Sokan

Sokan is an ancient form of Lightsaber combat, that relies on dexterity and speed.

Explanation

Sokan

Sokan, originating during the Sith Wars, is a very dynamic form, with wide sweeping movements, and long maneuvers. A battle fought with Sokan would span an entire battlefield, using the entire terrain as their defense. Sokan scholars are tought how to use their opponent's brash movements against them, setting their enemies up for their own demise.

Sokan is a style that focuses on mobility and evasion as a part of lightsaber dueling. Sokan practitioners use their own dexterity, coupled with the Force to sense incoming attacks to just simply not be in the way of the opponent's strikes, utilizing the kinetic motion of their own evasion to whip a retaliatory strike to their assailant. In the time just before the Clone Wars, Sokan warriors integrated many elements of Jedi Master Yoda's highly kinetic use of Form IV into their own ancient techniques to create a blend of styles that relies on mobility and agility.

The style encompasses everything from quick, darting movements to smooth tumbles and strikes that arc toward the vital areas of an opponent's body. Graceful and organic looking, this form often tricks people into thinking that it is not as dangerous as the more aggressive forms of Sabre fighting. The truth is that Sokan, while not a compact art, is a very efficient one. Seemingly docile maneuvers come chained to unexpected attacks, and oft-times, a person beset by Sokan can very obviously see where their death stroke will be coming from, but can do nothing to prevent it, having been thrown off cantor by the style's penchant for disrupting their assailant's own balance and grace.

Grip

Held in an almost relaxed grip, the Sokan stylist mimics almost exactly the grip of the Ataru form. She changes her grip based upon the manoeuvre. In general the flexibility in the grip is achieved by using half of the fingers held loosely and the other half held tightly allowing for easy spins and slices.

Stance

The standard ready stance of Sokan involves turning slightly sideways with the head slightly cocked own. The classicists still bring their saber up in a gesture to show that they are ready.

Striking

This form is as defensive as Ataru is aggressive. Instead of using the whirling blade to wear down the opponent, however, the Sokan stylist uses the acrobatics to defend himself first then takes the opportunity as it arises to deliver devastating strikes. The form calls for constant motion and great dexterity as well as the stamina to outlast their opponents.

Defense

Sokan has some of the best defense available to a saber wielded. The excessively quick strikes and velocities of this ancient form have the capacity to defend from nearly any angle an opponent could come from.

Requirements

A student wishing to study Sokan, must first master the fourth circle of Ataru, as well as have an intelligence of 15 or higher.

Balancing Act

Proponents of Sokan study for years the mechanisms of bipedal locomotion. What most people take for granted in how they walk leaves a wide birth of potential for those who know where to look. Small amounts of pressure at the right time, at the right moment can send a sturdy opponent with normally very good balance, sailing to the ground.

Studying where these tiny windows of opportunity are consumes the Sokan practitioners time. As they become more and more well versed in this art, they find ways of parrying attacks in manners that best throw off their opponents rhythm. This is a very useful tactic against those opponent's who might otherwise have the advantage in skill.

This is not an easy set of skills to learn, however, and the adherents of Sokan realize how small this window can be, so they do not rely upon this tactic alone, instead focussing on the primary goal of getting out of the way of their opponent's strikes.