The three tiers of attack were the fundamentals of aggressive lightsaber combat introduced to the Jedi Order by Steffo Rancis. The three tiers focussed on how a Jedi could use their blade, so they were using the right moves for the proximity they were in to their opponent to maximise the effectiveness of the strikes.
Three tiers of offense
The three Tiers
Tier One
The first tier focused upon being a metre and a half away from ones opponent. The Tier was characterised by wide aggressive sweeps, slices and chops using the main shaft of the blade. The attacks are aggressive and strong and are conducted to keep ones opponent at bay or put them under pressure, looking to create an opening or break in their defence to exploit. The first tier is more orientated to open and kinetic counter strikes using powerful sweeps or scooping motions with the blade to open up the opponent.
Tier Two
The second tier was founded in using faster quicker blade work then the heavier more powerful but also slower attacks of tier one. Tier two attacks focused upon shifting the opponent’s blade and making it difficult for them to defend by using the tip or flat of the blade to thrust or make fluid slices that are swift in motion offering little chance of deflecting the attacks due to the method in which the blade surface is used to strike. Tier two focuses a great deal more on deflecting and re-directing the opponents blade, moving to exploit the gap that the deflection causes.
Tier Three
The third tier leaves the Jedi within close quarters being within half a metre or less from ones opponent. At this stage the only real striking areas the lightsaber can reach is the sides of the opponent. Thus the final tier is more focussed upon hand to hand or unarmed combat. Strikes included punches, palm heals, elbow strikes and low kicks to the shins or knees. The final tier counters the majority of strikes by using elbows and shins to block and a follow through counter opts for the targeting of softer tissue areas, such as nose, groin or eyes.