Sith or Jedi?

[Master Rel]

All I will say to this is there ARE Sith out there. You may take that any way you wish. http://www.sithholocron.com/main.htm

I will answer this one with a real life excerpt from my checked past.

Having just finished working out in full gi at the USCG base in Miami while on break, standing over night duty.  My sparring partner was a senior ranked member (in the Coast Guard).  He was a Isshin-Ryu Sandan and I was a new Shodan in Shotokan. He had caught me on the tip of my nose and it was clearly broken, a clean break.  I went up to medical and they cleared and set it.  So in a fair amount of pain, still in my all black gi (I was breaking it in for a white/black tournament, where the players wear opposing colored gi's for the crowd, peers, and judges to better keep track of who was doing what), and heading up to the duty deck to let them know I would be in to relieve them in a few after I changed.

(I know what is the point right?)

There were three people standing there (all CG) and one of them I did not know.  He proceeds to say "Hey another ninja!...I studied with Stephen Hayes and am a certified instructor".

I nodded to the young ninja and signed in the duty log book, he reaches over while I'm writing and grabs my nose...my broken nose...and at the same time says "I hear you got your n..."

He did not finish because I had slapped him across the face out of instinct.

I left him on the floor and went change.

(I was the duty petty officer so busted nose or not my duty was to be there and not much more lol)

I came back in uniform and the same three are there and the two are laughing.

The ninja proceeds to tell me all about his extensive training...fighting a dozen guys at once, catching shurikens, and jumping off buildings so he could catch himself with his ninja hand tools.

At this point in my life I was not as tolerant as I am now so I asked him to leave, in a not so polite manner as his BS was making it hard for me to focus on anything.

For some reason which I can not explain he struck a stand that I would have to say was classic chop sockie and said "If you can touch my head I will go".

Now I am not trying to say I am the best of any style or any such...but I slapped him again and he started crying.



What has this got to do with "real sith"?  Oh I am sure there are plenty of people who say lots of things, especially on the internet...I am sure that guy went on to be a grand master of spinjitsu...on the interweb...but the reality is that sith are evil.

Not that pretending to be one is evil...it is pretending.

Not that liking sith for gaming characters or online persona is evil...again, pretending.

But in real life, saying that you approve of the lifestyle of mass murdering serial killers from a space fantasy setting is rarely an inroad to anything productive.

Guy boasting about being a ninja after clearly reading a Kung-Fu magazine and watching a movie = guy joining a sith organization in real life.

Same same...both need to be slapped.


I did get in trouble for the slaps by the way.  It all washed out in the end because the ninja went UA the next week instead of getting underway with his ship.  He was caught a few weeks later and got a big chicken dinner (BCD discharge).  I got extra duty and a stern talking to.


Moral of the story...if you are going to talk the talk and can not walk the walk, you will eventually get slapped.

[Master Rel]

For our forum and our discussions...the above does not apply lol.

I am on board the sith can be fun train...just not in real life.

[Celtic47]

I will answer this one with a real life excerpt from my checked past.

Having just finished working out in full gi at the USCG base in Miami while on break, standing over night duty.  My sparring partner was a senior ranked member (in the Coast Guard).  He was a Isshin-Ryu Sandan and I was a new Shodan in Shotokan. He had caught me on the tip of my nose and it was clearly broken, a clean break.  I went up to medical and they cleared and set it.  So in a fair amount of pain, still in my all black gi (I was breaking it in for a white/black tournament, where the players wear opposing colored gi's for the crowd, peers, and judges to better keep track of who was doing what), and heading up to the duty deck to let them know I would be in to relieve them in a few after I changed.

(I know what is the point right?)

There were three people standing there (all CG) and one of them I did not know.  He proceeds to say "Hey another ninja!...I studied with Stephen Hayes and am a certified instructor".

I nodded to the young ninja and signed in the duty log book, he reaches over while I'm writing and grabs my nose...my broken nose...and at the same time says "I hear you got your n..."

He did not finish because I had slapped him across the face out of instinct.

I left him on the floor and went change.

(I was the duty petty officer so busted nose or not my duty was to be there and not much more lol)

I came back in uniform and the same three are there and the two are laughing.

