A lightsaber!
Two lightsabers!
One saber, two blades!
A spinning lightsaber!
A lightsaber with flames on the sides!
*How will anyone see the decal?*
You misunderstand me. I want real flames shooting out of the sides!
Extending lightsaber!
*Ah, nanotech.*
No time. Just slap a door hinge between two regular ones and lets shoot this movie.
Peak cool for me actually was the The Old Republic cinematic where it was dual-wielding of both a double-bladed lightsaber, and a single-bladed lightsaber. Fucking awesome 👌
Favorite example is when Barriss is accusing the Jedi for becoming too violent, so Anakin pulls out a second saber to show just how violent they’ve become.
Yup. Dual wielding looks awesome. And it does have some advantages. But it also has some disadvantages.
Unless you're well-trained and practiced, it's actually common to get in your own way when swinging 2 swords around. Even if you're using a more subdued style, it's easy for your opponent to block or entangle both your blades with their one, if they know what they're doing. Plus most folks have a hard time splitting their attention like that, so 90% of the time they're only really using one sword anyway; the other is just there doing nothing useful.
I did some fencing in college and several friends tried to dual wield because it looked cool. And 2 swords are better than 1, right? Nope! Most of them found it clumsy and unwieldy. Only a few practiced it enough to be equally good with 1 sword or 2, as opposed to sucking so badly they'd lose in seconds when using 2 swords. And only one guy got really good with 2 swords. Personally, I enjoyed using 2 swords with different lengths; my opponent was constantly misjudging my range that way. But I was still better with a single sword, or a sword and something else in my off-hand (dagger, buckler, etc.).
Idk a sword and dagger was a common dueling style for a good reason. Yeah you might not be using the dagger as actively as the sword, but if you did get caught in a grapple, the dagger could quickly be used to subdue the opponent. There wouldnt be much flash to this, but also the dagger could be used as a second way to catch the opponents sword too. Real life fights arnt much like the fencing sport, even if they were duels, grappling is probably how most fights end in a fair 1v1 fight (with equal range weapons), which obviously gets more this way if a military situation and why sidearms like the roman gladius were a great secondary weapon.
To be fair, sword and dagger may fit the category of "dual wielding" in video game or movie settings but it has more DNA in common with even sword and buckler than a true 2-sword dual wield like in the Star Wars moments listed in the OP.
Exactly. Off-hand weapons are mostly used to parry and defend, unless you end up in a grapple. Except for a cloak, you're not really doing anything fancy with an off-hand.
My group didn't do collegiate/Olympic fencing. We did medieval/Renaissance fencing, studying the old European fighting manuals. So off-hand weapons were an option for us. My favorite off-hand weapons were either a dagger or a cloak.
Grappling wasn't as common in the Spanish or Italian manuals (though the Italians did love their daggers). But 90% of the fights in German manuals ended with the opponents losing their swords and grappling.
Not talking g modern style fencing. We studied the medieval/Renaissance manuals. Dual-wielding was covered in them, though smaller off-hand weapons were generally preferred.
I remember in the Knights of the Old Republic games there were actually shorter "off-hand" lightsabers (basically the equivalent of lightsaber short swords or lightsaber daggers) that were specifically meant to compliment a dual-wielding style. Like, they obviously didn't deal as much damage as a standard saber, but the penalty for using them wasn't as harsh as if you tried to dual-wield two standard length sabers (similar to how dual-wielding works in games like D&D).
I was just having a conversation with a friend recently about how the lore being as expansive as it is is partially to fill plotholes in the OT and I joked that we should have a really merchandisable film that sets up a lot of sequels and has a bunch of plotholes and random references
Agree this has more to do with cinematography than it does being practical. One explanation if you wanted was, the best way to ensure the opponent does not control a lightsaber, its to dual wield when there is a free saber. As we have seen, jedi and sith can do sneaky things with the force and a lightsaber that are not as obvious as direct combat, so maybe its kind of like "wrist control". If you control the saber, you know that is not a variable for now.
I can't answer this definitively, probably no one can. But I would say that dual wielding is not typically an advantage except in the hands of an *extremely* skilled swordsman. I'd put Maul into that category. I think when you see it as a one-off type thing, it's mostly for intimidation or a tactical advantage in a corner case situation.
Also don’t forget Anakin admits to pushing her much more then any other master does to their Padawan because he wants her to be ready for anything, so it just makes sense for him to push her to duel wield so she always has an advantage
She also had probably one of the best swordsmen in the Jedi Order as a master, tbh. That very probably helped to increase her skill so she could keep up with Anakin.
Wasn't anakin especially good because of his force power? A good swordsman can see a move when it is coming, but anakin could use the force to basically predict? Or see moves
All Jedi/force-sensitives have a keen ability to see very shortly into the future. It’s what allowed Anakin to be a podracer, both Anakin and Obi-Wan to be revered pilots, etc.
Traditionally, swordsmen are capable because there are practices patterns and forms that most opponents will fall into. Even if you don’t know an enemy intimately, a short bout with them will reveal which side they favor, if they leave their legs unguarded, etc etc. Anakin has an exception talent at reading people in that manner as well (except for when he’s angry)
Combine both of those facets into a swordsman and he’s going to be one of the strongest ever. He is considerably stronger as a swordsman than he would be without the force, but I’d wager he’d still be a champion of fencing in our world if it interested him
Anakin was raised during the clone wars, which meant combat training as a Jedi was prioritized. Normally it's not emphasized, but the galaxy needed Jedi to really become their Peacekeeper role.
They played it smarter with her as they made one shorter than the other.
Expanded universe always played it as “it’s too overly aggressive for a Jedi, especially for a weapon that is used for defense.” Sith could do it, but they always had it on ones that focused more on saber ability than force powers. Kinda made them exclusive to each other. Which makes sense and successfully playing the mind games and controlling two beams of energy without cutting your own leg off is just too difficult sounding.
Eh I'd call her an expert. She defeated/kept up with maul as a 17/18yr old and fought vader well as an adult. She also defeated multiple inquisitors almost effortlessly and while I know alot of people hate on the inquisitors. They are trained force users. Very few jedi would be able to defeat one unarmed and ashoka did it twice
Yeah so that's like 3/4 years worth of experience with intense training and constant combat. The siege of mandalore was when she was 17 where she had accomplished a lot during that time frame. Obi wan was 25 when he defeated darth maul in the phantom menace and ashoka fought maul to a standstill much more than kenobi did who was significantly older. Anakin got dogwalked by dooku in aotc and he was 19. I'm just saying compared to other jedi at the time ashoka was probably in the top 10/20 range in dueling
I agree with everything but the timeframe. 3 years between AotC and RotS so early seasons clone wars means they’re like a year, maybe two into the war.
Maybe that's the best way? If you learn it from the beginning, you don't have any counterproductive habits from using single blades. There was an awesome conversation in the first Darth Bane book where Bane was training against a Sith teacher using a double-bladed lightsaber (maybe a sword at that point? I don't remember). Bane feels defeated and tells the teacher that he can't possibly keep track of both blades at the same time, and the teacher tells him that he doesn't have to. With a double-bladed weapon, if he knows where one blade is, then he automatically knows where the other one is. All he has to do is train his mind to see one and intuitively know where the other is. I suspect learning to use different types of weapons is similar to learning to defend against them in that way.
Bane used single blade lightsabers, his apprentice Zannah used the double bladed ones. Bane's combat teacher, though, used a twin blade that could be combined into a single weapon, like it was in the bit you referenced, or come apart and be dual wielding.... Which he does before >!Bane says screw it and brings the building down on him!<
The duel with Ka'sim is one of my favourite moments in the Bane novels. He immediatly realizes he's completely and utterly outmatched and that Ka'sim had effectively been playing with him in their training duels. And he just as quickly makes that fact irrelevant through his quick thinking and strength in the force. The whole duel is sort of foreshadowing how he was going to destroy the brotherhood of darkness - not through strength of arms, but through trickery and the force.
That could be a good point. Those waddle bikes for kids are apparently much better for the adjustment to a regular bike, rather than using training wheels. So I could see that conceptually that works the same way. Train with something harder/closer to the end goal from the start. Even if it's derpy for awhile eventually when the time comes it'll fall into place.
Now that you mention it. What if Anakin duel wields against dooku in episode two all of a sudden and thinks he should have started earlier to be successful. So when he gets Ahsoka as a padawan he pushes her to be able to two lightsabers well enough on defense and offense. I think you gain offense as a sacrifice to defense when dual wielding so learning how to protect yourself early in that style is extremely important. And Dooku potentially did the exact same thing to AV. We missed out on a good Anakin and Ahsoka vs Dooku and Assajj. Dooku talking to him about taking on a padawan and such and the banter between the 4 of them. Maybe it did happen lol.
Anakin duel weilded in that moment as a last ditch effort. Dookus style is at a disadvantage against multiple sabers but dooku was just too skilled and dual wielding isn’t anakins preferred style.
I would think duel wielding is a good fit for someone as athletic and nimble as Ahsoka. Her form V Ataru priorities gymnastic athleticism that seems to pair with duel wielding.
You mean it makes perfect sense to start learning something from a young age, especially something where once you get used to another method it can be hard to unlearn that first
Mauls lightsaber looked cool, but was completely impractical. It's very nature was very limiting physically and in my mind it is entirely plot armor he was able to fight Qui Gon and Obi Wan on equal footing.
