The Way of the Ysalamiri

[Lilla Syrin]

“He is a fencer. Leverage, position, advantage—they are as natural to him as breathing.”
―Qui-Gon Jinn’s spirit to Yoda on Count Dooku, a Makashi master.

True to his word, Mei was going to teach Lilla each of the classic Forms of saber combat. And so as to not show a preference for any one over another, he decided to teach them in numerical order.

The Cerean Master was surprised to see Lilla in the training room ahead of him. Typically she was running from class to class, trying to cram more than a day of lessons into one cycle of the sun.

After bowing, he raised an eyebrow. They knew each other well enough to communicate through simple gestures like this.

“Sparring. We finished early because the Master taking us accidentally got zapped by a remote in the face. He became confused and his speech slurred. So we called a Healer and she dismissed us.”

Mei nodded. “It happens to the best of us.” He rubbed his chin. “Not that I can remember it ever happening to me.”

The faraway look in his eyes dissipated and he looked back at Lilla. “So, the second Form. You know the drill.”

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla took a deep breath. She found studying easy, enjoyable in fact – and would often be shooed out of the library in the early hours by a librarian that knew she had lessons first thing in the morning.

“Form II is also known as Makashi, or The Way of the Ysalamiri, or The Contention Form. It was specifically developed for the purpose of lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat, to address the failings of Form I.”

“It is the most dueling-centric of the seven classical forms. Relying on precision and efficiency, it allows an initiate to defend themselves against an opponent with minimal effort, while placing a heavy focus on avoiding disarmament.”

“It can be best described as elegant and focused, and is based on balance and footwork to outmanoeuvre opponents. Fluidity, precision, and economy of motion are relied on, rather than strength.”

“Form II bladework heavily utilises jabs and light cuts rather than hack and slash movements. Overall, the form is best when engaged in combat against a single enemy duelist.”

“It fell out of favour many times, due to a lack of lightsaber wielding opponents, or the advancement in blaster technology. As Makashi had been designed strictly for blade-to-blade combat, it lacked an effective means of combating enemies with projectile weapons. Due to this, Makashi lost a great deal of its practical applicability, and over time it faded into rare use, beyond being taught in academies.”

“However, the style saw a return to prominence during the New Sith Wars, disappeared again following the Battle of Ruusan, before resurfacing post Vader.”

Lilla paused, aware she could talk further, but knowing her Master would want to get on with the use of the Form, not its theory or history.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

The Cerean Master nodded and walked over to where the training sabers were, before taking two and turning to face Lilla once more.

“To summarise, it is a Form that helps one resist the Force attacks of an enemy, and is also excellent for lightsaber combat. But it leaves you vulnerable to other attacks. Use it against others wielding the Force or lightsabers, but not against anyone else.”

“Form II bladework encourages precision and efficiency over power, using jabs, parries and light cuts rather than slashes, blocks and chops. The blade manipulation required for this form is very calculated, requiring intense focus and expert timing. It is often described as elegant, powerful and precise, relying on feints to confuse and trap opponents. These refinements allow a user of the form to attack and defend with minimal energy expenditure.”

“It also places a great deal of emphasis on footwork in both attack and defense. For these reasons I suspect you will become adept at this Form. It plays to many of your strengths.”

“But less talk and more doing, eh?”

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Mei kept the sabers in his pocket. He wanted Lilla to appreciate the physical aspect of the Form, especially the footwork.

“The footwork commonly follows a single line, front and back, shifting the feet to keep in perfect balance as you advance and retreat.” Mei demonstrated.

“It is all about balance, back-and-forth charges, thrusts, and sudden retreats.” Mei demonstrated as he spoke.

“Now, show me your footwork…”

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Satisfied that Lilla had understood all he’d shared, Mei continued.

“Now, before we start waving anything, it’s worth taking a closer look at the preferred saber style of the Makashi user. Whereas every other Form can use sabers interchangeably, those that use the second Form tend to prefer a curved-hilt.”

Mei fished one of the two he had taken from the rack on the wall out of his pocket and showed it to Lilla.

“Its extended handle accommodates a slight bend seldom exceeding thirty degrees. This is to allow for a balanced weight and precise handling. The curved hilt fits better into the palm, granting better blade control and allowing for greater accuracy. Some also include a blade-guard, but sometimes this is just for decoration.”

“But not all practitioners use a curved blade. Famous users including Qui-Gon Jinn, Shaak Ti, Kento Marek, and Darth Vader all wielded lightsabers with standard hilts, and Asajj Ventress demonstrated the ability to utilize the style with a saberstaff. But they were the exception.”

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Mei threw the second hilt to Lilla and allowed her to familiarise herself with its unique feel and balance before he continued.

“Most Forms have a set opening stance, and Makashi goes one step further. The Form II opening stance is a single handed low guard, known as a salute.” Mei activated the blade with a snap-hiss and held it at his side, the blade pointing down, his feet shoulder width apart.

“Some face their opponent side on, so the blade is pointed in their direction.” Mei demonstrated.

“The lightsaber hilt should be held with the thumb pointing down the length of the blade to allow for smaller, tighter, more accurate movements of the saber. The rest of the fingers wrap around the hilt holding it tightly, but not so tight as to limit the fluidity of the movements.”

“And now we have the signature opening move. A typical Makashi flourish consists of rapidly moving the tip of the blade in an X shaped pattern through the air, following the Makashi salute. The salute is not an attack or manoeuvre but a challenge to an opponent. The saber is brought up vertically, directly in front of your face, then swung down in what is known as a Makashi flourish.”

