Sun djem

"Not bad, you remembered to destroy their weapons first. I'm improving your technique."

- Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano.



In lightsaber combat, sun djem was an attack used by the Jedi that destroyed or disarmed the weapon of an opponent, the objective usually being not to physically harm the opponent.

Sun djem was a goal of early Form I duelists, as disarming or destroying the opponents' weapons could ensure victory without causing injury, which was always a Jedi objective. However with the rise of Form II, sun djem became nearly impossible as Makashi duelists were well trained to prevent their own weapons being taken or destroyed.

Notable Uses
In a display of brute stength, Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Bane punched Valenthyne Farfalla's lightsaber from his grasp as they dueled on Tython. Farfalla was caught off guard by the move, and before he could retrieve his blade the Dark Lord proceeded to behead the Equine Jedi Master.

During their duel in the reactor core of the Theed Palace on Naboo, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi applied sun djem and sliced Darth Maul's weapon in half&mdash;though the Sith Lord's weapon continued to function with a single blade allowing Maul to keep fighting.

On Geonosis, Count Dooku displayed masterful sun djem by depriving Anakin Skywalker of his second blade and destroying the hilt in mid-air. Dooku later applied sun djem against Asajj Ventress during their first duel on Rattatak, pulling her two weapons out of her hands with the Force and cutting them in two.



During their duel on Yavin IV, Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress applied sun djem against one another several times. The first application was when Skywalker caught one of Ventress' lightsabers in a bind and flicking it aside, before immediately repeating it with Ventress' second weapon. In the next occurrence, Ventress forced Skywalker into a bladelock and shoved hard, causing the Jedi to lose his grip on the weapon. Skywalker quickly retaliated by seizing Ventress' wrists and squeezing the one in his prosthetic hand until Ventress dropped the saber held in it.

When Grievous first revealed himself to the Republic during the Battle of Hypori, he applied the technique against Jedi Masters Shaak Ti and Ki-Adi-Mundi, bashing their lightsabers from their grips with sudden power blows.

Kenobi applied the technique against Asajj Ventress's during their duel within a B'omarr Monastery on Teth, which resulted in the loss of one of Ventress's paired lightsabers.

During their sparring match just prior to the Battle of Coruscant, Dooku applied the sun djem against Grievous, chiding the cyborg for holding his weapon too lightly.

While on Rugosa attempting to negotiate with King Katuunko of Toydaria on behalf of the Galactic Republic, Master Yoda was confronted by Asajj Ventress, who tried to attack with with her ignited blades. Through the Force, Yoda held her twin weapons fast, deactivated them, and snatched them from her grasp&mdash;before returning them to the impotent woman's hands.

During their duel in the Chancellor's office, Mace Windu kicked Darth Sidious in the face, causing the Sith Lord to stumble backwards and drop his lightsaber as he flailed for balance.

In another duel within Theed Palace, Ferus Olin disarmed Grand Inquisitor Malorum by kicking his lightsaber out of his hands, causing Malorum to fall to his death after he tried to regain his lightsaber.

In a Carbon freezing chamber on Bespin, Darth Vader disarmed Luke Skywalker by catching the Jedi's weapon in a bind and flicking it aside, reusing the technique he had used against Asajj Ventress on Yavin IV.

Darth Sidious displayed a masterful application of sun djem on several occations, both with a lightsaber and the Force. During their duel in the Senate Arena, Sidious blasted Yoda's lightsaber out of his hand with a barrage of Force Lightning, and telekinetically caused the lightsaber wielded by Leia Organa Solo to explode in her hands during their first encounter on Byss. He later deprive Luke Skywalker of his lightsaber during their duel in the Sith Lord's cloning laboratory.

Behind the scenes


In both the comic and novelization of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan Kenobi is shown applying sun djem against General Grievous. However, both instances contradict the movie and are outweighed in canonical value.

Mace Windu displayed his mastery of sun djem in the novelization of Episode III by slicing Palpatine's lightsaber in half. In the comic, Mace displayed another variation of sun djem by kicking Palpatine's right palm to knock away the Sith lightsaber. However both scenes directly contradicted the movie and were outranked in canonical value.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones junior novel
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars
 * Ambush
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Star Wars Galaxies
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Dark Empire 4: Confrontation on the Smugglers' Moon