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Why did Luke use his left hand to shoot?


Why does Darth Vader stop Boba Fett from shooting Chewie in The Empire Strikes Back?Why doesn't Luke's lightsaber cut Jabba's guards in Episode 6?Elements of The Force in A New HopeGeorge Lucas has so much to say on the topic of Han shooting Greedo but doesn’t say squat about Luke kissing his own sister?When and how does the Emperor learn that Luke is Vader's son?Who/what exactly does Darth Vader believe taught Luke between the events of “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi?”Why doesn't Finn just use the Falcon's other cannon?Is there any evidence to suggest that Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were killed by Boba Fett and not the Storm Troopers?Why did Obi-Wan wait years after his death to tell Luke to go to Dagobah to find Yoda?Why did Luke leave Owen and Beru's remains?













69















In A New Hope Detention Center Shoutout scene Luke is clearly shooting with his left hand. Later in this same video at 4:51 he makes a leftie shot more clearly.



Leftie shot (photo)



In The Empire Strikes Back while following Boba Fett, Luke holds a gun (and subsequently shoots) with his right hand. Needless to say, while fighting with a lightsaber he also uses his right hand.
Right hand (photo)



So why did he shoot with his left hand in A New Hope?










share|improve this question




















  • 4





    Because he's holding the communicator in his other hand?

    – Valorum
    2 days ago






  • 23





    In reality Mark Hamill is left-handed. Lucas either probably just didn't notice. Either that or Hamill was holding the gun in his right hand but the image was reversed when it was printed for final cut. That happens a lot.

    – Valorum
    2 days ago








  • 8





    From a filmmaking perspective, I suspect it's because Leia needs to snatch the gun out of his hand. If he has it in his right hand, she'd have to reach all the way around him to get it.

    – Valorum
    2 days ago






  • 9





    "Though in the original Star Wars trilogy he shoots a pistol and swings a lightsaber right-handed, he eats and writes left-handed. He can be seen eating left-handed in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when in Yoda's home, throwing the skull left-handed to defeat the Rancor in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - m.imdb.com/name/nm0000434/trivia

    – Valorum
    2 days ago








  • 16





    In the first image, he has his back against the wall with a small barrier directly on his right side. It would be rather difficult for him to shoot with his right hand from that position, much like when you want to shoot along the edge of a pool table in the direction where your weaker arm is against the table.

    – Kai
    2 days ago
















69















In A New Hope Detention Center Shoutout scene Luke is clearly shooting with his left hand. Later in this same video at 4:51 he makes a leftie shot more clearly.



Leftie shot (photo)



In The Empire Strikes Back while following Boba Fett, Luke holds a gun (and subsequently shoots) with his right hand. Needless to say, while fighting with a lightsaber he also uses his right hand.
Right hand (photo)



So why did he shoot with his left hand in A New Hope?










share|improve this question




















  • 4





    Because he's holding the communicator in his other hand?

    – Valorum
    2 days ago






  • 23





    In reality Mark Hamill is left-handed. Lucas either probably just didn't notice. Either that or Hamill was holding the gun in his right hand but the image was reversed when it was printed for final cut. That happens a lot.

    – Valorum
    2 days ago








  • 8





    From a filmmaking perspective, I suspect it's because Leia needs to snatch the gun out of his hand. If he has it in his right hand, she'd have to reach all the way around him to get it.

    – Valorum
    2 days ago






  • 9





    "Though in the original Star Wars trilogy he shoots a pistol and swings a lightsaber right-handed, he eats and writes left-handed. He can be seen eating left-handed in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when in Yoda's home, throwing the skull left-handed to defeat the Rancor in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - m.imdb.com/name/nm0000434/trivia

    – Valorum
    2 days ago








  • 16





    In the first image, he has his back against the wall with a small barrier directly on his right side. It would be rather difficult for him to shoot with his right hand from that position, much like when you want to shoot along the edge of a pool table in the direction where your weaker arm is against the table.