The ninja proceeds to tell me all about his extensive training...fighting a dozen guys at once, catching shurikens, and jumping off buildings so he could catch himself with his ninja hand tools.

At this point in my life I was not as tolerant as I am now so I asked him to leave, in a not so polite manner as his BS was making it hard for me to focus on anything.

For some reason which I can not explain he struck a stand that I would have to say was classic chop sockie and said "If you can touch my head I will go".

Now I am not trying to say I am the best of any style or any such...but I slapped him again and he started crying.



What has this got to do with "real sith"?  Oh I am sure there are plenty of people who say lots of things, especially on the internet...I am sure that guy went on to be a grand master of spinjitsu...on the interweb...but the reality is that sith are evil.

Not that pretending to be one is evil...it is pretending.

Not that liking sith for gaming characters or online persona is evil...again, pretending.

But in real life, saying that you approve of the lifestyle of mass murdering serial killers from a space fantasy setting is rarely an inroad to anything productive.

Guy boasting about being a ninja after clearly reading a Kung-Fu magazine and watching a movie = guy joining a sith organization in real life.

Same same...both need to be slapped.


I did get in trouble for the slaps by the way.  It all washed out in the end because the ninja went UA the next week instead of getting underway with his ship.  He was caught a few weeks later and got a big chicken dinner (BCD discharge).  I got extra duty and a stern talking to.


Moral of the story...if you are going to talk the talk and can not walk the walk, you will eventually get slapped.

The thing about the Sith belief is that it's extremely open to interpretation, as even with the Jedi code (though more so in my opinion). It's just like any other religion or belief system; some view it one way, and others in a different manner. At its core, the Sith believe in a survival of the fittest view on just about everything. It's all a competition, and there are losers and winners; the difference in interpretation being how you "win" in the grand scheme of things above all others. This could involve, as you say, killing others to reduce competition/discourage it (though that would be very unwise to do anywhere in modern society) or simply being ambitious as hell and striving to be the very best like no-one ever was in, say, business. Now the full-blown elements of the Force coming into play in a realistic setting just don't apply, so it's all about philosophy if the basic principles would be applied. That website there is very likely just for some (enthusiastic?) fans who actually agree with the nihilism and extreme individualism of the Sith from the Star Wars universe, but people claming to be IRL Sith who are badasses who beat the sh*t out of or kill those who oppose their will are very likely near the same level as your head-slap ninja so far as grasp on reality goes  . Same would apply for someone being holier-than-thou because they follow the Jedi teachings supposedly. The basic principles of each philosophy can very easily be applied to the real world, but past that it's just beyond reason.

[Master Rel]

"Everything in moderation, including moderation"

The extremes of either can be interpreted in lots of ways if someone wants to, this is true.

I was purely taking the example to the real world consideration...where fantasy rarely ever crosses over neatly.

We can debate endlessly.

Enjoy your sith-ishness if you like, I support your choice of pretending!

But clearly, Jedi have better cookies and pie!

[Celtic47]

"Everything in moderation, including moderation"

The extremes of either can be interpreted in lots of ways if someone wants to, this is true.

I was purely taking the example to the real world consideration...where fantasy rarely ever crosses over neatly.

We can debate endlessly.

Enjoy your sith-ishness if you like, I support your choice of pretending!

But clearly, Jedi have better cookies and pie!

I never claimed to follow the teachings of a fictional society in a sci-fi/fantasy universe, but thanks for that pie pr0n! 

[Kitra]

I want to partake in a different approach.
So many many people in this world see "Jedi" as their form of Religion and practice different Rituals of their choosing like pagans since there are no overall rules which i personally think is why I think it is a valuable Religion since it allowes oneself 2 things. First you may do everything with which you as an individual feel good with and seconds you may keep your religion to thyself which is healthy for your wellbeing since everyone is different with their connection to ................. (please insert whatever you deem worthy dear reader).

So I want to give the whole thing my credit as to say that there is something important in that scheme. The power of choice.
When there are self proclaimed Jedi why shall there not be a percentage of people who call themselves self proclaimed Sith?

And here i want to invite every Sith who might have the time to participate!