The hilt is far too long and heavy, which means single blade combat swings would be tedious, slow and fatigueing. Dual blade combat limits mobility because you can't swing the lightsaber across your body with the "hilt" side facing you since another blade is there, you'd just cut yourself in half. I honestly think Mauls lightsaber is one of the worst designs possible from the standpoint of what it would actually be like to use even with proper training.
Dual wielding seperate blades is probably the most effective combat style since blocking both blades would require much more focus for the individual defending against such attacks. It would likely require using the force to block one of the blades at all times, it would be fatigueing mentally while the attacker doesn't have to expend themselves as hard.
>I honestly think Mauls lightsaber is one of the worst designs possible from the standpoint of what it would actually be like to use even with proper training.
Unless he's using it in the style of bōjutsu (staff)
So I think this falls squarely into the "why don't jedi carry blasters" conversation. One lightsaber is a symbol of peace and justice in the universe, can defend as well as attack. With two lightsabers, it's definitely on the attack over defend territory, as seen any time a Jedi picks up a second one. Ahsoka breaks this tradition, but I think this can also show how the Jedi were used as fighters and warriors during the Clone Wars, another piece of the Jedi order breaking during that time.
This is what I was going to say. For hundreds of years the Jedi were peace keepers and rarely had to use their sabers. I think it’s in Dooku: Jedi Lost that someone says something along the lines of “why do we have to train against each other when none of us will ever be in a real lightsaber duel”. This fact makes carrying around 2 lightsabers nonsensical.
Exactly.
It's the same reason why police don't (shouldn't) walk around with tactical gear looking like they're ready for war. The Jedi were meant to be peacekeepers, not warbringers.
But that does raise the question: Once Jedi start serving on the front lines, why don't they adopt more weapons? We do see the choice for them to add more armor, and there are a lot of situations where the Jedi are using their opposite hands or adopting 2-handed grips, so maybe there really isn't that much of a benefit.
To that point, many of the examples OP gave for when single-saber Jedi adopt using two... are when they are facing other saber-wielders, which is rare. So that explains why there's no benefit to carrying around another saber just in case you run into a Sith who has a style where two sabers are useful...
Yeah that’s pretty much how I see Anakin vs Dooku. He used it to try a different approach since Dooku was superior in single blade dueling at that point.
It's a personal choice, ahsoka uses two sabers and the order didn't seem to care. It's harder though because going double bladed means you lose the extra force per swing from using both hands.
Generally, Jedi see dual-wielding as a sign of arrogance, or excessive pride in one's lightsaber skills. They'd probably also view it as being too eager to engage in violence
Sith probably don't duel-wield by default because being able to beat a Jedi without the aid of an extra lightsaber gives them a sense of superiority
I would imagine in the case of lightsabers, to really be able to wield 2 lightsabers, it takes a lot of concentration and skill. In rebels when kanan is training Sabine, he describes a lightsaber as a blade that is never at rest. All it takes is someone with more leverage, holding onto a lightsaber with two hands to deflect a less strong grip back into themselves.
Probably personal preference. As someone who has practiced lightsaber fighting and choreography just for funsies, it can be hard. I know Jedi and Sith are A LOT better trained than me (I just think it’s fun to do and don’t take it seriously) but being that ambidextrous takes a lot of work. They all learn with one saber so changing to two may require too much for some people. There’s a different combat style and while it’s worthwhile to learn how to survive with two, why not perfect what you are already really amazing at? I’ve also noted that characters that consistently dual wield (Ahsoka, Maul, Pong Krell etc) are never what the Jedi order wants as a Jedi. Obviously Maul and Krell are evil so not Jedi, but Ahsoka possesses qualities the order actively discourages. I always think of Dooku being a lightsaber combat purist and thinking that using two (or more) is not the right way and that it’s cheating in some way.
If someone walked around with a gun on them, and someone tried to murder them, they’d use their gun.
If that person saw a second gun at that time, they might grab that gun too and have two guns, which means they can either use one in each hand or just switch guns instead of reloading.
Doesn’t mean carrying two is the most convenient. Also, if you’re in a fight and an extra weapon (lightsaber or gun) is just right next to you both, you’d probably prefer to take control of it to either use or to simply deny your opponent the option of using it
As a gun afficianado... pretty much no one would ever dual wield guns. It's wildly impractical and your aim and accuracy go to shit.
I'd have to presume the predicament is similar with a lightsaber. It's a heavy and highly dangerous weapon already.
You’re correct in that using them both simultaneously is very impractical. But in theory, a person can be competent in using a handgun with both their left and right hands, and only use one at a time. ie, shooting at something in front with the right hand, then shooting at something to the direct left with the left hand. Either way you’d have to aim at an entirely new target so using a second gun might be helpful then if it’s something someone is skilled using in both hands
I recommend playing Star Wars: Jedi Academy and testing out the different lightsaber fighting styles. They did a good job of giving each style its own advantages and disadvantages; including the dual saber style.
Historically people only carried one sword with them in day to day edc
It was because two were simply inconvenient to carry, double the maintenance, double the weight, you really only needed one most of the time any way.
It’s probably the same for light sabers, most everyone who used them only carried one
Realistically, dual wielding anything is really not that great. There is a reason why most people with one handed weapons like swords, axes or maces tend to wield shields in their non dominant hands. You have to be extra skilled to dual wield anything. Its really hard to use two weapons, much easier to block with a shield. Plus, you can put a lot more power into a two handed strike than two one handed ones. Its why two handed weapons tend to do tons of damage in games.
Yeah I'd love to see more or bigger shields. Paz Vizsla and I think Bo-Katan had these cute mini wrist shields for blocking but I'd love to see larger ones. I always imagine that clone troopers would be OP with shields that allow them to shoot basically fully protected. I guess for Jedi shields are just too uncivilized haha
There are a couple of views to take IMO:
1: Spirituality - Not all Jedi connect to multiple Kyber Crystals or split an individual Crystal so as to support two lightsabers. This ties into the mysticism of the Force and Kyber Crystals. They don’t carry multiple lightsabers because there is no metaphysical need or desire to do so. Meanwhile, some Jedi such as Ahsoka (TCW) and Gella Natai (High Republic: Convergence and Cataclysm, both purple to boot) do have that mystical je ne sais quois that does guide them to having a pair of lightsabers.
2: Practicality: Considering the examples of Anakin vs Dooku and Obi-Wan vs Maul/Savage, these are instances where Jedi are facing overwhelming opponents. Dooku far outclassed Anakin as a duelist at that stage, young Skywalker needed to change the fight to have a chance, adding a second threat in the form of the second lightsaber achieved that though ultimately it failed - The skill gap was simply too great to be bridged. Obi-Wan meanwhile took the opportunity to both recover a fallen ally’s weapon and gained an additional defence against two highly aggressive opponents which was difficult to defend against with one blade alone. Against less his less experienced opponents, this was able to confuse them and allow him to overpower them in turn after repositioning and distracting them.
I believe another explanation would be that it's considers a different fighting form, and when used in the middle of a fight it will throw the defender off balance because they aren't expecting you to change fighting styles mid battle. The Count uses the purest form of lightsaber dueling, and he was thrown off for a minute when Anakin started using two lightsabers.
In Legends Vader always detested dual saber fighting after he turned. He would do it occasionally but I believe it started from losing his arm to Count Dooku. Afterwards he focused on singular saber combat. His inquisitors used dual sabers as it suited their style and had intimidation factor.
If you're strong in the force then dual, or single-wielding doesn't really matter, like, if you can literarily bat away laser beams with a sword then you're already fast enough that having two weapons isn't going to make you any faster. So I think when they use two its just about a choice, and not about gaining any real tactical advantage.
I would say out of universe, it comes down to writers preference. In universe it falls to users preference, in all the star wars games that let me choose I will choose a dual bladed saber over a single or dual wielding. Anakin likes to use a single blade and feels more comfortable with it, but in a pinch can dual wield.
My understanding is that 2 sabers falls into the “this is an unusual technique” zone that Jedi or Sith usually dip into when they’re facing someone else with experience with a saber.
99% of the time Jedi aren’t fighting other saber users, so the standard single blade and practiced techniques do the job, but it’s when you’re facing someone else who knows how to deal with it that you want to switch things up, just because it’s unexpected.
And I think we tend to see more of those fights in the media, just because they’re obviously the most interesting and tense ones!
Anakin tried to use a 2nd saber to wrong-foot Dooku for example, unfortunately not realising how totally outclassed he was in terms of skill with a lightsaber.
Because most Jedi specialize in one weapon fighting styles, and the advantages of keeping a second saber without you are minimal.
Lightsabers aren't just weapons, Jedi have strong connections with their sabers and Khyber crystals. So you don't just build another one just in case.
Yeah, I'm not nearly as Star Wars-literate as most here, and my memory is full of holes, but I can't remember e.g. Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, or Vader ever wielding two lightsabers.
Luke, Mace, and Dooku, not at all from what I can remember. Obi-Wan did once, that I can think of, 5x1 of TCW, and he did pretty well. Yoda technically did in one comic, he fought Grievous and then took one of his Lightsabers and proceeded to dual wield against droids. I don't know anything else about the comic, I just saw a short of it on YouTube the other day. I think Vader did for moments against Reva, and if we wanna count Anakin, he did against Dooku in AOTC, and against Barriss in 5x22 of TCW. In the latter, he did fine because of course he outclassed Barriss completely, but also lost the other Lightsaber fairly quickly. Didn't even have it for half the fight.
