I started thinking because I can't sleep. The blade, I mean, the hilt obviously has to weigh something.
Cause it's in the name, right? [u]Light[/u]-saber. Light doesn't weigh anything(or its mass is so little that it really doesn't matter). Then I remembered hearing that the blade is superheated plasma or something, does that have a significant weight to it?
I see Obi-Wan and Anakin fight in episode 3 and they move so fast I assume their weapons are weightless. Now Kylo Ren fights Rey in TFA, his swings look pretty heavy. Or at least it looks like he puts a little power behind them.
[i]And then[/i] I remember hearing that the blades weren't entirely special effects in the movie. They were physical and lit up about as bright as they are on-screen, on set. So maybe his swings look that way because the [i]prop[/i] is heavy-ish?
Someone help.
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The blade is made of superheated, magnetically-contained plasma. So while it has some weight, it's a negligible amount, not enough for a person to notice. Now, as to the movement speeds, remember. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the rest of the Jedi in the prequel trilogy are trained in classical Jedi saber combat/Sith saber combat. Kylo Ren and Rey have no such training. To put it in perspective, have you ever watched German fencing? Those suckers make a zweihander DANCE. Fast, precise, and make it look like it weighs near nothing. Now, if I were to give some random Joe Schmoe off the street a zweihander, his swings would be a lot bigger, bulkier, slower. So that's a part of it. Also, Kylo's fighting style is much more akin to a berserker, and, if anything, channels the spirit of Shien. Overpower your opponent on raw physicality.