Lesson 1

[Force Master Hunter]

The first lesson of a Warrior Jedi is


What?

Would someone like to answer, to see what you know?

[Kikran Akard]

Know your enemy.

[Liam Jinn]

Know how far you can go before you lose control and reach the darkside? Know how to control your emotions to not get in the way of the task at hand?

[Force Master Hunter]

Liam is corrrect. We must know how far we can go before the Dark Side becomes a temptation.

How do we do that?

[Kikran Akard]

Use self control and keep our minds on the goal at hand.

[Liam Jinn]

Eh, practice and discipline..keep your mindset straight on whatever it is your doing..

[Captain Tohmahawk]

How would you achieve that in battle?

[Liam Jinn]

You'd have to stay calm, and not let things distract you too much. Let the force be your guide?

[Kikran Akard]

You set a mental limit, and remember your values and what you know.

[Force Master Hunter]

Kikran, in battle, when you dont have time to think, how can you do that?

[Kikran Akard]

You have to think...in battle, if you only fight with weapons, you won't win, there has to be a degree of thought involved. But back to the question, to do that, you must rely on all your training, all the things you've learned, also as Liam said, let the force guide you.

[Hart3584]

You don't set a mental limit before or during a battle. That's crazy talk. There are no limits. To be a Jedi is to struggle with the darkside every day, every waking moment. Both in the world and in yourself. Jedi sacrifice themselves and carry burden for the rest of the universe.

There is no way to avoid the darkside because that is the human factor in the host bodies of the will of the Force: Jedi.

There are no guidelines, no rules. Not if you are truly a Jedi Knight, because then you will not need them because you will know already. Those who need the guidelines are already lost and little time needs to be spent in babysitting them.

[Krell Solusar]

'We are not saints, but seekers' - Master Qui-Gon Jinn

I believe, yes, as Jedi we should have fully devoted our life to the path, and we should be a conduit of the Force. However, we are always straining to live up to the title. You have to mind your actions as a Jedi. It is not an easy path. Only when one has reached the apex of the Jedi path will his actions be determined by the Force. Yes, surrender to the Force, allow it to guide your actions, but be mindful. In our struggle we must be cautious and constantly check ourselves... and as warriors, it is imperative that we resort to violence only when left no other option. We should loathe having to slay an enemy. By turning an enemy to a friend, we have indeed destroyed them. I urge you, fellow Jedi, to seek alternatives to violence. We are protectors by nature, not warriors, but when left no other choice, our enemies shall feel the wrath of the Jedi.

Again, this is only my take on the grand-scale. An opinion. I welcome debate. We cannot resort to the narrow-minded, ignorant views of the Sith and have our minds set on one, and only one prospect.

[Hart3584]

Of course. But that is the objective of Jedi in general. Once Jedi Warriors are called into a battle, the time for negotiation is over. Now they must determine how to fight within the limits of the lightside. Thankfully, I am not one, because those who have requested to become warriors should seriously dedicate themselves to improving their techniques drastically since their primary goal is to wage and win battles. Those who don't want to make the sacrifice don't need the specialized title because all Jedi can fight whether they are designated or not.

[Liam Jinn]

Hart has made a valid point. So, if you're so anti-violence Krell, why ask to become a Jedi Warrior?

[Teka Kenobi]

Just because you're a Jedi 'Warrior' doesn't mean you're not a Jedi. Ok, so the Jedi Warriors are taught to fight well and win battles, but does that really mean the love the violence?

[Krell Solusar]

Like Teka says. Are any of us training to defeat evil by means of violence because we get our kicks from it? If so, you're in the wrong profession. The use of force is, and should always be, obligatory to the Jedi. Not a first-choice. If your initial strategy is to attack and destroy, that is by no means the Jedi way. Warriors are put to effect when left no other option. This path could easily lead one askew. We have to exercise restraint; there is quite a difference between blind aggression and forced action. We should only act in the latter circumstance.

[Hart3584]

Not the Jedi way? I think you're a little confused or you depend on EU too much. Obi-Wan and Yoda made it clear that Luke's mission was to face Vader to the death. It was Luke's own personality and free will that caused him to attempt to save his father, much to the dismay of Yoda and Obi-Wan. It is not written as the "Jedi way." Look at the Phantom Menace. When Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon faced Darth Maul in the conclusion, no questions were asked. There was NO negotiations. Lightsabers were instantly ignited and the game-faces were on. There was NO attempt to "save" Maul.

Jedi protect the good at all costs. The only way to turn someone back to the light is to not fight them and hope they find restraint and not attack you in turn. That's risking a LOT. Jedi recognize that if they fail, that millions will die because of it. Luke was reckless when he exerted all his energy on saving his father rather than insuring the end of tyranny. It was luck that Vader turned back to the light. The only places where you will see this idealized version of your so-called "Jedi Way" is in Expanded Universe; which I don't believe counts.

[Teka Kenobi]

Yes, but Maul had just killed Qui-Gon. I beleive that the young Obi-Wan was very close to straying into the darkside- if not, maybe he did. No questions were asked and no-one saved him, because Maul had already attempted to kill Qui-Gon and Anakin. Luke had a traumatic time, in a short while. He'd only just got to know about his father, and yes he tried to save him perhaps because of his love for him.

However I do agree in most of what you're saying. Also, where is the 'written' Jedi way? Can anyone define it exactly?

[Hart3584]

Well, naturally Maul wasn't going to give Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan a designated five-minute "discussion" period before the fight. Or course Sith would try to kill the Jedi. That's why they're Sith. In theory, you wouldn't give up on trying to "save" a Sith just because he acted like a Sith. After all, that's WHY you want to change him.

Trying to turn someone back to the light has become a waste of time. I've been battling with myself this very question for a long time. Before, in every duel against a Sith I would bring a conversational element into the fight and try hard to convince them to return to the light rather than the disses and wiseass puns that most of the rpers now resort to. But then once I examined the actual movies again, I realized that action was not what the Jedi concerned themselves with. To turn a Sith back to the light, a Jedi must trust the Sith. That is asking a little too much. It was then that I realized that my actions were due to the misconceptions in the novels.

[Krell Solusar]

Alright, alright. I was only playing my character -- a peace-loving, non-violence oriented Jedi. Mainly because the reason I left this RP board the first time after only, what, three, four posts, was because the fighting is sorta 'tardalized. I don't enjoy fighting, which is why I was setting myself up for eeking my way out of them. If your opponent wants to kick your teeth in, he'll do it. But that's off the subject.

In the scenarios you mentioned (Maul, Vader, etc.), yeah, they kicked ass from the offset. That's 'cause they were left no choice. And I also agree, the Jedi have edged toward a Monk'ish image rather than the intended valiant, bold Knights. What did Ben Kenobi do when those filthy bar-guys laid their hands on Luke? Cut one of their hands off, I know that much. He did something else to the other one, I'll have to watch it again...

But back to our debate. It's just a matter of perspective where the line of forced-aggression and blind attacking is. When it's necessary -- like I mentioned earlier -- a Jedi will, frankly, kick some ass. They should be able to tell when there is some hope in the situation or if they have to, as I'll refer to it, 'Ben-Kenobi-someone'. Anyway, Hart, I agree; the Jedi image has shyed to the fragile, new-aged spoonbender type. I, personally, think we need to represent something more along the lines of the Knights of the Round Table (Hint, my Adegan Circle storyline thing, which I sort of abandoned). Ethical, wise, but fierce and ruthless warriors when the time calls for it.