Form III: Soresu

"That is so like you, Master Kenobi. I am called a great swordsman because I invented a lethal style; but who is greater, the creator of a killing form—or the master of the classic form?"
-Mace Windu to Obi-Wan Kenobi

Form III: Soresu, also known as the Way of the Mynock, or The Resilience Form, was the third of the seven forms of lightsaber combat that was recognized by the Jedi Council prior to and during the Clone Wars.

Originally, Form III was developed as a counter to blaster weapons used by multiple opponents. Due to the rise in distribution of blaster weapons, more and more Jedi were forced to adapt a fighting style which allowed them to combat enemies firing from several directions, mostly basing their "attack" on redirected blaster fire. Previous styles had allowed wide, sweeping strokes which left the Jedi open to blaster fire. Form III, however, required maintaining a constant shield of deflectionary strokes by making short, quick sweeps, close to the body, leaving the Jedi less exposed to ranged fire. Form III was the most defensive of the seven forms.



Combat

Form III involved preparation for prolonged battles where the user observed and learned as much as possible about their opponent's or opponents' technique while engaged in combat. Also, by being more capable in lengthy battles, a Soresu user had the ability to gain control of a combat situation, creating multiple options for the Jedi employing the form. A Form III user could choose to kill, disarm, or even reason with their opponent.

Many Soresu practitioners survived the lengthy Battle of Geonosis, owing to the endurance gained from the form and its specialization in fending off and deflecting blaster fire. Soresu's greatest power lay in the endurance and control a practitioner eventually developed.
Jedi Master Mace Windu noted that, unlike any of the other combat styles, Soresu was not an answer to a particular type of weakness. Vaapad was an answer to Windu's inner darkness; Ataru was Yoda's answer to his limited reach and advanced age; and Djem So helped Anakin release his own powerful emotions.

Toward the end of the Clone Wars, Master Windu acknowledged Obi-Wan Kenobi as "The master of Soresu." It was because of this fact that Kenobi was chosen by the Jedi High Council as the Jedi best suited to defeat General Grievous. During their , the Jedi Master was capable of parrying all four of Grievous's lightsabers, gradually disarming the droid general. Earlier, during his duel with Count Dooku aboard the Invisible Hand, Kenobi's expertise in Soresu allowed him to parry the Count's elegant Makashi strikes.

Soresu was considered the consummate Jedi combat form in that it embraced a passive way of life and a literal expression of the Jedi tenet to defend rather than attack. Obi-Wan himself considered Soresu very simple, so restrained and defense-oriented that Form III was nearly passive. As a master, Obi-Wan could defend himself against any attack less than twenty strikes per second.Darth Vader used elements of Form III in his variant of Form V.



Advantages

Soresu was a very favorable form of combat for Jedi up until the Great Jedi Purge. The defense and control it allowed a practitioner made for suitable outcomes in favor of the user when faced with hurried opponents who left themselves vulnerable to counterattack. However, its defense required a very large amount of focus from the wielder and even a momentary fault in concentration could spell defeat. Jedi with less focused minds would usually abandon this style of combat to capitalize on the benefits of other styles that required less dedication to prolonged fighting. Form III utilized strikes and blocks with the lightsaber at very fast speeds with the blade extremely close to the wielder's body. This form also utilized some acrobatics such as those seen in Form IV to make the wielder even harder to catch.

Form lll was effective against single powerful enemies, as well as large battles with multiple enemies. Form lll was also the most effective form for deflecting blaster bolts, since it was originally designed to combat blaster-wielding opponents, and since the movements are very swift and close to the body, there would basically be no open space between attacks that could leave the wielder open to blaster fire. Jedi who mastered Soresu were known to have an unbreakable defense, and the most successful when dealing in situations when a quick victory was not as favorable as total understanding and calculated action.