Lightsaber forms were cannonized in the Star Wars Universion both through video games, such as Knight of the Old Republic, as well as through books such as The Jedi Path. As lightsaber combat evolves in our society, different groups teach forms differently, so expect to see different forms reflect different in your journey. Meanwhile we have outlined the canonized versions of the seven forms of combat below. San Diego Sabers teaches each of these forms through our program under the supervision of our Knights and Battlemaster.
| Form I | Shii-Cho | Way of the Sarlacc | Determination Form |
| The most basic, foundational form of lightsaber combat, this form originated with the early Force users. It teaches you the fundamentals of saber movement, footwork, and basic attack/defense | |||
| Form II | Makashi | Way of the Ysalamari | Contention Form |
| Following the development of modern lightsabers, Makashi was developed to train Jedi in saber-vs-saber combat dueling. | |||
| Form III | Soresu | Way of the Mynock | Resilience Form |
| The most inward-directed form, Soresu was developed as a defensive form for facing-off against opponents wielding blasters. In this form, you focus your energy, keeping movement close to your body, avoiding lunges and sweeps. | |||
| Form IV | Ataru | Way of the Hawk-Bat | Aggression Form |
| A very athletic and acrobatic form, Ataru can be very exhausting. It was designed for use in single-opponent combat and typically in short bursts. In our work, Ataru may not be practiced as acrobatically as Yoda does it, but it is still exhausting and must be used carefully. | |||
| Form V | Shien/Djem-So | Way of the Krayt Dragon | Perseverance Form |
| A variant of Form III/Soresu, Form V focuses on strength. The Shien version as designed to focus on deflecting blaster fire, while Djem-so is focused on lightsaber dueling with strong deflections and counter-attacks. | |||
| Form VI | Niman | Way of the Rancor | Moderation Form |
| Described as the most balanced Form, Niman is a hybrid of Forms I-V, often used by Counsulars against non-Jedi/non-Force Users. This is the Form where practitioners often wield dual blades. | |||
| Form VII | Juyo/Vapaad | Way of the Vornskr | Ferocity Form |
| “Don’t even think about it kid!” Form VII is known to be vicious and unpredictable due to the way the user attempts to tap into controlled passion. Strictly speaking Form VII violates the Jedi Code. It focuses on exceptionally strong attacks, however often leaves the user open to counter-attacks. Vapaad is the variant created and mastered by Mace Windu solely. In San Diego Sabers, we do not typically teach this form to our team members; when we do, only under the study of our Battlemaster and only under very controlled conditions. Training in this Form has actually resulted in broken bones within our team, thus our very cautious approach! |
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