Training Methods (Lightsaber Combat)

The various lightsaber training methods were largely devised by the Jedi Order, with other organizations borrowing elements for their own use. Most of the Jedi training elements were established by the Shii-Cho, which would continue to find a niche as a tutorial form.

In order to teach students to draw upon the Force rather than rely on their senses, early level Shii-Cho blast-deflect training was conducted with a blindfold, forcing the initiate to rely upon his instincts. Later training was conducted through the use of sequences and velocities, the continuous repetition, making the moves instinctive reflexes. These training regimens were carried over to all following lightsaber combat forms, which used similar methods.

## Sequences

Sequences were precisely choreographed series of attacks and parries that flowed together smoothly and were used during combat. Each form of lightsaber combat had its own sequences, and there were hundreds of different sequences which could be applied to various combat situations.

Some believed that using sequences in combat was superior to using individual moves, because taking time to consider and use moves individually in combat was slow and inefficient, and using sequences instead of individualized moves was faster and more fluid, providing significant advantages.

## Sparring

parring was mock combat between two duelists. Sparring sessions provided novices with the opportunity to test their skills against an equal or greater opponent, and learn from their mistakes. Many fully trained duelists would take to frequent sparring sessions with contemporaries to ensure that their skills didn't atrophy, sometimes opting for training droids in the absence of live sparring partners.

While most sparring matches were relatively free-form, there were certain styles of matches governed by a strict set of rules. These more specialized matches were intended to develop skills in specific ways, such as developing timing or consistency.

## Dulon

The term "dulon" typically referred to a lightsaber move where the duelist would hold his hilt's pommel at one's midsection with the blade thirty degrees up, and would be slashed at high velocity. However, the term also referred to a solo lightsaber training exercise in which a Padawan practiced sequences of moves against imaginary opponents.

## Velocities

Velocities involved two students practicing sequences of attacks and parries against each other, repeating the same patterns over and over, while constantly increasing the speed of the movements until one opponent got hit, or decided to yield by saying "Solah."

## Twin Suns

In this form of practice, two Jedi would use the Force to rise and land like two suns crossing the sky. It required a great mastery in lightsaber combat, high attunement with the Force and precise timing. This technique required two Jedi to stand at the opposite ends of an open area. Then the combatants would start running at each other and make a Force Jump toward the opponent. While in the air the Jedi would activate their lightsabers and when crossed beside in mid-air, they would strike at one another, trying to harmlessly cut a piece of opponent's clothing and then deactivate the lightsaber before landing on the ground.

## Faalo's cadences

Faalo's cadences were a series of lightsaber training techniques developed by the famed Jedi Master, Vo'ren Faalo. In each of Vo'ren Faalo's cadences, the primary practice is to stand in a circle of candles with ball bearings atop them, and attempt to strike the ball bearings without hitting the candles. As the duelist proceeds through each of the cadences, the number of candles would be incrementally increased until the fifth, where the duelist will have achieved such a state of mastery that the candles are unnecessary, as the duelist will simply know when he has performed the sequence correctly.

## Trial of Skill

The Trial of Skill was one of the oldest trials in the battery of tests preferred by the Order. While the test did consist of numerous displays of lightsaber technique, the main thing that the battlemaster looked for when judging a potential Knight was their ability to avoid distraction through self-discipline. Before its formalization, the trial was made up of acrobatic feats, while using the Force to levitate objects in the midst of storms. As the test was incorporated into the more standard academy testing, the High Council required that each participant face off against some form of adversary, though the individual or individuals they faced varied in species or allegiance, and could be made of flesh and blood or a clever simulacrum created from archived data. In some cases, Padawans were forced to compete with the battlemaster in a duel, or even the Grand Master, and outlast their attacks. Other students might face many opponents, some of them attacking with a lightsaber, others manipulating perception or altering the environment in the chamber. Additionally, the Council could opt to use the simulacrum program and send any number of Sith Lords to test the stamina of a young Padawan.

## Strong Style

The strong style was based primarily on powerful strikes to batter through an opponent's defense, sacrificing speed for unrivaled power. The strong style covered great distance, and was virtually unstoppable unless the opponent responded in kind. Due to its utilization of strength and power, the strong style would cause more damage than many other forms of lightsaber combat, while its range and power made it especially efficient against single opponents who were armed with melee weapons. In lightsaber duels, the powerful strikes of this style could break through lightsaber blocks with relative ease. On rare occasions when a lightsaber lock occurred, a user could usually win the lock by ripping the opponent's blade away, leaving him defenseless. This style was quite destructive, and if the practitioner were presented with an opening, it would almost always cause a devastating blow.

Being based on slow, powerful swinging attacks, users of the strong style would often leave themselves open to counterattacks and open to blaster fire. The style could thus be disadvantageous in one-on-one melee combat in terms of speed comparisons against faster opponents, although its range and penetration power could just as easily negate these disadvantages. It was weak against blaster shots, as the stance required that the user shift the blade quite a bit to cover the body. Thus, it was almost solely utilized in lightsaber combat.

## Medium Style

An intermediate style between the fast and the strong styles, the medium style was based on a perfect equilibrium between speed and power. More often than not, the medium style was the first taught to a lightsaber duelist. It was simple in technique, yet more technical and powerful forms could be built from its foundation.

This simplicity was both a strength and weakness. It was an excellent style to fall back onto when nothing else worked, and could provide a respectable offense and defense. It could effectively combat blasters and hold less skilled lightsaber duelists at bay. However, more skilled gunslingers or more talented lightsaber duelists would very rapidly break a medium style defense. The same holds true in offense, as a skilled duelist would rapidly destroy the user's momentum and counterattack.

## Fast Style

Consisting of short and quick motions with the blade that could be chained and combined almost indefinitely, this style allowed for multiple attacks at an extremely fast pace. Its obvious advantage was that it was efficient in one-on-one combat against slower opponents with lax defenses or many opponents who were not wielding melee weapons, particularly when combined with Force speed. Among all the styles, this style provided the best defense against blaster fire. In lightsaber combat, it was a powerful defensive technique, as the user could create a very strong defense against multiple opponents or a single, stronger opponent.

Relying primarily on speed and multiple attacks, the disadvantages of the fast style were equally obvious. Firstly, its use of fast strikes limited the amount of power that was put into a blow, making it easy for a strike to be parried or overpowered. Secondly, its range was considerably short, making it a less effective offense against a wide-spread of multiple opponents. Third, the fast style's defenses could quickly be broken through if an opponent was much more physically powerful than the user. Since the blade was kept so close to the body, a strong, cunning opponent will simply hammer the user's blade in the hopes that the practitioner would tire and leave themselves open.