Combat with a lightsaber in the Star Wars universe has been described as “a chess match, where every move is a check.” The weapons are so deadly, and their practitioners so skilled, that in many cases a single blow is enough to end a battle. As such, defense is a priority for many combatants in a galaxy far, far away.
While most fighters are able to defend themselves to some degree, a number of them truly excel at it. Several characters practice lightsaber forms with an emphasis on deflection or parrying, and many bolster these abilities with their use of the Force, or their understanding of battlefield positioning. As such, some stand head and shoulders above other combatants in defense.
8 Count Dooku Is Nearly Untouchable With A Lightsaber
Count Dooku, also known as the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, is a rare practitioner of Form II lightsaber combat, known as Makashi. With the form seemingly gone from the galaxy for a thousand years by the time of the Clone Wars, most in the Order saw little need for a lightsaber style centered around battling other lightsaber-wielders, other than for posterity’s sake.
Dooku, however, masters this form, and uses it as his personal signature. With a focus on footwork, dueling, and avoiding being disarmed, he is nearly untouchable with a lightsaber in his duels with Jedi throughout the films and The Clone Wars. It is only when Anakin brings his anger to bear that he can get through Dooku’s guard and sever his hands.
7 Cal Kestis Doesn’t Have The Luxury Of All-Out Attack
Cal Kestis is an interesting case, as neither of the forms he practices – Form I Shii-Cho or Form VI Niman – are noted for their specialties in defense. Shii-Cho is a form centered around simple offense, whilst Niman emphasizes the use of the Force in combat.
Nonetheless, the gameplay of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order revolves largely around Cal blocking, avoiding, and parrying attacks, before making use of counterattacks only when he has an opening and only in limited amounts. It may be that Cal’s lack of training contributes to this defensive focus, as he fights enemies far more sure in their attacks.
6 Luminara Unduli Can Block And Dodge While Blind
Luminara Unduli is a Jedi Master with less focus than others in the Clone Wars era, but nonetheless one who is given the chance to show off her skills from time to time. From the showings she does give, she proves herself to be an immensely capable defensive fighter.
Using the famed Form III, Soresu, Unduli is able to block nearly any attack thrown her way, and her own unique spin on it incorporates last-second dodges when advantageous. So great is her defensive skill that, even with her vision impaired, Unduli is able to hold off Asajj-Ventress, a skilled Dark Side assassin.
5 Palpatine Excels Against Multiple Opponents
It is rare in the franchise that Darth Sidious engages in lightsaber combat with an opponent. Nonetheless, in the times he does, he proves himself to be immensely skilled. While his offense cannot be understated, Palpatine at several points shows his defensive technique.
In particular, Palpatine shines defensively when engaged with multiple opponents. When Mace Windu and three other Masters attempt to arrest him, he is able to duel more than one of them at once without dropping his guard. In a more impressive display, Palpatine combines his skill with the Force and his knowledge of the flow of combat against the immensely skilled Maul and Savage Oppress, separating the two when their attacks pose a threat to him and simply continuing the fight against the separated opponents until they make a mistake he can exploit.
4 Yoda Has Mastered Every Lightsaber Form
As the most powerful Jedi alive, and one of the Order’s premiere duelists, Master Yoda is a Force to be reckoned with in spite of his immense age. It is this age that has rendered him so lethal, having had centuries to train and develop his skills with every lightsaber form known to the Jedi.
While Yoda prefers Form IV Ataru, an aggressive and agile style focused around mobility, he nonetheless displays proficiency in more defensive styles such as Form III Soresu and Form V Shien. Throughout every duel he fights in the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars, it is rare for him to be struck by a single attack.
3 Luke Skywalker Becomes A Master Of Defense
While training with Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, Luke is told that a Jedi “uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never attack.” and in his time as a Jedi Master, he appears to take that to heart. While his style, particularly early on, involves heavy use of counter-attacks, it develops as he ages.
In The Mandalorian, Luke is able to block the blaster fire from an entire Platoon of Dark Troopers without appearing to struggle significantly. Taking it even further, in The Last Jedi, so good is he at avoiding Kylo Ren’s strikes that minutes pass before Ren realizes that Luke isn’t even physically there to fight him, with Luke not having to resort to a single block or counterattack.
2 Ahsoka Tano’s Dual Lightsabers Guard Her Well
Shien is one of two variants of Form V lightsaber combat, with the other being Djem-So. While Djem-So focuses more on power strikes and counterattacks, Shien, while operating on similar principles, instead focuses more on blocking attacks and deflecting blaster fire, in particular back at enemies.
Ahsoka practices Shien, and takes it one step further with an offhand Shoto lightsaber she wields in a reverse grip to better-deflect blaster fire. By the end of The Clone Wars, she is so practiced at doing so that the Clones of the 332nd Company are unable to even hit her during Order 66.
1 Obi-Wan Kenobi Is The Unquestioned Master Of Soresu
Although Obi-Wan Kenobi has less prestige as a duelist of the Jedi Order than Anakin, Mace Windu, or Yoda, he nonetheless proves himself a master of his own particular form. In keeping with his insightful and patient nature, Obi-Wan uses the deflection and defense-centered Form III Soresu, a form he is considered to be the Galaxy’s greatest user of.
Obi-Wan’s preferred way to fight is to deflect an opponent’s attacks while using less energy than they do, so they become tired, impatient, and more prone to making mistakes, all the while moving the fight to advantageous terrain for himself. The best showing of this is against prodigious duelist Anakin Skywalker, where Obi-Wan endures his vicious Form V onslaught long enough to maneuver himself to the high ground, and force Anakin to make an easily-exploited desperation attack.
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