#jar'kai

[tesb]

Maul using Jar'Kai in Maul – Shadow Lord: "Chapter 9: Strange Allies"

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

"Asajj Ventress" by Vladimir Duran.

[adragonsfriend]

Lightsaber things.

(This gets a title despite being short because I have a feeling I might be rambling about it again)

If I knew more about swords I would…

(a) …retocon Ahsoka's shoto as a dagger-length thing, and give her a sword-and-dagger fighting style. Pretty sure the backhanded grip would still garner ridicule, so maybe she uses a normal grip when she's just fighting another lightsaber user, and the reverse grip on the dagger when she's in a larger battle where deflecting blaster bolts is a concern. Would a backhanded grip help with deflecting bolts? Idk but I'm pretty sure it's far more reasonable to use a dagger like that than a sword, even a slightly shorter one

(b) …run with the fact that lightsaber fights are unrealistically long due to reasons of making good cinema, and make it a feature of Jedi fighting styles that Form III is just an extreme form of something all Jedi styles do, which is tend to prolong fights as a measure against recklessly dealing out death or maiming (the exception to this is actually Makashi more than Djem So, btw.) From my observations, it is really hard to deliver a fight-ending blow with a sword that isn't potentially deadly or permanent injury--probably doubly so with lightsabers literally vaporizing flesh. Jedi style intentionally create room for banter conversation, aka convincing the other person to surrender. Other swordfighting schools think Jedi are totally impractical and insane, frankly

[azureranger]

I think we can all agree there is nothing cooler than dual wielding in Star Wars

[sw5w]

Duel in the Desert

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:16:58

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

Jar’kai bros.

(Star Wars 1998 - issue 45 / TCW 2009 03x09: The Hunt for Ziro)

[thenegoteator]

what’s better than one stabby glow stick? two stabby glow sticks!!

[legobiwan]

Hello there dearest Lego! Long time no see on my end, I forgot about star wars lol. I do so hope you're having a good pride! Heres to more!!! What do you think would change in the overall story if obi wan just had dual sabers all the time?

Thank you, friend! I admittedly haven't been Star Wars-ing all that much, myself, as the MCU has re-taken over my life between Loki and a newfound appreciation for Bucky Barnes (and a temporary appreciation for Zemo may he return in future projects).

Anyway, if Obi-wan were jar'kai-ing all the time?

Whoosh.

So here's the thing. Obi-wan doesn't go jar'kai unless he's serious. And...if no one (at least those he counts as his allies) is watching. Which is something I find...intriguing.

A possible (read: fun) interpretation of this is that Obi-wan only goes jar'kai when he's ready to let loose, when he's about to fuck some shit up, to let go of that Jedi restraint he shows so often. (Because, let's face it. The man who could defeat Anakin Skywalker at his peak, the man who took down Maul and Savage alone - for all the times we see him get the crap beat out of him, it's not necessarily because he's incapable of fighting back. He just chooses not to.)

So...a jar'kai Obi-wan at all times would mean that a) he's just letting go and dancing (kick-stepping, let's be honest) even closer to that line between light and dark; between control and restraint that we normally see or b) he's mastered that control to a degree (essentially reaching his late-Tatooine level of equilibrium) that he feels he can totally channel that type of energy and not tip over into something he can't quite control (Because Obes is all about control of himself.)

Me, personally - well, I'm more of a fan of the "a" option as it tracks with Obi-wan's character over the course of the war. I mean, he had obviously studied the hell out of jar'kai considering he defended himself so well against Ventress and Grievous at most given moments (I mean, Grievous isn't even jar'kai, it's something above that with the four sabers going on. And considering Grievous had a somewhat siloed obsession with Obi-wan, it's understandable that Obes felt he had to be proficient in dual-wielding, even before the whole Maul fiasco.)

Why not use it then? The weaknesses of jar'kai include an overreliance on weaponry over the Force; difficulty controlling two weapons; and a weakening of the defensive posture, according to wookiepedia. Now, Obi-wan exhibits none of these foibles in the rare instances we see him dual-wield, meaning he's trained himself in it but chooses not to use it, despite the advantage it might give him. And maybe that is too much of an advantage, one which might be a transgression of some part of the Code. Add to that his probable reluctance to use anything past soresu in light of Qui-gon's death (as ataru training is at the base of jar'kai), it's unsurprising Obes avoids it.

So if he's out there, willingly using jar'kai? That is a whole ton of confidence and sudden shedding of preoccupations right there, meaning Obi-wan has either become one with the Force or he's about to drop some shit on his enemies. And because I'm always a fan of teetering-on-the-dark-side Obi-wan (and truly believe he had some massive control issues not to mention trauma), I'm of the thinking that jar'kai Obi-wan = unhinged Obi-wan.

(And you know what - considering Dooku trained Ventress and she used jar'kai, I think he'd be into this development.)