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Most of the discussion of lightsaber forms presents them as Jedi forms, although many dark side Force users, Sith or otherwise use them as well.

In particular we have Vaapad which is described as being particularly close to the dark side (although not necessarily dark side), implying that the others are not so close. Are there any documented forms in canon or Legends that are explicitly dark side?

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To the best of my knowledge: no, there are no lightsaber combat forms specific to the dark side, either named or unnamed. Of course, each lightsaber combatant has his own distinctive style which may be a mixture of several different forms. Dark side practitioners generally have a more aggressive style but no source I'm aware of treats any of these styles has a complete lightsaber form.

Dark side practitioners tend to use one of the seven lightsaber forms, of which Juyo/Vaapad is the seventh. For example, Tyranus (a.k.a. Dooku) was a well known user of Form II Makashi, though that form was also used by Jedi such as Ki-Adi Mundi. Similarly, the aggressive Form VII Juyo was used by both light and dark side practitioners: Legends sources state that various Sith and Dark Jedi (including Darth Bane, Darth Maul, and Darth Vader) used it, but it was also used by Jedi Masters such as Vrook Lamar, and the Jedi Master Mace Windu created the Vaapad variant of the form.

Many Sith and Dark Jedi are former Jedi who learned lightsaber combat as a Jedi and may have simply continued to use the techniques they'd learned while aligned with the light. However, the fact that these dark side practitioners continued to use the seven "Jedi" forms rather than inventing their own "Sith" or "dark side" forms suggests that the lightsaber forms are not specific to the light or dark side. The lightsaber forms are associated with the Jedi mainly because the Jedi seem to have invented them.

There are also some techniques, such as Jar'Kai, which are not one of the lightsaber forms but are nonetheless distinctive. These techniques are also used by both light and dark side practitioners -- Jar'Kai, for example, was used by both the light sided Ahsoka Tano and the dark sided Asajj Ventress.

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  • It's worth pointing out that "light saber forms" simply describe the types of moves that are acceptable when wielding a blade that can cut through almost anything effortlessly; it's a combat technique, not a specific program of moves to follow. The idea that Sith or Jedi simply 'continued to use what they learned before' makes perfect sense. There's nothing special about Form II or Form VII except that they contain different patterns of movement.
    – Zoey Green
    Jan 19, 2017 at 16:53
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In star wars lore, there are seven Lightsaber forms, and all were designed for different styles of combat. In all of the lore sources, there really wasn't any particular style that claimed to be designed specifically for dark side or Sith users.

Makashi's history claims that the form was designed to fight the Sith. A one handed style, it was supposed to be a graceful style that was supposed to be defensive in nature. Which is funny, because apparently this was the style for Darth Vader.

The closest you might be looking for would be the seventh form, Vaapad. It's supposed to be offensive and focuses on the user actually fueling their emotions, instead of suppressing them. Darth Maul was supposed to use this style.

Another close contender would be Ataru. It is a quick moving, aggressive style, almost like a beserk attack. These users are supposed to be careful, or else they'll exhaust themselves.

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There is a form that was perfected by Darth Nihilus called The Way of the Black Hand. There are no jedi practitioners.

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    Hi, welcome to SF&F! This could be a good answer if you add a reference to where it is described, and some details about it.
    – DavidW
    Dec 14, 2020 at 17:10
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    Note you can add the references by editing your answer.
    – TheLethalCarrot
    Dec 14, 2020 at 17:12
  • this appears to be pure fan fiction, the only reference I can find i swfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Form_DCLXVI:_Atra-Manua
    – Jack
    Dec 17, 2020 at 6:02

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