Well that and it's actually incredibly difficult for him to get a two-handed stance with how his armor is designed. Basically he uses a one-handed style he invented for ease of use.
He can do two handed stances fairly easy. It’s just that he can’t raise his arms beyond a certain point any more due to the shoulder pieces being so top heavy. When he goes into a two handed grip, it’s mainly when he goes onto the defensive. Elbows locked in close, and minimal wrist movement to guide his lightsaber to deflect and defend. He essentially becomes an unmovable rock.
It should be said that in Star Wars there are in-universe fighting stances, largely separated from real life sword stances. Alot of said stances are based around blaster reflection, instead of saber to saber combat, which is why the saber stances often aren't pointed forward but instead parallel to the body.
A well-trained lightsaber-fighter should be able to tell the difference between a stance meant for blocking blaster shots and a stance used for fencing, and when to use either.
@@dallenhumpherys7911 Cal wasn't well-trained, and it's likely that most of his training focused on blaster deflection anyway. The CIS had Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku, and General Grievous as their only lightsaber wielders. Cal was not expected to fight any of them, much less win against them. I'm not sure why he didn't use a dueling stance here though--perhaps he forgot the little bit of dueling training he had?
@Dallen Humpherys The majority of Jedi aren't extensively trained in lightsaber combat because they come from a time when it simply wasn't something that happened often enough to warrant said training. Not to mention that Cal was maybe 12 years old at the time of Order 66, at that point in training you only learn form one which is pretty much exclusively used for blaster deflection and the most basic of lightsaber forms.
@@MCSPARTAN501 Maybe he's not well trained, but this is pretty basic stuff. If he is so incompetent, then he should have lost every lightsaber fight he was in. And there were plenty of people and droids in the clone wars and before that had electrostaffs and such.
A fun example of lightsabers in fact NOT sticking to each other is the rather short duel between Obi-Wan and Count Dooku in Episode 2. They're in a sword bind, but then Dooku winds his blade and cuts Obi-Wan's arm. It's really one of the only times they showed how that *could* be done, shame it wasn't used more.
The movie of episode one uses metal cylinder, 2 and 3 the actors uses plastic for the blade for more flexibility. You can see what materials used for the actorsfor behind the scenes footage or bloopers.
Makes sense that dooku would be one of the few characters who breaks a bind like that because he was supposed to be a master lightsaber duelist whereas most other Jedi at the time didn't have much experience fighting another lightsaber wielder
Should also keep in mind that Cal's first encounter with Second Sister is the first time ever where he fights someone else who has a lightsaber. He has also spent the last five years in hiding without anyone to train with to use either the force or his lightsaber.
In addition, the commentary by the expert on this specific scene glosses over the fact the night sister recognizes the stance because it's the same stance seen by the many jedi she killed prior. Seems like a silly criticism.
@@HTphyzycs Regardless of whether or not the Sister recognizes the stance makes no difference, because even in the Star Wars Universe, a stance like this would be so impractical.
But the Second Sister recognizes it, meaning it's an official stance from the Jedi Order. The criticism is that it is such an impractical stance to use for a lightsaber.
The fact that it's essentially weightless, has no edge to align, and can cut without needing kinetic energy means the fighting strategies would be significantly different from real world sword fighting
Cal’s opening stance is reflective of his lightsaber, form VI Niman- aka the diplomats form. It focuses on balance and was the preferred form of the order until the Clone Wars. It allows simple blade work and blends other forms and helps incorporate force attacks/defenses into the battle tactics. The goal was to do make a form that could handle 90% of opponents out there while the Jedi could focus on other pursuits (healing, diplomacy, translating, writing, etc. ). It works great until you encounter a sith or someone trained by the sith.
But that is a in universe explanation based on some author at some point making it up. The point of the video is, that it's not grounded in real life, not that it doesn't make sense in universe
@@tlsgrz6194 You mean the fighting styles used by space wizards in another galaxy aren't grounded in real life? Like it's a space fantasy? Who would have thought.
This guy would LOVE the blaster stance in Jedi Survivor. It's exactly what he asks for near the end with the idea of more thrusts and whatnot, plus a gun.
One excuse for some ot the stuff that Jedi do in fights is that the Force let's you see the future a little. It also lets you feel what your opponent is thinking and planning. In a way, a big flashy style that has a lot of "openings" makes sense if the real skill of the style is how far you can see in the future. It actually works great as a reason to let fights be big and dramatic in ways that they wouldn't be in real life.
Exactly! This is the genius of lightsaber combat, the mechanics of the technology and the magic justify all those classic Hollywood sword tropes. When you look at the world of SW and how the Force works and everything, the best way to fight would be as flashy as possible, leading to the great spectacle we see in SW duels.
right? like when the sword guy comments that he shouldnt be jumping around and instead block... yeah right, you CAN do that! and it makes the fight more in the player's favor due to stance break and counterattack for one
What you said about the lightsabers binding and sticking together makes sense as in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, Kanan teaches Sabine how to wield a lightsaber and comments on how there is a feel of a pull of energy between the two blades when they touch, like a magnetism of sorts
Yes that is a nice bit of lore. Sword edges do something similar as their edges bite into each their. Still doesn’t justify a static bind, but cool nonetheless.
Likely the magnetic fields would repel one another, unless they were aligned in the opposite direction, in which case they would probably never come apart, because if they're strong enough to contain plasma, they're way stronger than the strongest human, force or otherwise lol.
To slightly defend Cal on the single saber stance in the begining, he had defaulted to his training, which was done with the staff style lightsaber. And as someone else said, to be fair to the Jedi most of their opponents used blasters not sabers so most of their training was probably focused on defending against that.
first stance makes a bit more sense when you're focused on deflecting blaster bolts and not fighting other lightsaber users (much as the protagonist of this game would have done as he was just an apprentice during the Clone Wars as a child)
Oh he would not like it. There is an absolute badass behind the back block that would absolutely never work in real life, he would have a field day😂. I personally love it, but he wont
The rolling dodge makes sense in context of using it to avoid creatures when fighting them but in lightsaber to lightsaber fights the game encourages you to block and parry and stay close to your target
I'm curious what you think of the mechanic where repeated strikes "wear down" your ability to parry. That - and the red unblockable attacks - are a big reason why most of us spend a lot of time tumbling.