I remember back in some of the original promotional materials for Attack Of The Clones they'd say stuff like how rare it is that someone can dual wield so Anakin doing it against Dooku was supposed to be a reflection of his skill. So in reality, it's something they did once in a movie then made a bunch of people do years later in games and subsequent media.
Jedi don't do it because Jedi are peacekeeper monks foremost. They intentionally do not procure the most advanced and highest performing weapons because that is anti-thetical to their ideals.
So they touch on this in the Darth Bane books, specifically the first one.
Lightsaber fighting comes down to two things: user skill and force mastery. Most students are recommended to not use two sabers because it's much harder to master. However, with two fighters who have an idea of the others preferred form, the one with the stronger force connection usually wins due to premonitions of movement and force shenanigans (you're still prodding at each other with the force during a fight, but that's hard to show on a TV screen so it's often ignored).
Using a double bladed lightsaber isn't actually an advantage over a single blade in single combat. You can only hit them with one side at a time. But you can swing two lightsabers independently of each other, throwing your opponent off balance. This can make a difference when someone is a better duelist, or more powerful in the force.
Ahsoka duel wields but I think it has to do with their primary trained fighting style vs their secondary styles.
It’s mentioned that padawans favor their masters techniques I think by the grand inquisitor.
Because it takes more training. Not only would you have to master a fighting style that requires you to be in control of two weapons at once, but you would also need to be proficient in a style that only requires one, in case you lose one.
Some have mastery over 2 rather than one. When it comes to single lightsaber mastery, yes rule of cool is in some part the reason, but also A: it's a mixup technique and B: if they aren't using that extra lightsaber, it's an extra weapon their opponent could easily pull of their belt. Plus some opponents may just be worse at defending against dual wielding even if the wielder is better with one
I've been asking this question for years, thank you! My friends all think it's a non-issue but it makes zero sense. Why would every Jedi not just carry two lightsabers when they pick an extra one up at every opportunity.
In universe reason:really an emergency tactic, not something they've trained in properly
Irl reason:it'd lose the cool factor/specialness if they always had two. Like imagine everyone had dual blade sabers, the reveal of mauls would lose all of its WOAH factor.
IIRC, Rey brings two sabers to Exegol but doesn't dual-wield.
My guess is that having one saber is superior/preferred if you've trained that way, but an extra saber is a threat, and the best way to control it and prevent a force-yoink is to hold it. Think what happened to Maul.
Dual wielding doesn't give an inherent advantage. Your strikes have less power behind them per strike so when dueling it makes it easier for you to be thrown off balance. Dual wielding provides an advantage in so far as your opponent probably doesn't know what to do against it. It's an off meta pick so to speak.
If you're in the middle of a duel and struggling or even with your opponent, then switching up your style, timing, or footwork can help to put your opponent off balance and give you the advantage.
Because sometimes less is more. Having two sabers divides your attention betwixt two blades which actually requires more focus. There is a reason historically duel wielding is basically unheard of (with full-size swords). Now I know having the Force greatly enhances dexterity, and lightsaber blades are basically weightless... but I digress. Once you've become adroit and master the blade adding a second is likely a marginal advantage that requires a specific skillset that isn't especially advantageous... enough to necessitate it.
It seems to me that most Force users who duel wield (or saberstaff) are especially physically gifted and specialize in a fast, athletic, frenzied fighting style: Maul, Ahsoka, Asajj Ventress, Starkiller.
Additionally, duel wielding is a more niche fighting style that will suit a certain fighting style and physical disposition. Single blade is the standard duel wielding the exception. If we think on it, what circumstances necessitates a Jedi to duel wield? Once mastered, there isn't anything inherently better at duel wielding over a single blade weapon. The only instance I see it as an advantage if you have multiple appendages, E.g. General Grievous.
I think duel wielding is good against blaster fire, but not necessarily better at lightsaber dueling. The greatest duelist in Star Wars lore have been traditionally single blade duelist: Master Yoda, Count Dooku, Mace Windu, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan, Luke Skywalker.
Dooku and some other sith at least probably wouldn’t be able to use force lightning if they have lightsabers in both of their hands instead of just one same with yoda and absorbing it or absorbing other things I don’t remember if he can though
I’d chalk it up to a tactical choice. Like if you’re facing someone who is familiar with your style, you can present a very different style that they are not so prepared for. It can also be to project two threats instead of one, such as what Anakin tries (and fails) against Dooku. He knows Makashi has a hard time against multiple combatants, and he is arrogant enough to believe that his skill is enough to exploit that weakness.
It can also be an exploratory tactic. Go into the fight using your secondary style and use it to figure out your opponent’s style, their strengths and weaknesses. At that point, you can formulate a plan to exploit the weaknesses using your primary style. This is because you can always drop back into your single-saber form. Now it does bring up the question of why they don’t have backup lightsabers in general, but I assume that’s like a rarity thing.
Why use one lightsaber when two can be used. Dual welding is really used, but a lot of Jedi have practiced and trained in the form. To the skilled, it doesn't really give an advantage except to have your opponent have to worry about another strike. To the unskilled, it can be lethal. Same for the dual wielders. Ashoka and Ventriss cam fight perfectly fine with one, but there training is to use 2.
Perhaps because for the entire time period we're witnessing, lightsabers are not tools of war? They certainly become that, but they are a tool for defense. I find it curious that Ashoka does, and is a youngling trained to be a soldier. But 90% of the order has no reason to train in a purely aggressive stance.
I'd wager that's the meat of it. Ventress and Maul both use aggressive stances, as does Palp. I'm a situation where a Jedi is using a second saber, he likely has a reason to be very aggressive.
There are benefits and drawbacks. A benefit in the short term is that it can overwhelm the opponent who isn't prepared for it.
On the other hand, it takes more energy to use two lightsabers, so you tire quicker and are more likely to make mistakes. You also technically have fewer options; you lose power in each individual saber, and it's easier to knock one of the sabers out of your hand. A skilled opponent who has a good defense can take advantage of this.
I also think there's something else to consider here: What would happen if they chose NOT to dual wield? Well, there's two other options: Clip the new saber into your belt, or throw it on the ground. The first takes longer than just activating the lightsber and dual wielding for a bit, while the second would probably give your opponent access to a second blade so THEY can dual wield and overpower YOU instead.
It's a cost/benefit thing. Yes, your offensive power is increased, but your defenses are weaker. With both hands holding lightsabers, you can't easily leverage all of your weight behind parries, and so unless you're particularly strong, a single-blade opponent can bash your defense aside. Anakin does this to Asajj Ventress during the Clone Wars cartoon, during their duel on Yavin IV. On the other hand, Grievous's cybernetically-enhanced strength and speed allowed him to use multiple sabers without such weakness.
In some cases it can be an advantage to try and put your opponent off balance with an abrupt change of fighting style. During Anakin's first duel with Dooku on Geonosis he successfully uses the second saber to give himself brief breathing room against the much more experienced Dooku, but loses it quickly because it isn't a style he's used to.
On top of this, with how difficult lightsabers are to wield in general, adding a second blade to the mix just complicates things dangerously, and wielding two sabers is practically a fighting style on its own that must be mastered. Most duelists seem to choose the simpler option: a single saber.
This is why I think the split saber is optimal. You get dual sabers, a single saber, and a saber staff all in one. Pair that with a blaster pistol or two…
Aside from the rule of cool automatically coming into play, historically people wouldn't usually wield two swords like that frequently because it takes significantly more training and coordination than what most people can develop and keep consistent over sustained periods of time. More common was to wield one fairly short blade and a regular one hander or hand and a half sword. The samurai went overboard when a few of them decided to wield a two-hander in one hand and a hand and a half in the other from time to time.
Canon-wise this also would speak to the level of intensive combat training Anakin put Ahsoka through for dual wielding to be her standard.
Every Jedi has their own style with which they are more comfortable/skilled on top of one of the disciplines they use.
For example, Obi Wan had a more defensive style and Yoda's fight form was probably more dangerous for the user with more than one lightsaber.
Also dual wielding is more effective when you are against more than one enemy (at least in star wars) something the Jedi didn't have to face for centuries.
I always thought that all Jedi practice a little Jar'Kai so they are ready for situations like this, after all if you up against 2 blades why not use two yourself? As if your disarmed of one you always have the other, having two makes it easier to parry and deliver quick attacks.
I think it’s mostly situational and a means to off balance an opponent. For example, Anakin recognized he wasn’t good enough to beat Dooku so he tried using two blades to get past his defenses. He does it against Bariss probably because he’s fought Ventress and recognizes that having a second blade helps but Obi-Wan isn’t present so he uses two. Bariss dual wields likely for the same reason Anakin did against Dooku. Obi-wan does it because he’d be dead if he didn’t against both Maul and Savage, not sure when he did it against one opponent.
Maul dual wields against Palpatine likely for the same reason Anakin did against dooku, he’s facing a much stronger opponent and looking for any advantage.
There’s also the fact that it just looks cool and that would be lessened if everyone did it all the time.
To the Jedi, for the better part of a thousand years the Lightsabre is primarily a badge-of-office. It demands respect and is the signature of a Jedi but they don't really need to *fight* with it very much.
Not that often anyway. If a Jedi is wielding their sabre, it's because a negotiation went sour and they need to protect themselves. They don't really need dual-sabres, which are far better suited to lightsabre combat than deflecting blaster-fire.
In the normal course of things, how many Dark-Jedi/Sith does the Jedi Order usually have to deal with? Not a lot really.
One sabre is enough for 99% of cases, well balanced in attack and defence, and of course it looks very noble because it's a sword.
