For the curious, this section will deal with how fencing and sword combat evolves as time progresses. A brief analysis of individual fighting styles developed in the future will help to educate and broaden present-day fencing horizons.
The first discussion will be a seven-part series on the various styles of fencing used by the Order of Jedi Knights, as taught by the Jedi Temple.
Form III: Soresu, also known as the Way of the Mynock, or The Resilience Form, was the third of the seven forms of lightsaber combat that was recognized by the Jedi Council prior to and during the Clone Wars.
With the prevalence of blasters growing throughout the galaxy, the Jedi found the need for a purely defensive form designed to reflect blaster bolts back at opponents, and Soresu evolved from a combination of this need and the inherent Jedi philosophy. Soresu evolved into the most defensive of the seven forms, utilizing short, quick sweeps across the body rather than wide arcs of the other lightsaber forms. The blade was kept close to the body to allow rapid shifts in movement and defense. A practitioner of Soresu was often described as "the eye of the storm", remaining completely calm while battle raged on around him. Soresu wielders were often passive fighters, allowing an opponent to tire himself attempting to batter down a nigh-impregnable defense, and eventually expose an opening which the Jedi would then take quick advantage of using alternate attacks. The idea was to trap the opponent within his own attack patterns and so defeat him. A master of Soresu was near-invincible, able to deflect up to 20 attacks per second from any angle of approach. It was considered the form truest to the Jedi code, since it emphasized a passive way of life and the desire to defend and protect rather than attack.
Opening stance: the dominant leg was held back, with the blade held is held at a horizontal at the level of the temple, with the other hand raised forward in challenge.
Circle of Shelter: The duelist creates a protective area around themselves and those they are defending which enemies have difficulty penetrating
Deflecting Slash; A maneuver where the duelist reflects an incoming projectile at an angle into another target
Soresu was employed by many Jedi to an extent as the easiest way to deflect blaster bolts and survive long battles, but few Jedi had the patience or willpower necessary to truly master Soresu. It was best used against hurried, aggressive opponents who tended to rely on an initial strong attack. Its defense, however, requires intense focus and concentration. It is most effective against single incredibly powerful enemies and multiple weak foes. True masters of Soresu could trap an opponent within his own attacks and eventually defeat him, though doing so required a very high level of skill. Soresu, for the most part, facilitates survival rather than victory. Because the blade was held so close to the body, a momentary lapse in the defense meant that the Jedi would almost certainly be instantly injured or killed. Soresu may even backfire, fatiguing the defender rather than the attacker. Though a true master of the technique had almost no exploitable weaknesses, such masters were few and far in between.
Form III has been used for millenia, with various practitioners. Some of the more famous masters of the form include Luminara Unduli and her apprentice, Barriss Offee. Count Dooku also had enough mastery of the form to teach it to General Grievous. Darth Vader also employed some Soresu techniques in his style of combat.
Perhaps the most famous practitioner is Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the few true masters of the form who was unanimously chosen by the Jedi Council to defeat such formidable foes as Grievous and Darth Vader. Obi-Wan was able to singlehandedly hold off all four of Grievous's lightsabers for an extended period of time, and was thought to be untouchable by the enemies he faced on the battlefield.
UChicago Fencing Club · contact Webmaster