As a fencer: the idea of strikes to wear down your opponent is a bit odd for real fights. Exhaustion is a problem but less so in a short duel. Training lasts at least an hour or more so a fighter should not be exhausted to the point of imobility in a mere minute. But theres more to it! In a fight when someone parrys then his opponent will make another fast attack in order to get him. Which can also be parried. Each action get faster and shorter in distance. At some point one is to slow to counter anymore or they are to close to perform any action. The better the fencer the longer this will continue. But we are talking about something like 2-5 actions each. Real fights are incredible fast. A fight is basicly: action->counter->counter-counter->counter-counter-counter->(andso one) till someone is hit. A total timespan of 30sec. after the first action.
Honestly the whole "dark souls" roll away trope is frustrating to see in this game. It's one of my least favorite mechanics about fights so far (I'm only about 90 minutes into the game). Rolling away occasionally as a dodge would be fine, but sidestepping and simply moving seems like it should also be an option to the animation, maybe depending on how much you mash the dodge button.
it does work! in my earlier days of being in my hema club for italian fencing and other styles, one of my opponents kept beating my blade to the side and it REALLY messed with my wrist
@@chriscrossx3701 like a lot of dark side stuff, it’s about being threatening and making you’re opponent scared of you clouding their thoughts which makes it harder for a light side user to use the force. Just look at Vader’s armour being all black and menacing to scare people. As well as the spiky savers of sith, doesn’t make the inquisitor saver any less dumb though.
That first stance does look goofy but it's possible that it's a blaster-defense stance and it's not like real swords were ever used to block ranged weapons. Any Jedi growing up during the Clone Wars is probably garbage at dueling unless they went out of their way to spar with other Jedi and sought extra training in saber-on-saber combat. They would prioritize learning to fight droids with guns at a distance.
Vader canonically fights with the lightsaber form primarily focused on overwhelming the enemy with sheer brute force (form 5, I believe) on account of his slow, powerful cybernetic limbs. In contrast, Anakin used form 4 (I believe), a very agile form which focused on overwhelming the enemy with speed and never staying in one place for too long.
The reason why someone doesn't kick out or adjust more often during a blade lock with lightsabers is because lightsaber cut a million times easier than a steel blade. Giving up leverage could result in limb amputation or death if you decide to kick out and your opponent decides to change the way he pushes the saber at the same time. Most of the time when when kicks are used during saber locks in Star Wars is directly after the blades make contact, within the first 3 seconds, to limit the amount of time one has to think about what motion they will take. Most of the actions taken during a saber lock, and the safest, is to move back with the lightsaber in a defensive position. And when duelist block their back with the hilt behind the head, it wouldn't hit them in the back. The blade of a lightsaber is weightless. If you use two hands during this block the hand nearest to the bottom of the hilt will be pulling towards the head to increase the resistance. It would be fairly easy to keep the blade from pressing into your back unless the opponent is far stronger than you. This guy may be an expert on swords, but I'm a goddamn nerd He also has no clue about Vader's fighting style. It's so much more complex than he thinks
12:42 but they did... Trilla tried to get a hit in with her 2nd blade, Cal deactivated his blade and dodged causing her to overswing and he then force pushed her back.
The concept of that exchange was cool and addresses the point of not just static binding, but the effectiveness was terrible. Slow it down and you can see she swings her attack over his head with him not dodging at all. Attacking the weapon and not your opponent is something novices do all the time, like kids play fighting. Then he uses a nonlethal Force push instead of reigniting his saber into an attack like a quick thrust. Net zero result for both fighters, just wasted effort.
You need to read the treatises on light sabers... Saber combat is difficult, the physics dynamics are influenced by the force and how in touch you are with it. Your review should have been done in universe.
Wonder if he's aware that star wars has it's own established set of lightsaber forms (even if they don't resemble real world techniques), so when the night sister says she recognizes the stance, it's because she's aware of what lightsaber form cal is using.
You probably should have explained to him that theirs unblockable attacks in the game, the bit after 1:30 is interesting but in video games nowadays you cant block everything so rolling around and dodging is necessary.
He acknowledges a couple times within video (and the multiple other videos IGN brought him in for) from the onset that he recognizes that somethings and move sets are done do to mechanics of the game, BUT the reason for his presence is to critique them from a real-world martial arts fencing standpoint regardless of the game's mechanics. So, he doesn't need anything explained to him, he's aware, and in the end of the vid' he's just stating--there's a better and cooler way to do things than the rolling around on the ground that we see in these Dark Souls mechanics inspired games.
Like whats the point. They had on a psychologist who at least knew the Batman lore. A lot of the tropes he complained about, there are reasons they are there. Like the lighsabers connecting. They don't behave like metal because they aren't. So why complain about it? Anyone with a smidgen of SW knowledge knows that when lightsabers connect, there is a kind of magnetic force created.
Tbh the sword binds remind me a bit of tsuba zeriai in Kendo. Essentially it’s a state of where you get to close to the opponent to safely withdraw, so you enter a sort of sword bind ish state, kinda hard to explain
12:45 While countering with any number of things during a bind makes sense. I'm such a sucker for the dramatic tension those binds create. Two opponents pressing against each other both in a physical clash as well as a battle of wills. Maybe sprinkle in a bit of dialogue, a tid bit of personal history. It's just so cool😊
The staff the black troopers use isn't that heavy because of technology but they are made out of very heavy material so that they can withstand a strike from a lightsaber
I'd also like to point something out about force wielders! The force grants them a little bit of "clairvoyance" in combat, almost like seeing a split second into the future and that's why lightsaber combat drags on for a lot longer than real swordfights! When it comes to binds, i'd say that the reason that binds end up becoming more about overpowering your opponent than finesse with lightsaber combat is because if you attempt something out of a bind, your opponent would have that "clairvoyance" and your out to the bind would end up either going back to being neutral for both parties or disadvantageous for you!
