The High Ground: REALLY An Advantage in a Sword Duel? 

Anakin: It's over Obi wan, I have the low ground! Obi wan: The floor is lava...

"Oh no he has the high ground, I'm doomed. Or am i? Hey Vsauce Michael here"

Me: does the High ground really give me an advantage? Skallagrim: no Me: you underestimate my power.

Enemy: "I have the high ground." Me: "so what?" Enemy: "We have the high ground." Me: "now I'm nervous."

I cannot believe he didnt start this video with "hello there!"

fake, no one even attempted to do the force flip that was done in the movie.

If Dark Souls has taught me anything: he who is lowest, wins.

"There is one situation where I can really see this being an advantage..." [Throws pommel from the high ground]

High ground gives massive advantage when using ranged weapons,such as pommels.

Obi-wan wants to know your location.

Him: high ground isn't a advantage Me: years of academy training wasted

I'm not a SWs buff but weren't they much further apart and separated by increasing lava?

*Unscrews the pommel *YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER*

Fools, never underestimate the power of the high ground

According my understanding, the phrase in Star Wars, I have the higher ground is supposed to say Obiwan is on a solid rock when Anakin is still on a floating droid, whatever Anakin strikes he will need to jump over to Obiwan, so Obiwan is getting the advantage not just height is a promising winning when he is the first one on a solid better position, in the movie it also shows that Anakin actually jumped which he needs to for reaching Obiwan, and Obiwan just need to wait and sweep his lightsabre on this easy target. And that's the higher ground mean in my understanding.

Skallagrim: There is no advantage in holding the high ground. Napoleon, Sun Tzu, Alexander, Sir Thomas Fairfax, Gustav II Adolphus, Alexander Nevsky, and Oda Nobunaga: HOLD OUR BEERS! Skallagrim: For duels, you dilberts!!! Generals: *Mutter, mutter, mutter*

You were supposed to start the memes not kill them!

Obiwan: **has highground** Me: "You fool. I have been trained in your jedi arts by Skallagrim." **strikes at ankles while crouching**

Well, in most one-to-one swordfights, the high ground will be a disadvantage. But in this special occasion, there are some other factors that come in to play. Anakin had no real ground beneath his feet, no direct way to approach his opponent. He had to jump to reach ground before being able to fight on. And that was the vulnerable part about it. Why? Well, Obi-Wan was prepared to react to a leaping attack. Even though the situation between Obi-Wan and Maul seems to be similar, there are some differences. First, and most importantly, Obi-Wan's attack caught the gloating Maul totally off-guard. And then there is the"angle of attack": - Obi-Wan was hanging on a ledge, a few feet below Maul. (vertical) At that angle, it is quite difficult to observe what your opponent is doing, even if you put your full attention to it. - Anakin was hovering over a lava river, on a small platform, no sight obstruction and a few feet away. (horizontal) Even a gloating Maul would have been able to see the attack - as long as he didn't turn his back on his opponent. Obi-Wan's "high ground" wasn't the real reason for his advantage.

I believe the high ground is referring to a slope more than standing on an elevated surface.

Skall: You're using Bonetti's defense against me, eh? Sage: Only natural, given the rockey terrain.

" he's too dangerous to be kept alive" *Proceeds to unscrew pommel*

Now try it not being an advantage while standing on a small piece of scrap metal floating in lava..

Skall: the high ground is not that powerfull Obi wan: "i want every gun we have to fire on that man."

Disclaimer: does not apply to laser swords and space wizards

"I admit, you are better than me." "Then why are you smiling?" "Because I know something that you do not know" "And what's that?" 'I am not left handed"

in the movie they were further apart and anakin was on a separate rocky thing while on lava

The High ground: Really an advantage? Skallagrim: No Me an intelectual: *Mario stomp*

Well it is an advantage if your opponent does an angry rage jump flip so you can cut off his legs... Edit: wow most likes I've ever gotten lol awesome

Halfling: *hops on rock* It's over Therian! I have the high ground! Therian(Human): Nope. We're at about the same height now.

Before even watching: "No. Because geometry."