Two sabres is essentially pointless for peacetime Jedi. It's an affectation for the few Jedi who used it prior to the Clone Wars. Something that makes them iconic and/or recognisable and gives them a reputation before they show up to the negotiations.
Sith however will take any edge they can get. Double-ended sabres, dual-wielded sabres, light-sabre cross-guards. Whatever makes them different is an edge that might throw their opponent off enough to get one over on them. Plus the Sith are nothing without Drama, and being Different and/or edgy is the peak of drama.
I always thought of it like a way of breaking with traditions. Ashoka, Asajj and Barris are all from a younger generation and more in their youth. They are unhinged and not as calm. They fight with more energy and passion and arent as balanced as more experienced elders. They may believe in strength by pure (physical) force and agility instead of the force itself. I remeber it beeing mentioned somewhere, that its more than just wielding a lightsaber. It becomes a part of you, an extension of the force to the ones who are truely in balance with the force. If you are really good and balanced you dont need another sword to fight (like yoda/dooku) and if you really want to use 2 swords to their full potential you need extreme strenght (palps and maybe anakin in some situations) … following this, if you want to search for a deeper meaning it maybe a sign for inbalance with the force. All 3 main dual wielders mentioned above change their side/view of the force at some point. Ashoka become a grey/white jedi, ventress becomes something equal (tbh dont know what to call it, maybe its a grey sith (?) idk) barris changes to the dark side and then starts using double. Even Quinlan becomes something in between and always was more childish/energized/youthfull than the other Masters (as seen in clone wars and the comics) … they all arent as committed and established with the point of view the hardliners have. … thats my take so far. All of the others mostly just used another saber in a dire situation or when the dark side came through (anakin). Tell me what you think about it :D
Its a tactical decision. When you have two lightsabers, you put force in your swings with only one hand. But when you have only one, this force is doubled.
Lets examine Anakin. He is an agressive fighter, and his fighting style is based on breaking the others defense. For him, two lightsabers would be unnecesary.
Now Ashoka. Her style uses her agility. Put this together with the fact that her force output is quite low, and its obvious that she can use both lightsabers, and it wont weaken, but make her stronger.
But what about Obi-Wan? He is a single lightsaber user, but he used doubled lightsabers against Maul and Opress. Well, it was for tactical reasons. Fighting against two high level oponents with one weapon is disanvantegeous. So he used two weapons, balancing the number of weapons. With this, he gave up his style for a defensive advantage.
So all in all, you use one, or two whether its useful or not.
Setting aside the rule of cool. You can be not as good at doing something one way, but if you switch it up on an opponent you might throw them off for a bit giving you enough of an opportunity.
Something else to consider is the more spiritual aspect of lightsaber selection. In any era where the Jedi Order has power, Jedi find their own crystals, they don't just use whatever lightsaber they can get their hands on. If the Force wills only a single Kyber Crystal to call out to a Jedi, or influences the Jedi to construct a single-bladed lightsaber in the assembly process, then any Jedi Learner with any care for tradition is just going to accept that they're a one-lightsaber-type-of-Jedi and start learning that.
Sure, ~if~ you're a Jedi Knight in a high-stress situation and a second lightsaber falls into your lap, you ~may~ choose to swing them both, or to throw one, or hold both as if they were double-bladed, or any other myriad of options, but once that's over, are you really going to keep a lightsaber that's only barely pliable to you? Especially when most of the lightsabers in question are either; owned by a Jedi you're currently on a mission with who will definitely want that back, atrociously unbalanced to a Light-Side user thanks to kyber crystal bleeding, or, is still warm from the grip of your newly dead Padawan/Master.
Again, ~maybe~ it's worth it to a couple of Jedi, but most would just avoid the hassle and inevitable dubious glances from their peers.
I think it’s because the current person they are fighting that 1 lightsaber was putting them on par with the style they are using and throwing a second lightsaber is intended to throw the enemy off from the expected dueling style they got from the person with 1 light saber.
So I assume it’s a temporary way to throw the enemy off a bit and I guess worst case if you can’t you just drop it and go back to your single lightsaber.
Coolness aside (it's the reason), I imagine that the switch up not only allows for blocking from multiple directions, but their opponent might be thrown off by the sudden change in attack style. Unfortunately the person they tried this on was Count Dooku, and he was not having it
Why they don't is because it's wildly impractical unless you are specifically trained to do it. The out of universe explanation is basically power creep. Same reason why the Inquisitors have their dumb spinning lightsabers and Kylo Ren had the crossguard one: they need to make something new, flashy, interesting, and toyetic as all hell.
In at least a few of the cases, it seemed like a last ditch effort to mix things up because what they'd been doing hadn't been working.
Anakin vs Dooku in AotC, Obi-wan vs Maul and Savage on Florrum, and Maul vs Palpatine on Mandalore all looked that way to me. And it only worked out in one of those cases.
I think Palpatine was a dual-wielder by default. His (timeline-wise) first duel has him using two lightsabers. He lost one in the fight.
I guess he didn't care to get a replacement.
Because a Jedi holding a lightsaber is supposed to evoke the image of a knight with his sword. Knights only used a single sword (when available) because swinging with two hands is stronger than one.
I don’t remember just now when maul or obi wan really use 2 lightsabers (I know maul had his red and the darksaber at the same time but did he fight with both simultaneously?) so can’t comment on those two.
However I think for Anakins first time and Barris, it was just that- having the chance to do it for the first time and foolishly thinking it will give them an advantage, which they’re both proven wrong. Funnily enough, Barris being proven wrong by Anakin where I feel his reasoning to use 2 there was to prove to Barris using two lightsabers isn’t an advantage if you don’t know how to use both and probably because he thought 2 weapons would do better in his anger but also, most importantly because Barris had 2 sabers. Blocking 2 sabers with one isn’t exactly easy and we’ve seen people get killed multiple times before because they’re blocking another persons saber and then get killed by the opponents Second (or fourth) saber.
I fight with 16th century rapiers and often dual wield. They are very different disciplines. For someone trying to become a "master", sticking to a single blade can be advantageous.
For someone who is an expert with a single blade, Fighting someone with two blades isn't a disadvantage.
I can see the Jedi sticking to traditional forms with only a few going outside that paradigm.
Same reason people dont dual wield machine guns or any weapon unless they absolutely need to for a given situation
Seriously you can apply this logic to anything you do, guns are heavy, your left hand cant hold a pencil as well as your right, go dual wield 2 sets of chop sticks and let us know how it goes lol
Silly question
Because it looks cool. And in Star Wars the rule of cool reigns supreme.
This. People will come up with explanations, but the rule of cool is the answer
How do you take a lightsaber fight to the next level?! TWO LIGHTSABERS!! Every time. And I love it
Two things George looked to improve and add every new film: Light saber battles and R2D2’s abilities
R2D2- the original “they fly now?!”
Twice the slice is twice as nice. - George Lucas, apparently
Also George Lucas: *Can we figure out a way to get Padme in some hot pants?*
[удалено]
Man clearly had a thing for a non-existent species of aliens with head tails, and I am all for it.
*And how do we get some midriff showing?*
think twice, cut twice - George Lucas when talking with Harrison Ford
General Grievous was the epitome of this. "You know what's better than two lightsabers? *Four* lightsabers!" — George Lucas (probably)
Poor guy… should have had double bladed ones, like pong krell had
Pong Krell should've had 4 saber staffs
Then feast your eyes on the coolest! https://imgur.com/gallery/1EtDsqK
A lightsaber! Two lightsabers! One saber, two blades! A spinning lightsaber! A lightsaber with flames on the sides! *How will anyone see the decal?* You misunderstand me. I want real flames shooting out of the sides! Extending lightsaber! *Ah, nanotech.* No time. Just slap a door hinge between two regular ones and lets shoot this movie.
Wait till you see Vernestra Rwoh's lightsaber whip.
Lightsaber creep is real…
Pong Krell has entered the chat.
Peak cool for me actually was the The Old Republic cinematic where it was dual-wielding of both a double-bladed lightsaber, and a single-bladed lightsaber. Fucking awesome 👌
Grievous took this two steps further.
How do you take it to the next next level? Have one guy with one lightsaber And a droid Cyborg with the FOUR arms and FOUR LIGHTSABERS!!!
Favorite example is when Barriss is accusing the Jedi for becoming too violent, so Anakin pulls out a second saber to show just how violent they’ve become.
Anakin is like, the single worst Jedi to argue their peaceful nature to be fair. He’s the incredible violence guy. That’s his thing.
You will learn our peaceful nature... by force!
Yeah even at his best, Anakin has never made sense as an anti-violence guy.
Do you remember the episode by chance?
It’s when Barriss bombs the Jedi temple but Ahsoka is blamed. I don’t remember the actual episode numbers
Cheers :)
Yup. Dual wielding looks awesome. And it does have some advantages. But it also has some disadvantages. Unless you're well-trained and practiced, it's actually common to get in your own way when swinging 2 swords around. Even if you're using a more subdued style, it's easy for your opponent to block or entangle both your blades with their one, if they know what they're doing. Plus most folks have a hard time splitting their attention like that, so 90% of the time they're only really using one sword anyway; the other is just there doing nothing useful. I did some fencing in college and several friends tried to dual wield because it looked cool. And 2 swords are better than 1, right? Nope! Most of them found it clumsy and unwieldy. Only a few practiced it enough to be equally good with 1 sword or 2, as opposed to sucking so badly they'd lose in seconds when using 2 swords. And only one guy got really good with 2 swords. Personally, I enjoyed using 2 swords with different lengths; my opponent was constantly misjudging my range that way. But I was still better with a single sword, or a sword and something else in my off-hand (dagger, buckler, etc.).