A lot of lightsaber blade locks are pushing forward against each other, but in cases where they're fighting to control the center line an option would be to get your blade out of the way (deactivate or just disengage) so the opponent's force carries past center and you can get a quick shot in, at least to further unbalance the opponent and create an opportunity for a more severe attack.
The big benefit of the double bladed lightsabers and saber staffs is they only have 2 blades when you want them to. They can easily just remain as a single blade until you need the 2nd
His point about the weapon being the fastest thing to react with is exactly why the game encourages parrying. He doesn’t know it at that point in the video but he’s backing up how well designed games like Jedi FO and Sekiro are
the lightsaber sticking together thing makes sense as, it would last a few moments because if were both pushing and one of us decides to pull away, the other could use that opportunity to gain more momentum in the fight, it's the same argument as the "why don't you cut it off and back on" argument for binding, the second one saber goes off the other goes forward, you'd have to turn it off and on for a SPLIT second in order for it to work in that argument and as we all know it takes a couple seconds for them to light up and solidify theirefore it would not work, but those are my theories
Technically the jedi don't endorse violence and actually shunned allot of the more aggressive styles, so a lot of their fighting styles and stances were meant for defence and being less threatening as they were peace keeps not warriors, which is why they are so overwhelmed when fighting alot 9f the sith
As far as clashing the blades together goes, I've always just assumed that they were also using the Force against each other and so they can't take any other action.
It’s interesting seeing the drastic change in first Anakin’s then Vader’s technique when he fought Kenobi. Even at his prime Anakin used a precision two handed stance against him because he knew he was a deadly fighter, his critical mistake was in becoming too impatient to end their duel to the point he attacked at a strategically disadvantageous position in the arrogant belief his power would be sufficient to make up the difference. When next they dueled decades later on the Death Star, that arrogance remained in Vader but it had been tempered by painful experience. As a result, you see him using a more guarded stance and utilizing a patient style to test for weaknesses without overtly opening himself to a counterattack. You see the same thing when he first faces Luke in Cloud City. First he uses a loose one handed style as he reasons he’s facing a relative novice and is simply looking to test the basics of Luke’s form. Once he sees there’s some skill involved, he stops the playful phase and changes to a two handed grip to fully test Luke’s limits.
0:45 - That is 100% what we always used to call the shield stance. It's a reference to the various Star Wars RPGs that have popped up over the years. ^_^
Great video! Thanks. It was awesome that you found someone who knew not just the swordsmanship but also seemed to appreciate how the fighting styles reflected the characters. Anyone could say "this doesn't make sense." But having someone who sees why a character might be doing something sub-optimally because of their own weaknesses or disposition makes it so much more satisfying to watch!
the inquisitor saber guard does collapse allowing for the more frontward handguard, it seems to be always overlooked. Cal looks lost at close range ... yes that's the point its like how lara was haphazardly swinging the climbing pick in tomb raider 2013
Bro. These are Force wielders. And also the Force guides them. We can't use our way of martial arts and try to say that it's not possible in the galaxy far far away. Anything is possible.
You can make up a stance that's logically ineffective and only children will like or you can put more effort into something intelligent adults will like. Even space magic has rules and if you don't apply it consistently it looks silly.
Ive always imagined that lightsabers react when they touch eachother and kind of repel eachother (kinda like magnets) so that when they touch the blades together and push it actually takes a lot more strength to survive
Lightsabers are supposed to stick together to some degree (still it is possible to slide). As for vader. actors in OT were told to use both hands for lightsabers because they are supposed to be heavy, vader is sopposed to be strong enough to use it easily one handed.
Another thing regarding the lightsaber sword-bind thing, Light Sabers are pretty hekkin' hot. Like, Literally Plasma Swords. If you push them into the face of your opponent, they're gonna get a pretty nasty burn if they're not wearing any sort of face protection.
Keeping in mind that Cal was a barely trained child who spent years in hiding and hasn’t kept up what few skills he had, I’m actually surprised that he does this well in close quarters.
He had 3 years of training under his master. Incomplete training? Yes Barely trained? Not entirely In the beginning he devolved back to basics but by the end he's using what Jaro taught him in the 3 years they spent together.
Disarming in Star Wars is sorta an issue, because its usually a Force User wielding a Lightsaber they have the Force to prevent you from disarming them- You really have to catch them off Guard like say with a Mandolorian Kit setup.
Something most people forget is that in this game cal probably hasnt fought or practiced with his lightsaber for years. Of course he is goiing to have flaws in his technique.
Eh it can be hard to watch when they drag it out, but the "stick" is just for dramatic effect and pacing really. It's a story telling tool, we've had a bit of quick action and now we need to slow it down to build tension or exchange quips and move on to the next act of the fight. Fans will try to come up with excuses like energy binding, etc. but really it's just a story telling mechanism you see in nearly any film that utilizes sword fighting.
Acording to some of the cannon novels when two force users fight the real battle and biggest struggle actualy has little to do with the fencing it is more like a constant battle of wills in the force imperceptible to non force users most of the time in a way light sabers are more for blocking blasters and certain force ability’s and while the are defiantly dangerous this battle of wills could explained some of the longer pushing binds not all but some
Lightsaber stances and sword stances are entirely different in most cases as doing some stuff cal does with his lightsaber with a sword in real life would be insane
Someone should've informed him that there are also about 7 styles and starting stances of lightsaber fighting and combat that can alter how a duel and/or combat situation can turn out. Some stances and styles having different meanings and possible solutions to another's style. All styles are slightly different, some being much more aggressive and offensive, and others being more defensive and counter-strike first.
