The last of the seven classical forms of lightsaber combat was Juyo, also pronounced Joo-yah, and known as the Ferocity Form. Juyo was, in essence, a chaotically offensive fighting style, developed utilizing elements from Forms 4 and 5. Juyo’s attacks shared the speed and unpredictability of that of Ataru’s, at the same time incorporating Djem So’s strength and aggression. However, Form 7 was also notorious for bringing its users dangerously close to the dark side, as it required the use of one’s emotions and passions to overpower, rather than subdue, one’s opponent. Furthermore, Juyo directly went against the first line of the Jedi Code, which states that “There is no Emotion, there is peace.” Thus, the pursuance of this particular form was discouraged, and at times even banned by the Jedi Order.
But for the select few Jedi who dared to tread the path of Form 7, extreme caution and knowledge of one’s limitations was required. Managed properly, a practitioner of Juyo was capable of eviscerating even the defense of a Form 3 master. The Jedi Battlemaster Cin Drallig once described the fighting style to be full of “seemingly unconnected staccato sequences,” its unpredictability its greatest strength. However, if one without the self-discipline necessary to study the form did so improperly, it was entirely possible for, in Yoda’s words, the dark side to forever dominate their destiny. During the last Sith Wars, countless Jedi, ranging from the rank of Padawan all the way to that of master, fell to the dark side while unwittingly using this form.
In the later days of the Old Republic, a variant of Juyo, designated as Vaapad, was developed by the Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Sora Bulq, its namesake a ferocious creature native to the volcanic planet of Sarapin, where the two had drawn the foundations of the form. Vaapad allowed its users to channel their inner darkness into something positive, and was often described as the closest a Jedi could get to the Dark Side without fully succumbing to it. Vaapad was more than a fighting style, it was a state of mind in which one could connect with the inherent dark side energy of the opponent, and use it to their own advantage. Unlike Juyo, however, whose practitioners shied away from a complete immersion into battle, Vaapad required its users to enjoy the fight, to relish the satisfaction of winning and defeating their opponent, all the whilst controlling their emotions in the case they went too far.
Of the few notable practitioners of Form 7: Vaapad, Mace Windu was perhaps the only one to have successful mastered the variant, whilst staying true to the light. Together with Sora Bulq, the Weequay prodigy who was, by many, considered one of the finest lightsaber duelists in the Jedi Order, Windu had perfected the form in the latter days of the Republic. After the Battle of Geonosis, however, Sora Bulq turned to the dark side, and disillusioned with both the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, allied himself with Count Dooku and his separatist forces. Windu was forced to engage in battle with his long-time friend, but in the end, neither could kill the other. Sora Bulq would later fall in battle to the Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, who, after rejecting the dark side, would kill the Weequay master in a final duel. Mace would later comment that Bulq did not master Vaapad, Vaapad mastered him.
Ultimately, Windu’s mastery of Vaapad was unparalleled by any other practitioner of his era. His attacks flowing together with near-liquid precision, all the whilst forming the illusion of being unconnected and, in a way, unpolished. During Windu’s duel against the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Anakin describes Windu’s bladework as “an oblate sphere of purple fire,” noting that it seemed as if Windu was attacking from a dozen different angles. Furthermore, Vaapad was also applicable to unarmed combat, as demonstrated by Windu during his purposeful defeat at the hands of Kar Vastor on Haruun Kaal.
On the otherhand, Form 7 served as a near-perfect form for the Sith, who strived off their own passion and anger. Although many Sith, including Darth Sidious, are known to have mastered the form, only Darth Maul, in his battle against the two Jedi Obiwan Kenobi and QuiGon Jinn, has been seen showcasing the form in its entirety.
Characterized by unpredictable, even erratic attacks, Form 7 was, arguably, the most powerful of the 7 forms, and required significant depth both in terms of force power and physical ability from its practitioners. A form 7 practitioner is quote, said to maintain a calm exterior appearance, whilst experiencing the internal pressure characteristic of the paradoxical form. In the words of Yoda, “Six there were for generations of Jedi. The seventh, is not well-known. Powerful form it is. Deadliest of all. But dangerous it is, for its master as well as its opponent. One student alone, to mastery has risen.” And that is the way of the Form 7.