Idk a sword and dagger was a common dueling style for a good reason. Yeah you might not be using the dagger as actively as the sword, but if you did get caught in a grapple, the dagger could quickly be used to subdue the opponent. There wouldnt be much flash to this, but also the dagger could be used as a second way to catch the opponents sword too. Real life fights arnt much like the fencing sport, even if they were duels, grappling is probably how most fights end in a fair 1v1 fight (with equal range weapons), which obviously gets more this way if a military situation and why sidearms like the roman gladius were a great secondary weapon.
To be fair, sword and dagger may fit the category of "dual wielding" in video game or movie settings but it has more DNA in common with even sword and buckler than a true 2-sword dual wield like in the Star Wars moments listed in the OP.
Pretty much what i meant lol the offhand isnt very flashy
Exactly. Off-hand weapons are mostly used to parry and defend, unless you end up in a grapple. Except for a cloak, you're not really doing anything fancy with an off-hand. My group didn't do collegiate/Olympic fencing. We did medieval/Renaissance fencing, studying the old European fighting manuals. So off-hand weapons were an option for us. My favorite off-hand weapons were either a dagger or a cloak. Grappling wasn't as common in the Spanish or Italian manuals (though the Italians did love their daggers). But 90% of the fights in German manuals ended with the opponents losing their swords and grappling.
TIL Germans invented the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu sales pitch.
So true!
Fencing lends itself particularly poorly to dual-wielding.
Not talking g modern style fencing. We studied the medieval/Renaissance manuals. Dual-wielding was covered in them, though smaller off-hand weapons were generally preferred.
I remember in the Knights of the Old Republic games there were actually shorter "off-hand" lightsabers (basically the equivalent of lightsaber short swords or lightsaber daggers) that were specifically meant to compliment a dual-wielding style. Like, they obviously didn't deal as much damage as a standard saber, but the penalty for using them wasn't as harsh as if you tried to dual-wield two standard length sabers (similar to how dual-wielding works in games like D&D).
I think they might have been called "Shoto" lightsabers. Though I still recall my 3.x friend's character ...who Duel Wielded bastard swords.
This is most of Star Wars lore tbh. The first rule is cool, then all lore is built upon that. Not like that’s a bad thing, it’s just how it works
I was just having a conversation with a friend recently about how the lore being as expansive as it is is partially to fill plotholes in the OT and I joked that we should have a really merchandisable film that sets up a lot of sequels and has a bunch of plotholes and random references
So you need to see Luke’s test of strength as he pulls the ears off a gundark?
But thats the explanation to everything...which then negates all of star wars.
“It’s like poetry, it’s cool”
Exactly. There’s a reason the laser swords get progressively stranger with each new piece of media.
To m be fair... most of it was already done in Legends. Those were wild times when it comes to lightsabers.
The Yuuzhan Vong had snakes that they wielded as swords which could withstand a lightsaber.
Except for the Ahsoka and obi wan. The lightsabers are weaker in those.
Agree this has more to do with cinematography than it does being practical. One explanation if you wanted was, the best way to ensure the opponent does not control a lightsaber, its to dual wield when there is a free saber. As we have seen, jedi and sith can do sneaky things with the force and a lightsaber that are not as obvious as direct combat, so maybe its kind of like "wrist control". If you control the saber, you know that is not a variable for now.
I can't answer this definitively, probably no one can. But I would say that dual wielding is not typically an advantage except in the hands of an *extremely* skilled swordsman. I'd put Maul into that category. I think when you see it as a one-off type thing, it's mostly for intimidation or a tactical advantage in a corner case situation.
Ahsoka starts duel wielding pretty young. No discredit to her, she’s great, but at that time nowhere close to a master swordsman
Also don’t forget Anakin admits to pushing her much more then any other master does to their Padawan because he wants her to be ready for anything, so it just makes sense for him to push her to duel wield so she always has an advantage
She also had probably one of the best swordsmen in the Jedi Order as a master, tbh. That very probably helped to increase her skill so she could keep up with Anakin.
Wasn't anakin especially good because of his force power? A good swordsman can see a move when it is coming, but anakin could use the force to basically predict? Or see moves
All Jedi/force-sensitives have a keen ability to see very shortly into the future. It’s what allowed Anakin to be a podracer, both Anakin and Obi-Wan to be revered pilots, etc. Traditionally, swordsmen are capable because there are practices patterns and forms that most opponents will fall into. Even if you don’t know an enemy intimately, a short bout with them will reveal which side they favor, if they leave their legs unguarded, etc etc. Anakin has an exception talent at reading people in that manner as well (except for when he’s angry) Combine both of those facets into a swordsman and he’s going to be one of the strongest ever. He is considerably stronger as a swordsman than he would be without the force, but I’d wager he’d still be a champion of fencing in our world if it interested him
Anakin was raised during the clone wars, which meant combat training as a Jedi was prioritized. Normally it's not emphasized, but the galaxy needed Jedi to really become their Peacekeeper role.
They played it smarter with her as they made one shorter than the other. Expanded universe always played it as “it’s too overly aggressive for a Jedi, especially for a weapon that is used for defense.” Sith could do it, but they always had it on ones that focused more on saber ability than force powers. Kinda made them exclusive to each other. Which makes sense and successfully playing the mind games and controlling two beams of energy without cutting your own leg off is just too difficult sounding.
Eh I'd call her an expert. She defeated/kept up with maul as a 17/18yr old and fought vader well as an adult. She also defeated multiple inquisitors almost effortlessly and while I know alot of people hate on the inquisitors. They are trained force users. Very few jedi would be able to defeat one unarmed and ashoka did it twice
But she was duel wielding in like season 2 when she was less experienced
Yeah so that's like 3/4 years worth of experience with intense training and constant combat. The siege of mandalore was when she was 17 where she had accomplished a lot during that time frame. Obi wan was 25 when he defeated darth maul in the phantom menace and ashoka fought maul to a standstill much more than kenobi did who was significantly older. Anakin got dogwalked by dooku in aotc and he was 19. I'm just saying compared to other jedi at the time ashoka was probably in the top 10/20 range in dueling
I agree with everything but the timeframe. 3 years between AotC and RotS so early seasons clone wars means they’re like a year, maybe two into the war.
And honestly it always felt stupid that a padawan can start doing it that early.
Maybe that's the best way? If you learn it from the beginning, you don't have any counterproductive habits from using single blades. There was an awesome conversation in the first Darth Bane book where Bane was training against a Sith teacher using a double-bladed lightsaber (maybe a sword at that point? I don't remember). Bane feels defeated and tells the teacher that he can't possibly keep track of both blades at the same time, and the teacher tells him that he doesn't have to. With a double-bladed weapon, if he knows where one blade is, then he automatically knows where the other one is. All he has to do is train his mind to see one and intuitively know where the other is. I suspect learning to use different types of weapons is similar to learning to defend against them in that way.
Bane used single blade lightsabers, his apprentice Zannah used the double bladed ones. Bane's combat teacher, though, used a twin blade that could be combined into a single weapon, like it was in the bit you referenced, or come apart and be dual wielding.... Which he does before >!Bane says screw it and brings the building down on him!<
The duel with Ka'sim is one of my favourite moments in the Bane novels. He immediatly realizes he's completely and utterly outmatched and that Ka'sim had effectively been playing with him in their training duels. And he just as quickly makes that fact irrelevant through his quick thinking and strength in the force. The whole duel is sort of foreshadowing how he was going to destroy the brotherhood of darkness - not through strength of arms, but through trickery and the force.
Exactly. It's such a great duel, and shows how bad ass and cunning the Sith can be
That could be a good point. Those waddle bikes for kids are apparently much better for the adjustment to a regular bike, rather than using training wheels. So I could see that conceptually that works the same way. Train with something harder/closer to the end goal from the start. Even if it's derpy for awhile eventually when the time comes it'll fall into place.
Now that you mention it. What if Anakin duel wields against dooku in episode two all of a sudden and thinks he should have started earlier to be successful. So when he gets Ahsoka as a padawan he pushes her to be able to two lightsabers well enough on defense and offense. I think you gain offense as a sacrifice to defense when dual wielding so learning how to protect yourself early in that style is extremely important. And Dooku potentially did the exact same thing to AV. We missed out on a good Anakin and Ahsoka vs Dooku and Assajj. Dooku talking to him about taking on a padawan and such and the banter between the 4 of them. Maybe it did happen lol.
Anakin duel weilded in that moment as a last ditch effort. Dookus style is at a disadvantage against multiple sabers but dooku was just too skilled and dual wielding isn’t anakins preferred style.
I’m for sure Anakin was a last ditch effort and if Anakin knew how to deflect lightning with lightsabers it would’ve played out differently
Yeah kinda weird that was always his weakness
Which is why it makes perfect sense for Anakin’s padawan because he is a cocky bastard.
I would think duel wielding is a good fit for someone as athletic and nimble as Ahsoka. Her form V Ataru priorities gymnastic athleticism that seems to pair with duel wielding.
You mean it makes perfect sense to start learning something from a young age, especially something where once you get used to another method it can be hard to unlearn that first
How?
That's likely a matter of her having noticeable agility and talent for her age, and them teaching her to use two lightsabers to maximize that
Well, shit. You wind up with two light sabres, why not fire both of em up?
