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Noble Jedi Sword
 

After the Living Blade style, Noble Jedi Sword is the most known about Black Phoenix lightsabre art. Being one of only three styles ever taught outside the clan certainly helps with that, but its popularity also comes from its characteristics. It's a highly refined style, with elegant, yet simple movements. Those who have seen it in action are always impressed with its wide range of techniques, as well as its balanced approach to combat. With its elegant and at times clean look, one can see how the style got it's name.

Noble Jedi Sword is considered by many to be the cornerstone style of all the other Black Phoenix lightsabre arts, and there is much evidence to support this claim. It was the style that was taught by the original leader and founder of the clan to most of those with him, and was taken mostly from his own personal fighting style, which would constantly be worked on and honed to become the ledgendary Living Blade style. In the other two released styles from the clan, one can see chracteristics and techniques from this style in them. Also, there is a well rounded feel to the style, a basic completeness that can nevertheless be expanded upon, or used to focus on a particular talent or combat aspect. There is the also the fact that this was the first style ever taught to others outside the order, and it was said that some of its sets were used to teach beginers in the order before they moved on to something else. So it could very well be the style that started it all. On the other hand, other original members created styles with an almost different feel, like Arkarawit's Wild Writing Slasher. Still, it's safe to say that Nobel Jedi Syle was at the very least one of the first major building blocks of what would be Black Phoenix lightsabre arts.

Nobel Jedi Sword is known for using several basic techniques in a alarming variety of ways, blending and mixing them in a constnatly changing flow of attacks and parries. It should be noted that even though a NJS fighter can keep attacking with an overwhelming barrage of attacks, the main goal is actually to end the attack as soon as possible. A highly skilled NJS fighter usually tends not to even bother parrying or blocking at all, but rather finds ways to instantly attack any openings s/he sees. For example, while you may be stabbing, the NJS adept would proabaly be sidesteping and slasing at your hand right at that moment, chopping it off, or moving in to lop your head right off your neck. This is actually a characteristic of just about all the Black Phoenix Styles; rather than spend time blocking, they rely on skillfull footwork, disengages, and feints to open up attack angles to strike. If they have to make blade contact, it's usually in the form of a quick parry, blade stick (sometimes refered to as "mixing" by them) or slide block. It's been a common saying that "Attack a Black Phoenix, and you'll lose a hand, or a head.", and "Be violent, be slashing, and be stabbed and beheaded." Their prefered combat methods were the reason for that. Noble Sword is full of these kinds of tactics, again adding more stength to the "cornerstone" argument.

It's been stated that Nobel Jedi Sword was the first style to be shown to others outside the Black Phoenix Clan. However, it is not the complete style. Many Jedi were having problems learning the many advanced techniques, as well as adjusting to using only one hand to weild the lightsabre, something very few Jedi were doing at the time (and to this day, is still pretty rare, though not as uncommon as before). Therefore the Clan founder reworked the style, removing some of the more advanced and esotetric techniques (it is rumored that the style had ways of striking beyond the range of the lightsabre blade), and cut down the number of sets to be learned by non member Jedi. The style known today is this abridged form, and while it is still quite formidible, it isn't quite up to the level of the original style. To compare, the orignal style had seven sets, besides the set of basic movements, the current one, besides the basics, has only three. The original supposedly had ways to fight while constnatly switching hands; the current version doesn't teach these techniques. The orignal style also had a special set of forms for those who wanted to learn how to fight with two lightsabres; the current one, sadly, is missing these.

Despite these ommisions, Noble Jedi Sword fighters are considered among the best of the best when it comes to lightsabre play. It's wonderfull to watch such swordsmen in action; their graceful movements are beautiful to behold for anyone who appreciates this art. Tey also tend to be more entertaining and refereshing to watch than the usual Jedi using the much more commonly used Lucaisnan Forms or its derivitives. Interestingly, despite Noble Jed Sword's current abridged state, the style still seems to be daunting to most people; very few Jedi know it completely. Few even attempt it because of it's relative difficulty and the ease of learning many other styles out there. But for those who do decide to take up this style, they'll find a style rich and deep, an art that truly lives up to it's namesake.