- "Have you ever heard of the art of Teräs Käsi? It was designed to counter the Jedi, but I find it works quite well on anyone with limbs to break."
- ―Dryden Vos, to Qi'ra
Teräs Käsi was a form of hand-to-hand combat[1] that was created to fight Force-sensitives,[2] particularly members of the Jedi Order.[1] Melee weapons could also be used in the combat form.[2] Its practitioners were ranked into novices, adepts, or masters according to their skills level, and wore distinctive outfits.[3]
Former Sith Lord Maul, the head of Crimson Dawn, was a practitioner of Teräs Käsi, and he taught it to Dryden Vos, who, in turn, trained his lieutenant, Qi'ra. During the raid on Kessel, Qi'ra utilized the form to take down Quay Tolsite of the Pyke Syndicate.[1] Very few people alive during the Imperial Era even knew that Teräs Käsi existed, with even less actually knowing how to fight with it, making her unique.[2]
The Emperor's Royal Guards of the Galactic Empire were trained in the form.[4] The Elite Praetorian Guards of the First Order were also trained in Teräs Käsi, along with other martial arts.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
In the current Star Wars canon, Teräs Käsi was first mentioned in the 2015 mobile game Star Wars: Uprising.[3] Teräs Käsi originated in the 1996 Star Wars Legends novel Shadows of the Empire,[6] before being showcased in the 1997 fighting game Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi.[7] It was created by Steve Perry, who is a practitioner of, and was inspired by a real-life fighting style called pencak silat.[8]
According to writer Gary Whitta, cut content from the 2016 Star Wars Anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story would have established that Saw Gerrera taught Teräs Käsi to Jyn Erso.[9]
"Teräs Käsi" is Finnish and translates directly as "Steel Hand," although normally in Finnish it would be written as a compound, ie. "Teräskäsi." The name is also an allusion to the video game series Tekken by Namco (which translates to "iron fist" in Japanese), which was a direct source of inspiration for the Star Wars Legends video game Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi.
Appearances[]
- Crimson Climb
- Crimson Climb audiobook
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (First appearance)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition
- Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition audiobook
- Solo: A Star Wars Story Adaptation 3 (In flashback(s))
- War of the Bounty Hunters 3 (Mentioned only)
- Crimson Reign 5 (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Uprising (First mentioned)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- "The Saga of Rey" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- "Tobias Beckett and Other Characters of the Underworld" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars 100 Objects
- 5 Behind-the-Pages Secrets of Star Wars: Crimson Climb on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Kyuzo petars in the Databank (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Crimson Reign 5
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Uprising
- ↑ Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- ↑ Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ Shadows of the Empire novelization
- ↑ Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi
- ↑ Steve Perry Talks Teräs Käsi, Walks Silat Serak on teraskasi.net (June 17, 2005) (archived from the original on February 11, 2008)
- ↑ Star Wars: Teras Kasi Almost Debuted in 'Rogue One' by Anderson, Jenna on comicbook.com (June 7, 2018) (archived from the original on June 15, 2020)