OVERVIEW
The various lightsaber training methods were largely devised by the Jedi Order, with other organizations borrowing elements for their own use. Most of the Jedi training elements were established by the Shii-Cho, which would continue to find a niche as a tutorial form.
In order to teach students to draw upon the Force rather than rely on their senses, early level Shii-Cho blast-deflect training was conducted with a blindfold, forcing the initiate to rely upon his instincts.[55] Later training was conducted through the use of sequences and velocities, the continuous repetition, making the moves instinctive reflexes. These training regimens were carried over to all following lightsaber combat forms, which used similar methods.
SEQUENCES
Sequences were precisely choreographed series of attacks and parries that flowed together smoothly and were used during combat. Each form of lightsaber combat had its own sequences, and there were hundreds of different sequences which could be applied to various combat situations.
Some believed that using sequences in combat was superior to using individual moves, because taking time to consider and use moves individually in combat was slow and inefficient, and using sequences instead of individualized moves was faster and more fluid, providing significant advantages.
SPARRING
Sparring was mock combat between two duelists. Sparring sessions provided novices with the opportunity to test their skills against an equal or greater opponent, and learn from their mistakes. Many fully trained duelists would take to frequent sparring sessions with contemporaries to ensure that their skills didn’t atrophy, sometimes opting for training droids in the absence of live sparring partners.
While most sparring matches were relatively free-form, there were certain styles of matches governed by a strict set of rules. These more specialized matches were intended to develop skills in specific ways, such as developing timing or consistency.
Dulon: The term “dulon” typically referred to a lightsaber move where the duelist would hold his hilt’s pommel at one’s midsection with the blade thirty degrees up, and would be slashed at high velocity. However, the term also referred to a solo lightsaber training exercise in which a Padawan practiced sequences of moves against imaginary opponents.
Velocities: Velocities involved two students practicing sequences of attacks and parries against each other, repeating the same patterns over and over, while constantly increasing the speed of the movements until one opponent got hit, or decided to yield by saying “Solah.”
Twin Suns: In this form of practice, two Jedi would use the Force to rise and land like two suns crossing the sky. It required a great mastery in lightsaber combat, high attunement with the Force and precise timing. This technique required two Jedi to stand at the opposite ends of an open area. Then the combatants would start running at each other and make a Force Jump toward the opponent. While in the air the Jedi would activate their lightsabers and when crossed beside in mid-air, they would strike at one another, trying to harmlessly cut a piece of opponent’s clothing and then deactivate the lightsaber before landing on the ground.
FAALO’S CADENCES
Faalo’s cadences were a series of lightsaber training techniques developed by the famed Jedi Master, Vo’ren Faalo. In each of Vo’ren Faalo’s cadences, the primary practice is to stand in a circle of candles with ball bearings atop them, and attempt to strike the ball bearings without hitting the candles. As the duelist proceeds through each of the cadences, the number of candles would be incrementally increased until the fifth, where the duelist will have achieved such a state of mastery that the candles are unnecessary, as the duelist will simply know when he has performed the sequence correctly.