Swordmaster



A swordmaster was a melee warrior who was proficient in the use of bladed weapons, such as vibroweapons or lightsabers. A swordmaster was constantly training to better his skills in combat. It took years of training and practice to become a swordmaster.

Jedi swordmasters
An example of a Jedi swordmaster was Mace Windu, considered as such because of his mastery of Vaapad, which he created.

Cin Drallig, Sora Bulq and Grand Master Yoda were also considered swordmasters. All three of them had mastered every known form of lightsaber combat and Sora was known for helping Mace Windu develop his Vaapad fighting style. Also, all three became lightsaber instructors to many younglings. Yoda was considered one of the greatest swordmasters of his time, rivaled only by Mace Windu, Count Dooku and Darth Sidious.

Sith swordmasters


One of the earliest known Sith to have achieved such mastery of lightsaber combat was Tulak Hord, who is noted by Kreia to have been the greatest lightsaber duelist of his time.

Kreia demonstrated a great deal of practical knowledge of the various lightsaber forms through her instruction of the Jedi Exile during their journey. She was a practitioner of telekinetic lightsaber combat, and fought with it on a never-before-seen scale. She had the ability to fight with three lightsabers at once, holding each aloft with the Force, making them float and appear to fight with a will of their own. It should be noted, however, that this tactic was an act of desperation, as Kreia had lost both of her hands in previous engagements.

Kas'im was a Dark Lord of the Sith during the New Sith Wars and served as the blademaster at the Sith Academy on Korriban. During his life he mastered every form of lightsaber combat, and proved comfortably effective with any blade type, be it one single, one double, or two single blades. He was the one who trained Darth Bane in the art of lightsaber combat, but was later killed by his former apprentice - not by lightsaber, but by a superior command of the Force.

Darth Tyranus was once a Jedi Master who fell to the dark side and became the Sith apprentice to Darth Sidious. Dooku was a consummate practitioner of Form II: Makashi. He was regarded by many as one of the greatest duelists of his time, on par with Mace Windu who himself was considered by many as second only to Master Yoda.

Darth Sidious was also a Sith swordmaster, being one of the very few who was the equal of Yoda or Mace Windu. As a master of all the seven lightsaber forms, all their stances and techniques and being capable of using each form equally effective ambidextrously, he was the greatest and most skilled Sith swordmaster.

Appearances



 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Shatterpoint (novel)
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * The New Jedi Order: Dark Journey
 * Backlash