    – Kai
    2 days ago














69












69








69


1






In A New Hope Detention Center Shoutout scene Luke is clearly shooting with his left hand. Later in this same video at 4:51 he makes a leftie shot more clearly.



Leftie shot (photo)



In The Empire Strikes Back while following Boba Fett, Luke holds a gun (and subsequently shoots) with his right hand. Needless to say, while fighting with a lightsaber he also uses his right hand.
Right hand (photo)



So why did he shoot with his left hand in A New Hope?










share|improve this question
















In A New Hope Detention Center Shoutout scene Luke is clearly shooting with his left hand. Later in this same video at 4:51 he makes a leftie shot more clearly.



Leftie shot (photo)



In The Empire Strikes Back while following Boba Fett, Luke holds a gun (and subsequently shoots) with his right hand. Needless to say, while fighting with a lightsaber he also uses his right hand.
Right hand (photo)



So why did he shoot with his left hand in A New Hope?







star-wars a-new-hope the-empire-strikes-back






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited yesterday









Community

1




1










asked 2 days ago









Nikita NeganovNikita Neganov

1,8351628




1,8351628








  • 4





    Because he's holding the communicator in his other hand?

    – Valorum
    2 days ago






  • 23





    In reality Mark Hamill is left-handed. Lucas either probably just didn't notice. Either that or Hamill was holding the gun in his right hand but the image was reversed when it was printed for final cut. That happens a lot.

    – Valorum
    2 days ago








  • 8





    From a filmmaking perspective, I suspect it's because Leia needs to snatch the gun out of his hand. If he has it in his right hand, she'd have to reach all the way around him to get it.

    – Valorum
    2 days ago






  • 9





    "Though in the original Star Wars trilogy he shoots a pistol and swings a lightsaber right-handed, he eats and writes left-handed. He can be seen eating left-handed in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when in Yoda's home, throwing the skull left-handed to defeat the Rancor in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - m.imdb.com/name/nm0000434/trivia

    – Valorum
    2 days ago








  • 16





    In the first image, he has his back against the wall with a small barrier directly on his right side. It would be rather difficult for him to shoot with his right hand from that position, much like when you want to shoot along the edge of a pool table in the direction where your weaker arm is against the table.

    – Kai
    2 days ago














  • 4





    Because he's holding the communicator in his other hand?

    – Valorum
    2 days ago






  • 23





    In reality Mark Hamill is left-handed. Lucas either probably just didn't notice. Either that or Hamill was holding the gun in his right hand but the image was reversed when it was printed for final cut. That happens a lot.

    – Valorum
    2 days ago








  • 8





    From a filmmaking perspective, I suspect it's because Leia needs to snatch the gun out of his hand. If he has it in his right hand, she'd have to reach all the way around him to get it.

    – Valorum
    2 days ago






  • 9





    "Though in the original Star Wars trilogy he shoots a pistol and swings a lightsaber right-handed, he eats and writes left-handed. He can be seen eating left-handed in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when in Yoda's home, throwing the skull left-handed to defeat the Rancor in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - m.imdb.com/name/nm0000434/trivia

    – Valorum
    2 days ago








  • 16





    In the first image, he has his back against the wall with a small barrier directly on his right side. It would be rather difficult for him to shoot with his right hand from that position, much like when you want to shoot along the edge of a pool table in the direction where your weaker arm is against the table.

    – Kai
    2 days ago








4




4





Because he's holding the communicator in his other hand?

– Valorum
2 days ago





Because he's holding the communicator in his other hand?

– Valorum
2 days ago




23




23





In reality Mark Hamill is left-handed. Lucas either probably just didn't notice. Either that or Hamill was holding the gun in his right hand but the image was reversed when it was printed for final cut. That happens a lot.

– Valorum
2 days ago







In reality Mark Hamill is left-handed. Lucas either probably just didn't notice. Either that or Hamill was holding the gun in his right hand but the image was reversed when it was printed for final cut. That happens a lot.