The inquisitor lightsaber actually has a retractable guard in the 5th episode of Star wars rebels you see the grand inquisitor use both blades with only one guard so whenever they use both guards it’s a choice
Lightsabers aren't swords. If they existed, they would behave in no way like any sword there has ever been. If anything, they'd be more like brass knuckles that have completely inexplicable reach, and can cut through anything with no effort at all. They have zero characteristics in common with swords aside from a very general apparent similarity of shape which is only an illusion anyway. Asking a "sword expert" (which, to be fair, he very much is) about lightsabers is like asking someone who makes muskets to talk about an Abrams main battle tank.
One important thing to note about lightsabers is that their blades have no weight, therefore we cannot use the same judgement for conventional weapons.
The thing about the big swings in this game is all these characters aside from vader snd cere were essentially squires at the time the jedi order fell so they arent very highly trained
10:49 this was actually the point of the empire. Palpatine intentionally made the sabers like this so if the inquisition would defect, they would be taken out effortlessly by him or vader
When Matt says he would like to see more thrusts in this game, he's watching the wrong person playing the game because thrust is a very powerful move in this game
The thing that annoys me about most depictions of lightsaber fights is that a lightsaber is a sword with a functionally massless blade that's cutting edge is the entire blade and can slice through a human body just as easily with a quick flick of the wrist as with a two-handed power blow. The only thing it can't cut through is the blade of another lightsaber. Fighting with a lightsaber should really look more like fencing than hacking away at someone with a claymore.
Tbh, that thumbnail caught my attention in different emotions, not even reading this being about the new Star Wars' game 😂 Another job to our best plumber/doctor/etc. Jedi Sins or Johnny Skywalker definitely crossed my mind before clicking the vid ✌️
It’s a literal weightless blade……I feel like genuine physics is being ignored in this. Also the fact the people fighting can somewhat sense the future, making every offensive movement, a precursor to a defensive counter attack on a opening that may be available to attack just not at that current time in the fight.
it doesn't weigh anything but it also cuts through anything under contact so you can swing it and swipe with it in a way you couldn't with a fencing sword
![[WR] Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in 17:56 RTA (any%, PC, unrestricted, NG)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wGivYwidGwY/mqdefault.jpg)
Vader uses one handed style when he doesn't take an opponent seriously. He basically handicaps himself to be less bored
Well that and it's actually incredibly difficult for him to get a two-handed stance with how his armor is designed. Basically he uses a one-handed style he invented for ease of use.
@@TheAdventGamer he’s also the chosen one and is massively stronger than everyone. Who’s is his rival.
He can do two handed stances fairly easy. It’s just that he can’t raise his arms beyond a certain point any more due to the shoulder pieces being so top heavy. When he goes into a two handed grip, it’s mainly when he goes onto the defensive. Elbows locked in close, and minimal wrist movement to guide his lightsaber to deflect and defend. He essentially becomes an unmovable rock.
@@keshawnjenkins7051 luke is the actual chosen one isn't he
@@kanekikingstorm2113 Ah, right. Sorry.
It should be said that in Star Wars there are in-universe fighting stances, largely separated from real life sword stances. Alot of said stances are based around blaster reflection, instead of saber to saber combat, which is why the saber stances often aren't pointed forward but instead parallel to the body.
A well-trained lightsaber-fighter should be able to tell the difference between a stance meant for blocking blaster shots and a stance used for fencing, and when to use either.
@@dallenhumpherys7911 Cal wasn’t that well trained lmao bro looked like he was under 10 years old during Order 66
@@dallenhumpherys7911 Cal wasn't well-trained, and it's likely that most of his training focused on blaster deflection anyway. The CIS had Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku, and General Grievous as their only lightsaber wielders. Cal was not expected to fight any of them, much less win against them. I'm not sure why he didn't use a dueling stance here though--perhaps he forgot the little bit of dueling training he had?
@Dallen Humpherys The majority of Jedi aren't extensively trained in lightsaber combat because they come from a time when it simply wasn't something that happened often enough to warrant said training.
Not to mention that Cal was maybe 12 years old at the time of Order 66, at that point in training you only learn form one which is pretty much exclusively used for blaster deflection and the most basic of lightsaber forms.
@@MCSPARTAN501 Maybe he's not well trained, but this is pretty basic stuff. If he is so incompetent, then he should have lost every lightsaber fight he was in. And there were plenty of people and droids in the clone wars and before that had electrostaffs and such.
A fun example of lightsabers in fact NOT sticking to each other is the rather short duel between Obi-Wan and Count Dooku in Episode 2. They're in a sword bind, but then Dooku winds his blade and cuts Obi-Wan's arm. It's really one of the only times they showed how that *could* be done, shame it wasn't used more.
Not impossible that it was a suggestion from Lee himself, as he was a skilled fencer.
in addition to jonas, the way he holds the saber and moves, it kinda resembles a fencers movement too
Kinda different binds tho
The movie of episode one uses metal cylinder, 2 and 3 the actors uses plastic for the blade for more flexibility.
You can see what materials used for the actorsfor behind the scenes footage or bloopers.
Makes sense that dooku would be one of the few characters who breaks a bind like that because he was supposed to be a master lightsaber duelist whereas most other Jedi at the time didn't have much experience fighting another lightsaber wielder
Should also keep in mind that Cal's first encounter with Second Sister is the first time ever where he fights someone else who has a lightsaber. He has also spent the last five years in hiding without anyone to train with to use either the force or his lightsaber.
In addition, the commentary by the expert on this specific scene glosses over the fact the night sister recognizes the stance because it's the same stance seen by the many jedi she killed prior. Seems like a silly criticism.
The criticism isnt that the stance is recognized. Its that it isnt a genuine stance.
The animation in this game and the sequal are just bad 🤣
@@HTphyzycs Regardless of whether or not the Sister recognizes the stance makes no difference, because even in the Star Wars Universe, a stance like this would be so impractical.