Mei instructed Lilla until she was comfortable with these moves.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

“Much of what you have already learned applies to each of the Forms. See them as much as a philosophy as a separate fighting style. Blocks and parries are still blocks and parries. Parries are still favourable over blocks unless you have great physical strength. What sets it apart is how you execute the moves. I’ll demonstrate, you defend.”

Mei talked as he performed a range of moves.

“Form II emphasises fluid movement and anticipation of a weapon being swung at its target, and so requires very smooth motion of both the blade and the body, and practitioners rarely hold the balde with two hands. This allows for a greater range of movement and a greater reach too.”

“The key is to remain relaxed when employing it. I’m no dancer, but that was how it was explained to me, movement so graceful, it would befit a ballerina.”

The concept of Mei in a tutu brought a smile to Lilla’s lips. And she knew he would see it, but didn’t mind – their relationship was such now that they felt comfortable in each other’s company and could gently tease each other when the situation arose.

“But for all its effectiveness, Form II is not without its weaknesses. It is poor at blaster-deflection. Not that it is impossible, it’s just not the easiest Form to utilise. And nor does it lend itself to face multiple foes – unless you’re a master practitioner of course.”

 

[Lilla Syrin]

“But the overwhelming flaw of the Makashi system of combat is its inability to generate kinetic energy. Because the focus is on precision and blade control, it hampers your ability to generate momentum in both offensive and defensive manoeuvres.”

“This meant that against someone who possesses a sufficient level of physical strength, you could potentially be overwhelmed. The need to constantly shunt aside strikes means there is no offensive capability and dealing with perpetual bashing will wear you down. It is a fine line however. Many Makashi practitioners can overcome power and brute strength. But against someone employing the Djem So variant of Form V? I’d not wager on the Form II user as a rule.”

Then Mei stopped talking and the sparring picked up a notch. Initially he simply went on the offensive, knowing Lilla would learn the moves from defending against them. Then he switched and asked Lilla to demonstrate what she’d learned so far.

She was a little disjointed. Her footwork and movement was good – as was her blade-work. But she was not yet proficient enough to put the two together. Practice and time would solve that problem.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

The following day, they reconvened. “Remember,” Mei said as they began sparring, “The main benefit of the Form is to ensure your weapon is not taken or damaged. Which means, by definition, that you are in a good position to do this to your opponent.”

To demonstrate, Mei delicately tapped Lilla’s lightsaber hilt with his own blade. In a true duel, her saber would have been damaged.

“You don’t need power to win a duel. Speed, agility and cunning are sufficient.”

Lilla did not see herself as cunning and wondered how effective a Makashi duellist she might become.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

The next day, they were duelling again. Mei was now comfortable that Lilla was making progress and the combination of footwork and blade-work was definitely progressing.

“Now it’s time to learn two specific moves,” Mei said as they sparred. He no longer stopped to explain things, he merely wove them into their sparring.

“There are two specific Marks of Contact for Makashi; the Sun djem and the Shiak. In a marked difference from the Shii-Cho “disarming slash” manoeuvre you’ve learned, which is a power attack designed to rip an opponent’s weapon from his grasp, this application of the Sun djem is a precise attack directed at the weapon itself, often destroying it or even burning through an opponent’s fingers to disarm them.”

He demonstrated a few times and saw Lilla wince as the blade stung – but did not burn her fingers when he struck them. He paused his attacks, which Lilla knew was a signal for her to try it.

She was clumsy at first, dropping her own saber a couple of times, before she got the hang of it. “Practice, practice, practice,” she said under her breath, the mantra she now lived by.

“Now to the Shiak. It is a natural result of Form II footwork and swordplay, which we know follows a single back and forth line, and is seen as an indication of skill and control.” Again Mei demonstrated and Lilla copied.

Satisfied she had the basics under her belt, Mei called the lesson.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

They met again two days later. “Today I shall teach you two Makashi manoeuvres. The first is the “contentious opportunity”. The “contentious opportunity” is based around recognising and exploiting an opening in the opponent’s defense before swiftly moving to strike the exposed enemy. For example, I have noticed this,” Mei scored an easy hit. “You invariably lift your elbow when you’re about to step forwards. I noticed this and then exploited it. Study your opponent. Don’t feel the need to rush in and end the duel too quickly. It’s a risky option and you are often better to weigh up your opponent before capitalising on a weakness you’ve spotted. Patience is key.”

“Next is the “Makashi riposte”. Here you slightly alter the angle of an opponent’s attack before quickly retaliating with a counter strike.” Mei demonstrated by standing a little taller than usual. Lilla had to compensate and given she ended the move in a slightly different place, Mei took advantage to flick out a wrist and score a hit on her thigh.

“Look to hit often. Don’t seek the killer blow, unless it presents itself. Take any opening. Many small blows more than equal one big one. Being hit with a saber, even a glancing blow, is painful and saps the stamina. The only caution is that a Sith will feed off their pain, but it is draining none the less.”

 

[Lilla Syrin]

At their next meeting, Mei began the duel before talking. “There is only so much blade-work and footwork will give you. A big part of the Makashi Form is emotional level-headedness and tactical know-how. This is especially true when facing a rage-fuelled frenzy many of your opponents will rely upon.”

“Precision and elegance in your blade-work. Poise and pace with your footwork. A pin-point accurate and unpredictable offense reinforced by an almost effortless defense, all drilled and practiced to the point of being instinct. These are the trademarks of a master.”

“Use feints to entrap your opponents, and footwork to outmanoeuvre, basing yourself around balance and mobility. Use these skills to work your way around opponents. Deflect and evade their attacks rather than trying to meet them head-to-head.”

By the end of the session, Mei was satisfied he could teach no more. “Now it’s down to practice and engaging different foes, multiple foes. Seek out the opportunity to spar and you shall surely grow your abilities.”