Decapitation?!?!

[Obi_Three]

In a "junior novel" based in Obi-Wan's younger days, the Jedi trainees fought with "training" lightsabers, set to so low a power that, if struck, the person on the recieving end of the blow would fell a sort of "Asleep" (pins-and-needles) feeling on the "wound".

[Kurt Plummer]

Hey Ho,

 

Just saw the 'Breathing' AOTC-II clip.

 

WOW!

 

Finally, another _adult_ fairy tale out of the SW universe!

 

Amazing that the ESB/AOTC tensions and potentials are so dark, so intensely passionate-similar...

 

I can only hope that GL gives similar screen time 'patience' to allow the plot all the time it needs to properly develop (ESB was kinda ruined by the 'cutscene' to Bespin.

 

Traumatic Dismemberment and Light Blades.

 

I thought about 'play weapons' but dismissed them on a couple counts:

 

1. Foil/Epe, Shinai and equivalent weapons can still kill but they lack many of the stiffness, incendiary and instant-on risk factors of a sabre. The first two in particular score a LOT of kills simply by the 'sprung whip' effect of blade bypass or snapped strike inertia. Which sabres do not possess.

 

OTOH, Bokken are actually very heavy (and quite crushing lethal, even against a Katana) but have little grace to their movements.

 

Looking at the AOTC-II duel you see Anakin completely spraddle legged and 'stepping through' a lateral double cut attack and crossing-back blocked defense.

 

You would never learn this with any physical weapon because the leverage of the blade and positioning of the (weighted leg) would be instinctively just _wrong_ to maintain the speed of motion from such an open stance.

 

This is all the more critical if you are teaching them very young because they simply don't have the length of limb or the anaerobic endurance factors to sustain the active loading on their muscles.

 

2. Multiple attackers, Projectile/DE weapons. Many of the engagements you see are combinations of wheel to block (and place subsequent fire out of lane) and then cut to kill.

 

Though there were Katana arts dedicated to blocking arrows, they were not specifically designed to /return/ the shot and kill-stroke in the same fluid movement.

 

Again, this is a physical difference to both the environment and the weapon effect/kill methodology that makes all the difference.

 

Such becomes even more important where you have a partner whose fighting circle you must respect and the 'collateral' vulnerabilities of structural damage (vacuum beyond hull for instance) to your own actions are extensive and advantageable.

 

3. Frankly, if you duel 'safely' you are losing an edge of aggression. I know it's 'Anti Yodian' but fear is a tool of awareness-to-action motivation as much as a blinder of deeper insight.

 

Protective gear today is for regulated replication of 'strike zone outlines' not combat protection and where conventional armor's weight and sense of invulnerability might not be such a bad thing in massed-blade combat (where the good will learn to use their weight and axial hardness as a weapon in and of themselves); vs. a no-inertia (non-deflectable) blade that simply cannot be defeated with material layered defense, 'being safe' is simply a bad habit you can afford to pick up.

 

EVERYTHING must be concentrated on winning that 'one perfect moment' of balanced potential.

 

And that could only be done with live blades having all the properties of the true weapon.

 

I guess they must just have a lot of ER time on their Force-HMO plan, to go along with their olympic swimming pool sized bacta tank...;-)

 

 

Kurt Plummer

[Guest Kurgan]

You forget that when they've shot saber duels in the production of all the SW movies, the "sabers" they spar with have actual "blades" which at least in the early films were a modified tank antenna.

 

So their movements would have to be feasible to real life "foil-esque" weapons. Unless you want to theorize that the entire duel was created in CGI.

 

The only scenes where blade-less sabers are used is where a Jedi has it clipped to his belt or on a chair, or when they are in the process of pre-activation. But never fighting. They have to know when they are actually supposed to be striking, to mime the proper movements. ; )

 

Well maybe they use sparring blades not made of metal, but some other material that doesn't bend and "whip" so easily.

 

As far as the "safety" angle is concerned. Then how the heck does a person (or did they) ever learn to sword fight in real life? Did they have to kill all their instructors/students?? That would kind of make the lines pretty short for sword fighting lessons/instruction, don't you think? The only "true test" would be in battle against an enemy in a life or death situation, so there's no real way you could duplicate that, people just made do, which would also apply here. Who knows.. maybe they do it in VR...

 

Sidenote: Kurt, you really put us all to shame. Let me know when the book is finished, I might get it. ; )

 

Kurgan

 

[ November 08, 2001: Message edited by: Kurgan ]

[Bartolo_JCS]

yes