Star Wars has finally revealed why Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi struggled to defeat Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. When George Lucas launched the prequel trilogy in 1999, Darth Maul stood at the center of the film's marketing. "At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi," he seethed, speaking on behalf of the Sith. "At last we will have revenge."
The Phantom Menace concluded with Darth Maul finally confronting Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This confrontation was referred to as the "Duel of the Fates," and the future of the entire Skywalker saga hung upon its outcome. "[Qui-Gon] is fighting for Anakin Skywalker," Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni explained in a recent Star Wars documentary. "That's why it's the Duel of the Fates; the fate of this child, and depending on how this fight goes, [Anakin's] life is going to be dramatically different." The scene demonstrated Darth Maul's prowess, as he successfully fought against not one but two Jedi.
Claudia Gray's Star Wars novel Into The Dark finally explains why Darth Maul could take on two Jedi at once. The book is set at the peak of the High Republic Era, roughly 200 years before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and it reveals by that time the Jedi had ceased to focus on lightsaber dueling. The Sith were believed extinct, and only a handful of Jedi had fallen to the dark side over the last few centuries; consequently, Jedi had stopped training in forms that allowed them to engage in lightsaber combat, because they were seen as unnecessary. It is reasonable to assume this attitude continued until the beginning of the prequel era; consequently, neither Qui-Gon Jinn nor Obi-Wan Kenobi would have focused on learning how to take on an enemy who wielded a lightsaber. They were out of their depth.
Qui-Gon Jinn was not actually Darth Maul's first victim. Star Wars comics have revealed a Sith Master charged their apprentice to prove themselves by acquiring the kyber crystal from a Jedi's lightsaber in order to corrupt it and create their own blade. What's more, Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber apparently incorporated more than one kyber crystal, suggesting he had picked off several Jedi from the shadows over the years. He successfully killed Qui-Gon as well, but underestimated Obi-Wan - to his cost.
No doubt the news of the return of the Sith led the Jedi to adjust their training, and begin tutoring students in other lightsaber forms more suited to blade-on-blade combat. Anakin Skywalker's favorite form, for example, was Form V - designed to give a lightsaber wielder an aggressive edge when going up against a Sith. Ironically, though, it is Obi-Wan Kenobi - Master of the defensive Form III - who proved particularly lethal to the Sith, even defeating Darth Vader himself on Mustafar.
