Form VI: Niman was the sixth of seven lightsaber combat forms. It seeks to balance the emphases of lightsaber forms 1 through 5. In JKA, the form of Niman is strictly an attacking form and is applied in-game using the yellow dueling stance. Practitioners of Niman is taught how to use the yellow dueling stance in order to successfully attack and neutralise opponents with deadly yellow stance combos and ways to break an opponents defense. The sixth form is best used against opponents using the yellow stance.
Description
Niman was the standard style at and around the time period of the Clone Wars and the Great Jedi Purge. This combat discipline is often called the "Diplomat's Form." One can see this in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, when all of the Jedi using Form VI are killed in the Battle of Geonosis, including Coleman Trebor, whose technique could not defend against Jango Fett's masterfully placed blaster shots.
Form VI attempts to balance all elements of lightsaber combat, combining the Forms that came before into a less intensely demanding combat style. The result is that the users' skill in each individual areas of lightsaber combat is only moderate, making Form VI well-suited for diplomats and consulars, as they can spend their time training in the areas of politics, negotiation and Force mastery instead of combat training. It can be affectionately referred to and known as a sort of "Jack of All Trades" form, with mastery of no one aspect of combat, but competency in all.
Many Jedi skilled in Form VI techniques had already spent at least ten years studying the other Forms, an aspect that many Masters felt was too demanding of the Jedi's time in regards to its benefits on the battlefield. However, if properly mastered, Niman would undoubtedly be a highly effective lightsaber form, especially if the Jedi manages to find the time and dedication to study its whole curriculum, effectively covering practically all of the preceding forms.
Techniques and Concepts
Niman's biggest weakness is its lack of specific strengths to capitalize on and a very long and steep learning curve to mastering it to the point of great martial effectiveness, in contrast to a single-paradigm Form (like e.g. Soresu which effectivity is derived from its near impen
etrable defense) with a higher mastership-to-study time efficiency relative to Niman. This was displayed when all the jedi using Niman were killed during the Battle of Geonosis (including the form's greatest practitioner Trebor Coleman). However, there is one saving grace to this form not mentioned above: Niman is the stepping stone to the dual lightsaber form, known as Jar'Kai - no one who has successfully mastered Jar'Kai has done so without first mastering Niman.
In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith The Visual Dictionary, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is depicted posed in a Niman ready stance.
Practitioners
Known practitioners in {JoF}:
Known practitioners in the universe: Cin Drallig, Coleman Trebor, numerous Jedi who perished during the Battle of Geonosis.
Shree Koon using Niman against Ghajnm
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