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Herrera
Hugo JR. Herrera
Mr. Whilhite
English
15 April 2015
The Lightsaber
The Force is what gives a Jedi his powerit surrounds us, it penetrates us (Ben
Kenobi, A New Hope) Blah, Blah, Blah, lets just get back to the action. With all the Force
powers and blasters, hardly anyone forgets about the famous blade wielded by the Jedi and the
Sith. The weapon that almost every kid has wanted at one point or another. The lightsaber.
Lightsabers have always been recognized to be the go to weapon that always give the most
excitement. Even for people like me who get anxious around knives and swords, even on a
screen, the lightsaber just doesnt give you the same feeling. The feeling you get is one of awe,
of inspiration. With Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens coming out soon, I thought it would be
appropriate for me to do this subject for an exploration. As they say Knowledge is power...
(Kofi Annan).
As I started, I thought that I should go online and look up the history about the lightsaber.
When I say history, of course I mean in the star wars universe itself. When I typed in the history
of the lightsaber, I found a website called Wookieepedia. I watched the video and was surprised
about what I found. I found out that the first step to the lightsaber that we love and know of was
taken by the Sith. Before lightsabers, Jedis and Siths, Jedaii (good) and the Infinite Empire (bad)
ventured through the systems, but fought with swords. Eventually the Sith got tired of the boring
old sword and wanted to get the upper hand. They made black crystals, stuck it in a hilt and

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channeled their dark energy to the hilt and crystal, making a blade of pure Force. This was
known as a forcesaber. This gave the Infinite Empire the upper hand, and the Jedaii couldnt do
a thing about it. Due to the blades tie to the dark side, any Jedaii who used the device ran a
great risk of changing to the dark side. Eventually the Jedaii Order made their own prehistoric
lightsaber, one that was more stable and could be used by the good guys. Thus, the first
protosaber was made. It had a design like the dark saber, with the crystal on the outside. The
difference was, other than being more stable and working for the good guys, was that the blade
was not powered by the Force. It was powered by an external battery pack and a wire from the
pack to the weapon. Eventually, through time, the lightsaber improved to what it is today.
Now like a sword, there are different forms of fighting with a lightsaber, expanding as the
lightsaber improved. Due to a video I found online, I learned that there is many forms, each
increasing your skill. The first level was called Shii-Cho, otherwise known as the tutorial. This
form taught you basically how to wield a blade and how to not get killed. Unfortunately, during
the Hundred-Year Darkness, where Dark Jedi (past Siths) fought to control the galaxy, it was
discover that Shii-Cho was not capable of saber-to-saber combat. Thus the Makashi was made.
This dwelled on saber-to-saber combat, emphasizing on handle control. Later along the road,
another problem popped up for the blade wielding men and women. The blaster (a laser gun) was
made. Due to not thinking a laser gun was ever going to be made, there was no form that
protected you from lasers. This came with the invention of the form Soresu. This form asked of
you to keep your body tight and alert, letting you be fast and intercept every shot. This was only
made for self-defense and just deflected the bolt willy dilly. Some Jedi believed this method to
be highly insufficient and boring, so the next form, Ataru, was made for them. Its a completely
aggressive offence move that relied solely on a Blade-wielders ability to use the Force to boost

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their speed and jump to make them a dangerous enemy. It was basically an acrobatic form of
fighting. Now some people were still not satisfied, so in order to basically replace it, Shein was
formed. It still deflected bolts and everything, but instead of sending the bolt willy dilly, this
form sent the bolt back to the owner. Now, everyone know not everyone can be pleased. Some of
the more passive Jedi thought that all the new aggressive forms separated from their peaceful
demeanor. In order to stay peaceful, the form Niman was made. It is basically a mix of all the
forms, plus a little extra something. For an illustration, imagine that the form Shii-Cho is a piece
of cheese, Makashi is a piece of lettuce, Soresu is a piece of meat, Ataru is a piece of tomato and
Shein is a pair of hamburger buns. The Niman is basically a burger that include all the
ingredients mentioned before, plus some mayo, which is in this case the Force. Its reinforces the
need of Force by adding things such as the Force push.
Many Jedi and Sith have Lightsaber, but I hope that you know that a Jedi has to make its
own lightsaber. Now beforehand I knew that each hilt is unique, but I knew that parts had to be
similar. Therefore I decided to searched for parts of a lightsaber and found this. In order for a
Jedi to construct a legendary blade, they need supplies. The first, most important part is the
Primary crystal. This is the part of the blade that determines what color is your blade. The
crystals from Illum use to be blue and green. All of the other colors are synthetic or fake.
Unfortunately all of the natural crystals were destroyed after Order 66 was ordered. The next
important part is the diatium power cell. This is the part that keeps a lightsaber going. It is the
replacement for the power pack that was on the protosaber. It is meant to survive for a long time
without needing to recharge. The next important part are the focusing crystal. These two crystals
need to be aligned perfectly or else the lightsaber explodes the first time you activate it. Once
you have that, you need the energy channel to actually make the blade. Now, in order to build