I honestly would be interested on how many and which properties an individual must gather in your opinion to be called Sith in the first place.
For example: A Drug Lord is most definetly a criminal with high morale issues but and that is a big BUT most of them have Familys as well for whom they take care to the extend of self mutilation. People they would die for which a Sith would never EVER do.
Lets take a Mass murderer. Here its a bit different most of them are real psychopaths which lost all perception of humanity as a place of social interaction. With those you may find people whom you may call Sith but really they would never call themselves that since they deprived so far from what we perceive that they give a shell (upps Sorry!) for Star Wars doctrines.
They do that out of a complete different approach.

They are Ill.

Most of them sadly -beyond resocialisation ill- I am talking here.
And that is not what I call Sith since that sad person even with all the Pain and Suffering he produced is a Victim…

I am looking forward to read your answers and please rest assured that I am honestly interested in that theme and I appreciate every answer.

Kitra

[Darth_Arkanus]

I will answer this one with a real life excerpt from my checked past.

Having just finished working out in full gi at the USCG base in Miami while on break, standing over night duty.  My sparring partner was a senior ranked member (in the Coast Guard).  He was a Isshin-Ryu Sandan and I was a new Shodan in Shotokan. He had caught me on the tip of my nose and it was clearly broken, a clean break.  I went up to medical and they cleared and set it.  So in a fair amount of pain, still in my all black gi (I was breaking it in for a white/black tournament, where the players wear opposing colored gi's for the crowd, peers, and judges to better keep track of who was doing what), and heading up to the duty deck to let them know I would be in to relieve them in a few after I changed.

(I know what is the point right?)

There were three people standing there (all CG) and one of them I did not know.  He proceeds to say "Hey another ninja!...I studied with Stephen Hayes and am a certified instructor".

I nodded to the young ninja and signed in the duty log book, he reaches over while I'm writing and grabs my nose...my broken nose...and at the same time says "I hear you got your n..."

He did not finish because I had slapped him across the face out of instinct.

I left him on the floor and went change.

(I was the duty petty officer so busted nose or not my duty was to be there and not much more lol)

I came back in uniform and the same three are there and the two are laughing.

The ninja proceeds to tell me all about his extensive training...fighting a dozen guys at once, catching shurikens, and jumping off buildings so he could catch himself with his ninja hand tools.

At this point in my life I was not as tolerant as I am now so I asked him to leave, in a not so polite manner as his BS was making it hard for me to focus on anything.

For some reason which I can not explain he struck a stand that I would have to say was classic chop sockie and said "If you can touch my head I will go".

Now I am not trying to say I am the best of any style or any such...but I slapped him again and he started crying.



What has this got to do with "real sith"?  Oh I am sure there are plenty of people who say lots of things, especially on the internet...I am sure that guy went on to be a grand master of spinjitsu...on the interweb...but the reality is that sith are evil.

Not that pretending to be one is evil...it is pretending.

Not that liking sith for gaming characters or online persona is evil...again, pretending.

But in real life, saying that you approve of the lifestyle of mass murdering serial killers from a space fantasy setting is rarely an inroad to anything productive.

Guy boasting about being a ninja after clearly reading a Kung-Fu magazine and watching a movie = guy joining a sith organization in real life.

Same same...both need to be slapped.


I did get in trouble for the slaps by the way.  It all washed out in the end because the ninja went UA the next week instead of getting underway with his ship.  He was caught a few weeks later and got a big chicken dinner (BCD discharge).  I got extra duty and a stern talking to.


Moral of the story...if you are going to talk the talk and can not walk the walk, you will eventually get slapped.

Well I don't know what "going UA" means, but I'm guessing that means he jumped ship; and by the sounds of it, you caused that.

As for "real life" they are many, many people in this world far more evil than the Sith, who claim no persona to cover their actions, that is just how they are!

That's why I despair at the world; it is a hateful place.

