Form I: Shii-Cho

"It is simple, and its simplicity is strength."

- Kreia

Form I: Shii-Cho, also known as The Way of the Sarlacc, or The Determination Form, was the first of the seven forms of lightsaber combat.

History


As the weapons technology of the lightsaber was developed, the need for a form of combat arose. Thus Form I, also called Way of the Sarlacc, was born. Shii-Cho was the most ancient style of lightsaber combat, developed by early Jedi Masters during the transition from metal swords to lightsabers, to incorporate key principles of ancient sword-fighting traditions. Existing as the simplest form even four thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, Shii-Cho was among the many forms known to the Jedi, including Kreia and the Jedi Exile. Due to its simplicity, it was often the first form taught, so almost all lightsaber duelists included some aspect of Shii-Cho in their swordplay.

Marks of contact
One of the marks of contact, sun djem, was a goal of early Form I duelists, as disarming or destroying the opponents' weapons could ensure victory without causing injury, which was always a Jedi objective. However, with the rise of Form II, sun djem became nearly impossible as Makashi duelists were well trained to prevent their own weapons from being taken or destroyed.

Form I, like its succeeding forms, included the following basic techniques and concepts:
 * attack, a set of attacks aimed at different body zones
 * parry, a set of blocks to thwart any attack in the specified body zones
 * body target zones (1 - head, 2 - right arm and side, 3 - left arm and side, 4 - back, 5 - right leg, 6 - left leg)
 * training drills called velocities

Training


In the Old Jedi Order, Younglings started out by learning Form I at a very early age, before beginning a Padawan apprenticeship with a Jedi Master. Their first years they spent studying no other form. It was done so, because, as Kreia commented, Form I was the simplest of the forms, yet still powerful. Their training included learning to deflect plasma bolts from training remotes while being blindfolded or covered up by a practice helmet. Lightsaber instructors such as Yoda and Cin Drallig taught Form I to thousands of students during their Jedi careers.

Applications


Form I was born thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin, when contained beams of energy replaced metal swords. This fighting form is really an extension of the traditional metal bladed techniques it was created from, with its basics of attacks, parries, body target zones and practice drills, and the principles of blade contact remained essentially the same.

Kit Fisto, one of the most notable practitioners of Form I during the Clone Wars, successfully wielded the style through many battles and duels, demonstrating his skill against the likes of General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. He demonstrated a high amount of versatility with the form, effectively applying his skills towards the usage of multiple blades and lightwhips. However, Fisto proved unable to defeat Darth Sidious with the style, highlighting one of its primary weaknesses. Form I was ideal when heavily outnumbered and effective against many opponents, but a single opponent, especially one as powerful as Sidious, is able to find flaw in it.

Obi-Wan Kenobi commented Form I as wild, raw, and deadly, requiring much emotional heat, and Kit Fisto noted how hard it was to control the pull of Form I, disabling opponents rather than killing them; however, Kenobi sometimes did infuse elements of Shii-Cho into his swordplay, including the rematch with Count Dooku onboard the Invisible Hand. Dooku himself commented Shii-Cho swordplay as deliberate as a lumberdroid, moving step by step, cutting off the angles, clumsy but relentlessly dogged, certainly one of the most basic of fighting forms.

Shii-Cho was also one of the forms which Count Dooku taught the fearsome Jedi hunter General Grievous, who in turn taught his IG-100 MagnaGuards.

Form I was said to allow focus and a slightly improved chance of connecting with the opponent. Because the ancient Jedi did not have lightsaber-wielding enemies, Form I was not developed with lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat in mind. Nonetheless, because of its few advantages and disadvantages, Shii-Cho was an effective form to fall back on when no other form would do to suit the current combat situation.

Notable practitioners


As Shii-Cho had been in existence for many millennia, and was usually the first form taught, almost all lightsaber duelists included aspects and elements of it in their swordplay. One of the most prolific ancient practitioners of the style was the Jedi Exile as well as Lucien Draay.

In more recent years, Cin Drallig mastered the style, along with the next five forms. Obi-Wan Kenobi also had some preference for the style, using it against Dooku during their duel on the Invisible Hand. Dooku himself trained General Grievous and his IG-100 MagnaGuards in the style. Master Kirlocca of the Almas Academy was also credited as having mastered Form I.

A notable Clone Wars-era master of Shii-Cho was Kit Fisto, whose proficiency in the style earned him a position among the greatest swordsmen in the Jedi Order. However, even his skill was not enough to stand against the visceral intensity of Darth Sidious.

Darth Vader incorporated elements of Shii-Cho into his personal Form V variant and Galen Marek, his apprentice was also familiar with the form, which in turn was used by his father, Kento.

Luke Skywalker received instruction in basic Form I velocities during his early training under Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Shii-Cho, like the other six forms, would eventually be rediscovered by the New Jedi Order.

Behind the scenes
Another likely practitioner of Shii-Cho is Sora Bulq, based on statements in the official Databank.

While Darth Sidious is believed to be a Form IV and VII user, no source has confirmed his lightsaber form. Due to comments from Nick Gillard that Sidious has been shown to use several different forms proficiently, it is possible that he has mastered most of them, including Form I.

Shii-Cho, along with the other lightsaber forms, appears in Star Wars Galaxies as part of moves and techniques employable by Jedi characters. This has not definitively been clarified to be canonical.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Tides of Terror
 * Jedi: Aayla Secura
 * The Cestus Deception
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Republic: Show of Force
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Coruscant Nights III: Patterns of Force
 * The Force Unleashed novel

Notes and references
Form I ru:Форма I: Шии-Чо