Jedi fight with their lightsabers WRONG: Star Wars 

Count Dooku fights like what he is explaining I think

This is basically what Count Dooku does. It’s funny because he’s considered one of the best lightsaber duelists.

So General Grievous should've just machine gunned lightsaber stabs... Honestly, a scary thought.

I love how when hes demonstrating good lightsaber fighting hes just doing dookus style

I prefer the general grievous fidget spinner tactic

You forgot General Grievous. His style is ceiling fan.

Shad: “If a lightsaber was real” The Hacksmith: Hold my mech suit

Of all actors EVER, Christopher Lee (Dooku) was by far the one I would least want to fight, epecially with a sword or knife or something. He was very likely the last actor in living memory who actually killed anyone in hand to hand combat.

Keep in mind most republic jedi were not trained in dueling. There were no Sith for 1000 years. They were mainly trained in deflecting blaster fire. This is why they use two hands.

rapier style lightsaber fight: -"My name is Luke Skywalker, you killed my father. Prepare to die" -"No, I am your father" -"nooo! That´s inconceivable!" (falls)

So, the ideal lightsaber combat is less "flashy acrobatic swordfighting" and more like fencing? Yeah, makes sense.

"Your swords, please. We don't want to make a mess of things in front of the Chancellor." ~ Count Dooku

i like to think shad actually lives in that wooden castle and its bigher on the inside

Count dooku fights like how your talking.

Shad: Even being touched by a lightsabre can be extremely damaging. Finn: Hold my spinal fluid

Shad: even being touched by a lightsaber could be extremely damaging Me: true Disney: fin gets his spine slashed all the way up and survives. Me and everyone else: HUH?!?!

Count Dooku is the only one that knows how to use a lightsaber properly.

You forgot to address the most important consideration of lightsaber combat: The High Ground

Rey in episode 7 and 8: I’m perfect in every single way without training, beating everyone and everything which should be superior. Rey in episode 9: OK, OK. I’ll train for no reason now.

What you're describing is Form II - Makashi, Count Dooku's style. Kinda interesting, that explains Dooku's contempt of other Jedi's poor fighting styles, he is the only one using the weapon right and he knows it haha.

“Want as much range as possible” When i was a Jedi: me, *walking into battle with 10 feet lightsaber

Lightsabers are a tool to protect, not kill. Shad confirmed Sith.

Another consideration: You mentioned that the weight is concentrated at the hilt, which is true. The blade has no weight to it. However, when the blade is ignited, the plasma edge has momentum, which would alter slightly the fighting style.

If we're talking Jedi, then imagine trial-sword-wielding: one defensive hand, one offensive hand, and one annoying flying laser sword controlled by telekinesis.

There are seven styles of fighting with lightsabers, the most effective in one on one is called makashi, this is count Dooku’s style and makashi uses fast stabbing motions and focuses on getting in their opponents guard. Anakins style Djem so focuses on redirecting blaster bolts back at the opponent who fired, it also focuses on heavy and powerful strikes this form is better used to overwhelm an opponent with fast and powerful strikes but this form leaves many holes a makashi user can exploit. Soresu is Obi-Wan’s form and it focuses entirely on blocking the opponents lightsaber and deflecting blasterbolts in any direction ( this is why Obi-Wan doesn’t do baseball bat strikes). Ataru is Yoda’s form and incorporates speed and agility focusing on avoiding the opponents blade while attempting to overwhelm the opponent with quick attacks, an amateur Ataru user leaves themselves open when they perform a flashy flip. Form 7 juyo is described as letting your emotions control where your blade goes, so it varies from person to person however Mace windu created a variant of it called Vaapad and it’s made to counter a dark side user by reflecting their overwhelm and quick attacks back at them. Form 1 Shii-Cho is what all of the above is built off of and you can see it being used by Luke in episode 4 when he deflects blaster bolts from the floating orb. If you want to see a master shii-cho user watch the episode from the clone wars when kit fisto infiltrates general grievous’s base. I forget it’s name but I think it’s either season 1 or 2. I fully agree with shadiversity, this is not to form an argument, it is meant to point to the different styles developed in canon. Rey uses Djem so very poorly, and kylo is a mix of different styles and this creates some errors. Also important to note, Obi-Wan drilled soresu into anakin’s fighting style first, not Shii-cho. And anakin eventually incorporated Djem so into his soresu style, he also learned the basics of ataru, and he wanted to incorporate Jar’kai (this is not a different lightsaber form, jar’kai is literally just using two lightsabers at once.) Shad pls make of this what you will, I would be very interested in your opinion and analysis of these forms( I already know juyo is just wrong, and vaapad is weird, and focuses entirely too much on countering the dark side rather than focusing on the fight) if you want the source material for these different forms pls look at ‘the Jedi path’ and if you want clarrification on Djem so and juyo/vaapad, ‘the book of sith’. The book of sith goes in depth on those two forms while the Jedi path seems to avoid them. Have fun poking holes into this, I’d love to see a video on them.

in an interview, George Lucas said he wanted the light saber to be held in two hands to communicate to the audience that these weapons are powerful, dangerous, and require strength and determination to wield. We see this best in Return of the Jedi in Luke and Vaders stance- two hands, with the lightsaber held out well in front of them, just like how you would hold a very hot piece of metal or something else pulsating with energy and danger. You respect the weapon, not treat it like a toy.

