Joclad Danva Respect Thread

[Crimson]

JOCLAD DANVA, THE CHAMPION OF TERAS KASI

Joclad Danva was a human male Jedi Knight from the Clone Wars era who died at the Battle of Geonosis

"The art of Teräs Käsi is about control and mastery of one's self."
- Joclad Danva

FEATS AND ACCOLADES

Barriss Offee thinks that Joclad is a fantastic fighter, he is also noted as being a master of Jar'Kai and that he could "hold his own" against most Jedi.

"Danva had the peculiar skill of being able to divorce himself from the Force at times. He never used its power in his matches; only his personal skill, which was con-siderable. He was a virtuoso with twin lightsabers, one of the few ever to master the Jar'Kai technique. I've seen holos of him, and he was a fantastic fighter. He could hold his own with most of the Jedi in practice."

Even while not using the force, Joclad was the undefeated Teras Kasi champion until his defeat at the hands of Phow Ji. Joclad also beats everyone in the semi and quarter finals with relative ease.

In the evening air of the final purple-hued moon of the season, the formerly undefeated Danva was humbled in teräs käsi combat by new Palawa Band champion Phow Ji. Ji ended the exhausting 47-minute bout with a rancor-rising, aryx-slash, nexu-grin combination.
"Joclad's failure is just further proof that this ‘force' is nothing more than a myth perpetuated as an excuse to retain power," said Ji (19-0), the home-planet favorite. "Enlightenment and strength is not the exclusive domain of a recluse tower on Coruscant."
A deferential Danva conceded the contest, but insisted the Force did not fail him. "The art of teräs käsi is about control and mastery of one's self. The Force is the power of all living things," claimed the Jedi. "To go outside of myself and call upon the Force during the Palawa quest would violate the purity of teräs käsi. Phow was superior this day within the confines of the discipline."
Earlier, Danva and Ji defeated quarter final and semi-final opponents with relative ease. Notable combatants included locals Chaq-Quaj Ee (19-3), Beru Slee (76-5), Celjo Mi (22-7), and surprising finishes for off-worlders Lungrolph Isher (Krish 10-12) and Talon Slyter (Draethos 36-19).

"The Force is a tale made up by the Jedi to scare away anybody who would stand against them. Jedi are not impressive fighters. I hardly broke a sweat, dropping one a while back."
"Joclad Danva did not use the Force when you fought him."
"So he said." Ji shrugged, wiped his face with the towel again. "Hot day. You look a little sweaty yourself, Jedi. Here-"

Joclad was one of the 20 or so Jedi in the final circle at the battle of Geonosis (go to 1:35)



Despite the fact that form VI was the most commonly used form during the battle of Geonosis, Joclad is specifically highlighted as being a practitioner of the form.

Among the Form VI practitioners that did not survive the Geonosis arena assault were Joclad Danva, Sar Labooda and Sarrissa Jeng.

TERAS KASI

Teras Kasi is an ancient and powerful form of martial arts which was specifically designed to combat force users, it allows the user to freely control their body and become a very strong fighter. (i am thinking of potentially making a longer thread in the future going into more detail about how teras kasi works, so this will be a short explanation, i will link the thread here if i do make it)

Can a fighting sport be elegant and evolve into something more than just an elaborate brawl? Consider the popularity of Teräs Käsi and the fact that even Jedi like Joclad Danva, Bultar Swan and Anoon Bondara have been honing their skills at it, one would certainly agree. Originally, and foremost, Teräs Käsi (or ‘Steel Hands’ in Basic) was an unarmed combat discipline created by the Followers of Palawa as a means to defend themselves against the Jedi. Eventually tournaments were held on worlds such as Bunduki, where Phow Ji defeated the Jedi Joclad Danva in the finals

Discipline is what allowed Darth Maul to survive a thirty-meter fall into a pile of rubble and debris: the discipline of his teras kasi fighting skills, which gave him complete control over his body

Teras Kasi is also applicable to lightsaber fighting aswell, this is shown by people like Darth Maul, Anoon Bondara and Bultar Swan. All 3 of them take the lessons of Teras Kasi and apply it to to the art of lightsaber fighting, this creates a very unique fighting style which most enemies might not know how to deal with, especially for someone as good at Teras Kasi as Joclad

The Sith apprentice launched a simultaneous attack, using the Force to throw a rusty power-wrench and a bucket of old fasteners from a worktable at her as he launched himself forward, lightsaber dancing a variant of a teras kasi Death Weave

The Jedi was obviously a master of the teras kasi fighting arts, as well, judging by the smooth way he parried and counterattacked. Still, within the first few moments of the engagement, Darth Maul knew that he himself was the superior fighter. He could tell that the Jedi knew it, too, but Maul also knew that it didn't matter. The Jedi was committed to stopping the Sith, or at the very least slowing him down enough to let the others get away, even if it meant giving his own life to do so.

