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- "Much like master and apprentice, two blades are. One can sharpen and improve the other."
- ―Yoda
Jar'Kai was a method of utilizing two weapons in combat. Jar'Kai could be employed with two lightsabers; a regular standard lightsaber in addition to a shorter shoto blade, or even two double-bladed lightsabers. Those with exceptional combative application could wield a normal lightsaber in conjunction with a longer melee weapon, be it a bladed staff or a double-bladed lightsaber. Several Force users on both the light side and the dark side of the Force utilized Jar'Kai, including Ahsoka Tano, Darth Sidious, Pong Krell, and Asajj Ventress.
History[]
High Republic Era[]
- "I used Master Darhga's lightsaber throughout the battle, when I didn't have my own. And I realized that it was somehow encouraging me the whole time. Or rather, the Force did. So when I got my original kyber back from Elder Onning, and Master Roy's lightsaber, I sat with them both for a long time. I couldn't help but feel like Master Darhga's was ready for the arch, but Master Roy's was not. I talked to Master Yoda about it, and he agreed that in this case, I could carry two lightsabers, if they truly harmonized with the Jedi carrying them."
- ―Enya Keen, explaining her decision to practice Jar'Kai
During a mission to investigate the Path of the Open Hand cult after the Battle of Jedha in the High Republic Era, Jedi Padawan Enya Keen gave up the kyber crystal of her lightsaber in order to get an audience with Path Elder Yulon Onning. Once the mission devolved into the so-called Night of Sorrow, Keen found herself fighting with the lightsaber of Jedi Master Orin Darhga even after reclaiming her own crystal. Coming to realize the Force encouraged her via the lightsaber during the battle, she would decide Darhga's kyber crystal was ready to be laid to rest in the Kyber Arch, but the crystal of her own fallen master, Char-Ryl-Roy, was not yet ready. With the permission of Master Yoda, so long as both truly harmonized with her, she decided to wield both her own lightsaber and a blade using the crystal of her fallen mentor. She would use Roy's crystal in forming a deep blue-bladed lightsaber. She presented both her original blade and her new weapon to her acquaintances Phan-tu Zenn and Xiri A'lbaran, the royal heirs of the planets Eiram and E'ronoh.[4]
Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi was skilled in Jar'Kai combat.
Padawan Rooper Nitani utilized two lightsabers, including while fighting monsters on the planet Gloam.[5]
Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi was skilled in Jar'Kai combat, and used it while fighting the carnivorous plants known as the Drengir[6] in 231 BBY.[7] Later, both Tora-Asi and Jedi Master Savina Besatrix Malagán used two lightsabers while defending the Jedi Temple on Banchii from the Nihil marauders.[8]
In 132 BBY,[9] Padawan Jecki Lon used both her own lightsaber and the lightsaber of the fallen Jedi Master Kelnacca while dueling an individual known as the Stranger on Khofar. The Stranger split his lightsaber in two during the fight, using both Jar'kai[10] and Tràkata, a style of combat that involved turning his lightsaber on and off while fighting.[11]
The Clone Wars[]
In the late Republic Era, Asajj Ventress[12] and Ahsoka Tano[13] were two practitioners of Jar'Kai, preferring to use two lightsabers as opposed to one. The cyborg General Grievous had been outfitted with arms that could split in half, enabling him to choose between holding two lightsabers or four lightsabers.[14] The Besalisk fallen Jedi Pong Krell took advantage of his four arms to use his own variant of Jar'Kai, to great effect, simultaneously wielding two double-bladed lightsabers in combat against his own clone troopers on Umbara.[15] The renegade Sith Lord Maul took to using Jar'Kai after claiming the Darksaber from Pre Vizsla. Darth Sidious was proficient in this style, using both his primary and backup weapons against Maul and Savage Opress on Mandalore. Maul once again wielded part of his bisected lightsaber alongside the Darksaber against his former master, but was defeated.[2]
Padawan Anakin Skywalker employing Jar'Kai against Count Dooku.
Although not necessarily masters or regular users of the technique, it was not uncommon for Jedi to use the lightsaber of a downed or fallen comrade in conjunction with their own. Obi-Wan Kenobi, who after defeating one MagnaGuard and claiming its electrostaff, temporarily used it with his lightsaber to duel Grievous until it was destroyed, leaving him only with his main weapon. Kenobi also utilized both his own weapon and Quinlan Vos' lightsaber against Cad Bane[16] and later used the lightsaber of Adi Gallia to duel Maul and Opress on Florrum.[17] Anakin Skywalker used a spare green lightsaber as well as Kenobi's spare blue lightsaber during his first duel with Count Dooku on Geonosis.[1] He later used the lightsaber of his apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, with his own against two super battle droids before rescuing her in a Munificent-class star frigate in the Devaron system.[18] Kelleran Beq used the blue lightsaber of a fallen Jedi along with his own green one to escape with Grogu during the siege of the Jedi Temple.
Ahsoka wielded two lightsabers during her time with the Jedi and continued after she left the order.