I feel like the entire point is leading to talking about how good Count Dooku was at fighting

Imagine some robber breaks into this guy's house and to defend himself he reaches for the sharpest blade in his closet.

*reads title* _"It's treason, then"_

No matter the stances, the high ground always win.

Imagine having this guy as a neighbor and just, walking outside one day to hear him recording tutorials for proper lightsaber use

I don't think it's canon anymore, but I always did like the below hideously paraphrased explanation: A Lightsaber, despite its name, was a looped arc of plasma contained within a magnetic field. That system produced a gyroscopic effect that gave the weapon 'weight'. A Jedi would know enough not to fight it, but it was not as simple as constantly making light stabs. There's a reason most Jedi used two hands to control it, which was because the weapon produced momentum which had to be accounted for. Similarly, that magnetic field had a repulsion effect which deflected blaster bolts, (which were also enclosed in a magnetic field), and other lightsabers. That repulsion effect would also prevent casual cuts, requiring the user to exert some mild pressure in order to cut through an object, similar in feeling to pushing two identical magnet poles together. They would repel each other in a small way. It seems like a fairly good in-Universe explanation for why Lightsaber duels weren't essentially point to point fencing duels all the time.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid "

Count dooku in the clone wars sometimes used one hand fencing fighting style.

I mean that's why Count Dooku was such an efficient dueler who killed many jedi since he used those stances and movements

Count Dooku probably has the closest fighting style to the one he was demonstrating

Aha. That's why Form II: Makashi was so deadly

Hold it at arms length and jiggle it about as fast as possible and wait for the rude jokes to happen? So basically VR sword fighting style?

7:30 the lightsaber handle is anywhere between 6 pounds to 12 pounds. Not including crazy dual bladed handles that can way up to twice as much. Definitely liftable But heavy for its size.

Luke fighting the dark troopers in The Mandalorian is the most realistic use of a lightsaber in my eyes. He doesn't waste too much energy on momentum, because he doesn't have to. Instead he sorts of moves the blade to where is needs to be to cause damage rather than swing it.

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Shad "the wise"? I thought not. It's not a story Hollywood would tell you. It's a history legend. Darth Shad was a Dark Lord of Australia, so powerful and so wise he could use knowledge to influence the minds of history boffs to create understanding of the world... He had such a knowledge of the historical weapons that he could even keep the ones he cared about from watching a movie without being told why the protagonist took a wrong step or why a castle brick was out of place. The knowledge of medieval weapons is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural (like being able to successfully do a sword flourish). He became so powerful... the only thing he was afraid of was learning too much which eventually, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his subscribers everything he knew, then his subscribers told him more facts in the comments. It's ironic he could save others from living their life in ignorance, but his knowledge grew so much that his mind exploded...

Shad likes swords, Shad likes star wars, Shad lives mostly inside and burns from the sun....SHAD IS A NERD GOD

I’d love to see a lightsaber fighting style where they take advantage of turning the blade off and on, so many possibilities

I suggest the book “The Jedi Path” it’s got a lot of interesting stuff on Jedi stances

Have you ever heard... of the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?

Shad: This thing is so deadly! *Rey slashes Kylo with lightsaber* Kylo: Oh! You scratched my beautiful face!

How many cuts do you want to have? Shad: Yes

Count Dooku used the point of his saber a lot. And in canon, he was considered an extremely good duelist.

Wait, doesn't this kind of validate the awkward battle between Vader and Kenobi in A New Hope? Whoa.

My excuse for the two-handed style: no matter how much training you’ve had, you’re still afraid to only hold a burning laser sword with one hand. You’ve watched so many younglings drop it on their own toes too many times in your temple days

I would just like to point out that while Shad is correct in most of his points, he is viewing these in light of historical swordsmanship, which I’ll grant, was the basis for lightsaber dueling in the movies. But as the lore has increased, we now know of seven lightsaber forms, several of which have specific purposes (form 3 being best for blocking while form 5 is more focused on aggressive attacking). Form 2 is the closest to what Shad says is the perfect way to fight. Also, when he talks about blocking incoming projectiles, Jedi usually keep the blade in front of them when blocking the projectiles (mirroring the stance of Form I).