Part of Bultar Swan's expertise in combat came from her unusual fighting style, a blend of teras kasi and Verdanian "sliding hands" methods that required her to maintain physical contact with her foes to judge their next moves. She learned this combination of styles from Anoon Bondara and Master Micah Giett

Darth Plagueis thinks that Maul became a "fighting machine" after becoming a master of Jar'Kai, Niman and teras kasi (all of which Joclad has mastered)

"It strikes me as unnecessary, but I won't deny his mastery of the Jar'Kai technique. Niman and teräs käsi will never substitute for dun möch, but I appreciate that you have trained him to be a fighting machine rather than a true apprentice."

BEHIND THE SCENES

The actor who plays Joclad in AOTC is Kyle Rowling, who was actually a member of Gillard's stunt team and was Dooku's stunt double.

"This is Kyle Rowling, a key member of Nick Gillard's stunt team who doubled for Count Dooku in Episodes II and III. Here we get to see his face as Joclad Danva, who I named back in the day."

Kyle also has his own personal head-canon where Joclad actually survived Geonosis and was trained by a dooku into a sort of Jedi/Sith hybrid, not really canon but still interesting enough.

It’s your opinion that Joclad didn’t die on Geonosis. What do you think became of him?

Its funny you know, at the time I did that scene I was nobody in particular. Nick put me in there because he liked my sword style (and I begged and cried like a little girl until he did, but don’t tell anyone that. What? This interview is going on the web? Damn). Then, years later, people who have never walked on a Star Wars set are giving you a name, creating a history and background and determining what happened to you next.
Although I do love and appreciate some of the stuff they came up with, like being the Teras Kasi champ and all, not all is as it seems. So, for all of you who can’t decide whether Joclad died on Geonosis or during the great Jedi purge of Order 66, prepare to be enlightened (cue music and fuzzy fade out…):

“Yes, we see Joclad on the ground at the end of the Geonosis battle. And, yes, he is badly wounded –but he is definitely not dead. But the Jedi don’t know this and leave him behind for dead in their hurry to escape. A short while after the battle, Count Dooku returns to Geonosis to gather some things he left behind in the heat of battle. Whilst there Dooku senses a life force and goes to investigate. He finds Joclad and knows he is a Jedi, but Joclad can’t remember who or what he is. As Dooku approaches him and as badly hurt as he is, Joclad tries to fight. Dooku respects the courage within this fallen warrior and also the opportunity before him. Dooku gains Joclad’s trust and convinces him to let him help him.
As Joclad starts to heal, Dooku starts to train him in some Sith arts. One day, when the time was right, he tells Joclad that he was a Jedi — but that the Jedi left him for dead and that he really owes them nothing. Joclad starts to remember more and more of his past. He turns his back on the Jedi Order, but also knows he doesn’t want to be a Sith. He leaves Dooku’s company and to this day is wondering the universe. Not a Jedi, Not a Sith, not even a Dark Jedi. Just a very dangerous man with Jedi and Sith powers and a serious grudge against the Jedi.”

There I hope that clears everything up for you all. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. And, tell me: who should know better what happened to Joclad? Someone that reads internet stuff all day, or Joclad himself? ONE MORE TIME, JOCLAD IS NOT DEAD. Keep an eye out for my short film about Joclad’s adventures.

CONCLUSION

Joclad (while having his force connection severed) was a formerly undefeated master of a martial arts form designed to beat force users.
Joclad only lost his undefeated title after he lost to Phow Ji in the finals of a tournament, after Joclad had already beat everyone else in the semi and quarter finals with "relative ease"
Joclad was one of the 20 Jedi in the final circle at the battle of Geonosis
Joclad is a master of Form VI as well as Jar'Kai
Joclad can apply his martial arts skills to his lightsaber fighting, creating a unique fighting style which a lot of opponents may not be able to ready for.