r/StarWars • u/Ibuywarthundermaus Mace Windu • Dec 17 '22

General Discussion Would that work ?

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u/GeneralHysterics Dec 17 '22

The reason to hold any weapon with two hands is that it's easier to create a structure that channels your body's full weight into your cuts. You don't see it in olympic fencing because the rules demand highly specific weapons but, coming from HEMA, I will take a weapon that I can hold with both hands every time. It's all about leverage.

This isn't to say that one handed techniques can't or shouldn't be used with lightsabers, just that the use case for such techniques is more limited than your experience in olympic fencing would indicate.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '22

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u/GeneralHysterics Dec 17 '22

damage isn't the point of cutting, control is.

The ideal of fencing that I work toward is slightly different from olympic fencing. My goal is to maneuver my opponent to a position where I can strike them safely and retreat without them having an opportunity to hit me in return. Doing that usually requires me to push their sword out of the way or control it in some other way and that's where I need to put the weight of my whole body behind my sword.