These are the main reason why I found Count Dooku's saber design in Episode 2 far more believable than all the others, it seemed made for a fencing style of combat, which makes more sense with a weapon like this. Of course, I'd prefer a good old power sword to a light saber, but that's cause I'm grimdark.

But... What about higher ground?

THERE IS NO GUARD, CUT YOU OPPONENT FINGERS OFF!!!!

Hmm... So dooku actually knew what was up with his lightsaber and fighting style

9:42 Even though he is a Sith Lord, Kylo Ren holds a lightsaber like that sometimes. But he has the cross-guard Lightsaber.

To be fair, and to play the nerdy devil's advocate, Jedi can see microseconds into the future. It's how they can deflect blaster fire - they aren't moving with reflexes alone, they're reacting to a blast that hasn't happened yet, giving them more time. Most Jedi/Sith fights are really exercises in who is better with the force, and can see further into the future to block, parry, riposte, etc. faster. They spin, flip, and try as many moves as they can to try and psych out their opponent so they have a harder time predicting their moves. Now granted, this isn't stated well in the movies, and is inconsistent in the books, but it IS there. In addition, it is shown in the books (kinda shown in the movies, but not as well) that cutting through metal and certain alloys takes time, and force. This means force is still important, and so switching to a two handed style is preferable at least when fighting droids and other such enemies.

4:58 That is actually spot on since lightsaber battle is a psychological battle more than anything. The last battle with Kenobi and Maul was exactly that. Kenobi suggested a stance and Maul fell for it and was therefore struck quickly to death. 6:58 That is called Makashi. It was actually used by Dooku with masterful expertise (One-Handed Rapier like duel stance). Good against saber opponents for obvious reasons and blaster deflection is also alright. I think the main reason they hold it with two hands is that one needs to consider the power a blaster shot or other incoming energy blade generates on the saber. I think with both hands on the grip it is less risky to lose grip over the handle. But all in all I also would run around wielding it one-handed as long as I am not facing too strong of pressure on my weapon (powerful blaster bolts and ferocious strikes that endanger my weapon grip)

Count Dooku did actually use a fencing style when fighting, and he was regarded to be an excellent fighter. Also, you have to take into account that their ability to detect danger through the Force makes it so that they can sense incoming attacks without seeing them

Shad: “a futuristic sword...” A long long time ago: “am I a joke to you?”

Dont forget to yell "LIGHTSAIBAA" whenever you touch an opponent to death.

Strangely enough, you just described the basis of form 2 lightsaber fighting. The problem with form 2 is that it is strictly meant for saber-saber combat. There are other scenarios that jedi have to face in combat that would require power strikes, fighting multiple opponents at once, or facing races/droids that are physically superior to the jedi. Perhaps you could do a video on variations of fighting styles for all these scenarios and more?

This is why Count Dooku is the best in 1v1s in battlefront 2

Shad! The amount of thought you give and info is INCREDIBLE. THANKS.

Dammit Shad! Stop ruining Starwars... Leave that to Disney!

Technically, a "light shield" would be the best weapon. You can attack and defend at the same time without much risk.

Fun fact! Its incredibly difficult for a non force sensitive to wield a lightsaber because there is no weight in the blade. It's basically just a beam of light and a hilt. The only reason jedi can handle them is because they can sense the energy the Kyber Crystal emits.

One thing to remember with lightsabers is that it immediately cauterizes any wound.

Some of the things you covered, are loosely covered by the 7 different forms of light sabre combat. Examples Kenobi was a master of form 3, a highly defensive form, adopted after the Jedi started facing blasters in combat, and making deflecting easier. Anakin master of form 5, similar to form 3, but with more focus on powerful offensive strikes Dooku master of form 2, the dueling form, poor against blaster, but devastating against other light sabres, it's a very uncommon form since blaster started being widely used and the sith disapeared. Due to most modern Jedi not encountering it often, it's very deadly. Maul master of form 4, a highly acrobatic form relying heavily on stamina and the users ability to bolster their abilities with force movement. It's highly agressive and very limited on defense, this is how Kenobi defeated maul in episode one, by attacking aggressively Maul was unable to use form 4 to properly defend himself Mace Windu form 7, commonly thought to be a dark side form, form 7 takes the emotion and force energy of the opponent, and uses it against them, this is how Master Windu was able to over power Palpatine, even after he cut down 3 other Jedi master with ease.

Wanted to make couple of points, years after vid was released: 1) Most Light Saber Forms in the movies are geared towards combating blaster bolts, not other light sabers. Jedi in the prequels haven't fought the Sith for centuries. And Blaster Bolts in the setting are not lasers, they are plasma bolts so they have mass. So you kinda need both hands on your lightsaber if you're going to deflect them. 2) If you don't hold to your lightsaber tightly - a Force-wielding opponent can just rip it out of your hand with telekinesis 3) 2 hands are better than one on the hilt because canon has experienced marskmen shooting the 1 hand holding the saber and Jedi/Sith loses it. Without protection of lightsaber - protection against follow up shots goes down.

