Cho mai

In lightsaber combat, cho mai was the act of cutting off an opponent's weapon hand. This move showed that the Jedi using it had honored the opponent by causing minimal physical damage; it also showed the skill and mastery of the Jedi performing the move to the opponent. This is considered merciful amongst dark side users who prefer killing their opponents rather than maiming them.

Notable uses
Darth Traya was a victim of two cho mai strikes. Aboard the Harbinger, a Hammerhead-class cruiser, Darth Sion cut off Kreia's left hand. Some time afterwards, the Jedi Exile would slice off her right hand on Malachor V.

Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Bane severed the weapon hand of Johun Othone while they dueled in Belia Darzu's stronghold.

During their duel onboard the Invisible Hand, Anakin Skywalker sliced both of Dooku's hands off, taking brutal revenge for the loss of his arm on Geonosis.

During the Battle of Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi performed two cho mai strikes against General Grievous by altering the angle of his parries to catch the lower halves of the cyborg's wrists.

At the end of the war, Anakin Skywalker again applied cho mai on Mace Windu, as he saw only a brief opportunity to prevent the death of his future Master.

In 19 BBY, Darth Vader assailed a secret meeting of surviving Jedi. The first to die by his blade was the Jedi Knight Sia-Lan Wezz, having been impaled by the Dark Lord. He then executed a cho mai strike as she fell dead, adding insult to injury.

Many years later in Cloud City, Vader cut off the sword hand of his own son, Luke Skywalker, bringing an end to their duel. Luke returned the favor in their rematch during the Battle of Endor, although both of Vader's arms were mechanical.

In a brief but fierce duel, Luke Skywalker proved victorious after cutting off the hand of a reborn Emperor Palpatine during the Battle of Pinnacle Base.

Years later, Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith, used this maneuver on Luke Skywalker during their duel at the Roqoo Depot.

Sith Lord Darth Kruhl applied cho mai against Rikkar-du in between application of two brutal shiim marks. He then killed Rikkar-du.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones junior novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith junior novel
 * Star Wars: Purge
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Dark Empire
 * Star Wars: Dark Empire (audio)
 * Tempest
 * Star Wars Legacy 13: Ready to Die