a maul thought i've had for the past few days:
Okay so I think pretty much everyone knows that Maul's biggest weakness in fighting is his arrogance. In TPM he underestimated fighting Obi Wan, thinking he can defeat a padawan like its nothing and then boom gets chopped in half. Another point we see this is when he's fighting Ahsoka. Again, he's fighting another padawan, should be easy right? Though for this fight I think he was also desperate and scared because he knew Sidious was coming into power as we speak so that affected his fighting. And the last example we have is his "fight" woth Obi Wan on Tatooine in Rebels where he was arrogant enough to think he could kill his opponent the same way he did his master all those years ago.
I just finished readinf SW Episode 1 Journal: Darth Maul which is a journal Maul kept during the events of TPM. He takes note on how he trains, what his missions are, his inner thoughts, and events from his childhood.
What sticks out is that he really does talk about how great his skills are. And it's not like ot's baseless, his skills really are unmatched for many people. But he really does go into fights like he knows he's going to win. He never doubts himself. Ever. He truly has confidence in his abilities which on one hand is great! You should have confidence in yourself! But I don't think Maul's confidence comes from him having high self esteem (he doesn't actually).
Maul is literally not allowed to doubt himself.
To doubt yourself is to second guess. Second guessing yourself can lead to failure. Maul can't fail. If he fails anything he will be subjected to abuse by Sidious. Sith are not allowed to fail. This has been drilled into his brain since he was barely 3 years old.
The reason why Maul is such a great fighter is because he wants to be in his Master's favor. Because of he pleases Sidious then he won't be punished. He literally wrote that down in his last journal entry (i wish i had it with me right now but i dont djebeje) that he will be successful in his mission. Kill the Jedi. Please his Master. Not be punished anymore.
