#JAR'KARI OBI WAN

[legobiwan]

One of the many things I lament about have to do with Obi-Wan is why he doesn’t use jar’kai despite being, like, one of the best in the entire Jedi Order (and I’m pretty sure he knows it too (“YOU ARE MISTAKEN” as he ignited both his and Adi Gallia’s lightsabers while I scream loudly)). But why does he just use one?

You mean like when he did this????

AHEM

Anyway, this got me digging into the Legends info on jar’kai I think we can find our answer in there.

1) “It should be noted that the fourth form of lightsaber combat, Ataru, was also known to employ dual blades as part of its training regimen.”

Well, we know that Obi-wan dropped the Ataru form as a whole after Qui-gon was killed, opting to concentrate strictly on the defensive Soresu form. This would explain why he is proficient in Jar’kai (Qui-gon was known as one of the best Ataru duelists of his time) but doesn’t use it as his primary. 

2) “’…such fighters tended to rely too much on their blades, and pay too little attention to the Force.‘―Jai Maruk’s thoughts on Jar'Kai”

Obi-wan does not strike me as the type of person who is going to ignore the Force for pure blade work in a duel. One of the reasons he’s probably so good at jar’kai is that he is able to incorporate the Force and technical skill together, but I can see him not wanting to risk overusing a form that would distract him from the Force.

3) “Despite the advantages offered, Jar'Kai was not without its drawbacks. Firstly, as both hands held individual lightsabers, two-handed blows were impossible, and the duelist was unable to put all his or her weight behind blocks, weakening the defensive capabilities.”

This is self-explanatory. Obi-wan is more than strong enough (have you seen the man climb cliffs? If I were half as good a climber as his I swear…) But the defensive capabilities are weakened. You know that Obi-wan read all the treatises about the different forms, saw this, and had a terrible flashback to Qui-gon getting impaled. 

Bonus: “’What was to become of elegance and gallantry if a duelist couldn’t make do with one blade?’―Dooku’s thoughts on Jar'Kai”

While I don’t think Obi-wan would subscribe to this theory (which is hilarious and so Dooku), one could make an argument that Obi-wan would want to keep his form elegant and pure (civilized, so to speak). More to the point (thank you, Hondo), Obi-wan is all about containing himself, he rarely expresses his full power and abilities in the Force, thus keeping him a humble, good Jedi. But it’s in those moments when he doesn’t contain himself, when he decides he needs to play some dirty pool or the situation gets desperate - that’s when we see the real Obi-wan, the one who could dual-wield against two Sith at once.

You are mistaken, indeed.