Saber Forum

So, my bother was telling his friend about US, and he responds with "Dude you're so far behind... I have like 9 of em, including a staff!"

WTF? Lol and apparently his friend is pretty good with the staff. Any advice on how to better take on a staff user for all ye single handers??

while i've never dueled someone with a staff, i'd think that speed and agility would help greatly to combat a staff.

Best advice for using a staff and fighting a staff. Always be aware of where the other end is.

Move in close and make it imposible to weild the staff, constaly press the advantage one inside you will own him

Sweet deal, thanks guys! Though that all seems like info I should of already known lol.  I wanna dual this guy cuz my lil bro said he was pretty good, so hopefully when my saber comes in that'll happen sooner or later :)

agreed , stay in close and give him NO room to swing/spin......game over!

As a side note, the staff wielders main weak spot will always be his/her center as he/she has to work from side to side.

Very worthwhile advice as usual Uilos!  The staff is very intimidating, but it has one limitation - the one end is fully dependent on the other.  In other words, when you swing one end the other can only be opposite it, as opposed to dual wielding.  This means you're really only getting one strike at a time, so as long as you can keep up with that you'll be ok.

Not to say it's easy!  It's an unorthodox weapon to combat for sure.  Against something like I would think you'd have to go one of two ways - either patiently keep your distance, waiting for an opening, or use an all out attack like Temple and Vex said.

I think a good combo of both patience and blitz offense is what you would need. It also depends on this guys skills, cuz like I've stated before, I am a lot faster then my size puts off. I plan to feel out the battle in the beginning then make a judgement call once I see where he decides to take it.

Being a defender in basketball is one of the hardest things to do, and thats something that I practiced for 10 yrs. The point about a staff wielders center point being the weakest is just like basketball. You never watch the ball, or the shoulders or the feet, because these can be very shifty and decieving... Watch the center of the persons body, it never moves. And I'm guessing the exact same concept with dueling.

Getting comfortable with being in close is important with many different dueling situations.

Also what I like to do against staff wielders is keep my defense in tight. Aim for that big opening of a hilt they have. IF you can get inside there you can take arms and wrists and hands and all sorts of fun marks of contact.

Make no mistake the double bladed lightsaber makes its money because of its unorthodox nature. People see it and are intimidated, don't be intimidated. Also if you can take them to a spot that is a little enclosed; you can bite off some of their attack avenues. Some might call that cheating. I call it working smarter not harder.

And that my friends, is why Lucien makes the big bucks  ;D

I'm actually not that imtimidated with him using a staff, but all this info is much appreciated, and I will store it in the infinite space that is my noggin, lol.

My brother talks a big game about a lot of things, so, I really hope that he is good. Because if you plan to be the best, you need to take out the best.

I've spent about eight years doing Chinese Martial Arts (I'm 17), and saber staffs actually fight very well. 

The common misconception with saber duelists is that they see the staff as two blades joined at the hilt.  Do your best to visualize the entire staff as one single unit (difficult, you subconsciously follow the two blades separately, due to the fact that they are two glowing rods separated by the "unlit" hilt).  If you can follow it as a staff, like a wooden bo, you will unconsciously know the position of the other blade/end by knowing the position of one.

But yes, fight in tight and close in.  Be aware of how you stance yourself.  A stance with your side to your opponent is useful in defense, but only if you're certain you can determine the position of the other blade in said unconscious manner (blocking with your blade behind you would definitely be a skill to learn), and give you the ability to go full out offensive.  Saberstaves are definitely heavily offensive weapons, with that being their best defense.  Stripping that from staff users robs them of their advantage.  Balance your offense and defense, making defense your priority and offense a reaction to openings. 

If I had had to link it to canon, Soresu is the way to go.

As we are talking saber staff... we are talking bo staff. That makes it slightly easier. I wouldn't recommend going up with a one-hand weapon to a dragon pole. Lucien has one of the few light spears I have seen.

In my opinion the bo staff has a 'blind' centre. The part in-between the wielders hand. to get there safe you actually 'slide' across the foreward attacking 'blade'. You can then hit his hand. But you have to come in close and fast. As the other side comes in directly behind.

When you r in real close the other side can never hit you. If you can hit the hands.. no-way he can hold the staff.

Most staff techniques work from teh centre of the body.. following one side will bring your blade to his mid-section. Just don't forget to come in deep! If you dont come in deep fast enough you will have to block the otherside first in order to reach the close combat you need to have teh advantage.

