Kroviej's lightsaber question

Oh I'm not saying they'll pick up a lightsaber and be an expert with it, but they're not gonna pick up a lightsaber and accidentally start slicing off limbs with it, as some have made it sound like would be the case.

I also have used heavier swords (claymores, etc) and lighter swords (katanas) and noticed the difference, but I don't go from a claymore, to a katana, and suddenly not be able to control the blade .

My understanding was that lightsabre training was for meditative and training purposes.

To train the body for speed and self defense, as well as endurance. A well rounded Jedi in training is good, even for diplomats. There is art to many katas, there is also history and practical useage. The idea of "No lightsabres, no training" rubs me the wrong way simply because I have a wooden training stick, but using it sharpens my mind and focuses me.

As a Marine, I'm expected to be ready to fight at all times. Therefore we often go through Marine Corps Martial Arts Program training every so often. As part of combat, we're encouraged to learn all forms of defense and offense, but it's also part of the whole fitness and health. We teach more than just "KILL! MAIM! SLAUGHTER!" We teach why we fight, how we fight, how we got there, and examples of people who uphold our ideals, even though the odds were against them.

As a Jedi, I see it similiarly. It's not about fighting with a weightless beam of pure energy and so on, it's about why and how you fight. I fight for survival and to protect my brothers. If I can't fight, then my brothers have to defend me and then they die doing so because that's two people they got to worry about.

It's not all about killing, or fighting, or defending, it's also about who you are. Weapon training helps you learn that.

Besides, you should be able to defend yourself period. Even with a crowbar, you can still use sword kata. Abeit, very short range.

Much like sword training by samurai and knights, the sword was a part of your body, just as the lightsaber is a part of your spirit. An extension of your body. To Jedi Knights and Guardians, the lightsaber form is an art, not a skill used for attack or defense.

no matter what weapon you choose to train with or to fight with, you must become one with that weapon making it a physical extension of yourself adding your spirit to the weapon as well...

I know I'm new but I have some knowledge in the basic lightsaber forms: If you take a look at the forms a few of them can actually be use full in real combat Form One Shii-Cho is basic swords strikes, form two Makashi is fencing, and form three Soresu is a little harder but you can use it to help with defense.

I personally think the best weapon a modern-day Jedi could wield is an escrima stick or a bo.

They're more practical than most other weapons (you can use a broomstick if you have to) and you don't have to worry about accidentally cutting yourself or someone else.

Just my two cents

For all you future lightsaber-smiths, perhaps this might have relevance to one day getting a shaped blade of plasma;

Free Floating Plasma Orb
http://www.aps.org/about/physics-images/archive/plasma-orb.cfm

A free-floating atmospheric pressure ball plasma is created when surface electricity is discharged into a solution.

In this experiment, a 4.5 kV, 0.2 millifarad capacitor was discharged into a 2-gallon bucket of water and copper sulfate. The electric discharge caused a long-lived (300 millisecond) plasma orb to rise above the water.

The surface electrode had a negative polarity, and the discharge current was in the range of 80 Amperes. The faint orange line around the plasma ball is the result of the plasma interacting with the air. The plasma in this image consists primarily of copper cations and hydroxyl anions.

I am an eskrimador with a little experience with Iaido, and I cannot deny I have wanted to get a replica lightsabre to practice with for a while, simply to make the experience that bit more entertaining. I love to dream, and this is no exception. As many others have said though, sword arts are very useful for meditation above all else. This could not be truer in Iaido. Every movement perfected, with care rather than with speed or power. When performing a kata, one focuses on everything; posture, feet movement, even the position of one's hands. I do not yet understand the intricacies, but I appreciate every new thing I learn.

On a digressing yet theoretical note, if the lightsabre was real, I do believe additional training would be required, even for the master swordsman. Depending on how it is made, the "blade" may not consist of physical mass per se, yet that twelve-inch hilt would be incredibly weighty, containing all the compositions required to create a blade so powerful. This would mean twirling the sabre in the same way they do in the movies would (possibly) be slightly unkempt. Naturally there's no way at the moment to be an authority on the matter, but perhaps if you try swinging a 3kg dumbbell in the same way you would your sword, and feel the difference...

All the same, meditation is the key. Good luck to everyone who is learning, and may the Force be with you all.