Form III/Legends



"That is so like you, Master Kenobi. I am called a great swordsman because I invented a lethal style; but who is greater, the creator of a killing form&mdash;or the master of the classic form?"

- Mace Windu to Obi-Wan Kenobi

Form III: Soresu, also known as the Way of the Mynock, or The Resilience Form was the third of the seven forms of lightsaber combat.

Description
Originally, Form III was developed as a counter to blaster weapons used by single or multiple opponents. Early Jedi wielding lightsabers began to increasingly encounter opponents armed with long-ranged blaster weapons. They quickly discovered that more elegant forms such as Makashi did not provide adequate protection against blaster attacks. Form III enabled a Force user to deflect blaster bolts at accurate, precise angles, by making use of short sweeping motions, keeping the lightsaber close to the body. Form III represented the most defensive form of the seven disciplines.

Philosophy
The philosophy of Soresu is described as "being within the eye of the storm." The practitioner maintained a centered frame of concentration, undisrupted by the conflict around them. They did this to maintain the calm center where the outer storm of combat could not harm them. Thus, Soresu commanded powerful defensive techniques that seemed to adapt to almost any circumstance, at the cost of never reaching past the figurative eye of the storm. The Soresu technique used little to none of the attack power needed by those who concentrate on the storm itself. Those who studied this style used the primarily defensive technique to wear down aggressive opponents by defending long onslaughts with minimal counter-attacking. They waited until their adversary spent most of their energy, then employed an alternate, more aggressive attack. Masters of the form left no opening for their opponents to take advantage of. Instead, they waited for eventual lapses in their opponent's own defense.

The key to truly mastering Soresu may have come from a mastery of the concept and philosophy of Soresu. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, despite his preference for Soresu, applied Shii-Cho elements and Ataru acrobatics into his swordplay, as evidenced by his recollection of his intense duel with the Sith Lord Count Dooku onboard the Invisible Hand. Kenobi may have nurtured these adaptations to Soresu after his loss to Dooku on Geonosis. Dooku used the elegant tactical swordplay of Makashi to find an effective and almost fatal gap in the somewhat simple defense Kenobi employed using a more pure Soresu technique. Dooku expressed his disappointment in Kenobi's less imaginative use of Form III at the time.

Obi-Wan Kenobi also demonstrated his adapted Soresu in his duel against Darth Vader. Kenobi appeared to gradually fall back, yet in the end, he retained the presence of mind to attack with a creative finishing strike that his adversary failed to anticipate.

Application


The third form of lightsaber combat utilized motions that occurred very close to the body, in an attempt to achieve near-total protection and expend as little energy as possible while executing moves. Form III stressed quick reflexes and fast positional transition, in order to overcome the rapidity with which a blaster could be fired. This technique minimized the body's exposure, making a well-trained practitioner nearly invincible. Followers of Soresu comfortably remained on the defensive until their opponent left an opening that a Soresu practitioner could exploit, usually in multiple ways. Observers generally described Soresu as a passive form of combat. Jedi with an extremely patient and reserved personality often employed the form.

Combat


Form III opens with the offensive back stance, one of many lightsaber combat stances easily adaptable to form a strong defense and a fast opening strike if necessary. Form III stances also shared traits with the basic stances of Form I seen demonstrated by Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon.

Form III involved preparation for prolonged battles where the user observed and learned as much as possible about their opponent or opponents technique while engaged in combat. Also, by being more capable in lengthy battles, a Soresu user had the ability to gain control of a combat situation, creating multiple options for the Jedi employing the form. The Form III user could choose to kill, disarm, or even reason with their opponent.

Many Soresu practitioners survived the lengthy Battle of Geonosis, thanks to the endurance gained from the form and its specialization in fending off and deflecting blaster fire. Soresu's greatest power lay in the endurance and control a practitioner eventually developed.



Jedi Master Mace Windu noted that, unlike any of the other combat styles, Soresu was not an answer to a particular type of weakness. Vaapad was an answer to Windu's inner darkness; Ataru was Yoda's answer to his limited reach and advanced age; and Djem So helped Anakin release his own powerful emotions. Toward the end of the Clone Wars, Master Windu acknowledged Obi-Wan Kenobi as "The master of Soresu." It was because of this fact that Kenobi was chosen by the Jedi High Council as the Jedi best suited to defeat General Grievous. During their duel, the Jedi Master was capable of parrying all four of Grievous's lightsabers, gradually disarming the droid general. Earlier, during his duel with Count Dooku aboard the Invisible Hand, Kenobi's expert use of Soresu held Dooku back easily, and it was only Dooku's superior power in the Force that allowed him to remove Kenobi from the battle.



Soresu was considered the consummate Jedi combat form in that it embraced a passive way of life and a literal expression of the Jedi tenet to defend rather than attack. Obi-Wan himself considered Soresu very simple, so restrained and defense-oriented that Form III was very nearly downright passive. As a master, Obi-Wan could defend himself against any attack less than twenty strikes per second. Darth Vader used elements of Form III in his variant of Form V.

Advantages
Soresu was a very favorable form of combat for Jedi until the Great Jedi Purge. The defense and control it allowed a practitioner made for suitable outcomes in favor of the user when faced with hurried opponents who left themselves vulnerable to counterattack. However, its defense required a very large amount of focus from the wielder and even a momentary fault in concentration could have meant the user's defeat. Jedi with less focused minds would usually abandon this style of combat to capitalize on the benefits of other styles that required less dedication to prolonged fighting. Jedi who mastered Soresu were known to be the most successful when dealing in situations when a quick victory was not favorable to total understanding and calculated action.

Weaknesses
Truly focused masters of Soresu were very formidable due to their strong defense technique. Soresu, however, facilitated survival more than victory. Form III initiates were more than capable defending themselves from attack, but they needed a large amount of experience to learn how to trap an opponent in their own offense. Masters had to maintain an incredibly strong focus on the center of the combat circle, since the defensive tactics of the form included guards and parries engaged very close to the body. Jedi who left small lapses in their otherwise strong defense left little room to avoid injury.

Form III did not favor Jedi Generals in a lengthy fight with troops left alone on the battlefield. Jedi found this situation usually inevitable during the Clone Wars. General Obi-Wan Kenobi provided a good example of this situation when he needed to leave his regiment of troops to conduct his reconnaissance search for General Grievous.

Notable Form III practitioners
The Sith Apprentice Fohargh also practiced Form III, being forced to use it against Darth Bane's preferred Form V. Fohargh was able to best Darth Bane, switching from III to II quickly, glancing a blow across Bane's shoulder. However, Fohargh lost his life to Bane as a result of his taunting of Bane after he claimed the match was over.

Behind the scenes

 * Bultar Swan may be a practitioner of a Form III variant, as evidenced by the comments in Order 66: Destroy all Jedi which states "Swan developed a unique lightsaber style marked by minimal movements and sudden bursts of aggression."
 * In the Episode II novelisation by R. A. Salvatore Yoda used an defensive style against Dooku in the beginning of their duel, possibly indicating Soresu mastery.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * The Cestus Deception
 * MedStar Duology
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novelization