Summary
- Sith lightsabers are designed specifically for dueling and give them an advantage in combat. Their customization and unusual features allow Sith to dominate their opponents.
- Ahsoka Tano was trained to battle other lightsaber-wielders and was skilled in the dueling form of Djem So. However, she discovered that not every Sith can be defeated, as shown in her encounter with Darth Vader.
- The sight of an activated lightsaber can sometimes be enough to deter opponents from fighting, as seen in Star Wars: The High Republic. This showcases the power and symbolism of the lightsaber as a tool of peacekeeping.
Sith lightsabers are carefully designed to make them the best duelists in Star Wars, but Ahsoka is trained to match and even beat them. There's a sense in which the lightsaber is a strange tool for a Jedi to use, given they are supposed to be peacekeepers and not warriors. Still, as seen in Star Wars: The High Republic, there have been times when the mere sight of an activated lightsaber was enough to cause combatants to lay down their weapons.
There are actually many different types of lightsaber, ranging from the more basic designs used by prequel era Jedi to the crossguard lightsaber favored by Kylo Ren. Many lightsabers were designed to compensate for the limitations of their wielders; Yoda's blade is a short shoto, for example, ideally suited to his small size. Other serve their users' specific focus, designed for dueling. That is particularly true of the Sith, who customized their lightsabers for battle.
Your browser does not support the video tag. Sith Lightsabers Are Perfectly Designed For Duels Close Sith lightsabers are undeniably the best for dueling. The dark side seeks to dominate, and Sith naturally view their lightsaber as a tool with which to achieve this. This leads the Sith to modify their lightsabers to give them an edge, and explains why some Sith have wielded unusual and distinctive lightsabers. Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber was perfectly designed to take advantage of the fact few Jedi of the prequel era had really focused on dueling, and lightsaber forms that would allow them to counter a double-bladed weapon had long been out of fashion. Maul was a Sith assassin, and this was an assassin's tool.
Count Dooku's elegant lightsaber was, oddly enough, the first hint of the pride and vanity that would lead him to the dark side. Dooku was a practitioner of Form II, Makashi, which was designed for dueling; he prided himself on his skill, and he adapted that lightsaber even when he was a Jedi to help him dominate. As Palpatine himself noted, "The lightsaber's unusual curved hilt was perfectly balanced to complement his graceful fighting style and expertise as a duelist."
