally posted by Se7in
If you watch, all Jedi duelists aim for the other's lightsaber, not the opponent's body. Also, Jedi usually come within idiotically close and within the range of the opponent's lightsaber and still remains untouched. Real fights are short, utilizing as little energy as possible to perform maneuvers, and are at a WAY slower pace. Imagine you and your enemy both have weapons that can be swung as fast as your wrist, both weapons of the same length. Are you going to rush headfirst into a swing without thinking? I guess it must be the Force which enhances their judgement, reflexes and speed.

But yeah, you watch any PT duel especially, you notice that they don't aim for the opponents body, always for their blade. At least in the OT you had them going at each other like Vikings.