Acolytes notes on Incoming attacks, how to spot, prepare and parry.

[Sarias]

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Preamble and information for the reader.
Greetings, my Lords and or fellow acolytes.
This is another document regarding what little I know about saber combat. Once again, should any Lords, Apprentices, Neophytes or Acolytes wish to comment and discuss what I am about to write, I welcome the knowledge with open arms, and thank you preemptively for taking your time to read the document.
This information is a follow on from my previous document, regarding Defense stances, Sequences and Marks of contact. I am writing this and uploading it to the Horuset Servers, in the hopes that others can learn from my knowledge, and I can learn from that knowledge of others. In this document I will be discussing what attacks one would face, how one would spot them, how to defend and or evade and provide what information I know of parrying.
All information was gathered from training with both droids and Acolytes alike, watching other acolytes and apprentices duel, taking note of some Lords in the rare, but glorious chances I had to see them battle, and lastly from recording my own training sessions and watching them back.
Attacks and how to spot them:
One can attack a foe from many angles while utilizing Shii-Cho, these angles are as follows:
Head on, this target zone focuses on the stomach, inner thighs, chest, neck and face:
- Head on, Above downward
-Head on, forward thrust
- Head on, Below upward
Left Flank, this target zone focus on the targets left side:
-Left flank upper, downward diagonal
-Left flank upper, Horizontal
-Left flank central, Horizontal
-Left flank central, forward thrust
-Left flank lower, Horizontal
-Left flank lower, Upward vertical
Right Flank, this target zone focuses on the targets left side:
-Right flank upper, downward diagonal
-Right  flank upper, Horizontal
-Right flank central, Horizontal
-Right flank central, forward thrust
-Right flank lower, Horizontal
-Right flank lower, Upward vertical
Attached is an image marking out the target zones and highlighting what area of the body is which. I have also indicated through the use of highlighting, marks where one should target to either disarm, kill of debilitate your opponent.

Spoiler: File Attached:: Open?

The Area highlighted in green indicates the right flank target zone, Red, the head on/Frontal target zone, and the yellow,
the Left flank target zone.