– Valorum
2 days ago






8




8





From a filmmaking perspective, I suspect it's because Leia needs to snatch the gun out of his hand. If he has it in his right hand, she'd have to reach all the way around him to get it.

– Valorum
2 days ago





From a filmmaking perspective, I suspect it's because Leia needs to snatch the gun out of his hand. If he has it in his right hand, she'd have to reach all the way around him to get it.

– Valorum
2 days ago




9




9





"Though in the original Star Wars trilogy he shoots a pistol and swings a lightsaber right-handed, he eats and writes left-handed. He can be seen eating left-handed in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when in Yoda's home, throwing the skull left-handed to defeat the Rancor in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - m.imdb.com/name/nm0000434/trivia

– Valorum
2 days ago







"Though in the original Star Wars trilogy he shoots a pistol and swings a lightsaber right-handed, he eats and writes left-handed. He can be seen eating left-handed in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) when in Yoda's home, throwing the skull left-handed to defeat the Rancor in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - m.imdb.com/name/nm0000434/trivia

– Valorum
2 days ago






16




16





In the first image, he has his back against the wall with a small barrier directly on his right side. It would be rather difficult for him to shoot with his right hand from that position, much like when you want to shoot along the edge of a pool table in the direction where your weaker arm is against the table.

– Kai
2 days ago





In the first image, he has his back against the wall with a small barrier directly on his right side. It would be rather difficult for him to shoot with his right hand from that position, much like when you want to shoot along the edge of a pool table in the direction where your weaker arm is against the table.

– Kai
2 days ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















113














Luke is pretty consistently shown to be ambidextrous (having the ability to use both hands without favouring one) throughout the original trilogy film series.



In A New Hope he totes a gun and shoots with his left hand while on the Death Star.
enter image description here



He operates a control panel with his right hand
enter image description here



He ladles food onto his plate with his left and then passes a heavy jug from his right hand to his left to pour.
enter image description here



He uses a screwdriver with his right hand.
enter image description here



He handles the lightsaber with his right hand.
enter image description here





He favours his right hand for throwing a grenade in Empire Strikes Back.
enter image description here



He eats with his right hand in the swamps of Dagobah, as well as pulling a gun with his right.
enter image description here
enter image description here



But then eats with his left hand a few minutes later.
enter image description here



He favours his right hand for reaching out with the Force.
enter image description here



He totes his gun in his right hand on Cloud City.
enter image description here





He throws a skull with his left hand in Return of the Jedi.
enter image description here



He salutes Jabba and catches his lightsaber with left hand.
enter image description here



He calls the lightsaber to his right hand and fights almost exclusively with his right.
enter image description here





It's not clear if this was an intentional directorial choice, a goof (reversed plates meant that Fett's antenna swapped sides repeatedly during the Skiff scene and Luke's lightsaber would repeatedly jump from his left to his right hip, for example) or whether Lucas simply didn't notice or care that his main actor (who's left-handed in real life) was using his hands interchangeably.






share|improve this answer





















  • 13





    One of our readers / users could contact Mr. Hammil and ask. It would be awesome to get his two cents.

    – Mindwin
    2 days ago






  • 30





    Note that a lot of us lefties are a lot more comfortable using our right hands if a situation arises where that would be more convenient than a typical right-hander would be using their left. In a world designed for right-handers, we have to learn to be flexible sometimes.

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday











  • I suspect Luke would learn to duel with his right hand because that's probably what the forms are based around. Perhaps a highly skilled leftie would be at an advantage in an equally matched duel; but Luke was never in an equally matched duel in the OT.

    – Azor Ahai
    yesterday






  • 6





    @AzorAhai - ...or OOC, most likely Mark's fencing instructors only felt comfortable teaching him right-handed. Teaching it left-handed is much more complex, and I could see where they wouldn't want to get into all that just for the sake of a movie. (IC, change names to "Luke" and "Obi-Wan" and this argument still mostly holds. Remember his training was being rushed.)

