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Darth Maul duels Qui-Gon Jinn with lightsaber combat.
Lightsaber combat was the preferred style of fighting used by the Jedi and Sith, which was initially based on ancient sword-fighting technique. Long after the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Jedi Order finally achieved their respected status in the universe. As a result of their experiences both the Jedi and the Sith revamped the recognized lightsaber styles, including new styles and changing some of the existing ones.
Official styles of lightsaber combat[]
Though there were many styles and variations on styles, these styles were the styles recognized by the High Jedi Council on Coruscant.
The seven classic forms[]

Sith and Jedi practitioners of the seven classic forms during the New Sith Wars
The first seven forms of lightsaber combat (including Juyo, but generally not including its Vaapad variant) were popularly known as the "seven classic forms", particularly among Jedi. In Jedi parlance, a "classically trained duelist" was one with foundational instruction in Forms I through VI; Form VII was considered more controversial and not generally required for the education of a "complete" swordsbeing, although Jedi Battlemasters were expected to be familiar with Juyo.
- Form I: Shii-Cho "Way of the Sarlacc" or "Determination Form"
- Form II: Makashi "Way of the Ysalamiri" or "Contention Form"
- Form III: Soresu "Way of the Mynock" or "Resilience Form"
- Form IV: Ataru "Way of the Hawk-Bat" or "Aggression Form"
- Form V: Shien/ Djem So "Way of the Krayt Dragon" or "Perseverance Form"
- Form VI: Niman "Way of the Rancor" or "Moderation Form"
- Form VII: Juyo/ Vaapad "Way of the Vornskr" or "Ferocity Form"
Other official styles[]

Three Jedi using Yovshin, Shien, and Ataru styles of lightsaber combat, respectively.
These forms were also recognized by one or more High Councils.
- Form VIII: Sokan "Way of the Tauntaun" or "Strategy Form"
- Form IX: Shien Dai "Way of the Nexu" or "Persistance Form"
- Form X: Jar'Kai "Way of the Tortuce" or "Duality Form"
- Form Xb: Yovshin (Aggressive Jar'Kai)
- Form XI: Tràkata "Way of the Stillness" or "Restraint Form"
- Form XII: Sapendo "Way of the Droid" or "Probability Form"
- Form XIII: Discreti "Way of Evil" or "Dark Side form"
Unofficial styles of lightsaber combat[]
Some lightsaber styles were not recognized by the High Council, though they might have been taught and used by many Jedi. They may also have been styles that had never even been seen before or were so uncommon that they become outcast. They were used by untrained or outcast Jedi and/or Sith.
- Form VIII: Kendosu "Way of the Varactyl" or "Speed/Chaos Form"
- Form XIII: Renzou "Way of the Acklay" or "Reverse Form"
- Form XIV: Ikodu "Way of Reflection" or "Redirection Form"
- Form XV: Viendul "Way of the Novice" or "Drunken Form"
- Form XXIX:Am-Makash
- Corusco Boreas
- Jar'Kata
- Kadeesh
- Ranged Saber Combat
- Scherma
- Form XX: Haronet (can also be considered personal saber form)
- Shien
- Telekinetic lightsaber combat/Saber barrier
- Xanum
- Form rumble
Universal Techniques[]
Universal techniques were widely-recognized methods of lightsaber combat that would often be employed when the conditions were favorable. However, whilst widely known, these techniques were usually quite basic or only had narrow usages, and thus were usually not applicable enough to devote an entire Form to. Rather, these techniques were generally taught to most Jedi as a minor lesson in lightsaber combat. Sometimes these techniques could blossom into full forms given enough time and application, as both Sokan and Shien were universal techniques before being developed into full forms.
Personalized styles of lightsaber combat[]
There were some lightsaber combat styles that were created or customized for the user. These were rare and unpredictable. These were some known styles.
- Form CXVI: Éhonté "Way of the Salvar or "Faith Form"
- Hayai Oujou
- Rizen
- Mandáshaan
- Syranthi "Way of Darth Lithos" or "Power of the Lost"
- Tan’ni Saru “Way of the Loth Wolf” or “Focused Form”
- Form rumble
- form strife
Unorthodox lightsaber combat[]
Unorthodox lightsaber combat was a loose term that defined lightsaber styles by a requirement for a particularly unusual style of lightsaber, such as the saberstaff or lightwhip. These styles tended to be significantly rare, and often died out over time due to a small number of followers. Form IX: Shien Dai could be considered an unorthodox style, as it requires a cortosis plate as well as a lightsaber, but due to its popularity it was considered a proper form.
- Form X: Nevui
- Form XXIV: Minotaurus
- Form D "Way of the Swordsman" (extinct form)
- Form "Zero"
- Double-bladed lightsaber combat
- Kekkei'genkai
- Kordaic Form (extinct form)
- Mounted lightsaber combat
- Trispzest
- Shiakenaishi
Organization-based lightsaber combat styles[]
These lightsaber forms were either created by or utilized almost exclusively by particular organizations.
- Form IX:Natú "Way of the Massif" (Reformed Jedi Order)
- Shinken (Order of Guiding Stars)
Sith styles of lightsaber combat[]
Though most Sith Knights studied the primary twelve lightsaber styles or the unorthodox, some lightsaber styles were exclusive to the Sith. These were the styles styles know to be used only by them.
- Form XIX: Dun Möch "Way of the Shyrack" or "Domination Form"
- Form XXIII: Esquiventar "Way of the Kissai"
- Form XXX: Shurizen "Focussed Moves"
- Form DCLXVI: Atra-Manua "Way of the Black Hand"
- Unity
Blaster bolt ratio[]
This was a basic ratio algorithm developed during the first era of lightsaber-blaster combat, in order to determine at a glance how successfully differing forms of lightsaber combat are at defending against blaster bolts, both from a single enemy and from multiple opponents.
As an example, Form VI: Niman had a BBR of 180/3, and was one of the poorer styles for defending against blaster fire. The first part (180) was how fast one blaster must fire before a master was overwhelmed; for that example it took a blaster firing 200 times a minute before a master at that form would be overwhelmed. The second part was how many people firing at fifty shots per minute would it take to overwhelm a master at that particular form; it would take three people firing fifty shots per minute to overwhelm a master.
It was worth noting that the Blaster Bolt Ratio proved to be rather imprecise guesswork at best generally, as even masters of the same form tended to do things differently, and every different situation, context and the skill of the opponents tended to throw these numbers out significantly, to the point where there was no regular, logical mathematical formula to determine such a ratio, and as such the BBR did not exist for very long before falling out of general use.
Strength/ Weakness Rating System[]
In recent times, a Jedi Padawan who happened to be an avid fan of the interactive computer games of the day conceived a system for rating the strengths and weaknesses of the lightsaber combat Forms. While the detractors of this system stated that it was overly generalized (and fell afoul of the sparring fallacy), the Padawan was quick to defend it, stating that it painted an easily understood picture of how effective various forms would be in combat, providing quick statistics.
The rating system was chart-based, rating all the different elements of lightsaber combat used with a specific style with the titles Excellent, Strong, Moderate, Low and Weak, the meanings of each title being self-explanitory. The elements were as follows: Standard, Speed, Precision and Power.
Example Chart
Action | Standard | Speed | Power | Precision |
---|---|---|---|---|
Attack | Example | Example | Example | Example |
Defense | Example | Example | Example | Example |