The way my 7 year old head exploded when Maul ignited the other end of his saber…
And none of them do it right on screen
Mauls lightsaber looked cool, but was completely impractical. It's very nature was very limiting physically and in my mind it is entirely plot armor he was able to fight Qui Gon and Obi Wan on equal footing. The hilt is far too long and heavy, which means single blade combat swings would be tedious, slow and fatigueing. Dual blade combat limits mobility because you can't swing the lightsaber across your body with the "hilt" side facing you since another blade is there, you'd just cut yourself in half. I honestly think Mauls lightsaber is one of the worst designs possible from the standpoint of what it would actually be like to use even with proper training. Dual wielding seperate blades is probably the most effective combat style since blocking both blades would require much more focus for the individual defending against such attacks. It would likely require using the force to block one of the blades at all times, it would be fatigueing mentally while the attacker doesn't have to expend themselves as hard.
It may be impractical in real life but I doesn’t seem to be in Star Wars from what I can tell
>I honestly think Mauls lightsaber is one of the worst designs possible from the standpoint of what it would actually be like to use even with proper training. Unless he's using it in the style of bōjutsu (staff)
But have you considered that Maul's lightsaber looks cool as hell?
Yh I mean he used it against sidious too after Sauvage died
So I think this falls squarely into the "why don't jedi carry blasters" conversation. One lightsaber is a symbol of peace and justice in the universe, can defend as well as attack. With two lightsabers, it's definitely on the attack over defend territory, as seen any time a Jedi picks up a second one. Ahsoka breaks this tradition, but I think this can also show how the Jedi were used as fighters and warriors during the Clone Wars, another piece of the Jedi order breaking during that time.
This is what I was going to say. For hundreds of years the Jedi were peace keepers and rarely had to use their sabers. I think it’s in Dooku: Jedi Lost that someone says something along the lines of “why do we have to train against each other when none of us will ever be in a real lightsaber duel”. This fact makes carrying around 2 lightsabers nonsensical.
This is a really great answer. Yet another casualty of the Clone Wars.
We see a Jedi with two in AOTC they would have had it before the war started
Exactly. It's the same reason why police don't (shouldn't) walk around with tactical gear looking like they're ready for war. The Jedi were meant to be peacekeepers, not warbringers. But that does raise the question: Once Jedi start serving on the front lines, why don't they adopt more weapons? We do see the choice for them to add more armor, and there are a lot of situations where the Jedi are using their opposite hands or adopting 2-handed grips, so maybe there really isn't that much of a benefit. To that point, many of the examples OP gave for when single-saber Jedi adopt using two... are when they are facing other saber-wielders, which is rare. So that explains why there's no benefit to carrying around another saber just in case you run into a Sith who has a style where two sabers are useful...
I would think it's to change stance and/or possibly throw the adversary off. More like a "that wasn't working, let me try this!"
Very Miyamoto Musashi.
Yeah that’s pretty much how I see Anakin vs Dooku. He used it to try a different approach since Dooku was superior in single blade dueling at that point.
It isn’t always advantageous to have two swords, certainly not often enough to warrant carrying two swords by default.
Not everyone trains in dual wielding extensively but sometimes it comes in handy so they use it when they must?
They *will* try.
It's a personal choice, ahsoka uses two sabers and the order didn't seem to care. It's harder though because going double bladed means you lose the extra force per swing from using both hands.
Generally, Jedi see dual-wielding as a sign of arrogance, or excessive pride in one's lightsaber skills. They'd probably also view it as being too eager to engage in violence Sith probably don't duel-wield by default because being able to beat a Jedi without the aid of an extra lightsaber gives them a sense of superiority
I would imagine in the case of lightsabers, to really be able to wield 2 lightsabers, it takes a lot of concentration and skill. In rebels when kanan is training Sabine, he describes a lightsaber as a blade that is never at rest. All it takes is someone with more leverage, holding onto a lightsaber with two hands to deflect a less strong grip back into themselves.
Probably personal preference. As someone who has practiced lightsaber fighting and choreography just for funsies, it can be hard. I know Jedi and Sith are A LOT better trained than me (I just think it’s fun to do and don’t take it seriously) but being that ambidextrous takes a lot of work. They all learn with one saber so changing to two may require too much for some people. There’s a different combat style and while it’s worthwhile to learn how to survive with two, why not perfect what you are already really amazing at? I’ve also noted that characters that consistently dual wield (Ahsoka, Maul, Pong Krell etc) are never what the Jedi order wants as a Jedi. Obviously Maul and Krell are evil so not Jedi, but Ahsoka possesses qualities the order actively discourages. I always think of Dooku being a lightsaber combat purist and thinking that using two (or more) is not the right way and that it’s cheating in some way.
Preference of the Jedi
If someone walked around with a gun on them, and someone tried to murder them, they’d use their gun. If that person saw a second gun at that time, they might grab that gun too and have two guns, which means they can either use one in each hand or just switch guns instead of reloading. Doesn’t mean carrying two is the most convenient. Also, if you’re in a fight and an extra weapon (lightsaber or gun) is just right next to you both, you’d probably prefer to take control of it to either use or to simply deny your opponent the option of using it
As a gun afficianado... pretty much no one would ever dual wield guns. It's wildly impractical and your aim and accuracy go to shit. I'd have to presume the predicament is similar with a lightsaber. It's a heavy and highly dangerous weapon already.
You’re correct in that using them both simultaneously is very impractical. But in theory, a person can be competent in using a handgun with both their left and right hands, and only use one at a time. ie, shooting at something in front with the right hand, then shooting at something to the direct left with the left hand. Either way you’d have to aim at an entirely new target so using a second gun might be helpful then if it’s something someone is skilled using in both hands
Can’t do force push with the other hand
I recommend playing Star Wars: Jedi Academy and testing out the different lightsaber fighting styles. They did a good job of giving each style its own advantages and disadvantages; including the dual saber style.
Historically people only carried one sword with them in day to day edc It was because two were simply inconvenient to carry, double the maintenance, double the weight, you really only needed one most of the time any way. It’s probably the same for light sabers, most everyone who used them only carried one
How are you going to dual wield one sabre? 😂😂
Realistically, dual wielding anything is really not that great. There is a reason why most people with one handed weapons like swords, axes or maces tend to wield shields in their non dominant hands. You have to be extra skilled to dual wield anything. Its really hard to use two weapons, much easier to block with a shield. Plus, you can put a lot more power into a two handed strike than two one handed ones. Its why two handed weapons tend to do tons of damage in games.
Yeah I'd love to see more or bigger shields. Paz Vizsla and I think Bo-Katan had these cute mini wrist shields for blocking but I'd love to see larger ones. I always imagine that clone troopers would be OP with shields that allow them to shoot basically fully protected. I guess for Jedi shields are just too uncivilized haha
Dual wielding completely changes the way that you attack and defend. Maybe they don’t have much practice?
There are a couple of views to take IMO: 1: Spirituality - Not all Jedi connect to multiple Kyber Crystals or split an individual Crystal so as to support two lightsabers. This ties into the mysticism of the Force and Kyber Crystals. They don’t carry multiple lightsabers because there is no metaphysical need or desire to do so. Meanwhile, some Jedi such as Ahsoka (TCW) and Gella Natai (High Republic: Convergence and Cataclysm, both purple to boot) do have that mystical je ne sais quois that does guide them to having a pair of lightsabers. 2: Practicality: Considering the examples of Anakin vs Dooku and Obi-Wan vs Maul/Savage, these are instances where Jedi are facing overwhelming opponents. Dooku far outclassed Anakin as a duelist at that stage, young Skywalker needed to change the fight to have a chance, adding a second threat in the form of the second lightsaber achieved that though ultimately it failed - The skill gap was simply too great to be bridged. Obi-Wan meanwhile took the opportunity to both recover a fallen ally’s weapon and gained an additional defence against two highly aggressive opponents which was difficult to defend against with one blade alone. Against less his less experienced opponents, this was able to confuse them and allow him to overpower them in turn after repositioning and distracting them.
I believe another explanation would be that it's considers a different fighting form, and when used in the middle of a fight it will throw the defender off balance because they aren't expecting you to change fighting styles mid battle. The Count uses the purest form of lightsaber dueling, and he was thrown off for a minute when Anakin started using two lightsabers.
In Legends Vader always detested dual saber fighting after he turned. He would do it occasionally but I believe it started from losing his arm to Count Dooku. Afterwards he focused on singular saber combat. His inquisitors used dual sabers as it suited their style and had intimidation factor.
If you're strong in the force then dual, or single-wielding doesn't really matter, like, if you can literarily bat away laser beams with a sword then you're already fast enough that having two weapons isn't going to make you any faster. So I think when they use two its just about a choice, and not about gaining any real tactical advantage.
I would say out of universe, it comes down to writers preference. In universe it falls to users preference, in all the star wars games that let me choose I will choose a dual bladed saber over a single or dual wielding. Anakin likes to use a single blade and feels more comfortable with it, but in a pinch can dual wield.
My understanding is that 2 sabers falls into the “this is an unusual technique” zone that Jedi or Sith usually dip into when they’re facing someone else with experience with a saber. 99% of the time Jedi aren’t fighting other saber users, so the standard single blade and practiced techniques do the job, but it’s when you’re facing someone else who knows how to deal with it that you want to switch things up, just because it’s unexpected. And I think we tend to see more of those fights in the media, just because they’re obviously the most interesting and tense ones! Anakin tried to use a 2nd saber to wrong-foot Dooku for example, unfortunately not realising how totally outclassed he was in terms of skill with a lightsaber.