[Tsurabisu]

The thing about the Sith belief is that it's extremely open to interpretation, as even with the Jedi code (though more so in my opinion). It's just like any other religion or belief system; some view it one way, and others in a different manner. At its core, the Sith believe in a survival of the fittest view on just about everything. It's all a competition, and there are losers and winners; the difference in interpretation being how you "win" in the grand scheme of things above all others. This could involve, as you say, killing others to reduce competition/discourage it (though that would be very unwise to do anywhere in modern society) or simply being ambitious as hell and striving to be the very best like no-one ever was in, say, business. Now the full-blown elements of the Force coming into play in a realistic setting just don't apply, so it's all about philosophy if the basic principles would be applied. That website there is very likely just for some (enthusiastic?) fans who actually agree with the nihilism and extreme individualism of the Sith from the Star Wars universe, but people claming to be IRL Sith who are badasses who beat the sh*t out of or kill those who oppose their will are very likely near the same level as your head-slap ninja so far as grasp on reality goes  . Same would apply for someone being holier-than-thou because they follow the Jedi teachings supposedly. The basic principles of each philosophy can very easily be applied to the real world, but past that it's just beyond reason.

Quite frankly, this really hits the nail on the head. The Sith teachings don't say anywhere that you have to kill or be "Evil." It says to further yourself. To make yourself better, stronger. Whatever that means to you on an individual level. Unlike the Jedi teachings, the Sith are allowed much more freedom to follow their own path.

 

Guy boasting about being a ninja after clearly reading a Kung-Fu magazine and watching a movie = guy joining a sith organization in real life.
Same same...both need to be slapped.

(Clipped)
This response kind of bugs me a bit. This is taken from Wikipedia : Jediism became accepted as a religion following the Jedi census phenomenon in 2001 and the preceding email campaign to put "Jedi" as an answer to the census religion classification question. The phenomenon attracted the attention of sociologist of religion Adam Possamai who analyzed it in the framework of what he dubs "hyper-real religion".[2] Although inspired by elements of Star Wars, Jediism has no founder or central structure.

Census figures released in 2012 of England and Wales showed 176,632 respondents indicated "Jediism" as their faith, making it the most common "alternative" faith and the seventh most common overall.[8] This was a decrease from 390,127 Jedi in the 2001 census.[8]

And you say that someone who follows the teachings of the Sith should be slapped? Just because you don't agree with your own interpretation of the Sith. Is it wrong to try and move up in the company you work for? Is it wrong to make more money? Is it wrong to study to make yourself smarter? Is it wrong to push yourself to reach your full potential? That is my interpretation of what it means to be Sith.
If you would like a real world comparison, I offer you this. The Go Rin No Sho, The Book of Five Rings. This was written by Miyamoto Musashi in 1645. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a book about Japanese swordsmanship. It goes into great detail on strategy and the best way to cut down your opponent. How is a book written about killing in the 1600's related? Because today, the Go Rin No Sho is considered the Businessman's Bible. The philosophy of the book can be applied to business today, and is required reading in top companies around the world. Are these business men going out and slaughtering each other? Are they murdering people in the street? No. They're not. They have taken the philosophy behind the book and applied it to their lives. Can you honestly tell me that there is a difference?

[Kitra]

I hope my post above doesnt stay ignored. 

For me it has nearly all that is relevant for a fruitful conversation.
Instead of this pityful fighting over personal perception lets try to get into it shall we?

[TheHobbitofDune]

And you say that someone who follows the teachings of the Sith should be slapped? Just because you don't agree with your own interpretation of the Sith. Is it wrong to try and move up in the company you work for? Is it wrong to make more money? Is it wrong to study to make yourself smarter? Is it wrong to push yourself to reach your full potential? That is my interpretation of what it means to be Sith.
If you would like a real world comparison, I offer you this. The Go Rin No Sho, The Book of Five Rings. This was written by Miyamoto Musashi in 1645. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a book about Japanese swordsmanship. It goes into great detail on strategy and the best way to cut down your opponent. How is a book written about killing in the 1600's related? Because today, the Go Rin No Sho is considered the Businessman's Bible. The philosophy of the book can be applied to business today, and is required reading in top companies around the world. Are these business men going out and slaughtering each other? Are they murdering people in the street? No. They're not. They have taken the philosophy behind the book and applied it to their lives. Can you honestly tell me that there is a difference?

I agree.