Obi has the advantage when high ground exists, not necessarily when he has it. Whether on low ground or high ground, as long as it isn't perfectly even ground, he wins. Maul: Has low ground, wins Dooku: No high ground, loses Dooku rematch: No high ground, loses Greivous: Has low ground, wins Vader: Has high ground, wins Vader rematch: No high ground, loses ...this old pasta is great.

I assume "having the high ground" advantage would mean a terrain slope, not standing on a rock.

How dare you question Star Wars canon! Get him, nerds!

This why Anakin was separated from his legs, lightswords have no pommel

High ground is an advantage for an army for several reasons: - More of your archers are able to be used at once against the enemy infantry. - Any backwards motion in the army "fighting an uphill battle" has a chance of being catastrophic. - Your troops have twice the movement speed and initiative in the melee as the enemy troops, meaning your guys will constantly be engaging in 2v1 and reinforcing their friends, whereas a large section of the enemy force will be dwindling their thumbs at any given time. - Looking 15 degrees up affects your peripheral vision. Enemies will constantly have to look back down to avoid tripping while moving. - The enemy has a very hard time moving forward but can rout effortlessly, affecting their morale. - Your infantry has the equivalent impact of a cavalry charge if they all start to run downhill like maniacs. - Pole weapons thrusting down have more energy than thrusting up as you can step into the stab. There is a reason why all books about war from every era and every country make mentions about high ground. Fighting an uphill battle is a literal metaphor for having odds stacked against you.

I mean, I guess if you're surrounded by lava, then it is a problem! XD

Not an accurate test without lava

"A certain science fiction... soap opera" The greatest Star Wars meme so far

The fact that you've chosen rocky terrain as your high ground makes your situation unique and different from other traditional uphill battles.

I think the point was that Anakin was going to do that flip jump and it doesn't work if your opponent is already above you. Basically he was ignoring basic form through arrogance.

Obi wan defeated maul from below. Anakin has studied under obi for years and has frequently asked obi how he defeated maul. So anakin, in his arrogant rage, challenge obi, he thinks he had figure out how to do obi's move. But alas he was wrong

Skallagrim: Points out the high ground isn't much an advantage. Me: I want that guys Tokyo Ghoul shirt now.

If he backs up, you have to follow.... what you gunna do climb? Use your off hand? Jump? The act of climbing is what puts you at a disadvantage. The high ground advantage is the advantage of the defender who is willing to wait for a mistake. Also energy expenditure in climbing is significant. Its about longevity and patience and hits to armored legs are hard, you have two joints, one at the knee and one at the groin. So the concept that you can hit everywhere and he can hit a limited space is trivial when you consider being armored or taking a step back and waiting for the other to try to climb to attack. IMHO this is not well thought out.

Skallagrim: Don't try it! High Ground: You underestimate my power! (I think it gives you a huge advantage with a range weapon, but that's a whole new story)

I see the first image and I am thinking: "THE LEGS! THE LEGS!". : >

It's great you mentioned the battlefield advantage. Especially in a shield formation.

Skallagrim: It's over, I have the low ground! Other HEMA dude: You underestimate my footwork!

After watching this, I wonder if you could analyse some fights in the Pirates of the Caribbean, I always notice that the main characters are always effortlessly parrying and dosging while the other guys are trying their best to kill them.

The whole point of obi having the high ground. Was he was patient and didn’t want to even fight anakin. He was fine with staying there and standing his ground in a defensive formation.

That was fun, guys! Thanks for the video. I always wondered about that in Star Wars...

So...should it be: “It’s over. I have the low ground!” now?

Impossible! Perhaps the archives are incomplete!

So Yoda should basically be unbeatable - he natively has the low ground

The high ground is more so an advantage if you wanted to escape, for now your opponent has to climb to get you, while you, if you have any weapon with major reach, you can simply poke him down. And if you had a projectile it becomes even worse, for now you just sit, wait, aim, BOOM "FUCKING CAMPERS" But if you wanted to make it a duel and continue it, you're best option is to simply wait for them to do something. Basically the high ground advantage is the person below has to come to you, not you to them. So i don't really feel this video was the best of example. For in the star wars movie. Obi was a good ten or something feet away from Anakkin, and much higher, Obi was also on stable ground while Annakin was about to plummet to his death. This means Annakin is quite literally in check mate, the only way he comes out of this alive is by doing a huge dramatic jump, to which Obi just needs to lift up his saber to exactly where Annakin lands..and well chop chop bye bye ani. This situation is just "OH I FOUND A high ROCK TO JUMP ON" But even than the example still stands, where the person below has to chase, the person above doesn't.

