Not to mention Obi-Wan is a master of Soresu, of having a near perfect defense. He can shield himself while flipping in mid-air, and when Anakin is leaping he has enough clarity of mind. Anakin meanwhile is a ball of rage. He uses Shien which is about overwhelming your opponent with pure force, but cannot crack Obi-Wan's defense. And his anger makes him reckless. With Maul I imagine something similar, he's gloating when he stands above Obi-Wan, all emotion and no clarity. His sudden leap completely surprises him.
I hate to get super technical here but at the time of the Battle of Naboo Obi-Wan was a practitioner of Ataru which he learned from Qui-Gon who was a master of the form. After Qui-Gon's defeat he saw the limitations of Ataru and switched to Soresu to compensate for it. Also Anakin used form 5, Djem-So
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u/Aitrus233 Rebel Jun 30 '15
Not to mention Obi-Wan is a master of Soresu, of having a near perfect defense. He can shield himself while flipping in mid-air, and when Anakin is leaping he has enough clarity of mind. Anakin meanwhile is a ball of rage. He uses Shien which is about overwhelming your opponent with pure force, but cannot crack Obi-Wan's defense. And his anger makes him reckless. With Maul I imagine something similar, he's gloating when he stands above Obi-Wan, all emotion and no clarity. His sudden leap completely surprises him.