But the Second Sister recognizes it, meaning it's an official stance from the Jedi Order. The criticism is that it is such an impractical stance to use for a lightsaber.
Glad he acknowledges that lightsabers and space sorcery change sword combat.
Fr. Imagine being able to throw your offhand out and knock your opponent's feet out from under them when they go for a strike.
The fact that it's essentially weightless, has no edge to align, and can cut without needing kinetic energy means the fighting strategies would be significantly different from real world sword fighting
@@Captain_Insano_nomercy
It's not truly weightless, or else people will just wave it around like a flashlight
Cal’s opening stance is reflective of his lightsaber, form VI Niman- aka the diplomats form. It focuses on balance and was the preferred form of the order until the Clone Wars. It allows simple blade work and blends other forms and helps incorporate force attacks/defenses into the battle tactics. The goal was to do make a form that could handle 90% of opponents out there while the Jedi could focus on other pursuits (healing, diplomacy, translating, writing, etc. ). It works great until you encounter a sith or someone trained by the sith.
But that is a in universe explanation based on some author at some point making it up. The point of the video is, that it's not grounded in real life, not that it doesn't make sense in universe
@@tlsgrz6194One could argue that the lightsaber is used more often like a very thin sheild or parrying dagger, to block/deflect mostly projectiles.
@@tlsgrz6194 You mean the fighting styles used by space wizards in another galaxy aren't grounded in real life? Like it's a space fantasy? Who would have thought.
There's also the fact that Cal's lightsaber was originally a double bladed one to begin with, but it was shot in half during Order 66.
@@Cody-pn8wy What's even the point of your reply? You're being needlessly combative despite reiterating exactly what he just said.
This guy would LOVE the blaster stance in Jedi Survivor. It's exactly what he asks for near the end with the idea of more thrusts and whatnot, plus a gun.
One excuse for some ot the stuff that Jedi do in fights is that the Force let's you see the future a little. It also lets you feel what your opponent is thinking and planning. In a way, a big flashy style that has a lot of "openings" makes sense if the real skill of the style is how far you can see in the future. It actually works great as a reason to let fights be big and dramatic in ways that they wouldn't be in real life.
Exactly! This is the genius of lightsaber combat, the mechanics of the technology and the magic justify all those classic Hollywood sword tropes.
When you look at the world of SW and how the Force works and everything, the best way to fight would be as flashy as possible, leading to the great spectacle we see in SW duels.
These are fun to watch it always cracks me up when the people playing the game make it look worse
Don't know what it is about game journalists, but I've kinda learned to enjoy it
Facts😂
it's charming incompetence
right? like when the sword guy comments that he shouldnt be jumping around and instead block... yeah right, you CAN do that! and it makes the fight more in the player's favor due to stance break and counterattack for one
Videogames allow for a wide variety of ways to play them
What you said about the lightsabers binding and sticking together makes sense as in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, Kanan teaches Sabine how to wield a lightsaber and comments on how there is a feel of a pull of energy between the two blades when they touch, like a magnetism of sorts
Yes that is a nice bit of lore. Sword edges do something similar as their edges bite into each their. Still doesn’t justify a static bind, but cool nonetheless.
It is a magnetic field around the plasma, so the magnetic fields should interact with each other.
Likely the magnetic fields would repel one another, unless they were aligned in the opposite direction, in which case they would probably never come apart, because if they're strong enough to contain plasma, they're way stronger than the strongest human, force or otherwise lol.
Kanan teaches her how to use the Darksaber, which is different from most lightsabers in that, it becomes harder to wield the more emotional you are.
@@jacktheripper7735 That may actually be true of typical lightsabers, too, although to a lesser extent. (The darksaber is cranky and demanding)
To slightly defend Cal on the single saber stance in the begining, he had defaulted to his training, which was done with the staff style lightsaber. And as someone else said, to be fair to the Jedi most of their opponents used blasters not sabers so most of their training was probably focused on defending against that.
“The age of piracy” has a totally different meaning to my generation. He’s thinking pirates, I’m thinking Napster
I'm thinkin Benjamin Hornigold😅
Cal is also not a fully trained fighter/Jedi so his stances and technique aren't refined
first stance makes a bit more sense when you're focused on deflecting blaster bolts and not fighting other lightsaber users (much as the protagonist of this game would have done as he was just an apprentice during the Clone Wars as a child)
Matt should watch The Old Republic cinematic and react to their fighting.
Oh he would not like it. There is an absolute badass behind the back block that would absolutely never work in real life, he would have a field day😂. I personally love it, but he wont
I’m thinking Matt should watch The Mask of Zorro (1998) and do a reaction to the sword fights there.
@@noturdad101 To be fair, the guy who performs that block also dies a minute later xD
The rolling dodge makes sense in context of using it to avoid creatures when fighting them but in lightsaber to lightsaber fights the game encourages you to block and parry and stay close to your target
I'm curious what you think of the mechanic where repeated strikes "wear down" your ability to parry. That - and the red unblockable attacks - are a big reason why most of us spend a lot of time tumbling.
As a fencer: the idea of strikes to wear down your opponent is a bit odd for real fights. Exhaustion is a problem but less so in a short duel. Training lasts at least an hour or more so a fighter should not be exhausted to the point of imobility in a mere minute.
But theres more to it!
In a fight when someone parrys then his opponent will make another fast attack in order to get him. Which can also be parried. Each action get faster and shorter in distance. At some point one is to slow to counter anymore or they are to close to perform any action. The better the fencer the longer this will continue. But we are talking about something like 2-5 actions each. Real fights are incredible fast.
A fight is basicly: action->counter->counter-counter->counter-counter-counter->(andso one) till someone is hit. A total timespan of 30sec. after the first action.
Honestly the whole "dark souls" roll away trope is frustrating to see in this game. It's one of my least favorite mechanics about fights so far (I'm only about 90 minutes into the game).
