#form iv

AKA The Aggression Form or The Way of the Hawk-Bat.

“Ataru is the name given to the movements of this form—though it is aggressive, it is focused, and its best use is in combat against a single opponent.”

Form IV is, simply put, the direct opposite of Form III. While Soresu is the unyielding defence, Ataru is the crushing offence. The Form IV users are known for being either incredibly agile or devastatingly strong, doesn’t matter if it’s attacking or blocking.

The whole body of the practitioner is a weapon, not just the lightsaber. Punches, kicks, leg sweeps, whatever is needed goes.

Positive Aspects: with the Force-boosted strength and agility, strikes come from almost any direction, with blade and body rotating in any of three axis.

Form IV users know the battle has to be ended quickly so they do it in such a manner that the rest of their opponent won’t feel like they should engage in newer combats - that is, if anyone is left standing.

Negative Aspects: like Form II, Form IV is weak against many adversaries and blaster fire, but that can be overcome with honed skills.

Ataru also demands a lot of space for most of its “performance”, making cramped spaces the worst place for a Form IV user.

Also, unlike Makashi, Ataru users are very susceptible to tiredness and fatigue. The longer the battle takes, the harsher it gets to the practitioner to keep up with the battle rhythm and the easier it is for their defenses to be left open.

Form IV, or Ataru, was a lightsaber technique. An aggressive, offensive form, Ataru favored acrobatic movement assisted by the Force. It was most effective in single combat, less so when faced with multiple opponents. Yoda was a master of Form IV, with his size and strength in the Force, he was nearly unstoppable in battle.

Source: Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force (Art: Tommy Lee Edwards; 2007)

First Appearance: Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999)

Form IV (Ataru, the Way of the Hawk-Bat, The Aggression Form) is the fourth lightsaber form created for combat. It is believed that the history of Ataru goes all the way back to around the Mandalorian Wars. It is an aggressive style that is fast-paced and is very effective against single opponents. It is used for force-assisted mobility and opposition and requires the user to constantly stay on the offense. This involves kinetic and broad moves like jumps, twirls, etc. Form IV requires speed, strength, and agility. Ataru practitioners also use unarmed combat attacks chained together with their lightsaber. However, Ataru has several flaws that user must overcome. First, it provides no defense against blasterfire. Second, since it focuses on aggressive combat to overwhelm a single opponent, it is terrible against multiple opponents. Third, it is useless in confined spaces. And fourth, Ataru requires a large amount of stamina, causing the practitioner to become exhausted rather quickly. Notable practitioners are Yoda, Quinlan Vos, Qui-Gon Jinn, Aayla Secura, Darth Maul, Mara Jade Skywalker and Zez-Kai Ell.

“The Ataru form of combat is aggressive, but focused. You must never rely soley on skill with a weapon, but rather embrace the idea that your whole body is the weapon. Use the Force to spin, jump, to overpower your foe.” - Luke Skywalker

Appears in:

Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

The Old Republic

Maul: Lockdown

(Star Wars Correspondent) Andi Gutierrez: The actual duel between the two Masters is very short. Like a samurai film. How did you come to the conclusion that it had to be done this way?

(Producer) Carrie Beck: We never entered into this story trying to think about how satisfying that battle should be. It really became about what was the general intention of this moment? And knowing where these two men are at this point in their lives, I think it's important for us —even though on the timeline, we aren't to a New Hope yet— to think about what we know of Obi-wan in that movie and to work backwards in some way to make sure that the characters progression charts appropriately.

(Co-Producer) Henry Gilroy: When you've fought someone many times, or face off you kind of know each other's moves. So if you think about it, the build up to this confrontation and the actual Lightsabers hitting each other is actually longer, cause their basically playing it out in their heads and the amazing thing is the move that Maul tries after the initial exchange he actually attempts the move that killed Qui Gon Jinn. He tried to basically bash him with the hilt.

(Executive Producer) Dave Filoni: If you talk to a lot of people that sword fight, they'll tell you that people that are very good don't have long fights, it's very quick. And so that scene, it's an homage to the Seven Samurai. I think on one level people would be excited to see another prolonged Lightsaber fight but I just never really saw the confrontation that way because to do that is to say that the characters don't have growth. Yes, it's exciting as an audience member but it's not really a believable thing. The storytelling has to evolve.

سَبَبِيّة root: س-ب-ب / abstract noun / definition: causality You probably already know that different Arabic verb forms point to different general meanings. For example, form X verbs refer to seeking something, and form VII indicates that the verb meaning is passive. But have you noticed that form II (فَعَّلَ / يُفَعِّلُ) and form IV (أَفْعَلَ / يُفْعِلُ) verb patterns both indicate a…