Saber staff. My brothers friend has one and is apparently pretty good.

Darth Ruin, love your post man. And I agree completely that Soresu is the way to go. Tight defense, parry's, blocks. It'll be fun to get the form III on here with Stephen and the rest of the gang :)

One of the worse things to do is to have weak blocks.  Staff fighting is extremely kinetic.  If you go rewatch Darth Maul's duel with Obi-Wan after Qui-Gon's knocked out of the picture, Ray Park's got it down squat.  He's fast, he doesn't give you time to react.  He's using his entire body to strike, doing 180s with his entire being.  Those will be hard, hard hits, and if you don't learn to lock your guards and blocks, it's going to cost you.

I've dueled against a saberstaff user, a tad of light fighting.  I was too focused on attacking, rather than defending, and some of those kinetic blows were strong enough to make my own saber glance off against my own knees and shoulders.  Don't let your opponent have the chance to use his body.  Use thrusts to aim for his blind center, it forces him to bend awkwardly to parry these sort of attacks, and thus breaking their series of attacks.

This kinetic type of fighting can both be an advantage to you if you build up your defensive abilities and patiently wait it out - they'll tire soon, doing big hard hits is a reckless fighting style, and they'll definitely leave a lot of openings.

At the same time, lock your guard (most of that'll be in the wrists and elbows), you don't want his blows to be strong enough your own saber's the reason you have a bruise on your forehead (: 

When people say don't be intimidated by a saberstaff, they're half right.  You shouldn't be intimidated by the idea of a "different" weapon, but damned, you should be extremely cautious.  A good staff fighter makes up for his blind spots with painful blows.  You'll have to learn to be patient and wait for openings.  Duels like this will last long, but endurance will definitely be one of the surest wins to a fight.

Teach me your ways, Ruin!

I agree on everything you are saying and your words are wise beyond your years, my friend!


This is a whole new training regime of its own, lol. MAN! I am excited now! Give me a couple days to get the feel of my saber and hopefully all else falls into place!

-shrugs-  Hahaha, after sparring for years (God, I hated Martial Arts for my first few years, it was an Asian-Parent-thinks-you-need-to-get-off-your-ass forced activity thing) you sort of learn what to do and what not to do.  I've always been a skinny chap who disliked fighting to overtly, it's all brute strength and left too many bruises on my body. 

Defense, mate.  Defense.  If you're looking for reference material, look around for "Wushu" - a form of Chinese Martial arts that focuses a lot on flourishes (literal translation means martial dance).  If you watch their broadsword users - though the speed makes it difficult - their blades never leave their body other than for attacks - I used to learn this weapon and form, and the blunt edge of my blade would literally touch my back, arms and shoulders when I did flourishes.  The theory behind it is that the further your weapon is from your body, the more kinetic force it can build during a guard.

It's a very tight defense.  Naturally with a saber you don't want to touch your own body (LOL sizzling flesh ahhhh...) but you want to know your where your body starts and finishes, if you know what I mean.  The tighter your defense, the less room your opponent has.  You could probably hold out the entire fight in one spot if your opponent doesn't move his feet.

Soresu is right - you need to be the calm eye of the storm.  Everything can be retardedly chaotic around you, but if you've got your defense to boot, you don't be touched.

Much loves.

Stamina and longevity. I would actually find comfort in looking at my opponent gasping for breath after he wears himself out lol!


This is something I should live by outside of dueling. Its simple yet true. Plus, I don't feel like getting K.O'd by my own saber lol! The thing about me is that I would make a ruthless sith, but being bad is too easy. That's why I've always loved the way of the Jedi, and the patience and calmness that goes along with it.

Well, I haven't got to duel my brother's friend yet, but I did mess around and duel my brother. He ended up getting the exact same lightsaber as me lol. Good ole grab bags I guess!

We sparred for about 30 min, but were limited b/c I accidentally got shipped the mid grade blade and my bro had the UltraEdge Heavy... Once I'm able to get my blade situation fixed, the dual's will be more epic!

you should post a video of some of your duels

I will definitely do that! Once my UHEG blade comes in, which should be next Thursday, my brother and I will start posting vids. He said he wanted to make it a weekly thing, so hopefully that sticks and we can dual and post video's every week :)

Keep in mind that the main difference between a single and staff is rhythm.

