WriteHaven

Preamble

The martial traditions of the Jedi have evolved much over the generations of our order. The tools have changed, the intent has changed, and over time our very understanding of the Force as it applies to combat, and the types of discipline we pursue in our cultivation of the warrior spirit has changed as well. Apart from the philosophical and cultural implications of these changes, there are certain practical implications worth noting as well, though they cannot and should not be entirely divorced from the others. The practical changes over time have been recorded and formalized by the successive generations of Jedi Battlemasters and Sabersmiths to give us what we now know as the classic Seven Forms of Lightsaber Combat, as well as the more recent addition of the Eighth.

However, the combatant is more than just their sword, they are a whole individual who strives to achieve alignment of body and purpose, such that even when absent a particular aspect of their method, they are still capable of accomplishing the end for which they engaged in combat in the first place.

While less often discussed, it is worth noting that each of the eight classic forms encompasses a companion unarmed martial style, one which functions with similar biomechanics and benefits from the same mental approach to a combat situation. These things are important for Jedi, and other practitioners who seek to learn from the martial traditions of the Jedi, to understand if they are to grasp a form in its entirety. If one only ever experiences one aspect of an art, they cannot appreciate the art in its fullest sense. It is important, rather, the experience an art in all its forms – especially a martial art – in order to fully understand the “how” and “why” of its many nuances.

These few pages that follow have been written not with the intent of providing an exhaustive or even particularly instructive technical guide, but rather to give a sense of insight into the subtleties behind some of the celebrated martial traditions that are so often connected to the Jedi Order’s most iconic tool. And for those wishing to gain either in principle or in practice a greater understanding of a martial style that is of interest or of use to them, this primer is also an invitation to study a less celebrated but equally valuable body of knowledge and techniques that has been passed down to us by the survivors among many generations of the galaxy’s peacekeepers.

Form I: Shii-Cho – Way of the Sarlacc

It is well known among Jedi and those who study their martial arts that Shii-Cho was developed initially simply to help both newcomers and skilled swordsmen alike rediscipline their muscle memory to compensate for the unusual properties of the emerging technology that we now know as the Lightsaber. It was developed for this reason, but those who study it beyond the simple basics must keep in mind that its roots are still planted firmly in the concepts of fencing known to generations of swordsmen who wielded actual double-edged metal swords. The most overt hint at this is the fact that early swordsmen of the Jedi’s first generations to embrace the Lightsaber still wore armored gauntlets (and more armor in general) so that they could utilize some of the more advanced fencing techniques with which they were familiar. Namely, the tendency of metal-edge swordsmen to “wind and bind”, or seek ways to lock, subvert, or leverage the blades of both combatants in their favor to create an opportunity for a killing blow. It is now a footnote in the pages of martial history that metal-edge swordsmen spent almost as much time with their hands on the blades of their swords as they did the hilts. These methods of drawing the opponent in and trapping them with all conceivable applications of gravity and leverage do tend to invoke thoughts of a Desert Sarlacc drawing in its prey, but it also implies the existence of and need for another martial art which many do not realize the Ancient Jedi had a hand in refining, which is the art of Wrestling.

Jedi of today have developed extremely difficult and nuanced maneuvers that allow them to slash the emitters of their opponent’s lightsaber without causing bodily harm, but in a scenario where the blades in use do not happen to be composed of electromagnetically enveloped plasma, disarming one’s opponent becomes a much more broadly applicable practice, and it presents an issue that must be addressed.

Jedi of Ancient wars knew that one who had no sword could still die upon one, so they developed techniques that would allow an individual to use their whole body as an efficient weapon of defense and counter-offense against an armed opponent, or as a tool for forcing opponents into submission even in fully unarmed situations. If you can close the distance quickly between yourself and an opponent – especially one who has a sword when you do not – and force them to either yield control of the single weapon still in the fray or grapple them in such a way that their limbs are no longer a threat to you, a seemingly desperate situation can be transformed into a manageable encounter.

These wrestling and grappling techniques did not rely on armor, but they did produce the best results when armored, and their motions accommodated armor surprisingly well. And just like Shii-Cho lightsaber techniques are a useful foundation for any lightsaber swordsman, Shii-Cho wrestling techniques are an excellent body of techniques to be studied by students of any of the eight unarmed forms, because an opponent is not fully neutralized until they are physically subdued in one way or another, and wrestling binds have the potential to produce this subdual much earlier in the combat process that other styles.

Shii-Cho is a form that became mainly obsolete with the advent of other more lethal saber forms, and in a similar fashion, the wrestling techniques passed down to us by metal-edge swordsmen in armor are not always as efficient as the unarmed styles that have evolved in combination with later saber forms, but just as skillful Shii-Cho swordsmen can still hold their own and even emerge victorious with a great understanding of their art, so too can Shii-Cho wrestlers.

The Sarlacc is deadliest once it has a firm hold on its enemy.