[Darth_Arkanus]

I want to partake in a different approach.
So many many people in this world see "Jedi" as their form of Religion and practice different Rituals of their choosing like pagans since there are no overall rules which i personally think is why I think it is a valuable Religion since it allowes oneself 2 things. First you may do everything with which you as an individual feel good with and seconds you may keep your religion to thyself which is healthy for your wellbeing since everyone is different with their connection to ................. (please insert whatever you deem worthy dear reader).

So I want to give the whole thing my credit as to say that there is something important in that scheme. The power of choice.
When there are self proclaimed Jedi why shall there not be a percentage of people who call themselves self proclaimed Sith?

And here i want to invite every Sith who might have the time to participate!

I honestly would be interested on how many and which properties an individual must gather in your opinion to be called Sith in the first place.
For example: A Drug Lord is most definetly a criminal with high morale issues but and that is a big BUT most of them have Familys as well for whom they take care to the extend of self mutilation. People they would die for which a Sith would never EVER do.
Lets take a Mass murderer. Here its a bit different most of them are real psychopaths which lost all perception of humanity as a place of social interaction. With those you may find people whom you may call Sith but really they would never call themselves that since they deprived so far from what we perceive that they give a shell (upps Sorry!) for Star Wars doctrines.
They do that out of a complete different approach.

They are Ill.

Most of them sadly -beyond resocialisation ill- I am talking here.
And that is not what I call Sith since that sad person even with all the Pain and Suffering he produced is a Victim…

I am looking forward to read your answers and please rest assured that I am honestly interested in that theme and I appreciate every answer.

Kitra

OK I'll bite. My personal "take" on what Sith is, and what it means to be Sith when contrasted to being Jedi.

Before I start though, be aware that you can have 12 Sith in a room and get at least 13 different answers! This, is mine!

To be Sith is to concentrate on self-empowerment, that is to say making yourself stronger, more focused, faster, better, my formidable and better able to deal with the challenges of life. That is not to say that a Jedi cannot attain these things, but their focus is different; control, calmness above all else, emotionlessness, more about "we" and less about "I".

To be Sith is to embrace your feelings and emotions, NOT to shun them. To quote from Darth Sidious himself;

"I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger!"

A Jedi shuns all emotion in favour of and artificially imposed serenity.

To be Sith is to NOT fear that dark place that exists within all of us. It is to examine it, become one with it, absorb from it that which is useful and discard that which is not. Deal with it, don't run and hide from it!

A Jedi fears their inner-self so they seek to control it; burying it under years of denial, meditation of restriction, and basically locking that part of themselves away.

To be Sith is to figure out what is effective, and useful...then learn to make use of it. Everything must have a function, but that is not to say that everything must be work. There are different types of "functionality and usefulness";

• Things that make you Stronger!!
• Things that make the job easier
• Things that make success more achievable
• Things that make you happy.
• Things that bring you pleasure.

These are but a few.

The Jedi work similarly, I believe, but they have an artificially imposed barrier to certain things; power, happiness, pleasure, contentment, possession, attachment. (see later)

To be Sith is to embrace a larger view of what is allowable, and therefore possible. Does this mean KILLING PEOPLE? In reality, no...though when someone breaks into your home at three in the morning and tries to raped your mother, before making off with the entire contents of your house....it is certainly an option that many would see as being on the table! (disclaimer: this has fortunately never happened to me!)

The principle here is to embrace a more holistic view of the world, and a greater freedom of personal expression. Obviously, we have societal laws that prohibit certain things, and to go against that is to invite disaster into your life; but within the bounds of what IS lawful, there should be no OTHER boundaries.

The Jedi have a very dogmatic view of what they consider to be "right"; and in my humble opinion, that view is very badly skewed. For example, the Jedi prohibition on attachment. The Jedi shun partnerships and intimate love, in favour of some grandiose idea of "communal, altruistic love"; giving a small portion to everyone (deserving or otherwise) rather than giving larger measure to a few, who genuinely DO deserve our affection. (see next)

To be Sith is to embrace the idea of potency of concentration, rather than the watering down of effect until it becomes ineffectual. To me, the Sith understand that to have the greatest effect you must be able to concentrate and focus all the energy, intent, desire, love and will into a single space and time. An analogy would be board breaking (a common Martial Practice form) You focus all your effort, technique, power and will into a single strike....and if you are well trained enough, and strong enough, AND focused enough....the "object" doesn't stand a chance. If any one of these is lacking, you get a broken hand/foot/head!

