[ASK] Peaceful Art or Artful War?

[Stacker01]

Thur'hars spun counter-clockwise, his twin training sabers moving, though rather poorly, through the kata of his unorthodox Form III he'd learned from Initiate Erbek. Awaiting his Master, Jedi Knight Dimash, to show, Thur'hars himself having show extra early, practiced his swings, defensive moments, and mirrored blocks, exploits, and attacks. They were done slowly, to allow his muscles to feel the weight and the movement. He then switched to the next kata, reverse movements that covered more area and (theoretically) gave him a much wider base of defense.

Several minutes passed and one saber deactivated while Thur'hars went into the more traditional Form III stance and began into the basic kata, which were obviously much more controlled. He knew it was amazingly easier for Codru-Ji to dual wield, and they could even use two staves effectively. But the lightsaber was a weapon, a tool, and an extension of one's body all in itself. Even his race would have natural trouble utilizing it without specialized training and abilities.

After more time passed, Thur'hars sat down, both training lightsabers resting on two of his palms. He began breathing slowly, bringing his mind ever closer to the Force. He had felt it two days prior, and felt it so very strong. He reflected on what he'd learned when he first met his Master, thinking upon the Code, and the Precepts. Suddenly he felt the Force wash over him, and by the time Knight Dimash would enter, Thur'hars would be sitting perfectly still in meditation with two lightsabers hovering just barely above his hands.

 

[Saul]

Saul had been observing the padawan for some time from afar. They were practicing in a park nearby the Temple, a place often reserved for meditation and peaceful recreation. A few civilians came here, all of them with honest faces. Few men guilty of crimes would willingly put themselves in a place among people who could sense their guilt without ever needing to look at evidence. So, as the Codru-Ji practiced his kata in public, swinging lightsabers around, he drew the attention of a few people. The more mundane folk were impressed by his strength, and the multitude of arms. Saul, however, noted the padawans weaknesses.

Though, he did find himself more curious how Thur'hars could manage to manipulate two swords with four limbs and only one brain. Jedi reflexes, no doubt, but the physics of it all still puzzled Saul. He imagined that if he had four arms, he'd probably end up severing two and have an easier time with it all. He moved from his spot on a nearby bridge overlooking a calm, stream that ran from an artificial spring to a waterfall that heaved off the edge of the park and into a recycling pool below, where it would again be pumped to the spring and the cycle would repeat. The path to Thur'hars was a simple, winding dirt path that etched its way through the grass. He stopped before the meditating padawan who had seemingly been practicing what he had learned two days prior.

"Thur'hars, I see you're quite at peace." Saul sat down before Thur'hars seiza-style, laying his palms down on his thighs. "Before we begin, I would like to make sure you understand the purpose of a lightsaber as a weapon. Tell me, when should a Jedi strike?"

 

[Stacker01]

The peaceful moment Thur'hars was in was interrupted when Knight Dimash arrived, though it did not bother Thur'hars. He was in public, away from the Codru he'd met, and that meant he did not feel free to show emotion. His stoicism would have returned in full, but for now he was meditating. He heard Dimash sit in front of him and Thur'hars opened his eyes. "Strike, Master?" He asked. It was more rhetorical than anything, but he continued, his face back to the emotionless stoicism his Master had seen from him two days prior.. "Jedi should never strike." His answer was simple, though he assumed that Knight Dimash wanted something more. He did, after all, say he wanted assurance Thur'hars understood the purpose of a lightsaber.

Thur'hars allowed the training sabers to drop into his hands. "Honestly, I feel as though that question is loaded, a kind of trick question. A weapon is not just an instrument of death. For Jedi nothing should be used as an instrument of death. Weapons are ideas, symbols. Hope and peace are everything a lightsaber should symbolize." Thur'hars hoped this was enough, though if pressed he could certainly go into further detail. He had known passerbys had watched him. His size and body structure could have relayed that he was a fierce warrior, but the way he used the lightsabers, though clumsy for a Jedi, could have relayed peace, defense. However, many civilians did not know combat and, therefore, would not know what the peace through defense the Form he used embodied. Of course, some were still lingering and he hoped, at the very least, they might overhear what was said. He may be stern and stoic, but he could relay exactly what he meant easily enough.

 

[Saul]

Thur'hars answer related to Saul everything he needed to know about his padawans lightsaber training to date. There would be much work to be done teaching this Codru-Ji the practical purpose of the lightsaber as a weapon. He had thought to deeply on the question, and at the same time had assumed that Saul meant to trick him into a false answer - tricks themselves were not in accordance with the Code. Saul only rarely resorted to them on a day-to-day basis, and as a teaching technique he had always found them more frustrating than useful.