Rolling away occasionally as a dodge would be fine, but sidestepping and simply moving seems like it should also be an option to the animation, maybe depending on how much you mash the dodge button.
@@expert_fretwork it is an option, it's called perfect evade
it does work! in my earlier days of being in my hema club for italian fencing and other styles, one of my opponents kept beating my blade to the side and it REALLY messed with my wrist
So made up fighting styles with sci fi weapons in a fantasy universe are unrealistic, got it
Imagine a swords expert reviewing magic in games.
You can enjoy fiction and still treat it as an opportunity to learn.
This video is made as a critique rather than for fun or educational purposes. Got it.
Wasent star wars fighting styles inspired by real fighting styles? Im abit confused here?
Waah don't say my video game is silly, you hurt my feelings, it's ok we can still play the game
Star Wars Rebels. Those duels are well thought out. And with Ashoka coming out, it would make sense to look at some of those.
except for the whole spinning lightsabers
@@chriscrossx3701 Yeah but they have Kanan and Ahsoka expose the weakness of that kind of saber within the show.
@@TechnoShogun1 still doesn't make it any less dumb
@@TechnoShogun1if 2 Jedi padawans can find the weakness in it then why was it ever used in canon?
@@chriscrossx3701 like a lot of dark side stuff, it’s about being threatening and making you’re opponent scared of you clouding their thoughts which makes it harder for a light side user to use the force. Just look at Vader’s armour being all black and menacing to scare people. As well as the spiky savers of sith, doesn’t make the inquisitor saver any less dumb though.
That first stance does look goofy but it's possible that it's a blaster-defense stance and it's not like real swords were ever used to block ranged weapons. Any Jedi growing up during the Clone Wars is probably garbage at dueling unless they went out of their way to spar with other Jedi and sought extra training in saber-on-saber combat. They would prioritize learning to fight droids with guns at a distance.
These are always insightful and enjoyable. Kudos to him for acknowledging the remarks about lightsabers sticking in universe.
Vader canonically fights with the lightsaber form primarily focused on overwhelming the enemy with sheer brute force (form 5, I believe) on account of his slow, powerful cybernetic limbs. In contrast, Anakin used form 4 (I believe), a very agile form which focused on overwhelming the enemy with speed and never staying in one place for too long.
7:50 he was using a double bladed lightsaber with the bottom half broken, it was literally a hand and a half
The reason why someone doesn't kick out or adjust more often during a blade lock with lightsabers is because lightsaber cut a million times easier than a steel blade. Giving up leverage could result in limb amputation or death if you decide to kick out and your opponent decides to change the way he pushes the saber at the same time. Most of the time when when kicks are used during saber locks in Star Wars is directly after the blades make contact, within the first 3 seconds, to limit the amount of time one has to think about what motion they will take. Most of the actions taken during a saber lock, and the safest, is to move back with the lightsaber in a defensive position.
And when duelist block their back with the hilt behind the head, it wouldn't hit them in the back. The blade of a lightsaber is weightless. If you use two hands during this block the hand nearest to the bottom of the hilt will be pulling towards the head to increase the resistance. It would be fairly easy to keep the blade from pressing into your back unless the opponent is far stronger than you.
This guy may be an expert on swords, but I'm a goddamn nerd
He also has no clue about Vader's fighting style. It's so much more complex than he thinks
12:42 but they did... Trilla tried to get a hit in with her 2nd blade, Cal deactivated his blade and dodged causing her to overswing and he then force pushed her back.
There’s still no justification for them holding the bind for as long as they did.
The concept of that exchange was cool and addresses the point of not just static binding, but the effectiveness was terrible.
Slow it down and you can see she swings her attack over his head with him not dodging at all. Attacking the weapon and not your opponent is something novices do all the time, like kids play fighting. Then he uses a nonlethal Force push instead of reigniting his saber into an attack like a quick thrust. Net zero result for both fighters, just wasted effort.
my understanding was that the bind is more of a cinematic trope which people have come to expect
You need to read the treatises on light sabers...
Saber combat is difficult, the physics dynamics are influenced by the force and how in touch you are with it.
Your review should have been done in universe.
Wonder if he's aware that star wars has it's own established set of lightsaber forms (even if they don't resemble real world techniques), so when the night sister says she recognizes the stance, it's because she's aware of what lightsaber form cal is using.
Nice breakdown of the movement. 10/10 will fence again!
No, it's a PERFECT 5/7
cant wait for an expert to review the new sword stances in jedi survivior!!
You probably should have explained to him that theirs unblockable attacks in the game, the bit after 1:30 is interesting but in video games nowadays you cant block everything so rolling around and dodging is necessary.
He acknowledges a couple times within video (and the multiple other videos IGN brought him in for) from the onset that he recognizes that somethings and move sets are done do to mechanics of the game, BUT the reason for his presence is to critique them from a real-world martial arts fencing standpoint regardless of the game's mechanics. So, he doesn't need anything explained to him, he's aware, and in the end of the vid' he's just stating--there's a better and cooler way to do things than the rolling around on the ground that we see in these Dark Souls mechanics inspired games.
You probably should listen what he said before
People being upset at a weapons expert for not spewing out lightsaber lore
Lol fr
Like whats the point. They had on a psychologist who at least knew the Batman lore. A lot of the tropes he complained about, there are reasons they are there. Like the lighsabers connecting. They don't behave like metal because they aren't. So why complain about it? Anyone with a smidgen of SW knowledge knows that when lightsabers connect, there is a kind of magnetic force created.
"That guard" is in fact from Shii-Cho. A beginner's stance *in universe*
Tbh the sword binds remind me a bit of tsuba zeriai in Kendo. Essentially it’s a state of where you get to close to the opponent to safely withdraw, so you enter a sort of sword bind ish state, kinda hard to explain
It SHOULD be kendo, idk where people think it's fencing, makes me furious
@@MaxRamos8 Some duelist style lightsabers utilize fencing methods.