An off the wall quote comes actually from Highlander, where a revived Ramirez tells Connor Macleod; "If you summon up all your essence in one place, and at one time, you can achieve something truly wonderful!"

There's actually also a Sith maxim for this, which says that the Force is like venom; "poured into many cups, it loses its potency, becoming diluted and merely an irritant. But pour those cups back into a single vessel and you have the power to stop a Krayt Dragon's heart!"

The Jedi don't see it like this. They prefer to drip away their strength, in favour of longevity.

There are probably many more, but these are the main ones that occur to me; for now.

[Kitra]

Thank you for this intimate sharing of your choice of view i will think about that before I answer in complete.

Finally some answer/insight which is on a level to think about.

Thank you and laters.

Kitra

[Tsurabisu]

I hope my post above doesnt stay ignored. 

For me it has nearly all that is relevant for a fruitful conversation.
Instead of this pityful fighting over personal perception lets try to get into it shall we?

I apologize if it seemed like I ignored your post

And here i want to invite every Sith who might have the time to participate!

I honestly would be interested on how many and which properties an individual must gather in your opinion to be called Sith in the first place.

(Clipped)
I started typing several answers here, but there's very little I can think to say that Darth Arkanus hasn't. I'm absolutely in love with this response.

OK I'll bite. My personal "take" on what Sith is, and what it means to be Sith when contrasted to being Jedi.

Before I start though, be aware that you can have 12 Sith in a room and get at least 13 different answers! This, is mine!

To be Sith is to concentrate on self-empowerment, that is to say making yourself stronger, more focused, faster, better, my formidable and better able to deal with the challenges of life. That is not to say that a Jedi cannot attain these things, but their focus is different; control, calmness above all else, emotionlessness, more about "we" and less about "I".

To be Sith is to embrace your feelings and emotions, NOT to shun them. To quote from Darth Sidious himself;

"I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger!"

A Jedi shuns all emotion in favour of and artificially imposed serenity.

To be Sith is to NOT fear that dark place that exists within all of us. It is to examine it, become one with it, absorb from it that which is useful and discard that which is not. Deal with it, don't run and hide from it!

A Jedi fears their inner-self so they seek to control it; burying it under years of denial, meditation of restriction, and basically locking that part of themselves away.

To be Sith is to figure out what is effective, and useful...then learn to make use of it. Everything must have a function, but that is not to say that everything must be work. There are different types of "functionality and usefulness";

• Things that make you Stronger!!
• Things that make the job easier
• Things that make success more achievable
• Things that make you happy.
• Things that bring you pleasure.

These are but a few.

The Jedi work similarly, I believe, but they have an artificially imposed barrier to certain things; power, happiness, pleasure, contentment, possession, attachment. (see later)

To be Sith is to embrace a larger view of what is allowable, and therefore possible. Does this mean KILLING PEOPLE? In reality, no...though when someone breaks into your home at three in the morning and tries to raped your mother, before making off with the entire contents of your house....it is certainly an option that many would see as being on the table! (disclaimer: this has fortunately never happened to me!)

The principle here is to embrace a more holistic view of the world, and a greater freedom of personal expression. Obviously, we have societal laws that prohibit certain things, and to go against that is to invite disaster into your life; but within the bounds of what IS lawful, there should be no OTHER boundaries.

The Jedi have a very dogmatic view of what they consider to be "right"; and in my humble opinion, that view is very badly skewed. For example, the Jedi prohibition on attachment. The Jedi shun partnerships and intimate love, in favour of some grandiose idea of "communal, altruistic love"; giving a small portion to everyone (deserving or otherwise) rather than giving larger measure to a few, who genuinely DO deserve our affection. (see next)

To be Sith is to embrace the idea of potency of concentration, rather than the watering down of effect until it becomes ineffectual. To me, the Sith understand that to have the greatest effect you must be able to concentrate and focus all the energy, intent, desire, love and will into a single space and time. An analogy would be board breaking (a common Martial Practice form) You focus all your effort, technique, power and will into a single strike....and if you are well trained enough, and strong enough, AND focused enough....the "object" doesn't stand a chance. If any one of these is lacking, you get a broken hand/foot/head!

