Shien is a form of Lightsaber Combat, using reverse grips, and often dual lightsabers or a saber-staff.
Explanation
The variant form known as Shien is a rarely seen style that, while effective, is almost a topic of controversy among lightsaber masters due to the drastically different grip taught by practitioners of the form. The style calls for the Jedi to hold the lightsaber horizontally with the tip of the blade out away from the body, and all strikes are made by sweeping the arm forward as though throwing a punch while whipping the blade forward quickly in a broad arc.
Shien originated back in the early, violent days of the Old Republic. Formulated as yet another style to combat the enemies of the Jedi, this violent art was quickly thrown to obscurity once the Jedi Council discovered the way that this form would lead astray their knights. Kept alive by historians among the order, it was generally only taught to those who would not likely see combat, and risk the fall to the Dark Side.
Adi Gallia was one of the few Jedi around the time of the Clone Wars known to actively practice the form, as was the Anzati Jedi called Nikkos Tyris. With their deaths, so too did Shien's practices die to the Jedi.
The Dark Brotherhood rediscovered this lost art, cataloged in a holocron, several years ago, and have been gladly teaching the aggressive style to their most eager students. The overly violent methodology, combined with the forms contempt for defense make it a natural for the Dark Side Jedi of the Brotherhood.
Grip
Held backwards, the hand is clenched in a fist around the saber hilt, with the blade extending away from the body.
Stance
The Shien Practitioner will bring their hands up, so that their saber blades emit down and away from their body, turning slightly off square to their opponent.
Striking
The Shien slash is delivered much like a typical punch, but with a flexing of the wrist at the last second which tilts their knuckles inward, bringing the blade to bear very rapidly upon their target. This style of attacking often will confuse saberists unfamiliar with the form, and that confusion is taken advantage of by the Shien practitioner.
Defence
Shien's methodology of holding the saber, unfortunately wreaks havok on it's defense. With the alignment of the blade, the time it takes to bring the sabers to cover their vulnerable body from blaster bolts is far too long. Against another saberist, the Shien practitioner still does well, in that their constant attacks often leave their assailant no opportunity to do anything but defend themselves.
Requirements
A student wishing to study Shien must have first mastered the fourth circle of Djem So and have a dexterity of 15 or higher.
If a student of Shien has mastered the style of Shii-Cho (5/5), they may begin training in Dual Lightsabers for this form. Students of Shien that have not yet bothered to master Shii-Cho do not have access to these techniques.
If a student of Shien has mastered the Soresu and Djem So forms, they may begin specialized Shien Double bladed lightsaber techniques.
Reverse Grip Duelling
The use of an inverted grip is a rare but effective means of outsmarting and overpowering an opponent. It essentially sacrifices all forward defence for speed and wide striking attacks. The technique is particularly useful against multiple opponents. It was the basis for much of the Shien form but was also common among other circles.
While not requiring any particular or special variation in the lightsaber itself it was not uncommon for practitioners of this technique to make use of curved hilts. The added angle of the blade often gave adherents a considerable advantage and more range to their swings. The reversed grip forgoes virtually any forward deflection and parrying ability in order to focus purely on offense. Many adherents also incorporated conventional blades on their hilts in order to both punch, and stab, as well as strike with the lightsaber blade itself. The reverse grip was also often combined with Jar'Kai in order to confuse an opponent with a mixture of backhanded and offhanded attacks.
Adherents
DJB Adherents