Lightsabers are physically drawn to each other, the crystals begin to resonate in the force causing the to be drawn like magnets.
Nice review
Big fan idk u played games 😂
12:45 While countering with any number of things during a bind makes sense. I'm such a sucker for the dramatic tension those binds create.
Two opponents pressing against each other both in a physical clash as well as a battle of wills. Maybe sprinkle in a bit of dialogue, a tid bit of personal history. It's just so cool😊
You should react to the Revenge of the Sith video game. The swordplay there is fantastic.
The staff the black troopers use isn't that heavy because of technology but they are made out of very heavy material so that they can withstand a strike from a lightsaber
I'd also like to point something out about force wielders! The force grants them a little bit of "clairvoyance" in combat, almost like seeing a split second into the future and that's why lightsaber combat drags on for a lot longer than real swordfights! When it comes to binds, i'd say that the reason that binds end up becoming more about overpowering your opponent than finesse with lightsaber combat is because if you attempt something out of a bind, your opponent would have that "clairvoyance" and your out to the bind would end up either going back to being neutral for both parties or disadvantageous for you!
A lot of lightsaber blade locks are pushing forward against each other, but in cases where they're fighting to control the center line an option would be to get your blade out of the way (deactivate or just disengage) so the opponent's force carries past center and you can get a quick shot in, at least to further unbalance the opponent and create an opportunity for a more severe attack.
The big benefit of the double bladed lightsabers and saber staffs is they only have 2 blades when you want them to. They can easily just remain as a single blade until you need the 2nd
His point about the weapon being the fastest thing to react with is exactly why the game encourages parrying. He doesn’t know it at that point in the video but he’s backing up how well designed games like Jedi FO and Sekiro are
We need to get him to react to the Old Republic cinematic fights.
the lightsaber sticking together thing makes sense as, it would last a few moments because if were both pushing and one of us decides to pull away, the other could use that opportunity to gain more momentum in the fight, it's the same argument as the "why don't you cut it off and back on" argument for binding, the second one saber goes off the other goes forward, you'd have to turn it off and on for a SPLIT second in order for it to work in that argument and as we all know it takes a couple seconds for them to light up and solidify theirefore it would not work, but those are my theories
Matt comparing Force-wielding to using a pistol will never get old. Especially that time where the video smash cuts to him waving a gun for emphasis.
Technically the jedi don't endorse violence and actually shunned allot of the more aggressive styles, so a lot of their fighting styles and stances were meant for defence and being less threatening as they were peace keeps not warriors, which is why they are so overwhelmed when fighting alot 9f the sith
Should do a part 2 talking about the double blade and dual wielding choreography
The Inquisitor saber shouldn't have handguards at all. They're useless against an opponent's lightsaber.
As far as clashing the blades together goes, I've always just assumed that they were also using the Force against each other and so they can't take any other action.
Most force users have limited precognition and they know what the next swing is any way. Wide swings aren't making openings that are exploitable.
It’s interesting seeing the drastic change in first Anakin’s then Vader’s technique when he fought Kenobi.
Even at his prime Anakin used a precision two handed stance against him because he knew he was a deadly fighter, his critical mistake was in becoming too impatient to end their duel to the point he attacked at a strategically disadvantageous position in the arrogant belief his power would be sufficient to make up the difference.
When next they dueled decades later on the Death Star, that arrogance remained in Vader but it had been tempered by painful experience. As a result, you see him using a more guarded stance and utilizing a patient style to test for weaknesses without overtly opening himself to a counterattack.
You see the same thing when he first faces Luke in Cloud City. First he uses a loose one handed style as he reasons he’s facing a relative novice and is simply looking to test the basics of Luke’s form. Once he sees there’s some skill involved, he stops the playful phase and changes to a two handed grip to fully test Luke’s limits.
The glove on Vader's left hand is indestructible. Makes for a great 🛡
0:45 - That is 100% what we always used to call the shield stance. It's a reference to the various Star Wars RPGs that have popped up over the years. ^_^
Where is the middle cutscene of the Malicos fight? That part was pretty strong in choreography in my opinion.
Yeah facts and it was epic. They shouldn't really be looking at gameplay and should be looking at more cutscenes
Great video! Thanks. It was awesome that you found someone who knew not just the swordsmanship but also seemed to appreciate how the fighting styles reflected the characters. Anyone could say "this doesn't make sense." But having someone who sees why a character might be doing something sub-optimally because of their own weaknesses or disposition makes it so much more satisfying to watch!
the inquisitor saber guard does collapse allowing for the more frontward handguard, it seems to be always overlooked.
Cal looks lost at close range
... yes that's the point its like how lara was haphazardly swinging the climbing pick in tomb raider 2013
Funny how he mentions the sword and pistol combo that we now have in Jedi: Survivor
Bro. These are Force wielders. And also the Force guides them. We can't use our way of martial arts and try to say that it's not possible in the galaxy far far away. Anything is possible.
Imagine the possibility... Of using sword techniques in a lightsaber duel
they dont turn the saber off out of a challenge and respect view to it.
Strange that he doesn’t recognize a stance from a video game that references made up fighting styles.
Especially about magic space wizards who have mystery powers and glow sticks that cut through any material. Crazy
You can make up a stance that's logically ineffective and only children will like or you can put more effort into something intelligent adults will like. Even space magic has rules and if you don't apply it consistently it looks silly.
Ive always imagined that lightsabers react when they touch eachother and kind of repel eachother (kinda like magnets) so that when they touch the blades together and push it actually takes a lot more strength to survive
Lightsabers are supposed to stick together to some degree (still it is possible to slide). As for vader. actors in OT were told to use both hands for lightsabers because they are supposed to be heavy, vader is sopposed to be strong enough to use it easily one handed.
Another thing regarding the lightsaber sword-bind thing, Light Sabers are pretty hekkin' hot. Like, Literally Plasma Swords. If you push them into the face of your opponent, they're gonna get a pretty nasty burn if they're not wearing any sort of face protection.