An off the wall quote comes actually from Highlander, where a revived Ramirez tells Connor Macleod; "If you summon up all your essence in one place, and at one time, you can achieve something truly wonderful!"

There's actually also a Sith maxim for this, which says that the Force is like venom; "poured into many cups, it loses its potency, becoming diluted and merely an irritant. But pour those cups back into a single vessel and you have the power to stop a Krayt Dragon's heart!"

The Jedi don't see it like this. They prefer to drip away their strength, in favour of longevity.

There are probably many more, but these are the main ones that occur to me; for now.

[Kitra]

OK I'll bite. My personal "take" on what Sith is, and what it means to be Sith when contrasted to being Jedi.

Before I start though, be aware that you can have 12 Sith in a room and get at least 13 different answers! This, is mine!

To be Sith is to concentrate on self-empowerment, that is to say making yourself stronger, more focused, faster, better, my formidable and better able to deal with the challenges of life. That is not to say that a Jedi cannot attain these things, but their focus is different; control, calmness above all else, emotionlessness, more about "we" and less about "I".

To be Sith is to embrace your feelings and emotions, NOT to shun them. To quote from Darth Sidious himself;

"I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger!"

A Jedi shuns all emotion in favour of and artificially imposed serenity.

To be Sith is to NOT fear that dark place that exists within all of us. It is to examine it, become one with it, absorb from it that which is useful and discard that which is not. Deal with it, don't run and hide from it!

A Jedi fears their inner-self so they seek to control it; burying it under years of denial, meditation of restriction, and basically locking that part of themselves away.

To be Sith is to figure out what is effective, and useful...then learn to make use of it. Everything must have a function, but that is not to say that everything must be work. There are different types of "functionality and usefulness";

• Things that make you Stronger!!
• Things that make the job easier
• Things that make success more achievable
• Things that make you happy.
• Things that bring you pleasure.

These are but a few.

The Jedi work similarly, I believe, but they have an artificially imposed barrier to certain things; power, happiness, pleasure, contentment, possession, attachment. (see later)

To be Sith is to embrace a larger view of what is allowable, and therefore possible. Does this mean KILLING PEOPLE? In reality, no...though when someone breaks into your home at three in the morning and tries to raped your mother, before making off with the entire contents of your house....it is certainly an option that many would see as being on the table! (disclaimer: this has fortunately never happened to me!)

The principle here is to embrace a more holistic view of the world, and a greater freedom of personal expression. Obviously, we have societal laws that prohibit certain things, and to go against that is to invite disaster into your life; but within the bounds of what IS lawful, there should be no OTHER boundaries.

The Jedi have a very dogmatic view of what they consider to be "right"; and in my humble opinion, that view is very badly skewed. For example, the Jedi prohibition on attachment. The Jedi shun partnerships and intimate love, in favour of some grandiose idea of "communal, altruistic love"; giving a small portion to everyone (deserving or otherwise) rather than giving larger measure to a few, who genuinely DO deserve our affection. (see next)

To be Sith is to embrace the idea of potency of concentration, rather than the watering down of effect until it becomes ineffectual. To me, the Sith understand that to have the greatest effect you must be able to concentrate and focus all the energy, intent, desire, love and will into a single space and time. An analogy would be board breaking (a common Martial Practice form) You focus all your effort, technique, power and will into a single strike....and if you are well trained enough, and strong enough, AND focused enough....the "object" doesn't stand a chance. If any one of these is lacking, you get a broken hand/foot/head!

An off the wall quote comes actually from Highlander, where a revived Ramirez tells Connor Macleod; "If you summon up all your essence in one place, and at one time, you can achieve something truly wonderful!"

