# What's with all the hand chopping in star wars?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 29, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940 "2010-01-29T20:00:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/41 "2010-02-01T16:29:41Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Be glad I did not mention Hemningway’s “A farewell to arms”…
…or say that “he’s being disarming”
Both quotes that the James Bond franchise used, by the way.
What was it Arnold said when he removed both od Richter’s (Michael Ironside’s) arms in **Total Recall**?
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/42 "2010-02-01T18:29:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> Both quotes that the James Bond franchise used, by the way.
??I thought the Bond movies only had punch lines / one liners if they were incredibly sexist??
Let me guess. It was in Live and let die?
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### Author:  [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/43 "2010-02-01T18:47:59Z")
> [@Miller](#):
>
> Maybe Aqualist flesh doesn’t cauterize? I’m not deeply versed in biology (especially imaginary spaceman biology) so I don’t know the actual physical mechanics behind cauterization, but does it necessarily follow that, in all species, in all the universe, heat is going to have exactly the same effect of closing blood vessels?
That was one of my suggestions way up there in my first post:
> [@](#):
>
> Heat-resistant flesh?
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### Author:  [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/44 "2010-02-01T22:01:18Z")
If you cut a person’s hand off, then the other one is a Hand Solo.
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/45 "2010-02-01T22:17:04Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#):
>
> If you cut a person’s hand off, then the other one is a Hand Solo.
That’s an even worse joke than the ones I made so far. In fact, you may be the hands down winner of this bad puns competition.
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### Author:  [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/46 "2010-02-01T22:26:03Z")
When a Jedi knight is knighted, the royal personage doing the dubbing has to be veeeeery careful.
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### Author:  [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/47 "2010-02-03T22:29:26Z")
> [@mlees](#):
>
> Which brings up a question: Why did 3PO advise R2 to lose?
>
> 3PO was repaired after more serious damage… the droids should not feel pain, and so on.
Droids do feel pain, though. Remember the droid torture chamber in Jabba’s palace? Poor gonk droid.
Also, didn’t Lucas remove the blood from Walrus-Man’s severed arm for the DVD of the SE?
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/48 "2010-02-03T22:58:03Z")
> [@TBG](#):
>
> Droids do feel pain, though. Remember the droid torture chamber in Jabba’s palace? Poor gonk droid.
>
> Also, didn’t Lucas remove the blood from Walrus-Man’s severed arm for the DVD of the SE?
He didn’t, did he?
But that “droid torture” scene was just silly.
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### Author:  [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/49 "2010-02-03T23:18:54Z")
Ever read _Book of the Five Rings?_ Seems like half the sword techniques are about chopping people’s hands off. As the kendo people above noted, hand-chopping was apparently a widely practiced samurai tactic.
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### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/50 "2010-02-04T01:46:36Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#):
>
> And sometimes not quite hitting the death star exhaust pipe really isn’t about premature ejaculation at all…
How many men have had to tell their woman, “Negative. Negative! It didn’t go in. It just impacted on the surface”?
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/51 "2010-02-04T11:14:20Z")
> [@Pushkin](#):
>
> How many men have had to tell their woman, “Negative. Negative! It didn’t go in. It just impacted on the surface”?
Well, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? :dubious:
We just don’t want to talk about it. :eek:
😛
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/52 "2010-02-04T15:23:29Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#):
>
> That’s an even worse joke than the ones I made so far. In fact, you may be the hands down winner of this bad puns competition.
And he did it single-handedly.
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/53 "2010-02-04T15:24:58Z")
“Stay on target…”
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### Author:  [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/54 "2010-02-04T15:28:14Z")
Proving that there’s a website for everything in the entire world: [The Chopped-Off Hands Of Star Wars!](http://www.runleiarun.com/choppedoffhands/)
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/55 "2010-02-06T16:00:17Z")
Seen it, but only after I noticed george’s hand chop fetish by myself.
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### Author:  [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2010, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/56 "2010-02-07T08:20:03Z")
If you want an in-story explanation, hands are typically the closest target available for striking. That allows you the most distance from your opponent while still disabling him.
Consider Obi-wan’s first behanding in Ep4. He didn’t necessarily want to kill the guy with a blaster, just end the threat. So he took the gun and the arm holding it.
What about Luke in the cave with the Wampa? That’s one big arm - 6 ft long or longer? Wouldn’t do much good to go for the body shot and get clawed in the process.
Same thing with Dooku and Annikan (I can never remember how that is spelled). Dooku didn’t want to kill him - probably had orders not to. But had to remove the threat. Ergo, hand slash.
Darth on Luke - Darth doesn’t want Luke dead at that time, just get his attention. Ergo, disarm.
Luke on Darth - Luke is pissed and Darth keeps blocking his blows, so get rid of that damn sword then he can get the good blow in. “Oh, what am I doing?”
Obi-wan on General Grievous (the droid thingy with 4 spinning lightsabers) - can’t get through to the body, so remove some of the swords.
And really, does it count when Obi-wan slashes that beast in the arena? I mean, he slashes a leg/arm/appendage yes, but that thing is huge and it allows him to get close enough for the death blow. It’s just sensible fighting - weaken/disarm and then press the advantage.
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### Author:  [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Piranha_Brothers)
#### Post date: [February 7, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/57 "2010-02-07T21:13:01Z")
Guess that leaves anakin empty handed.
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/58 "2010-02-08T12:53:26Z")
Yes, there were several times that he needed someone to lend him a hand.
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### Author:  [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-hand-chopping-in-star-wars/526940/59 "2010-02-08T22:54:29Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#):
>
> Guess that leaves anakin empty handed.
You’re obviously an old hand at this.
(Hey, _someone_ was gonna say it…)
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