Sith: Bare-Handed Martial Arts (Keldaeris)
In the days of the Great Sith War, Force-sensitive warriors battled each other on many battlegrounds. Occasionally, a Sith warrior would be forced to fight without his lightsaber, and after many lessons were learned the hard way, the Sith began to create their own martial arts style. After consulting the Dark Side for inspiration, they created a martial arts style that is as shadowy as their own souls, and began training certain apprentices in the skill. Even after the near-extinction of the Sith, the teachings are stored in Sith holocrons for future generations. Though the Martial Arts style does not use the Force directly, the Sith Force-enhanced reflexes add speed and skill to these maneuvers.
Sith: Lightsaber Martial Arts (Kelterek'dul)
While both the Jedi and the Sith have long used lightsabers as their weapons of choice, both sides have also developed a martial arts style intended for use while holding a weapon. Once Keldaeris became popularized among Sith Warriors, slowly a second fighting style developed for use in the midst of lightsaber combat. Eventually, Kelterek'dul began to gain widespread attention as an excellent compliment to the deadly lightsabers, and in some circles was even taught parallel to the tenets of lightsaber combat.
Sith: Double-Bladed Lightsaber Martial Arts (Keldorek'dul)
Keldorek'dul is a martial arts style similar to Kelterek'dul in that it is designed for use with a lightsaber. However, Keldorek'dul involves the use of the double-bladed lightsaber as the weapon of choice. This style was developed many years later, and most Sith warriors with double-bladed
lightsabers, including Darth Maul, were proficient in this style. When the Emperor commissioned his Royal Guard's training, he studied Darth Maul's journals and provided this fighting style as one of the bases of echani.
Teräs Käsi Martial Arts
This form of martial arts is an extremely rare specialization. A person must study full-time under a master of
Teräs Käsi
for six months to acquire the first pip in the specialization. Dedicated to
keeping any and all Force Users from using their powers for personal gain, the
Masters of Teräs Käsi are formidable foes indeed.
Imperial Royal Guard: Echani Martial Arts Style
Echani is the name of the martial arts style taught to all Royal Guardsmen as they train to serve their Emperor on the planet Yinchorr. It combines some of the most savage hand-to-hand combat techniques with maneuvers designed to drop potential threats to the Emperor to the ground in seconds. It is viciously offensive, and is in its own right a symbol of the savagery of the Empire. It is designed to be used with bare hands, or in conjunction with a force pike or double-bladed vibrostaive, and those few outside the Royal Guard who have witnessed it have seldom lived long enough to describe it.