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this fine piece of machinery, you have to be able to use the Force. The reason is that like I stated,
the focus crystals need to be aligned perfectly or else KABOOM! When a Force-sensitive being
makes his blade, he goes into a deep meditation, forging a relationship with the lightsaber as its
being construction, because thats normal.
Now just like I said before, each hilt is unique to the wielder. Color is also unique to the
wielder, as it reveals who they are and there personality. Lets start with the first Jedi color.
According to another video that I found, blue is for the Jedi Guardians who rely on dueling and
protecting others. Some famous wielder include both Anakin Skywalker and Solo, Obi-Wan and
Plo Koon. The next color is the color of the Jedi Counselors. They prefer using the Force and
diplomacy to solve conflicts, but theyre not scared to activate their weapon. Known wielders are
Kit Fisto, Anakin Skywalker (again), and Luke Skywalker. Next for our first warm color, cause it
was too cold with all the cool colors. Yellow is the color of the Jedi Sentinels. To be honest, they
are the spies of the Republic. They prefer go undercover and just want to destroy the darkness.
Known users include Plo Koon (again) and Yarael Poof. The next color, and my personal
favorite, red. Red is usually for Siths and Dark Jedi, but the reason is that the red crystals used
in those blades work better with Dark Force. Famous users include Darth Vader, Darth Maul,
Darth Sideous, and Dark Tyranus. Next up is orange. Orange is for those Jedi that also like
negotiations, but rely more on combat than the Force. Known users include Yaddle and Plo Koon
(really, again?). Gold is used for those who use very light-sided skills. There is only one known
user that goes by the name of Qu Rahn. Now that we have warmed up a bit, lets head back to the
cool colors and the neutral colors. Purple is thought to be a wielder who somehow use both light
and dark side fighting techniques and are generally more aggressive. Users include Mace Windu,
Mara Jade Skywalker, and Jaina Solo. Silvers up! Silver is for those Jedi who are calm and

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focus fully on the living Force. Known users include Tera Sinube and Corran Horn. Now for the
last two colors. First theres white. White saber wielders seem to be those who do rely heavily on
the force, but think of the force in only one way. These users generally serve a master or group,
never once swaying away from it. Famous users include all Imperial Knights from the Star Wars
Legacy Series like Roan Fel, Marasiah Fel and Antares Draco. Finally, there is what I honestly
think is the most hipster color of all, black. Black is kind of like the white by being narrow
minded, but is loyal to only one self. This is also known as a Darksaber. The only user ever
recorded is Pre Vizsla.
Now that we are near the end of this, let see if you know any of this info that was on this one
website that had interesting lightsaber facts that I didnt know:
1. When George Lucas was making Star Wars, they were originally going to be
lazerswords
2. Lukes green lightsaber only happened because his original blue blade blended in two
well with the Tatooine sky.
3. Lightsabers were illegal during the Empire Times.
4. Lightsabers cant cut through anything.
Thats about all I could dig up for this subject. As much as I would want to continue, I
have decide for this paper to limit myself to only lightsabers. In my next paper, who knows? The
world is full of possibilities. I just might write about all the wars that have happened in the Star
Wars Universe. Maybe Ill write about the life of George Lucas. Whatever the case maybe, I
hope youve enjoyed this paper, and maybe, just maybe, youll enjoy star wars as much as I do.
Thank you for your attention.

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Bricken, Rob. "13 Things You Probably Don't Know About Lightsabers." Io9. KINJA, 25 Apr.
14. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.
Brain, Marshall, and Robert Lamb. "Using Your Lightsaber Around the Home - HowStuffWorks."
HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
History of the Lightsaber: Part 1. Jensaarai1, 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
"Lightsaber." Wookieepedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr.
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"Lightsaber Hilt." Wookieepedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
"Protosaber." Wookieepedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
Star Wars All Lightsaber Colors And Meanings. EvanNova95, 9 July 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.