"Interesting contrast" he says as the sun decides to turn the contrast down by going behind a cloud

Disney NEEDS to hire this man to be a choreographer.

Well there's your reason why Dooku was one of the best duelists in the galaxy.

so funny enough, in lore there are multiple stances that all round off literally everything you're saying. They cover fighting others with sabers, fighting in a more open warlike area with sabers and blasters, as well as just blasters. Some of which involve the user using the force in tandem. What you're considering would be perfect is Makashi, stance 2 which is made specifically for dueling another saber wielding

Apparently you do actually need power generation for lightsabers. The energy field around the blade generates a repelling force according to wookiepedia, so power and speed is needed to better overcome that force. Generally, more power and speed equals a faster more damaging cut due to more exposer to the blade proper.

Thats actually the stance palpatine took when he battled windu, like a rapier.

I wonder if Shad waits until his neighbors are away to film outside or he just embraces his identity as the neighborhood swordsman.

Did you ever hear the very interesting tragedy of Darth Whataboutdragons the Machicolations?

Literally if you play Vader Immortal, this is SOOOO accurate

Very illuminating - thanks for the time you took to analyze fictitious weapon from point of view of competent swordmanship. The rapier stance that you demonstrate reminded me about the duels fought in Ridley Scott's "The Duelists". It would be GREAT if you could in depth analysis of the duels fought in that movie.

So, lightsaber fighting would look more like modern Olympic fencing

8:49 The automatic captions say "Rape is all about thrusting."

I thought for a couple minutes that he'd painted that longsword bright blue to mimic a light saber, but then I realized it was just super shiny and reflecting the sky

The way he pronounces ken-jutsu makes my tailbone try to explode.

I remember Skallagrim doing a video on the same topic a while ago, and the conclusions were very similar (there was also nice point about defense with just the blade with no cross-guard - would be more about binding the opponents blade with your own and generally more about tactical positioning rather than actuall parries and deflects) - made me think that actual lightsaber duels would be a quite similar to olympic-style fencing. There's also one more thing about the handling of a lightsaber - Some sources seem to indicate, that there are some centrifugal forces involved in how the plasma/whatever flows in the blade, which makes the lightsaber difficult to control (I would imagine it like fighting with a weaponized gyroscope... Or maybe a sword that has a gyroscope pommel?).

You're absolutely right Shad. Lightsaber fencing should look like our Olympic epee or foil fencing if anything.

I think some books say the hilt is heavy; and the field that controls the blade shape spins, almost like how a chainsaw spins, so it gives it a slight sway and probably jumps a lot when it contacts with other lightsabers.

that's one fighting style you might like count Dooku's

The biggest issue I see with using a lightsaber like a rapier is that a rapier has significant hand protection to allow you to keep your hand out in front of your body. One of the reasons you keep your hands back when fighting with swords that have no guard or simple crossguards is to protect your hand because it is very exposed if you dont have a shield or a very robust guard on the sword. Lightsabers dont even have so much as a disk guard unless you're talking about Kylo ren's lightsaber, and even his is identical to a longsword guard, which would still mean you wouldnt want to have your hands sitting in front of your body waiting to get hit.

Also, when you hold the lightsaber with one hand, you can use the other hand to hold, say, a Klingon disruptor.

So Inigo Montoya from Princess Bride would be an amazing Jedi.

"You'd actually have better reach with one hand" *Count Dooku has entered the chat*

Light saber forms 1 Shi-Cho: Basic moves 2 Makashi: Dueling 3 Soresu: Defence 4: Ataru: Acrobatics and speed 5: Shiem/Djem So: Power moves 6: Niman: Balance of all forms 7: Vapaad or Juyo: Force energy

i find your lack of dragons disturbing...

That's how Count Doku fights like he's using a rapier

a trained drummer with 2 lightsabers = killing machine

Finally, I always thought someone who knew how to deliver a thrust and resist the force-given impulse to do spinny buggery would win all the lightsaber fights.

One thing you never really see with Jedi fighting as well is turning on and off your light saber mid combat imagine your opponent thinking they are going to block your swing then your light saver dissipates only to be reextended into a thrust.

Yo that rapier was pulled out so satisfyingly

Hey Shad! A film channel called Corridor Crew just posted a video about re-envisioning a more realistic lightsaber, and worked with a professional swordfighter to choreograph a fight scene! They talk about their process in the full length video, and the fight scene is also available separately on their main channel, Corridor, titled “To the DEATH” As soon as I saw it I thought of you-I think you would love it!