"A Jedi should never strike, but the Galaxy is not ideal. We often have to strike. But, to answer the question I asked earlier - when? When a Jedi strikes, it is not to defend the weak, it is not to protect the innocent. It is simply because there is a conflict, and it must be ended," Saul paused for a moment, still kneeling before Thur'hars. "The lightsaber is capable of killing any normal creature in an instant, and yet a Jedi does not seek to kill. Knowing when to strike is important. Sometimes you must appear to be the aggressor - though this seems against the Code itself. Sometimes waiting for the enemy to strike first is condemning the innocent, or yourself, to death. Defense alone can never overcome pure aggression."

"The difference between aggression and aggressive defense is a fine, delicate line, which neither the Eight Fold Path nor the Code will draw for you. You must define that line yourself," Saul continued. "If you are willing, I will help teach you the difference between aggression and aggressive defense."

 

[Stacker01]

Thur'hars' face expressed a surprised or dismayed confusion at his Master's response. He felt as though the idea of only defending, in Knight Dimash's mind, was to wait for an attack. This was not always the case. While Knight Dimash obviously understood that sometimes we must offensively defend, it seemed that he did not understand that a defensive action was not necessarily just a reaction to an aggressive action. It was even clear in the teachings the Order gave concerning the Old Republic Jedi Order in that they seemed too unwilling to fight until it was too late. Thur'hars wasn't sure if he could properly communicate what he was thinking, or if he should, so he did not speak.

Thur'hars nodded to his Master when Saul offered to teach him the difference of pure aggression and an 'aggressive defense'. He would at least listen, knowing that either of them could be misunderstanding the other. There was also the possibility they were thinking along the same lines but gave it different terms to understand it. Either way one or the other may learn something they didn't really know.

 

[Saul]

"I sense you have something to say," Saul said, still sitting before the padawan. "Do not hesitate to speak your mind with me, I can only teach you if you engage me." Saul's words were still stern, but his expression imparted no sense that he was patronizing Thur'hars. Saul understood that there was likely a misunderstanding occurring between what Saul had said and what Thur'hars had interpreted, and Saul meant to clear that up before they continued with the lesson. Saul did not, afterall, know exactly how much knowledge Thur'hars possessed about lightsaber combat ad philosophy behind it, and the answer previously given had related to Saul a notion that Thur'hars was adverse to committing to violent action.

 

[Stacker01]

Thur'hars was quite willing to simply listen but he was pressed to speak his mind. "I think we misunderstand one another. Simply put, defending and being defensive is not a reactive action. As I learned when I trained with Initiate Erbek on Tython, I must not simply block his attacks. To simply block was reactionary. But to actually defend myself in that sparing, including defending my stamina, I had to be actively seeking out his attacks so I could defend before the attack even came." Thur'hars thought back to the sparing session. It had worn him out quickly because of the massive number of straight blocks he did, but when he let his mind simply go he had blocked more effectively, anticipating the attack before it actually came and even subverting future swings in the process.

"The whole point of defending is not to simply stay alive or block an attack, as that wears out a person's stamina. In the same way, the Jedi as an Order must be active in anticipating threats and being ready to defend before the attack comes so that when it does it can be...brushed away with minimal effort. That is not to say we must become offensive and destructive but rather that we must make effective actions that take as few of our resources as possible without damaging that effectiveness."

Thur'hars thought about relating the principle to the symbolism of the lightsaber, connecting dots in his head that he had not quite mentally accrued previously, though he innately understood. "When we defend we are not ones who strike, per se. While we are not to be the aggressors of combat we must be ready to take on a combative opponent who might be offensive or even defensive. In the case of a defensive person going into a bout against another defensive person we are given chances to be more diplomatic. This diplomacy can give us an edge. At the same time it also gives us chances to slip around their defenses and get in that one counter-attack that disarms out opponent. Sadly, this could mean killing but we should never glory in death. That is what creates the symbolism of peace that the lightsaber embodies. We are the ever-ready protectors, who will put up our defenses before the attack comes and defend before it can come.

"I am not saying we simply stand by and wait for an attack to happen. The Old Jedi Order fell to it's enemies because it waited for the threat to be 'apparent', while the Jedi Order of today simply waits for the signs of a threat before engaging, but will engage, whether with the sword of the tongue or the blade of the lightsaber, before the threat can do any damage. To be an aggressor, or to be offensive, we would have to stop defending ourselves and our people and begin trying to destroy our opponents. When we become offensive we start down the aggressive, hateful path the Dark Side represents. But when we are defensive, not passive but defensive, we follow the path of Light and our focus then is more toward keeping people alive rather than focusing on death. While I wish to be a diplomat and a healer first, I also understand all too well the necessity of combating a threat before it can do the damage it seeks."