The Lightsaber Duel (An Essay)

The lightsaber. An elegant weapon, from a more civilized age. It is the weapon of a Jedi Knight and Sith Lords alike. Though nothing beats a good blaster at your side. It is an iconic image of the Star Wars Saga. I bet I could show a picture of a lightsaber to someone random joe on the street and they would know what it was and probably me able to imitate the sound.

Now let's take a look at the lightsaber duel. I'm not talking about the über flashy duels of the Prequel Trilogy, but I'm talking about the duels from the Original Trilogy, Episodes IV-VI. Now I'm by no means a master swordsman, but I've done research, however rudimentary, into fencing and sword techniques, and let's just say I've noticed a few things.

Let's start with the Ben vs. Vader duel from "A New Hope". The duel isn't very energetic or fast; most likely due to the Graflex illuminated blades, and also because a lightsaber was supposed to be an incredibly heavy weapon. But it's obvious to me, where the inspiration for the choreography comes from; 14th-16th Century Longsword Fencing.ROLL THE FILM!


Alright, so they are holding the hilt of the saber with both hands in the standard Longsword grip (See Right). They work in the Triangular foot work pattern, which is a standard martial art stance, at least to my knowledge.

 I know that the lightsaber is basically a Space Katana... but when you look at the measurements of the lightsaber (From Wookiepedia)

• Hilt: Usually 24-30 cm (9-12 in)
• Blade: Usually 145 cm (57in)

And then the measurement of a 15th- 16th Century longsword (From Wikipedia).

• Total: avg. 100–130 cm (39–51 in)
• Blade: avg. 90–110 cm (35–43 in)

Pretty similar, wouldn't you say. Though a note about the blade length given by Wookiepedia, I own a Master Replica's Force FX lightsaber, and I can tell you the blade is not 57 inches. It's actually ~36 inches, which in turn matches up with my Cold Steel Hand-and-a-Half Practice Sword, which is essentially a 15th-16th Century Longsword.

On to the "The Empire Strikes Back" and the climax of the film, where Luke squares off with Vader for the first time. Lights please!


Again we see the standard longsword grip from Luke. But Vader switches back and forth between the two handed grip and swinging his saber with a single hand. I think this was done to show that Vader was the significantly better swordsman. This is my absolute favorite duel of the series. Especially with that big reveal at the end. The image to the right is taken from a fencing manual displaying a fencer using a buckler.






Now to "Return of the Jedi"

At this point I've already covered most of the similarities that I see between Lightsaber Fencing and Longsword fencing. But I wanted to mention at 4:09 in this duel Luke uses a stance which looks very similar to the Ox Guard of the German Longsword Fencing Manual, as depicted in the images to the right.

"This was the formal weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. More skill than simple sight was required for its use. An elegant weapon. It was a symbol as well. Anyone can use a blaster or a fusioncutter—but to use a lightsaber well was a mark of someone a cut above the ordinary."
―Obi-Wan Kenobi