Yes! Next react to the Jedi: Survivor stances! Mat would love the Blaster stance, super thrust-heavy. Plus a gun. Gun is always a benefit XD
Keeping in mind that Cal was a barely trained child who spent years in hiding and hasn’t kept up what few skills he had, I’m actually surprised that he does this well in close quarters.
He had 3 years of training under his master. Incomplete training? Yes
Barely trained? Not entirely
In the beginning he devolved back to basics but by the end he's using what Jaro taught him in the 3 years they spent together.
Lol, I'm the left fencer at 0:56. :D
Funny seeing Cat Easton's dad around here
Disarming in Star Wars is sorta an issue, because its usually a Force User wielding a Lightsaber they have the Force to prevent you from disarming them- You really have to catch them off Guard like say with a Mandolorian Kit setup.
A handguard on the end sorta makes sense since she switches hands sometimes.
I'd say that first stance would be more affective for deflecting blaster fire.
Something most people forget is that in this game cal probably hasnt fought or practiced with his lightsaber for years. Of course he is goiing to have flaws in his technique.
Eh it can be hard to watch when they drag it out, but the "stick" is just for dramatic effect and pacing really. It's a story telling tool, we've had a bit of quick action and now we need to slow it down to build tension or exchange quips and move on to the next act of the fight. Fans will try to come up with excuses like energy binding, etc. but really it's just a story telling mechanism you see in nearly any film that utilizes sword fighting.
In fencing it's recommended to try and dodge more than to parry because parrying is less reliable than dodging.
Acording to some of the cannon novels when two force users fight the real battle and biggest struggle actualy has little to do with the fencing it is more like a constant battle of wills in the force imperceptible to non force users most of the time in a way light sabers are more for blocking blasters and certain force ability’s and while the are defiantly dangerous this battle of wills could explained some of the longer pushing binds not all but some
Lightsaber stances and sword stances are entirely different in most cases as doing some stuff cal does with his lightsaber with a sword in real life would be insane
But then cal should not be doing steelsword tactics with a lightsabre too. Which he does. Ex the backblock.
@@obiwankenobi9439sekiro got it perfect
The reason for Cal's lack of grappling skills is due not his master dying during Order 66. Thus, training incomplete.
Someone should've informed him that there are also about 7 styles and starting stances of lightsaber fighting and combat that can alter how a duel and/or combat situation can turn out.
Some stances and styles having different meanings and possible solutions to another's style. All styles are slightly different, some being much more aggressive and offensive, and others being more defensive and counter-strike first.
Id love to see him review the deleted scenes footage of Anakin v Count Dooku's stunt double training
We need a video from this guy on Kingdom Come Deliverance if you haven't already
He's a Padawan who's training is incomplete.
The inquisitor lightsaber actually has a retractable guard in the 5th episode of Star wars rebels you see the grand inquisitor use both blades with only one guard so whenever they use both guards it’s a choice
I’m glad pervy the purge trooper was included in this analysis
To be fair the lightsaber fighting styles were originally designed by someone else specifically for lightsabers not swords
Lighsabers are laser SWORDS and many things still aply.
@Violet
They're also weirded by space wizards who can feel the future. Also, lightsabers don't behave like normal swords in combat.
@@TutosViolet They are weightless Plasma swords wielded by magical space wizards. It simply isn't a laser sword
That’s Form VI! Niman. The weird guard is to have it at the ready, but not get in the way of using your other hand for the force.
Vibroblades are very difficult weapons to master.
Lightsabers aren't swords. If they existed, they would behave in no way like any sword there has ever been. If anything, they'd be more like brass knuckles that have completely inexplicable reach, and can cut through anything with no effort at all. They have zero characteristics in common with swords aside from a very general apparent similarity of shape which is only an illusion anyway.
Asking a "sword expert" (which, to be fair, he very much is) about lightsabers is like asking someone who makes muskets to talk about an Abrams main battle tank.
This should be helpful for all the Jedi/Sith LARPers!
One important thing to note about lightsabers is that their blades have no weight, therefore we cannot use the same judgement for conventional weapons.
The thing about the big swings in this game is all these characters aside from vader snd cere were essentially squires at the time the jedi order fell so they arent very highly trained
It's no coincidence his making reaction video of Fallen Order now, because of Jedi Survivor is going to be release on April 28, 2023.
10:49 this was actually the point of the empire. Palpatine intentionally made the sabers like this so if the inquisition would defect, they would be taken out effortlessly by him or vader
When Matt says he would like to see more thrusts in this game, he's watching the wrong person playing the game because thrust is a very powerful move in this game
Yall need to learn and do some research on lightsaber combat forms, it informs what someone says a lot more then not
Opens popcorn ready for the "actually" ripostes from space combat veterans
The thing that annoys me about most depictions of lightsaber fights is that a lightsaber is a sword with a functionally massless blade that's cutting edge is the entire blade and can slice through a human body just as easily with a quick flick of the wrist as with a two-handed power blow. The only thing it can't cut through is the blade of another lightsaber. Fighting with a lightsaber should really look more like fencing than hacking away at someone with a claymore.
Tbh, that thumbnail caught my attention in different emotions, not even reading this being about the new Star Wars' game 😂 Another job to our best plumber/doctor/etc.
Jedi Sins or Johnny Skywalker definitely crossed my mind before clicking the vid ✌️
oh many this guy would love the new stances in survivor
It’s a literal weightless blade……I feel like genuine physics is being ignored in this. Also the fact the people fighting can somewhat sense the future, making every offensive movement, a precursor to a defensive counter attack on a opening that may be available to attack just not at that current time in the fight.
it doesn't weigh anything but it also cuts through anything under contact so you can swing it and swipe with it in a way you couldn't with a fencing sword
Mr. Easton with the realness.
To be fair on the second lightsaber binding, Cal DOES turn off his saber to make her stumble and force pushes her