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Jar'Kai was a method of utilizing twoweapons in combat. Jar'Kai could be employed with twolightsabers; a regular standard lightsaber in addition to a shortershoto blade, or even twodouble-bladed lightsabers. Those with exceptional combative application could wield a normal lightsaber in conjunction with a longermelee weapon, be it a bladed staff or a double-bladed lightsaber. SeveralForce users on both thelight side and thedark side of the Force utilized Jar'Kai, includingAhsoka Tano,Darth Sidious,Pong Krell, andAsajj Ventress.
History[]
High Republic Era[]
- "I used Master Darhga's lightsaber throughout the battle, when I didn't have my own. And I realized that it was somehow encouraging me the whole time. Or rather, the Force did. So when I got my original kyber back from Elder Onning, and Master Roy's lightsaber, I sat with them both for a long time. I couldn't help but feel like Master Darhga's was ready for the arch, but Master Roy's was not. I talked to Master Yoda about it, and he agreed that in this case, I could carry two lightsabers, if they truly harmonized with the Jedi carrying them."
- ―Enya Keen, explaining her decision to practice Jar'Kai[4]
PadawanRooper Nitani utilized twolightsabers, including whilefightingmonsters on the planetGloam.[5]
During amission to investigate thePath of the Open Hand cult after theBattle of Jedha in theHigh Republic Era,JediPadawanEnya Keen gave up thekyber crystal ofher lightsaber in order to get an audience withPath ElderYulon Onning. Once the mission devolved into the so-calledNight of Sorrow, Keen found herself fighting with thelightsaber ofJedi MasterOrin Darhga even after reclaiming her owncrystal. Coming to realizethe Force encouraged her via the lightsaber during the battle, she would decide Darhga's kyber crystal was ready to be laid to rest in theKyber Arch, but the crystal of her own fallen master,Char-Ryl-Roy, was not yet ready. With the permission of MasterYoda, so long as both truly harmonized with her, she decided to wield both her own lightsaber and a blade using the crystal of her fallen mentor. She would use Roy's crystal in forming adeep blue-bladed lightsaber. She presented both her original blade and her new weapon to her acquaintancesPhan-tu Zenn andXiri A'lbaran, the royal heirs of theplanetsEiram andE'ronoh.[4]
The Stranger utilized both Jar'Kai and Tràkata while fighting.
Jedi KnightLily Tora-Asi was skilled in Jar'Kai combat, and used it whilefighting thecarnivorousplants known as theDrengir[6] in231 BBY.[7] Later, both Tora-Asi and Jedi MasterSavina Besatrix Malagán used Jar'Kai whiledefending theJedi temple on Banchii from theNihilmarauders.[8]
In132 BBY,[9] PadawanJecki Lon used both her own lightsaber and thelightsaber of thefallen Jedi MasterKelnacca whiledueling an individual known asthe Stranger onKhofar. The Strangersplit hislightsaber in two during the fight, using both Jar'kai[10] andTràkata, a style of combat that involved turning his lightsaber on and off while fighting.[11] In the end, Lon would fall to the Stranger's two blades.[10] During theDuel on Brendok, the Stranger himself would be defeated by[12] Lon's master,[10]Jedi MasterSol, despite using both his blades. Sol also managed to damage the Stranger's lightsaber as their duel concluded.[12]
The Clone Wars[]
In the lateRepublic Era,Asajj Ventress[13] andAhsoka Tano[14] were two practitioners of Jar'Kai, preferring to use two lightsabers as opposed to one. ThecyborgGeneralGrievous had been outfitted with arms that could split in half, enabling him to choose between holding two lightsabers or four lightsabers.[15] TheBesalisk fallenJediPong Krell took advantage of his four arms to use his own variant of Jar'Kai, to great effect, simultaneously wieldingtwodouble-bladed lightsabers in combatagainst his ownclone troopers onUmbara.[16] The renegadeSith LordMaul took to using Jar'Kai afterclaiming theDarksaber fromPre Vizsla.Darth Sidious was proficient in this style, using both hisprimary and backup weaponsagainst Maul andSavage Opress onMandalore. Maul once again wieldedpart of his bisected lightsaber alongside the Darksaber against his former master, but was defeated.[2]
Padawan Anakin Skywalker employing Jar'Kai against Count Dooku.
