The 7 Lightsaber Combat Forms | STRENGTHS + WEAKNESSES

Lightsaber combat isn't just about an individual's connection to the force or how much they have trained. It's also about what form and technique you use and what form your opponent is using.

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[dr.veronica]

Mace Windu was basically the man who was too angry to fall to the Dark Side. Sure, anger usually leads to the Dark Side, but for Mace, his anger was always directed *at* the Dark Side, so he was able to use it without falling to it. I know that's not technically how it works, but I just like to think of Mace as the man too angry to fall to the Dark Side.

[Dramatic_Gaming]

Being a larger lad myself, Form V always appealed to me. The idea of measured, defensive aggression, breaking down your opponent until you can deliver a single powerful strike while having enough force to smash through a more guarded enemy when needed. Very appealing.

[kagekun]

What I like about the forms was how it interplays with each other in the Revenge of the Sith novel. Specifically, during the opening fight with Anakin, Obi-Wan and Dooku. At first, Anakin and Obi-Wan used fake Forms to deceive Dooku into a false sense of security. Obi-Wan used Form 4, Ataru at first. When Dooku saw that, he noted the weakness of that Form which is stabbing thrusts (which is how Qui-Gon went out). When Dooku decided to go for the kill, he began using plenty of stabs at Obi-Wan who promptly deflected them all without a hair out of place. After all, since Obi-Wan's true Form was Soresu, and lightsaber stabs are basically glorified blaster shots, Dooku unpleasantly found out that his strategy wasn't working and he was beginning to tire out.

When Dooku decided to outright overpower Obi-Wan with the Force and knock him out of the fight, he turned his attention to Anakin. When Anakin revealed his true Form, Djim So, Dooku noted with dismay that his elegant fencing form, Makashi could not deflect Djim So's powerful attacks as he simply lacked the kinetic energy to properly counter it. Soon Dooku was overpowered and he lost his hands and after that, his life. It was almost like a game of rock paper scissors the way the lightsaber forms were played.

[overknightacention]

Form 1 = Croud Control
Form 2 = One-on-One
Form 3 = Blaster Counter
Form 4 = Gymnastics
Form 5 = Brawler
Form 6 = Taskmaster
Form 7 = Hulk

[itsabug]

In defense of form 6, in theory it's the most powerful of the forms since you can easily move in and out of different styles, reacting to any weakness or strength the opponent has. The issue is that the ones who practiced it tended to use it as a last resort after trying to peacefully end things, never really going deeper into it than a means of self defense. Exar Kun is a good example of how form 6 is terrifying when its potential is fully realized.

[josephperez]

9:15 The Dark Side smacktalking has an actual term for it, Dun Möch (the literal Sith term for Temptation). It's a technique wherein the Dark Sider literally coaxes their opponent to embrace the Dark Side, causing the opponent to either slowly give in or shift their focus to avoid giving in and thus need to split their focus in the fight.

Each time you see a much stronger Dark Sider seemingly toying with a weaker opponent, they are often using this technique.

[SaberEBW]

In Revenge of the Sith it is shown that Obi-wan was barely sweating and Anakin was drenched in sweat. Meaning Obi-wan was truly staving off Anakin until he had a prime opening. Which he did perfectly, a true master of the form.

[ianbuckley]

I recall Sir Alec Guinness saying that in New Hope they were directed that they should use the light sabre as if it weighed as much as a sword. This changed in the later episodes.

[CrimsonRevolutionary]

As a capoeira fighter, I'd like to point out that while yes, we do keep moving, as a result our attacks and defense techniques are meant to be more efficient so we save energy to keep moving

[PaulGualtieri-mv]

After ROTJ I imagine Form 3 makes the most sense, as there are so few lightsaber users left. You are more likely to encounter a blaster.

[CapnFlash]

What about the bonus Form 8: Baseball Bat, pioneered by Rey and Kylo Ren in the sequel trilogy?

[nathansheldahl]

This is why Mace Windu should’ve been his master or at the bare minimum his dueling master. This would’ve solved a lot of Anakin’s problems later on.

[Fruitbydafooty]

Anakin and Luke both love using the falling avalanche move to end duels, I love how it’s more so strength and overpowering strikes to cause your opponent to freak out rather than skill.

[jamesallred]

How many of y'all want to get Alan and Dave from Sellsword Arts together to do a serious deep dive into lightsabers and their forms? Alan's nerd knowledge and Dave's real life sword skills could make for some real great conversation.

[hadeshades]

Form 1 draws a lot of inspiration from Kendō. From 2 is more or less just fencing. For the other forms there is no parallel. My guys at the dojo were trying a lot of those techniques we saw used in the series and films. Some stuff straight up doesn’t work. But some can hold up if tweaked a bit.

[kyceoreaboe]

Niman is definitely known as the diplomats form...however the true power of the form is only apparent in the hands of a master. Masters of niman were essentially hybrids comprised of all the previous lightsaber forms. Revan was the perfect example. The fact is there are very few jedi who spent the time (at least 10 years) to master niman.

[Woodsman]

I feel I would be a Form V user. Makes sense for my body-type. Has good attack coverage; plus it utilizes Form III as well, so good defensive coverage on top of it. Then I’d throw in a little Form II, just to keep my opponent guessing and for adaptability 👍🏻

[shadowgamerx]

Form 6 can be deadly if you take the time to learn it. Exor kun was a deadly sith who used form 6

[NicoLobozzo]

Technically it wasn’t that Qui-Gon chose a form that wasn’t suited for him, it’s that as he got older he didn’t have the stamina to maintain the acrobatic style of the form and so attempted to substitute many of the jumps and flips for instead wide sweeping attacks and heavy strikes. However when Qui-Gon was younger and actually had the stamina to maintain the acrobatic nature of the form it suited him very well

[TomatoFettuccini]

One of the chief reasons Obi Wan was still alive after the Clone Wars is because of Form III. He became the Form III master in an age of master duelists.

Sith duelists have their own form they use during lightsaber combat, which is basically shit-talking, but amped-up with the Force. I forget what it's called, but the idea behind it is to sow doubt in the mind of their opponent, and to weaken their connection to the Force through self-doubt.

So in star Wars lore, the big bad monologing isn't just for the movie, it's the Sith lord casting debuffs.