This is the quality content I'm subscribed for.

That’s not even the high ground, that’s a “high rock”

I know this is a more of a duel reference because of star wars... but fighting uphill battles is a disadvantage. People have used hills, plateaus and mountains as an advantage for far too long now to question that. But a one on one situation is indeed questionable

Okay ladies, memes aside, the whole point of a high ground as depicted in the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, was not one person standing one meter away on a rock or a ramp one meter tall. This "test" is not worth jack shit. "High ground' wasn't even literally a place that's situated higher in that context. Obi Wan was almost at exact same height as Anakin in there. The high ground literally meant a field advantage. This was clearly a reference for them training together in the past. A high ground must've been words they used to describe a default battlefield advantage you can gain that forces your opponent to back away, or otherwise you can exploit it. In that particular scene, the high ground was the fact that Obi Wan had a solid footing, while Anakin was on a melting droid, in the middle of a lava lake. Meaning he had very limited time and options. He had to either surrender, or try a very difficult to make jump - both because of how far away the droid was, and because Obi Wan would be waiting for him on the other side, and it would be almost impossible for Anakin to defend properly when focusing all of his force power on a difficult jump like this. Like most of you probably know, a jumping opponent is an easy target. They can't use footwork and have very limited options for parries and blocks. They can not alter the momentum of their movement, so they are easy to outmaneuver. They don't have a footing, so you can easily exploit their lack of balance. They have their legs exposed from below, which are almost impossible to defend from a verical position (notice that this is exactly where Obi Wan cut Anakin. He cut off his exposed, and impossible to properly defend legs with the first swing, and than one of his arms with a following swing). This is why Anakin responded with "You underestimate my power". Anakin was so drunk with his newfound dark side power, he thought he was already beyond simple dueling rules that himself and Obi Wan learned by countless years of harsh training. He also couldn't give up the fight and simply surrender, not after everything he has done. He knew there was no turning back at that point.

Plot twist. Obi-wan didn't mean he had the high ground literally, but figuratively. Hm :)

“It’s over, I have the High Ground!” Unscrews Pommel, “I’m about to end this man’s whole career.”

Nice video, never would have thought of that seriously

Skallagrim: "I don’t feel safe here” - Camera cuts out...

That high ground bit never made much sense to me, seeing as Maul had it and got cut in half anyway. And Obi was in a much worse position than Anakin.

I think its more like Anakin was standing on platform surrounded by lava and had to jump towards obi wan. Which would make him in the air for some seconds and it looked cool and was a clever use of words, hence it still bring relevant today lol

Im really enjoying this guy with you Very cool to see these examples of tactics.

As long as Skall can throw the pommel it doesn't matter which ground the opponent stands.

What about moving back on the rock and forcing the person on the ground to either mantle the rock or give up on attacking you. Also what about moving forward off the rock after a deflection, etc. I would think you could easily knock them over by striking their chest or head if you have the opening, given the center of gravity relative to yourself is very low. Then proceeded to jump down on them. (not necessarily a death stroke flying jump through the air but more of a controlled hop down then a powerful strike to a grounded opponent) Just some creative advantages I would think of if I had the high ground.

To be fair, Anakin had lava on his feet. In order to attack Obi-Wan he needed to jump, so there's the disadvantage

3:13 I've always taken the whole "high ground" as a figure of speech* in that certain movie, referring exactly to an advantageous position generally i.e. Obiwan having better footing: solid and quite wide piece of ground under his feet vs. Anakin having a small, barely floating droid-thingy and just lava everywhere else. *and why would there be such a figure of speech? Well, 2:52 strategic victories were won by armies, not by individuals, so an army having an advantage usually matters more than an individual having a disadvantage.

