Form II/Legends



"He is a fencer. Leverage, position, advantage&mdash;they are as natural to him as breathing."

- Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit to Yoda on Count Dooku

Form II: Makashi or The Contention Form was the second form of the seven forms of lightsaber combat.

Description
After Form I's proliferation as a lightsaber combat technique, Form II, or Way of the Ysalamiri, came about as a means of lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat. It was described as being very elegant, powerful, and requiring extreme precision, allowing the user to attack and defend with minimal effort, while his opponent tires himself out, often wielding the blade one-handed for greater range of movement and fluidity. The form relied on parries, thrusts, and small, precise cuts&mdash;as opposed to the blocking and slashing of the other forms. Form II countered sun djem, the goal of early Form I masters, by being well trained in prevention of disarming and weapon destruction.



The opening stance for Makashi is a single-handed low guard, with the blade angled downward at the practitioner's side. The formal salute that Dooku offered Yoda on Geonosis was a "Makashi salute", while a Makashi flourish consisted of drawing a rapid X in the air with the blade.

It required very fluid movements of both the blade and the body. Form II emphasized fluid motion and anticipation of a weapon being swung at it's target.

Feints would also be commonly used to confuse or set-up their opponents for a trap, a tactic that Count Dooku commonly used in his duels during the Clone Wars. Precise footwork and movements were required for maintaining proper distance from the opponent during defense and/or when moving in for an attack. The blade manipulation required for this form was very refined and required intense focus. Timing, accuracy, and skill, rather than strength, were relied on to defeat one's opponent, and with a skilled practitioner, the results were extremely potent.



The footwork of Makashi practitioners followed a single line, front and back, shifting the feet to keep in perfect balance as the practitioner attacked and retreated. Makashi was a style based on balance, on back-and-forth charges, thrusts, and sudden retreats. Elegance, gallantry, enchantment, finesse, artfulness, and economy were the core of Makashi. Makashi duelists trained themselves to avoid enslavement to form, as such enslavement opened the practitioner to be defeated by unpredictability and the unforeseen.

Dooku was a master of Form II to the highest degree, fighting with the precision built into the ancient technique. The hilt of his lightsaber was curved, allowing for better manipulation of the blade during parries and thrusts. This was apparently common during the early years of the Republic, when many of the Jedi used the Makashi form. When Darth Tyranus wielded this form, it devastated the Jedi; the system of Jedi training immediately before and during the Clone Wars did not prepare many of them for the finesse and precise movements of a form bred for lightsaber dueling.



The Jedi Exile was a practitioner of Makashi. It was also one of the forms taught to General Grievous by Dooku himself, and the cyborg General in turn taught Makashi to his IG-100 MagnaGuards. Jedi Master Cin Drallig, the legendary lightsaber instructor, was another candidate of Makashi. The Sith apprentice Fohargh practiced Makashi besides Soresu during his training.

Makashi users were elegant, precise, calm, confident to the point of arrogance (as befit Dooku's personality). Form II users were supremely confident in their chances for victory, and often looked so relaxed when they were fighting they even appeared to be dancing. The biggest flaw in Makashi is that it will not hold off heavy attacks, such as from Shien/Djem-So (Count Dooku got extremely tired while fighting Anakin Skywalker in the Episode III novelization but not in the film) or from multiple enemies/attacks. The reason being for that is that Makashi is about speed and accuracy, not about strength.

Darth Vader's personal variant of Form V included elements of Form II, as well as Form III and Form IV.

Form II is believed to have been died out with Count Dooku's, Cin Drallig's and Darth Vader's death, as there is no record of its instruction after the Clone Wars in Luke Skywalker's new Jedi order. It is believed to have been lost.

Common Moves and Mauneuvers
Opening Stance

The opening stance is a single handed low guard. The saber will be held in the strong hand of the user, and held at his side, the blade pointing down. Feet should be shoulder width apart. Some face their opponent side on, so the blade is pointing in their direction.

Makashi Salute

The Makashi Salute, is not a attack or mauneuver but a challenge to your opponent, meant by many arrogant users of Makashi as a way of saying "You really think you can win?". Holding the saber in one hand, bring it up vertical directly in front of your face, then swing it down and make a rapid X in the air. One of the best examples of this ancient tradition is when Count Dooku does it to his former master Yoda.

Makashi Attack Posture

The Makashi Attack stance involves holding the saber above your head with two hands, blade pointing upwards, many times making opponents anticipate that you are going to slash at the head. The user's, strong or leading, foot should be placed pointing towards your opponent, with the other foot about shoulder width apart behind, keeping your feet in line. Count Dooku is also seen doing this during his battles against Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Yoda, respectively.

Behind the scenes

 * The former Separatist general and Dark Jedi Sev'rance Tann was likely a practitioner of Form II, as she was trained by Count Dooku.


 * Darth Nihilus is sometimes considered to be using Makashi. However, there is no canonical info to confirm this.


 * In the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, it is said that Soresu lacks the grace of a Shaak Ti or a Count Dooku, leading to some speculations that Shaak Ti is a Makashi practitioner as well. The fact that she survived the Geonosis arena battle, where the Jedi were facing an overwhelming force of battle droids weakens this argument.


 * Master Tyvokka carried a curved lightsaber during the Stark Hyperspace War, and may have been a practitioner of this form. Notably, he is killed by blaster bolts.


 * Likewise, the Dark Jedi Lycan in the story Nomad who carried a curved hilt lightsaber was another possible Makashi candidate.


 * In Republic: Trackdown, Count Dooku commented that Master Tholme was keeping up the dueling skills instead of blast-deflecting skills; Dooku also mentioned that he and Tholme respected and followed the old ways, both suggesting Tholme may have been another practitioner of Makashi. This also may suggest that Quinlan Vos was trained in the forms Makashi as he is often seen using his lightsaber one-handed during battles.


 * Xanatos is a possible practitioner as well. However, it is nullified by, as Qui-Gon Jinn put it, "Your footwork is your weakness."


 * Ki-Adi-Mundi is seen using a one handed style in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, suggesting he might have been a Makashi practioner, or incorpoated elements of Makashi into his fighting. However, this is not confirmed by any official sources.


 * Qui-Gon Jinn is also a possible candidate for Makashi as a result of his training with Dooku while he was Dooku's Padawan.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novelization