Now it has been noted where you can be attacked from and what parts of your body can be attacked and damaged with varying marks of contact, it would be to a warriors advantage to spot how your enemy would attack.
Spotting an attack:
Please note, a more skilled duelist would be able to disguise their attacks and be more cunning with their blade. However, these are some motions and movements I spotted my self performing having recorded myself training and re-watching the video. (A revision method of combat I would recommend to all other Acolytes)
I do appreciate the fact that these may not be the cases with all other acolytes, but for myself, and having seen other acolytes duel, I have comprised this list of 'giveaways' if you will, of an enemies next move.
I will break this list down into various categories, footwork, saber position, hand position, weight displacement and facial expressions.
Facial Expressions:
Some say that the eyes are the window to the soul, however, in a duel, the eyes can be a give-away screaming their next move with silent words. Keep your eyes focused on the enemies, that way they will not be able to see where you are looking.  Rely on your peripheral vision to spot the gaps in their defense and to see any weaknesses they have. If you keep your eyes locked on theirs, you can see if they look to your limbs prior to a strike, you can see how well they are following your blade but, they cannot do the same.
Look to their nose. Although it sounds mundane and stupid, I have noticed that many acolytes, especially aggressive ones, their nostrils will flare before they strike, either out of anger or out of need to inhale prior to their strike.
Lips, is your enemy snarling? Do they have a neutral expression? Their face in general is not of any note, but if you notice a twitch in their lips, their lips tighten, their eyebrows furrow and crease, they squint. All of these facial altercations are made, usually, before they make a move.
Weight displacement and footwork:
In my, mundane and uninformed, Acolyte opinion, this is arguably the most important.
I have noted that when an acolyte is to attack, they often move forwards, either with a step or leaning on their forward foot. Often it is more simple and they make a full stride towards you. The difficulty here is when they step forward, you have to decide whether or not they are merely adjusting their position.
But why are they adjusting their position?
If they move to your non-weapon hand's side, they will most likely try to strike you where you are least defended, if they move forwards, They may be trying to bait you to use one of the previously mentioned sequences or counters, should you strike first. Or they may be about to barrage you with an attack of their own.
If they have moved back, or are leaning on their back foot, they may be going on the defensive with the intent to spring forward should you let your over zealous nature get the better of you.
I personally believe it is better to only take openings in an enemies defense that you yourself make, otherwise your opponent may be attempting to bait you into a strike that they can counter. When you commit your blade to a strike you leave yourself vulnerable.
Hand and Saber position:
How are they holding their saber? Are they pointing it to you and keeping it back? Do they have it vertical in front of them? Are they over confident and holding it to their side nonchalantly?
A saber pointer towards you is generally a very aggressive stance. It enables the attacker to strike with precision and extra reach should they attempt to perform a Shiak. If their saber is pulled back towards their side, but still pointing at you, they could be awaiting a time to strike with a potent and rapid lunging assault.
If a blade is held vertically or horizontally in front of you, I personally see that as a very balanced, but defensive stance. They're in both a position to attack and defend with relative ease of movement.
A blade held to the side in a nonchalant manner is dangerous. As an opponent, they are either so confident in their own abilities that they do not care for your presence, or they are such a fool as to fully disregard defense. If faced with this opponent, it is difficult to know what to do. I personally believe that testing their abilities with feigned attacks to get a better judgement on what their abilities are. If they try to defend wildly overcompensating, then you could argue that they either underestimated you or forgot their defense. If either of these are the case, I'd recommend a more... Aggressive approach to the duel.
Should they defend with ease, this would be a relatively clear indication of their ability in saber combat. I'd recommend a defensive stance and use either the Rancor Sequence or the Vine Cat Sequence to best them.
Their hands on their saber is another thing to note.
A two handed saber is slightly slower than a one handed, but it offers a wider range of feigns and it's the recuperation speed and striking power is greater than one handed.
One handed grips on sabers enable the duelist to block and then move in either a grapple, punch or force ability. Enabling them to potentially disarm you with their hand should they be learned enough in hand to hand combat.
What to watch out for:
Two-Handed foes:
-Using their non-dominant hand to steer their blade into the opposite direction of their initial strike, leaving you exposed
-Overwhelming force from heavy attacks
-Extended reach and ability to regain control of their blade with much more ease.
One Handed:
-Melee grapples and punches
-Force abilites
-They may reach for your blade in an attempt to disarm you.
Parrying:
The purpose of a parry is to counter an enemies attack with a strike of your own, however rather than targeting them, you target their weapon.
Before you proceed, I have based my patterns of parrying from the defense stances I noted and developed in the previous statement. However, the knowledge of parrying, and what little I know, may prove useful and open doors so I can always learn more.
One technique I have noted while sparring with the droids, is that Defense stance one should be the core stance and one should switch between defense stances frequently to confuse a foe and leave no opening exposed for too long.
The Purpose of parrying is to 'set aside' the enemies blade, catching it with your own then either using their momentum against them, and pushing it through to leave their blade out of place and you out of harms way. Or you could catch their blade and send it off in another direction, provided you are strong enough to do so.
One thing I have noted when parrying is that once you successfully parry, it is greatly beneficial for you press on the attack. Do not give them time to reform a defense or realize that they have been bested. A parry, from what little training I have received, I believe to be the greatest form of defense if performed correctly. Not only does it leave the enemies guard broken, but it leaves you in a perfect position counter attack.
Parrying/evading at different levels:
Attacks coming at roughly shoulder height or above, catching the enemies blade, pushing it up and over while you duck beneath will put their blade out of position and you to their flank. Ideal for a Shiak, Shiim or any other attack seeing as though their flank is now exposed. If performed correctly, you should be stood at their flank with your blade raised in defense stance two, ready for a counter.
Attacks coming at neck to naval height are best dealt with (From my personal experience), by catching their blade with your own blade on a vertical angle, you should then push back and up with your own blade, sending their weapons back to whence it came, this will then leave you standing in either defense stance four or six, depending on the side they attacked you from, leaving you ready and able for a swift counter attack. 
Attacks coming at ankle to waist height are well bested by bringing the tip of your blade down to the ground, catching their blade and using it as a rail, to bring their blade up and away from you. Once their blade is about half way up your own, follow through and continue to add momentum to their attack, pushing it further with increased speed in the direction the opposition originally sent it. This will result in their blade being thrown to the side, clearing your body while you are safe behind your own defense. Once completed,  bring your blade back to your person and prepare for a counter. Depending on the angle of attack you will complete the parry and end in either defense stance Three or Five.
*Note: When using a bladed weapon, never, and I can not stress this enough, never catch or parry using the sharpened edge, this not only damaged your weapon, but it can hinder the blades efficiency at sliding free of the enemies blade, should both blades be nicked deep enough that it causes tension.

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I thank the reader for investing the time to read this document.
If you have any questions, my Lords, I will answer any and all I can. If you have counsel to provide me I will humbly accept it with open arms.
Fellow acolytes however, if you wish to learn these from me practically, you may find me in the training room.
Until then.
Force Serve.