Did enjoy it. Lovely to see this flow of momentum and the way you dance with it. Reminds me of the time a practiced Pencak Silat.

you may have the high ground but do you have the LAVA GROUND! LAVA GROUND!!

I mean I’d say there’s a difference between being on a rock and being up a slope on the side of a river of lava while having a 6m gap between them and standing on a floating robot....

*SwordSage:* It's over, Skall! I have the high ground! *Skallagrim:* You underestimate my power! *Camera:* [Dies] *Me:* I believe that man is deceased.

I do agree with you that highground scenario doesn’t give such a huge advantage. However in the movies, there was also a huge distance between the two. I think that’s what made things difficult.

At _last,_ we settle this question once and for all.

I was once sparing against a taller opponent on a field with rolling hills. We were both using sword and shield and I managed to beat him by taking the high point and striking him over the shoulder and onto his back. With a shield or a pole arm the high ground is indeed your friend, and in all honesty Anakin should have just force shoved some lava towards Kenobi before jumping

Valid points but the ‘high ground advantage’ comes in because Obiwan was on solid ground up a slope whereas Anakin was on a (lava raft) floating platform at least 8 ft from him. If he jumps in front of him, he’s open to an attack. If he jumps over him/past him he’s open to an attack. A là “it’s over because you’re screwed no matter which option you pick”.

I absolutely love your guests shirt!

Or you can do what Oblivion characters always tell me to do: "Jump on my sword, if you can!"

maybe kick dirt in thier eyes seems pretty effective IF tere is dirt or dust to kick up

there is a huge thing that no one here addressed. In this situation, Anikan was separated from Obiwan by a large moat, and needed to leap across it to engage. Due to Obiwan holding the high ground, Anikan had to pass Obiwan's blade from a lot higher up, and gave Obi a earlier chance to strike, while Ani was mid-flip. That was why it was such a threat for Obiwan to be on the high ground. That as well as he'd been running through his head all the situations from the previous Darth Maul jumping up and getting cut in half scenario, and all the ways it could've gone, so he knew all the ways this would go as well due to the similarities. That, is why it was such a big deal that Obi Wan Kenobi had the high ground.

"Sadly" in ALL 1 vs 1 situation a strong defence is the offence cause even tricks like feints and stuff like that have a timing or a movement that the expert eye can see.

He was referring to a moral high ground, yeah that's it, couldn't be bad writing, George would never (said no one who's seen the Holiday special).

These are the questions worth asking.

To be fair, I truly believe Obi-wan only said that to bait Anakin into making an exploitable mistake

If you think that the High Ground doesn't give you advantage Then you are Lost!!

H I G H G R O U N D E R coming soon...

Mythbusters tested this and found that you are actually better off on the low ground in a melee fight

I think the having the high ground thing, just meant that anakin wouldn't be able to leap attack Obi wan from below him. It would be the same as for an army charging up a hill having to leap up a hill toward someone that is already on the hill that would have an advantage at hitting you. Not standing and fighting.

8:58 Most amazing ending to a video I've seen in a while. Big ups.

Obi-Wan did have the high ground but it was solid ground that actually mattered.

Let's be honest. Could the high ground defeat a pommel throw? I think not

Poor compression, he really didn't think things through

(Here from Shadiversity) This is SUCH an interesting video! It felt like 5 minutes, not 9! Really cool vid!

You see the problem I have with this whole demonstration is that you are using a rock as a step up where as Star Wars takes place on a bank at a slant, the terrain difference there can make the high ground advantageous as the slope will give the high ground more reach in theory, your opponent sure can still reach your legs easier but it will harder for them to make surefire blows at that angle. Also the fact you forgot to mention is that it's almost impossible for your opponent to make advancing strikes against you while you are on higher ground as you can punish them for doing so at anytime

I'm curious how this would feel with 6+ft staff weapons.

I have yet to watch the video, but judging by how at ease that dapper gentleman on the rock is, I'd say Skallagrim has finally met his match.

Enemy:on high ground Me:steps backwards

I like how the other guy has a Tokyo ghoul shirt