There's actually also a Sith maxim for this, which says that the Force is like venom; "poured into many cups, it loses its potency, becoming diluted and merely an irritant. But pour those cups back into a single vessel and you have the power to stop a Krayt Dragon's heart!"

The Jedi don't see it like this. They prefer to drip away their strength, in favour of longevity.

There are probably many more, but these are the main ones that occur to me; for now.

I apologize if it seemed like I ignored your post
(Clipped)
I started typing several answers here, but there's very little I can think to say that Darth Arkanus hasn't. I'm absolutely in love with this response.

@ Tsurabisu Thank you for mentioning I thought that much since the answer of  Darth_Arkanus is quite comprehensive.
@ Darth_Arkanus
Again I want to thank you for “biting” even when I don’t want to trap you like a fish. I am only looking for a nice exchange of wisdom and ideas since that is one of the seldom currencys which doubles when shared.
At first it is my obligation to share my view on what has been posted above.

-   as you read before at least when it comes to me I absolutely reinforce individuality above all else.
-   The empowerment is relevant for Jedi as Sith as well only the approach is different. Approved.
-   Jedi are not shunning the emotions but to come to peace with them.
“There is no emotion there is peace.” Of course Jedi´s have emotions and of course they are confronted with them continuously but they shall be the master over their emotion instead of riding them like the Sith do.
 So it is again the same approach… A heavy focus on emotions one time to surrender to them/ride them and one time to coming to peace with them and tame them. Both have acceptance for Emotions. So Jedis don’t run from them but use nearly all their time around emotions as well as the Sith.
-    The artificially imposed barrier for the jedis seem to be a combination of self reliance and self discipline. While the Sith do pretty much the same.
When we go through ha day of a Jedi/Sith we find more things they have in common then with most other supposedly contradicting enemys in fiction.
Both meditate, train very hard physicly as well as mentally, try to become a better grasp of the force, eating, sleeping, learning intellectually from the customed history of profession as well as respecting their master for his power/wisdom with the wish to learn everything.
-   The concentration of resources to one point is not only known by the Sith since the Jedi s as their counterparts match them in every idea and vice versa.
We cant say the Sith are better Warriors as well as we cant say that Jedis are the stronger force users. The wisdom part is a pat as well even when they are looking for different kinds of wisdom. So the highlander quote grasps for both traditions again.
-   Hmm I don’t quite get the maxim I guess. It doesn’t matter how many cups we got since the mass stays the same. If there is a time measure with this phrase then it is not addressed as such and cant be counted into the equasion.
And the balance Sith and Jedi hold that both are equals in each Ability as I stated above. Neither is more powerful than the other only different.
Example: Sidious lightning is one of the most destructive force a single individual can muster. Yoda s rebuke is so focused that he may harness and recast that power to his will. I see no winner here since even their Lightsabre skills are equal. I just took them since there clash of powers is most widely known yet there are many others who seemed or in some aspects are equal.



All in all. I have respect for both traditions. One is not better than the other. Both can be translated to our real lives yet not to its fullest extend giving a slight upper hand towards Jedis in our momentarily established social environment. The Ideals seem quite effective equally since it depends on the individual character which way musters a better ground to grow or a better chance of filling up a lack in its life. So I want to merge (as many many others have before) just to show how well they work with each other.

Find Peace in Emotion,
Seek Knowledge from Ignorance,
Feel Serenity in Passion,
See Harmony in Chaos,
See the Force in Death.

Im sure there are many different mergings of this in the web but this only strengthen my idea of completion when both traditions go hand in hand in real life.
For everyone the right tool to grow.

[Darth_Arkanus]

OK, I just want to explain the Sith quote, as I take your point (even if I disagree with some of them) about the similarities of Sith and Jedi approaches. I don't think that is a difference of opinion that is likely to be settled.

Anyway, back to the quote:

The idea of "Venom" is that it is at its most potent, as far as effect, when it is concentrated. To give another comparison; think of washing up liquid/Geschirrspülmittel, if you only have a very small amount, then its effectiveness is weakened. When you have a larger amount, its washing power is greatly increased. That's the point with Venom too; the more you have in one place, the deadlier it is.

So too with Power and your personal energies.

I don't know if that is any clearer, but I hope so.