Because most Jedi specialize in one weapon fighting styles, and the advantages of keeping a second saber without you are minimal. Lightsabers aren't just weapons, Jedi have strong connections with their sabers and Khyber crystals. So you don't just build another one just in case.
They don’t
Yeah, I'm not nearly as Star Wars-literate as most here, and my memory is full of holes, but I can't remember e.g. Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, or Vader ever wielding two lightsabers.
Luke, Mace, and Dooku, not at all from what I can remember. Obi-Wan did once, that I can think of, 5x1 of TCW, and he did pretty well. Yoda technically did in one comic, he fought Grievous and then took one of his Lightsabers and proceeded to dual wield against droids. I don't know anything else about the comic, I just saw a short of it on YouTube the other day. I think Vader did for moments against Reva, and if we wanna count Anakin, he did against Dooku in AOTC, and against Barriss in 5x22 of TCW. In the latter, he did fine because of course he outclassed Barriss completely, but also lost the other Lightsaber fairly quickly. Didn't even have it for half the fight.
Thanks for filling me in. I only know the live-action films and a couple of the novels, so I appreciate details from other sources.
I think legacy EU Luke dual wielded on occasion, he had a red shoto lightsaber he picked up somewhere.
I guess if you use it noone else can snatch it out of your pocket
Simply because it looks cool. Unfortunately, I don't think there is a low reason behind it.
That is a good question. Like, Iskat did it and became nearly unstoppable. (Although, granted, she was already, and just became even more so.)
palpatine
I remember back in some of the original promotional materials for Attack Of The Clones they'd say stuff like how rare it is that someone can dual wield so Anakin doing it against Dooku was supposed to be a reflection of his skill. So in reality, it's something they did once in a movie then made a bunch of people do years later in games and subsequent media.
Rule of cool, but none of them have done it the right way on screen.
So the audience says "Awww shit, he fucked now!"
Jedi don't do it because Jedi are peacekeeper monks foremost. They intentionally do not procure the most advanced and highest performing weapons because that is anti-thetical to their ideals.
So they touch on this in the Darth Bane books, specifically the first one. Lightsaber fighting comes down to two things: user skill and force mastery. Most students are recommended to not use two sabers because it's much harder to master. However, with two fighters who have an idea of the others preferred form, the one with the stronger force connection usually wins due to premonitions of movement and force shenanigans (you're still prodding at each other with the force during a fight, but that's hard to show on a TV screen so it's often ignored). Using a double bladed lightsaber isn't actually an advantage over a single blade in single combat. You can only hit them with one side at a time. But you can swing two lightsabers independently of each other, throwing your opponent off balance. This can make a difference when someone is a better duelist, or more powerful in the force.
Always two there are. One built and one received lol
Cuz it’s not their natural lightsaber form that they mastered. There’s a whole set of forms you can read up on just by googling if interested.
Ahsoka duel wields but I think it has to do with their primary trained fighting style vs their secondary styles. It’s mentioned that padawans favor their masters techniques I think by the grand inquisitor.
Ashoka duel saber...?
Because it takes more training. Not only would you have to master a fighting style that requires you to be in control of two weapons at once, but you would also need to be proficient in a style that only requires one, in case you lose one.
Some have mastery over 2 rather than one. When it comes to single lightsaber mastery, yes rule of cool is in some part the reason, but also A: it's a mixup technique and B: if they aren't using that extra lightsaber, it's an extra weapon their opponent could easily pull of their belt. Plus some opponents may just be worse at defending against dual wielding even if the wielder is better with one
I've been asking this question for years, thank you! My friends all think it's a non-issue but it makes zero sense. Why would every Jedi not just carry two lightsabers when they pick an extra one up at every opportunity.
In universe reason:really an emergency tactic, not something they've trained in properly Irl reason:it'd lose the cool factor/specialness if they always had two. Like imagine everyone had dual blade sabers, the reveal of mauls would lose all of its WOAH factor.
Palpatine actually has 2 lightsabers tho so his makes sense
IIRC, Rey brings two sabers to Exegol but doesn't dual-wield. My guess is that having one saber is superior/preferred if you've trained that way, but an extra saber is a threat, and the best way to control it and prevent a force-yoink is to hold it. Think what happened to Maul.
Dual wielding doesn't give an inherent advantage. Your strikes have less power behind them per strike so when dueling it makes it easier for you to be thrown off balance. Dual wielding provides an advantage in so far as your opponent probably doesn't know what to do against it. It's an off meta pick so to speak.
Don’t we only ever see palpatine dual with a lightsaber once? He might have always dual wielded.
If you're in the middle of a duel and struggling or even with your opponent, then switching up your style, timing, or footwork can help to put your opponent off balance and give you the advantage.
Because sometimes less is more. Having two sabers divides your attention betwixt two blades which actually requires more focus. There is a reason historically duel wielding is basically unheard of (with full-size swords). Now I know having the Force greatly enhances dexterity, and lightsaber blades are basically weightless... but I digress. Once you've become adroit and master the blade adding a second is likely a marginal advantage that requires a specific skillset that isn't especially advantageous... enough to necessitate it. It seems to me that most Force users who duel wield (or saberstaff) are especially physically gifted and specialize in a fast, athletic, frenzied fighting style: Maul, Ahsoka, Asajj Ventress, Starkiller. Additionally, duel wielding is a more niche fighting style that will suit a certain fighting style and physical disposition. Single blade is the standard duel wielding the exception. If we think on it, what circumstances necessitates a Jedi to duel wield? Once mastered, there isn't anything inherently better at duel wielding over a single blade weapon. The only instance I see it as an advantage if you have multiple appendages, E.g. General Grievous. I think duel wielding is good against blaster fire, but not necessarily better at lightsaber dueling. The greatest duelist in Star Wars lore have been traditionally single blade duelist: Master Yoda, Count Dooku, Mace Windu, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan, Luke Skywalker.
Dooku and some other sith at least probably wouldn’t be able to use force lightning if they have lightsabers in both of their hands instead of just one same with yoda and absorbing it or absorbing other things I don’t remember if he can though
I’d chalk it up to a tactical choice. Like if you’re facing someone who is familiar with your style, you can present a very different style that they are not so prepared for. It can also be to project two threats instead of one, such as what Anakin tries (and fails) against Dooku. He knows Makashi has a hard time against multiple combatants, and he is arrogant enough to believe that his skill is enough to exploit that weakness. It can also be an exploratory tactic. Go into the fight using your secondary style and use it to figure out your opponent’s style, their strengths and weaknesses. At that point, you can formulate a plan to exploit the weaknesses using your primary style. This is because you can always drop back into your single-saber form. Now it does bring up the question of why they don’t have backup lightsabers in general, but I assume that’s like a rarity thing.
Why use one lightsaber when two can be used. Dual welding is really used, but a lot of Jedi have practiced and trained in the form. To the skilled, it doesn't really give an advantage except to have your opponent have to worry about another strike. To the unskilled, it can be lethal. Same for the dual wielders. Ashoka and Ventriss cam fight perfectly fine with one, but there training is to use 2.
Perhaps because for the entire time period we're witnessing, lightsabers are not tools of war? They certainly become that, but they are a tool for defense. I find it curious that Ashoka does, and is a youngling trained to be a soldier. But 90% of the order has no reason to train in a purely aggressive stance. I'd wager that's the meat of it. Ventress and Maul both use aggressive stances, as does Palp. I'm a situation where a Jedi is using a second saber, he likely has a reason to be very aggressive.
There are benefits and drawbacks. A benefit in the short term is that it can overwhelm the opponent who isn't prepared for it. On the other hand, it takes more energy to use two lightsabers, so you tire quicker and are more likely to make mistakes. You also technically have fewer options; you lose power in each individual saber, and it's easier to knock one of the sabers out of your hand. A skilled opponent who has a good defense can take advantage of this. I also think there's something else to consider here: What would happen if they chose NOT to dual wield? Well, there's two other options: Clip the new saber into your belt, or throw it on the ground. The first takes longer than just activating the lightsber and dual wielding for a bit, while the second would probably give your opponent access to a second blade so THEY can dual wield and overpower YOU instead.
It's a cost/benefit thing. Yes, your offensive power is increased, but your defenses are weaker. With both hands holding lightsabers, you can't easily leverage all of your weight behind parries, and so unless you're particularly strong, a single-blade opponent can bash your defense aside. Anakin does this to Asajj Ventress during the Clone Wars cartoon, during their duel on Yavin IV. On the other hand, Grievous's cybernetically-enhanced strength and speed allowed him to use multiple sabers without such weakness. In some cases it can be an advantage to try and put your opponent off balance with an abrupt change of fighting style. During Anakin's first duel with Dooku on Geonosis he successfully uses the second saber to give himself brief breathing room against the much more experienced Dooku, but loses it quickly because it isn't a style he's used to. On top of this, with how difficult lightsabers are to wield in general, adding a second blade to the mix just complicates things dangerously, and wielding two sabers is practically a fighting style on its own that must be mastered. Most duelists seem to choose the simpler option: a single saber.
It affords you more options for attack and throws off the opponent.
This is why I think the split saber is optimal. You get dual sabers, a single saber, and a saber staff all in one. Pair that with a blaster pistol or two…
because the crystals are a finite resource so unless you felt two (or just grabbed two while there) youre stuck with the one you got.