Although not necessarily masters or regular users of the technique, it was not uncommon for Jedi to use the lightsaber of a downed or fallen comrade in conjunction with their own.Obi-Wan Kenobi, who after defeating oneMagnaGuard and claiming itselectrostaff, temporarily used it withhis lightsaber to duel Grievous until it was destroyed, leaving him only with his main weapon. Kenobi also utilized both his own weapon andQuinlan Vos' lightsaber againstCad Bane[17] and later usedthe lightsaber ofAdi Gallia toduel Maul and Opress onFlorrum.[18]Anakin Skywalker used a spare green lightsaber as well as Kenobi's spare blue lightsaber during hisfirst duel withCountDooku onGeonosis.[1] He later used thelightsaber of his apprentice,Ahsoka Tano, withhis own against twosuper battle droids before rescuing her in aMunificent-class star frigate in theDevaron system.[19]Kelleran Beq used the blue lightsaber of a fallen Jedi along with his own green one to escape withGrogu during thesiege of the Jedi Temple.
Ahsoka wielded two lightsabers during her time with the Jedi and continued after she left the order.
Skywalker used thelightsaber ofLuminara Unduli with his own againstundead Geonosian warriors on a rescue in theProgate Temple,Barriss Offee's lightsaber with his own in aduel at theJedi Temple against a fallenBarriss Offee, who wielded both ofAsajj Ventress' lightsabers,[20] and usedDooku's lightsaber with his own lightsaber to execute Dooku after a finalduel with him on theInvisible Hand.[15] Ahsoka Tano, who duringthe mission on Tatooine while in a fight with three MagnaGuards, after charging one of the two remaining droids and taking itselectrostaff, rammed the weapon through the other droid's power core before quickly bisecting its head and torso with her main weapon.[13]Kit Fisto used his formerPadawanNahdar Vebb'slightsaber alongsidehis ownagainst General Grievous.[21] When the Gungan general,Roos Tarpals disarmed Grievous of his blue-bladed lightsaber, the cyborg uses his remaining green-bladed lightsaber alongside anelectropole that he had taken from a fallen Gungan warrior against the general moments before stabbing him with it, before being subdued himself by the Gungan with the last of his strength before he died.[22]
Imperial Era[]
Kanan Jarrus wielding the lightsaber of his apprentice, Ezra Bridger, alongside his own against the Grand Inquisitor
During theHunt for Tensu Run,the Grand Inquisitor, after killing Jedi MasterElan,dueled several Jedi onVoyager Dawn, including two Jedi who used Jar'kai against the Grand Inquisitor.[23]
Kanan Jarrus used his apprentice,Ezra Bridger'sfirst lightsaber alonghis ownagainst the Grand Inquisitor on theSovereign.[24] He also demonstrated proficiency in Jar'Kai, when he picked up a red-bladed lightsaber from one of the walls that had many lightsabers hanging on it, toduel threeJedi Temple Guards on theJedi Temple onLothal, but was unable to overcome them all and eventually submitted.[25] After Ezra Bridger's first lightsaber was destroyed byDarth Vader during theMission onMalachor,[26] he wielded the Darksaber alongsidehis second lightsaber to destroy the altar of theNightsister spirits during theskirmish onDathomir.[27]
After Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, he continued to use Jar'Kai on various occasions to deadly perfection. On Mustafar, he used asmuggler's lightsaber, which wasForce pulled from the smuggler whom Vader used with hisown to finish off the last remaining droid inLady Corvax's sanctum.[28] Another time, Vader used both halves ofReva's lightsaber to mortally wound her. He also used his weapon with one ofDarth Atrius' lightsabers against a group of thugs whoSana Starros had hired to keep the Imperials off her back, he utilized both lightsabers to kill all of the thugs.[29]
During hismission toRodia,Luke Skywalker attempted to use Jar'Kai when he battled aGhest using Jedi KnightHuulik'slightsaber andhis own. Luke was successful in slaying the beast but admitted it was from "panicked reflexes and really good weapons" instead of good technique.[30]
Taron Malicos was a Jar'Kai practitioner.