Rhythm is required for the advantage of a staff to take affect.

A staff wielder is going to want to spin or at least use both ends and this takes time, coordination, and rhythm...just like fighting a boxer that bounces...time the weak arc of the rhythm and strike.

Being focused and determined will win the day.

A staff fighter will come to the duel with desire to use both ends...let them...pull away and let them have confidence to spin and build rhythm...then with direct vision strike...focus on a point a strike.

You can not afford to get into a parry strike exchange or you will most likely lose as the staff has range, two strike points, and a point of rigid contact (less likely to stun a hand to let go).

Let them develop a false sense of strength, let the confidence build, and then smack...move through them, because of you miss you will have closed the gap and the potential to use the range and either end with be reduced.

Now the same vs a spear is completely different...vs a naginata style I suspect most single wielders would be ruined  :)

As a staff user mostly I'd have to say personally my greatest weaknesses are

A. Stabs at chest hight

B. Myself getting tired out.

Stabs, especially at that height almost always manage to throw me off, since we are dueling with lightsabers I can't use the middle of my saber to block that like one normally would. I have to not only twist my body, but also bring one of my blades all the way around to get there in time. Now, depending on the saber these hilts can be almost 2ft long, that's a pretty big rotation to pull in the split second you have to react to a stab. So that's a pretty good bet.   That being said, stabs usually aren't recommended by me because without the proper precaution, you really can hurt someone with that. Specially if your aiming where I said is the weak point you can hit right under the sternum where the chest bone is the weakest, and that's not good. That really can be lethal if the timing is wrong. So unless you've got control, stabs may not be the best thing to do.

Then comes the classic getting tired. Like a lot of the people have said before me, staff fighting is incredibly kinetic. You're using every part of your body to swing your saber to give you that power. If someone is just sitting there, blocking away (soresu is a staff users greatest enemy IMO) I'm eventually gonna get tired because they are really exerting them self little, while I'm just going at it. Even with the slightest bit of fatigue a person is going to slow down, they are going to hit lighter, and their blocks won't be as solid. Tire a staff user out by putting up a good defense, and eventually they won't be able to withstand your offense. 

I see what you mean, Toxic. Its funny that something as simple as a stab can throw off the scary offense that a saber staff brings to the table. I know our form creations have slowed down, but I can't wait to see the sequences involved in Soresu so I can better train myself not only for a staff wielder, but any one good with a blade. Soresu also ties in with your opponent tiring out first and outlasting the competition, that way when they make a mistake you can effectively use it against them :)

Each of my form videos will have a staff variant and a Jar Kai variant, and I guess a light spear variant.

That's a good idea, LK. You could become rich on making Jedi/Sith Lightsaber training video's and sell them to the whole World!

As long as you let me help you with Ataru  ;)

Lol I do this because I love it.... That being said... Donations are welcome!  ;)

Definitely man. I'm just saying, getting paid to do what you love... There is no greater feeling lol. Who wouldn't want to go to work every day with their lightsaber and teach hundreds of people different forms, and then get other's involved like Nero who is a master of Makashi to teach that, so on and so forth. It would be glorious!  ;D $$$$$$$$$$$$ ::)$$$$$$$$$$$$

Don't get me wrong money would be awesome, that being said this is Uncle Georgie's galaxy he let's us play in. The fact that he lets the whole lightsaber thing go on is amazing and appreciated to and by me. I just don't want to push that too much lol.

I totally agree with ya. Thanks Uncle George!

I still have yet to duel this guy with the saberstaff. Apparently he is a really busy guy... My brother said that his friend had left the staff back in his hometown and that he got back this past weekend with all his sabers...so hopefully soon! I've been practicing, Muwhahahaha!

lol I've almost got my Ultrasabers staff back in working order... My buddy has had them in his possession and he decided to surprise me by doing some shroud work on them... I haven't seen them yet, but he assures me I will flip out when I do... There will be pictures and videos to come.

Excellent man! I'm working hard and paying off bills now, but soon I will have a saber thats loaded with Obsidian! If you make it down here, I would welcome you're expertise in saber staff combat so I can futher better my own :)

So I'm reading Path of Destruction: Darth Bane novel 1, and I just got to a part where the Blademaster is explaining the differences in single handed saber to staff and it's pretty much right on with what everyone else is saying. I did like this though:

"."

Lord Kas'im to Bane

Oh so true...so very, very true...