Form VII/Legends

"I created Vaapad to answer my weakness: it channels my own darkness into a weapon of the light."

- Mace Windu to Obi-Wan Kenobi

Form VII: Juyo / Vaapad was the final form of the seven forms of lightsaber combat.

Description
"How many arms do you see?"

- Mace Windu

Dubbed the Way of the Vornskr or The Ferocity Form, Juyo, a term from High Galactic, was originally considered an incomplete form for millennia. Generally viewed as undeveloped and rarely used by the Jedi and the Sith, Juyo was not seen as one of the main forms for generations of Jedi. Jedi Master Mace Windu developed his own Form VII, which was nicknamed Vaapad after a creature from Sarapin which moved with speed similar to Vaapad. (In 22 BBY, Palpatine stated that he had only ever heard of six forms; Yoda said there were only 6 forms for generations of Jedi, and Mace's indicated that he invented Vaapad. Noted that Darth Maul, Palpatine's apprentice, was a Juyo practitioner.) The nickname, Vaapad, came from students likening it to an aquatic predator, the vaapad, which used its tenacles in lightning-fast whipping attacks. It was said to be impossible to tell how many tentacles a vaapad had until it was dead.

The most challenging and demanding of all forms, Form VII required intense focus, a high degree of skill, and mastery of other forms. Only two Jedi ever mastered Vaapad fully: Mace Windu and Depa Billaba. Sora Bulq helped Windu develop Vaapad, but Bulq proved too weak to master the flow of the light and dark sides of the Force generated by the use of the technique, and fell to the dark side. Sora instructed Quinlan Vos in a few of its basics. Mace Windu noted that Vaapad mastered Bulq, not the other way around. Depa Billaba, Windu's Padawan, similarly fell to the dark side when the Vaapad mindset, combined with the horrors of the war drove her insane. Before her fate was sealed, Mace noted that Depa's bladework had already surpassed his Vaapad. General Grievous used his technical prowess to copy Vaapad to a degree when he fought Mace Windu on Coruscant, though due to his lack of Force sensitivity, he could not truly master it. But it was possible that Grievous had already learned the moves of Juyo, as Dooku noted that Grievous and his guards mastered all the seven classic combat forms.



Intrepid, somewhat direct movements were used in combination with advanced techniques involving Force-powered jumps and motions. Form VII did not appear as fancy as Form IV, as there were not moves like twirling and flipping, but the technical requirements were much higher. Vaapad used seemingly free-wheeling and open movements, but with utter control on the part of the wielder. The end result, if practiced correctly, was a very unpredictable lightsaber style. The staccato swings and flow of the form made it seem as if the attacks were not linked&mdash;but in reality, it was merely confusing the opponent.

Form VII demanded the emotional and physical intensity of Form V, but it much more effectively controlled it&mdash;if mastered. Form VII, when fully mastered, resulted in extraordinary power.

However, Vaapad bordered on the edge of falling to the dark side, as it channelled one's enjoyment of fighting into the attack. Only Windu's mastery and concentration on the light side prevented him from succumbing to his own anger, which is why Vaapad was rarely practiced and very dangerous. As noted above, the only other known practitioners of Vaapad, Sora Bulq and Depa Billaba both fell to the dark side of the Force. Darth Maul, a Sith Lord who appeared to have mastered Juyo, was so immersed in the dark side, yet so much in control of his anger that he could employ his own deadly variant of Juyo without fear. Coupled with his martial prowess, Darth Maul used this variant to defeat several skilled Jedi, including Master Qui-Gon Jinn. However, Darth Maul only devoted to the Form's physical focus, thus he remained silent during the duels on Tatooine and Naboo. Maul desired pure physical victory, rather than the "higher" Sith tradition of Dun Möch, which could dominate the opponent's spirit through taunts that expose inner doubts and weaknesses.



With that said, Vaapad was not just a fighting style. It was a state of mind and a power. The state of mind required that a user of Vaapad allow himself to enjoy the fight. He had to give himself over to the thrill of battle, the rush of winning. Vaapad was a path that led through the penumbra of the dark side. The power of Vaapad was simple: it was a channel for one's inner darkness; and it was a reflecting device. With strict control, a Jedi's own emotions and inner darkness could be changed into a weapon of the light.



Vaapad was also described as "a superconducting loop," with the user on one end and the opponent on the other. It was able to take the powers of the opponent and reflect it back at them. In his fight with Palpatine, Mace Windu used the Chancellor's own speed and hatred against him, reflecting it back against the Sith Lord and using it as his own power. Also, when Palpatine unleashed his Force lightning on Mace, the Jedi was able to use his lightsaber, with the power of Vaapad, to reflect the lightning back at him. However, because Palpatine was probably a master of the Sith variant of Juyo as well, he fed the power of Force lightning with his own pain, thus intensified the energetic attack despite his suffering.

The power of Vaapad was quite incredible: it was at once a form of lightsaber combat, a state of mind, and an actual tangible power. To use it required great mastery, discipline and, above all else, purity of heart and spirit. Vaapad users were intense, focused and introverted. There were even signs of pent-up hostility in them.

Around the time of the Jedi Civil War, Juyo was already the lightsaber form relied upon by notable figures among the Jedi, including the famed Jedi Weapon Master Kavar, indicating that Juyo was indeed a complete and effective form for millennia before Mace Windu created his version of Form VII, Vaapad, although it was also possible that the ancient Juyo masters and their skills became the casualties of war.

Behind the scenes

 * The Sith apprentice Sirak in Darth Bane: Path of Destruction was stated to be a Vaapad practitioner, long before the style was created by Mace Windu. At a booksigning in Huntington Beach, California, author Drew Karpyshyn said, " I meant Juyo, but it was a late night when I wrote that and didn't catch it until it was too late. That's one mistake I wish to God I could change. So when you read it and see Vaapad, just pretend it says Juyo."
 * One should note that the description of Luke's blade work in The Unifying Force matches the descriptions of the legendary lightsaber combat form Vaapad.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Republic: Emissaries to Malastare
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * Shatterpoint
 * Jedi: Mace Windu
 * Star Wars Republic: Show of Force
 * Star Wars Republic: Trackdown
 * Boba Fett: Pursuit
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * The Last of the Jedi: Return of the Dark Side