The Grand Inquisitor displayed knowledge of Jar'Kai to an extent, usinghis own double bladed lightsaber along with thelightsaber of Kanan Jarrus, which he had claimed temporarily,to fight a largefyrnock atFort Anaxes.[31] Maul disguised his lastdouble-bladed weapon as a walking stick before detaching the wooden element and wielding them separately tofight threeInquisitors onMalachor.[26] After rebuilding hislightsaber on amission toIlum as asplit saber,Cal Kestis employed the use of Jar'Kaiduring his quest intermittently with his other two preferred forms of combat, the single-wield andsaberstaff stances, as a method to keep his enemies confused and at bay, including fallen JediTaron Malicos, who also practiced Jar'Kai.[32] During hismission on Coruscant, while dueling theNinth Sister once again, Kestis began to make full use of Jar'Kai after an intense lightsaber lock split his weapon in two, using it to finally defeat and kill her. His Jar'Kai skills accompanied him on a journey to discover the lost world ofTanalorr.[33]
First Order-Resistance War[]
Rey wielding two lightsabers against her grandfather.
Ben Solo once wieldedTai's lightsaber in conjunction with hisown and used it to fatally stab thedark-side userRen, a death which was worthy of theKnights of Ren and earned him the status ofmaster among their ranks.[34] Later, while living under the alias of Kylo Ren, he snatched anelectro-bisento from oneElite Praetorian Guard, briefly using it along withhis crossguard lightsaber against another before killing its owner as he andRey waged along, grueling battle against overwhelming numbers.[35] To finally destroy a resurrected Darth Sidious both physically and spiritually[36] once and for all, Rey briefly used Jar'Kai, with both the Skywalker lightsaber andLeia's lightsaber, to deflect hisForce lightning back at him.[37]
Behind the scenes[]
George Lucas originally viewed lightsabers as extremely heavy and difficult to handle, causing the idea of someone using two lightsabers in combat at once to be far-fetched. However, to facilitate the faster choreography inStar Wars: Episode VThe Empire Strikes Back, Lucas eventually decided to make lightsabers lighter, reintroducing the possibility of two blades being wielded simultaneously.[38] However, dual-wielding did not appear incanon untilStar Wars: Episode IIAttack of the Clones.[1]
Some of the ability names for the dual wield stance's skill tree inStar Wars Jedi: Survivor appear to associate Jar'Kai withvenomoussnakes.[33]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
Star Wars: Visions — "THE TWINS"- Star Wars: Visions — "The Elder"
- "The Elder" —Big Gangan Vol.06
- "THE TWINS" —Big Gangan Vol.09
Sources[]
- Knights of Fate
- Rise of the Separatists
- Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi
- Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection
- Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith
- Star Wars: The Black Series(Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Figure:#03: Reva (Third Sister)) (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Vintage Collection(Pack:#242: Reva (Third Sister)) (backup link)
- Star Wars 100 Objects
- Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
- Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
- Jedi Master Plo Koon & Padawan Ahsoka Tano Preview onAtomic Mass Games'official website(backup link)
- Star Wars: The High Republic: The Lightsaber Collection
Non-canon sources[]
- Star Wars: Visions Filmmaker Focus — "THE TWINS"(Video clip only)
- The Art of Star Wars: Visions(Indirect mention only)
Notes and references[]
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