Skywalker used the lightsaber of Luminara Unduli with his own against undead Geonosian warriors on a rescue in the Progate Temple, Barriss Offee's lightsaber with his own in a duel at the Jedi Temple against a fallen Barriss Offee, who wielded both of Asajj Ventress' lightsabers,[19] and used Dooku's lightsaber with his own lightsaber to execute Dooku after a final duel with him on the Invisible Hand.[14] Ahsoka Tano, who during the mission on Tatooine while in a fight with three MagnaGuards, after charging one of the two remaining droids and taking its electrostaff, rammed the weapon through the other droid's power core before quickly bisecting its head and torso with her main weapon.[12] Kit Fisto used his former Padawan Nahdar Vebb's lightsaber alongside his own against General Grievous.[20] When the Gungan general, Roos Tarpals disarmed Grievous of his blue-bladed lightsaber, the cyborg uses his remaining green-bladed lightsaber alongside an electropole that he had taken from a fallen Gungan warrior against the general moments before stabbing him with it, before being subdued himself by the Gungan with the last of his strength before he died.[21]
Imperial Era[]
Kanan wielding two lightsabers against the Grand Inquisitor
Kanan Jarrus used his apprentice, Ezra Bridger's first lightsaber along his own against the Grand Inquisitor on the Sovereign.[22] He also demonstrated proficiency in Jar'Kai, when he picked up a red-bladed lightsaber from one of the walls that had many lightsabers hanging on it, to duel three Jedi Temple Guards on the Jedi Temple on Lothal, but was unable to overcome them all and eventually submitted.[23] After Ezra Bridger's first lightsaber was destroyed by Darth Vader during the Mission on Malachor,[24] he wielded the Darksaber alongside his second lightsaber to destroy the altar of the Nightsister spirits during the skirmish on Dathomir.[25]
After Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, he continued to use Jar'Kai on various occasions to deadly perfection. On Mustafar, he used a smuggler's lightsaber, which was Force pulled from the smuggler whom Vader used with his own to finish off the last remaining droid in Lady Corvax's sanctum.[26] Another time, Vader used both halves of Reva's double-bladed Inquisitor Lightsaber to mortally wound her. He also used his weapon with one of Darth Atrius' lightsabers against a group of thugs who Sana Starros had hired to keep the Imperials off her back, he utilized both lightsabers to kill all of the thugs.[27]
During his mission to Rodia, Luke Skywalker attempted to use Jar'Kai when he battled a Ghest using Jedi Knight Huulik's lightsaber and his own. Luke was successful in slaying the beast but admitted it was from "panicked reflexes and really good weapons" instead of good technique.[28]
Taron Malicos was a Jar'Kai practitioner.
The Grand Inquisitor displayed knowledge of Jar'Kai to an extent, using his own double bladed lightsaber along with the lightsaber of Kanan Jarrus, which he had claimed temporarily, to fight a large fyrnock at Fort Anaxes.[29] Maul disguised his last double-bladed weapon as a walking stick before detaching the wooden element and wielding them separately to fight three Inquisitors on Malachor.[24] After rebuilding his lightsaber on a mission to Ilum as a split saber, Cal Kestis employed the use of Jar'Kai during his quest intermittently with his other two preferred forms of combat, the single-wield and saberstaff stances, as a method to keep his enemies confused and at bay, including fallen Jedi Taron Malicos, who also practiced Jar'Kai.[30] During his mission on Coruscant, while dueling the Ninth Sister once again, Kestis began to make full use of Jar'Kai after an intense lightsaber lock split his weapon in two, using it to finally defeat and kill her. His Jar'Kai skills accompanied him on a journey to discover the lost world of Tanalorr.[31]
First Order-Resistance War[]
Ben Solo once wielded Tai's lightsaber in conjunction with his own and used it to fatally stab the dark-side user Ren.[32] Later as Kylo Ren, he snatched an electro-bisento from one Elite Praetorian Guard, briefly using it along with his crossguard lightsaber against another before killing its owner as he and Rey waged a long, grueling battle against overwhelming numbers.[33]
To finally defeat a resurrected Darth Sidious once and for all, Rey briefly used Jar'Kai, with both the Skywalker lightsaber and Leia's lightsaber, to deflect his Force lightning back at him.[34]
Behind the scenes[]
George Lucas originally viewed lightsabers as extremely heavy and difficult to handle, causing the idea of someone using two lightsabers in combat at once to be far-fetched. However, to facilitate the faster choreography in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas eventually decided to make lightsabers lighter, reintroducing the possibility of two blades being wielded simultaneously.[35] However, dual-wielding did not appear in canon until Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.[1]
Some of the ability names for the dual wield stance's skill tree in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor appear to associate Jar'Kai with poisonous snakes.[31]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
Sources[]
- Knights of Fate
- Rise of the Separatists
- Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi
- Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection
- Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith
Star Wars: The Vintage Collection (Pack: Reva (Third Sister)) (backup link)- Star Wars: The Black Series (Pack: Reva (Third Sister)) (backup link)
- Star Wars 100 Objects
- Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
- Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
Jedi Master Plo Koon & Padawan Ahsoka Tano Preview on Atomic Mass Games' official website (backup link)
Non-canon sources[]
- The Art of Star Wars: Visions (Indirect mention only)
