Post by lordsarlacc on Dec 12, 2017 19:34:33 GMT -5

2 Handed grip is well suited to any situation, good attack, good defense, a bit awkward to the uninitiated in the ways of two handed combat, but overall, the go to duelist's sabre.
1 Handed grip is well suited to a sabre that has less weight to worry about, hence a shorter blade, but a weakness that puts it at a shorter range of effectiveness as well, thereby playing well with makashi's offensive tendancies. As Qui-Gon said... ""He is a fencer. Leverage, position, advantage—they are as natural to him as breathing." (Once again, forgive me if I have a flawed understanding on weaponry. It's only speculation, and I don't presume to know all there is about weapons, real or fictional. XD)
2 Lightsabers has plenty more offensive capability, due to the speed of strikes and unpredictable angles of attack, however, the strength of the defense suffers, as a person can only block with one hand, and in a saber lock with another person using a 2 handed weapon, all exchanges will almost surely lose. I imagine synergy with two arms on a single blade would overpower two single hands on two separate blades, due to additional leverage on the single weapon, and focusing on one point of attack, instead of two points of defense.
A Double Bladed Lightsaber has blades on either end, and due to this unique shape of the weapon, shouldn't we be able to block and strike at the same time? I feel that many times I'm seeing people being too passive with the saber, and thereby losing its inherent skill. But if I have the unique ability to deflect an attack, and hit an enemy at the same time, I feel that's an advantage worth exploiting. And also, with the Saber "Staff", you have the ability to use two hands on a single side of the weapon as well, while threatening another area of attack. You don't sacrifice the leverage you do with wielding sabres in Jar'Kai for sabre locks, and you don't sacrifice the additional threatening area as you do with a single lightsaber. And I totally get why the Saberstaff gets a bad reputation, because a MASSIVE amount of skill would be required to wield it effectively, but I believe it can be a viable weapon, paired with the right combat style.
Also, a side note, why do we never see the saberstaff wielded over the head? I believe that these defensive capabilities could be extremely useful in a form such as Form V, focusing on counterattacking, or even Makashi (Granted a very nonlinear Makashi, if that's a thing? XD), if one were to have 2 different sized blades, adding to the deception that this weapon could have. The flourishes could add to the deception of the weapon as well, hiding which side is the longer side, and untrained users may try to keep track of which side is the longer blade, rather than focusing the hilt. Also, the small range extension of the saberstaff while swinging it one handed should be noted as well.
Anyway, sorry for the lengthy post, and PLEASE, if I'm wrong about any of this, please tell me. I'm all too eager to learn as much as I can about this, and would love to start discussing combat with some of the brightest martial artists out there. I was in martial arts for 8 years, and got my black belt in Kenpo, and I'm ready to begin learning.

Edit: I just realized someone else mentioned the idea of having one longer end of the saberstaff, so I apologize for the repeat.
interesting point on the makashi. I’ve actually tried this. It works if you feint a stab with one blade and then slash with the other. This actually really helps make up for makashis defensive weaknesses. You’d need to make it kinetic and more slash oriented but I think it could be done.