SW: Form VIII: Kibodei

Form VIII: Kibodei, also known as Way of the Boar-Wolf or The Incursion Form was the eight Lightsaber form considered canon by the Jedi Council of the Old Republic Era. Developed shortly after Form IV and V, Kibodei evolved from Soresuand Ataru, to have an aggressive, but still defensive, form of combat which did not rely on strength like Shien and Djem So did. Despite this, it never achieved the same popularity within the Jedi or Sith order as Form IV, V and VII.

Still, it remaind a fairly common choice from Jedi who wished for the speed of Ataru coupled with the defense of Soresu up until the Fall of the Jedi.

Description
With the increasing popularity of Ataru amongst Jedi, it was found that, while the form was effective at disorientating the opponent whilst maintaining offensive strength, it was lacking in terms of defense, especially against many opponents or blaster-wielding foes. To many Jedi, Form V was simply too demanding, either in terms of strength or in terms of willpower. So, Kibodei was developed.

The core tenent of Kibodei is to enter into an opponents guard, stopping them from bringing any power to bear against the utilizer, and to be able to strike with short blows at very close distances. As such, Kibodei users would constantly attempt to advance if possible, closing any distance between the opponent. Because of this, it proved to be an effective counter to the long swings of Form IV and the powerful, overhead blows of Form V

The characteristics of Kibodei are the tight motions common to Soresu, whilst still maintaining the acrobatics and sweeping strikes of Ataru. The purpose of this was to be able to quickly switch between a strong defence and a powerful offence without having to revert to a whole different form.

Common was the constant motion of a lightsaber, keeping up a constant motion, allowing the wielder to swiftly bring down a devastating cut with the accumulated motion. A Kibodei wielder did rarely, if ever, stop moving his blade, causing it to turn into a blur. This was done for two reasons: It was both easier to defend against blasters and lightsabers alike, and it also ensured the opponent would not be sure from which direction the next strike would come from.

Known Moves and Manouvers
Form VIII utilized an opening stance similar to Soresu, with the blade arm held above the head and the dominant leg held back. However, where the Soresu stance would have the opponent extending his off hand in a challenge, a Kibodei user would keep two hands at his sabre. Furthermore, a lot more weight was put on the dominant back leg, and held much lower, allowing for a powerful power step, pushing the body up and then forward to allow for a devastating slash or sweep of the blade.

There were two attacks common to the eight form; The Chakram Strike and the Shield-Thrust. The Chakram Strike was an opening move used when the opponent did not go on the offensive. The Jedi or Sith would push themselves forward, while at the same time twirling their sabre, moving it infront of themselves and striking out with a powerful cleave. The Shield-Thrust was a fairly simple move, in which the Kibodei user spins their sabre in a standard defensive sabre-spin, only to suddenly move one hand to the back of the hilt, pointing the blade towards the foe and quickly stabbing forward with the off-hand palm pushing the back of the sabre forward.

Applications
The users of Kibodei were often Jedi of smaller stature or who did not have the strength to effectively use Djem So, but prefered a more agressive form than Soresu but holding a stronger defence than Ataru.