star wars - Which lightsaber form did Obi-Wan use against Maul on Tatooine?

In their final fateful duel on Tatooine, Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and took opening stance of Soresu, or Form III. Soresu is a defensive form, and Kenobi was master of it, so Maul hesitated with his attack. Maul was a user of Juyo, or Form VII, very aggressive form.

But then Obi-Wan changed his stance to Ataru, or Form IV. Presumably to trick Maul into overconfidence, because long time ago Maul defeated Kenobi's master Qui-Gon Jinn, and Qui-Gon Jinn was user of Ataru. Maul even attempted same trick (hilt strike in the head) , but Kenobi was ready for that.

What bothers me is the question: did Obi-Wan actually used Ataru in this final duel ? Ataru is also described as very aggressive and acrobatic form, with somersaults, flips, jumps etc (Yoda was best known Ataru master) and Obi-Wan didn't use any of that. He just waited for Maul's attack, blocked two of his strikes and cut him down in third. Did Obi-Wan switched back to Soresu despite Ataru opening stance, or he used some other form ( Form I Shii-Cho perhaps) ?

Answer

Yes, Kenobi used Ataru

This is an interesting question. In part because it's difficult to read much into a three-strike duel.

To break down the duel, as you mention in the question, Kenobi starts with a Soresu stance and shifts to Ataru (presumably to trick Maul). One of the characteristics of Ataru is broad, sweeping, strikes. And Kenobi's first strike/parry is definitely this as he brings the saber in a full 360 degree rotation to block Maul's strike to his head.

However, Kenobi's second strike is more in keeping with a Soresu defense. You can see that he takes a small hop backwards and brings his saber down to block with the smallest amount of movement necessary. Minimization of motion is one of the characteristics of Soresu, and is in keeping with Kenobi's prefered style.

Finally, the third, and killing blow was another full circle strike from around behind Kenobi's head, through Maul's saber and torso, and following through back to nearly the original position. The sweeping nature of the blow is Ataru, but the choice of action is very much Soresu (capitalizing instantly on mistakes).

We could discuss this duel until the cows come home, talking about motivations and the like, but I think I would break down the fight as follows.

Kenobi opens with Ataru, his stance almost mandates this. Additionally, he chooses to meet the strength of Maul's blow, so for that reason, the sweeping blow was the one he used. His second strike was instinctive, as evidenced by the small hop backwards that is universal for, "I need to move right now without thinking about it", as well as being in the Soresu style. Had he continued focusing in Ataru after Naboo, this instinct would have almost certainly been a flip over Maul's saber. The third and final strike returns to Ataru, his choice for the duel (or at least the beginning), to bring an overhand blow down on Maul.

Ultimately, what we see is a true dueling master. One able to hybridize the forms and adjust as necessary. The second strike betrays Kenobi's love of Soresu, but I think the final answer is that Kenobi chose to open the dual in Ataru, and ended the fight before needing to reevaluate.

To answer the question posed in your comment above: Yes, it is still Ataru without the acrobatics. "Another characteristic of the form was it's fast, powerful strikes from multiple directions", which Kenobi did utilize.

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?

Blog

Search This Blog