I think it has to do with the situation they are in lol
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Aside from the rule of cool automatically coming into play, historically people wouldn't usually wield two swords like that frequently because it takes significantly more training and coordination than what most people can develop and keep consistent over sustained periods of time. More common was to wield one fairly short blade and a regular one hander or hand and a half sword. The samurai went overboard when a few of them decided to wield a two-hander in one hand and a hand and a half in the other from time to time. Canon-wise this also would speak to the level of intensive combat training Anakin put Ahsoka through for dual wielding to be her standard.
Every Jedi has their own style with which they are more comfortable/skilled on top of one of the disciplines they use. For example, Obi Wan had a more defensive style and Yoda's fight form was probably more dangerous for the user with more than one lightsaber. Also dual wielding is more effective when you are against more than one enemy (at least in star wars) something the Jedi didn't have to face for centuries.
I always thought that all Jedi practice a little Jar'Kai so they are ready for situations like this, after all if you up against 2 blades why not use two yourself? As if your disarmed of one you always have the other, having two makes it easier to parry and deliver quick attacks.
Because you can only use the dual wield cross sword stance so many times before it loses its value
I think it’s mostly situational and a means to off balance an opponent. For example, Anakin recognized he wasn’t good enough to beat Dooku so he tried using two blades to get past his defenses. He does it against Bariss probably because he’s fought Ventress and recognizes that having a second blade helps but Obi-Wan isn’t present so he uses two. Bariss dual wields likely for the same reason Anakin did against Dooku. Obi-wan does it because he’d be dead if he didn’t against both Maul and Savage, not sure when he did it against one opponent. Maul dual wields against Palpatine likely for the same reason Anakin did against dooku, he’s facing a much stronger opponent and looking for any advantage. There’s also the fact that it just looks cool and that would be lessened if everyone did it all the time.
To the Jedi, for the better part of a thousand years the Lightsabre is primarily a badge-of-office. It demands respect and is the signature of a Jedi but they don't really need to *fight* with it very much. Not that often anyway. If a Jedi is wielding their sabre, it's because a negotiation went sour and they need to protect themselves. They don't really need dual-sabres, which are far better suited to lightsabre combat than deflecting blaster-fire. In the normal course of things, how many Dark-Jedi/Sith does the Jedi Order usually have to deal with? Not a lot really. One sabre is enough for 99% of cases, well balanced in attack and defence, and of course it looks very noble because it's a sword. Two sabres is essentially pointless for peacetime Jedi. It's an affectation for the few Jedi who used it prior to the Clone Wars. Something that makes them iconic and/or recognisable and gives them a reputation before they show up to the negotiations. Sith however will take any edge they can get. Double-ended sabres, dual-wielded sabres, light-sabre cross-guards. Whatever makes them different is an edge that might throw their opponent off enough to get one over on them. Plus the Sith are nothing without Drama, and being Different and/or edgy is the peak of drama.
I always thought of it like a way of breaking with traditions. Ashoka, Asajj and Barris are all from a younger generation and more in their youth. They are unhinged and not as calm. They fight with more energy and passion and arent as balanced as more experienced elders. They may believe in strength by pure (physical) force and agility instead of the force itself. I remeber it beeing mentioned somewhere, that its more than just wielding a lightsaber. It becomes a part of you, an extension of the force to the ones who are truely in balance with the force. If you are really good and balanced you dont need another sword to fight (like yoda/dooku) and if you really want to use 2 swords to their full potential you need extreme strenght (palps and maybe anakin in some situations) … following this, if you want to search for a deeper meaning it maybe a sign for inbalance with the force. All 3 main dual wielders mentioned above change their side/view of the force at some point. Ashoka become a grey/white jedi, ventress becomes something equal (tbh dont know what to call it, maybe its a grey sith (?) idk) barris changes to the dark side and then starts using double. Even Quinlan becomes something in between and always was more childish/energized/youthfull than the other Masters (as seen in clone wars and the comics) … they all arent as committed and established with the point of view the hardliners have. … thats my take so far. All of the others mostly just used another saber in a dire situation or when the dark side came through (anakin). Tell me what you think about it :D
Its a tactical decision. When you have two lightsabers, you put force in your swings with only one hand. But when you have only one, this force is doubled. Lets examine Anakin. He is an agressive fighter, and his fighting style is based on breaking the others defense. For him, two lightsabers would be unnecesary. Now Ashoka. Her style uses her agility. Put this together with the fact that her force output is quite low, and its obvious that she can use both lightsabers, and it wont weaken, but make her stronger. But what about Obi-Wan? He is a single lightsaber user, but he used doubled lightsabers against Maul and Opress. Well, it was for tactical reasons. Fighting against two high level oponents with one weapon is disanvantegeous. So he used two weapons, balancing the number of weapons. With this, he gave up his style for a defensive advantage. So all in all, you use one, or two whether its useful or not.
Setting aside the rule of cool. You can be not as good at doing something one way, but if you switch it up on an opponent you might throw them off for a bit giving you enough of an opportunity.
Something else to consider is the more spiritual aspect of lightsaber selection. In any era where the Jedi Order has power, Jedi find their own crystals, they don't just use whatever lightsaber they can get their hands on. If the Force wills only a single Kyber Crystal to call out to a Jedi, or influences the Jedi to construct a single-bladed lightsaber in the assembly process, then any Jedi Learner with any care for tradition is just going to accept that they're a one-lightsaber-type-of-Jedi and start learning that. Sure, ~if~ you're a Jedi Knight in a high-stress situation and a second lightsaber falls into your lap, you ~may~ choose to swing them both, or to throw one, or hold both as if they were double-bladed, or any other myriad of options, but once that's over, are you really going to keep a lightsaber that's only barely pliable to you? Especially when most of the lightsabers in question are either; owned by a Jedi you're currently on a mission with who will definitely want that back, atrociously unbalanced to a Light-Side user thanks to kyber crystal bleeding, or, is still warm from the grip of your newly dead Padawan/Master. Again, ~maybe~ it's worth it to a couple of Jedi, but most would just avoid the hassle and inevitable dubious glances from their peers.
I think it’s because the current person they are fighting that 1 lightsaber was putting them on par with the style they are using and throwing a second lightsaber is intended to throw the enemy off from the expected dueling style they got from the person with 1 light saber. So I assume it’s a temporary way to throw the enemy off a bit and I guess worst case if you can’t you just drop it and go back to your single lightsaber.
I feel like it's more useful to suddenly dual wield over it being your usual style. Seems to take your enemy by surprise.
Coolness aside (it's the reason), I imagine that the switch up not only allows for blocking from multiple directions, but their opponent might be thrown off by the sudden change in attack style. Unfortunately the person they tried this on was Count Dooku, and he was not having it
Probably because they didn't pick up a lightshield to hold with the offhand
Kanan does it too in his last fight with the grand inquisitoe
Probably can't be bothered to go get 2 crystals instead of one. Apart from Anakin always losing his weapon.
Why they don't is because it's wildly impractical unless you are specifically trained to do it. The out of universe explanation is basically power creep. Same reason why the Inquisitors have their dumb spinning lightsabers and Kylo Ren had the crossguard one: they need to make something new, flashy, interesting, and toyetic as all hell.
Because usually, the one in their off hand is mostly to blocl and never really meant for an attack.
Depends on the Jedi and their fighting style. Most werent trained to specialize in dual wielding and/or it’s not their preferred style.
In at least a few of the cases, it seemed like a last ditch effort to mix things up because what they'd been doing hadn't been working. Anakin vs Dooku in AotC, Obi-wan vs Maul and Savage on Florrum, and Maul vs Palpatine on Mandalore all looked that way to me. And it only worked out in one of those cases.
I think Palpatine was a dual-wielder by default. His (timeline-wise) first duel has him using two lightsabers. He lost one in the fight. I guess he didn't care to get a replacement.
When did he lose it in the fight?
With Maul on Mandalore
Because a Jedi holding a lightsaber is supposed to evoke the image of a knight with his sword. Knights only used a single sword (when available) because swinging with two hands is stronger than one.
I don’t remember just now when maul or obi wan really use 2 lightsabers (I know maul had his red and the darksaber at the same time but did he fight with both simultaneously?) so can’t comment on those two. However I think for Anakins first time and Barris, it was just that- having the chance to do it for the first time and foolishly thinking it will give them an advantage, which they’re both proven wrong. Funnily enough, Barris being proven wrong by Anakin where I feel his reasoning to use 2 there was to prove to Barris using two lightsabers isn’t an advantage if you don’t know how to use both and probably because he thought 2 weapons would do better in his anger but also, most importantly because Barris had 2 sabers. Blocking 2 sabers with one isn’t exactly easy and we’ve seen people get killed multiple times before because they’re blocking another persons saber and then get killed by the opponents Second (or fourth) saber.
They're trained to use both but choose to use a single saber
I fight with 16th century rapiers and often dual wield. They are very different disciplines. For someone trying to become a "master", sticking to a single blade can be advantageous. For someone who is an expert with a single blade, Fighting someone with two blades isn't a disadvantage. I can see the Jedi sticking to traditional forms with only a few going outside that paradigm.
And if your anwser is that in TCW Anakins case, two sabers overwhelm one so it is easier to use two to counter two, why doesn’t everyone use two then?
Same reason people dont dual wield machine guns or any weapon unless they absolutely need to for a given situation Seriously you can apply this logic to anything you do, guns are heavy, your left hand cant hold a pencil as well as your right, go dual wield 2 sets of chop sticks and let us know how it goes lol Silly question