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday








  • 3





    @Adamant - I've watched a bunch of candid vids and he strongly favours his left for dominance; youtube.com/watch?v=Z-sVuNB4eGY - signing / youtube.com/watch?v=K-bENZW7Jyw - holding a mic, etc

    – Valorum
    yesterday



















59














During the Detention Centre shootout, Luke is taking cover on the right-hand side of the corridor (from his perspective) and the alcove he's using for cover would make it harder to fire his blaster right-handed. He's trying to stay behind that little bit of bulkhead as much as he can to avoid the incoming Stormtrooper fire, so holding the blaster in his right hand would mean having to lean farther out to get a shot off and making himself more of a target.



In Cloud City, you can see that Luke's hiding behind a wall at a left-hand turn (his perspective), so naturally he wouldn't need to shift his sidearm to another hand since he'd still be in cover if he decided to lean out and shoot at Fett and the Imperials.



EDIT: Several comments have indicated that Mark Hamill is left-handed, while I've also seen that Luke may be intended to be ambidextrous with a preference for one hand or the other depending on the action. But in terms of in-universe actions, Luke's simply taking best advantage of his cover the same way that Han and Chewie are shoving themselves up against the wall in the Detention Centre. As a side note, you'll sometimes see Stormtroopers carrying their blaster rifles left-handed; this was because the Sterling submachine guns used for the blank-fire props have a VERY awkward horizontal magazine that sticks out of the left side of the gun and makes it difficult to hold in the typical "Stormtrooper Ready" position, even with a chopped-down 10-shot magazine.






share|improve this answer





















  • 12





    This. I don't really see how it would even be physically possible to shoot right handed while taking cover like that.

    – terdon
    2 days ago






  • 4





    It's physically possible, but would be awkward while you're trying to avoid getting hit yourself.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    2 days ago






  • 2





    @SpaceWolf1701 indeed. I'm right handed, and in such a situation it would be easier for me to just shoot left-handed than to try to contort myself. Also, the situation in the Detention Centre is what we would call today Urban Combat. Urban combat de-emphasizes sharpshooting at long distance (in which dexterity matters a lot) in favor of squeezing off lots of basically-ok shots at close to medium range quickly and using cover effectively. It's also happens to be a textbook environment for submachine guns (SMGs), and the E-11 blaster prop is actually based on the Sterling SMG.

    – Robert Columbia
    yesterday













  • @RobertColumbia Quite true. I'm right-handed also and would do the same, though if I had my choice I'd be on the other side of the corridor with a different blaster rifle. Han and Chewie are lucky enough to be in cover where it's easier to shoot, although I think Chewie was waving around a DLT-19 at that point which would be handy in that situation because of its high fire rate but even more awkward than the E-11s. And aye, I did mention the Sterlings in my answer, including the unfortunate position of the magazines that led to many Stormtrooper extras holding them left-handed.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    17 hours ago











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2 Answers
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active

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votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









113














Luke is pretty consistently shown to be ambidextrous (having the ability to use both hands without favouring one) throughout the original trilogy film series.



In A New Hope he totes a gun and shoots with his left hand while on the Death Star.
enter image description here



He operates a control panel with his right hand
enter image description here



He ladles food onto his plate with his left and then passes a heavy jug from his right hand to his left to pour.
enter image description here



He uses a screwdriver with his right hand.
enter image description here



He handles the lightsaber with his right hand.
enter image description here





He favours his right hand for throwing a grenade in Empire Strikes Back.
enter image description here



He eats with his right hand in the swamps of Dagobah, as well as pulling a gun with his right.
enter image description here
enter image description here



But then eats with his left hand a few minutes later.
enter image description here



He favours his right hand for reaching out with the Force.
enter image description here



He totes his gun in his right hand on Cloud City.
enter image description here





He throws a skull with his left hand in Return of the Jedi.
enter image description here



He salutes Jabba and catches his lightsaber with left hand.
enter image description here



He calls the lightsaber to his right hand and fights almost exclusively with his right.
enter image description here





It's not clear if this was an intentional directorial choice, a goof (reversed plates meant that Fett's antenna swapped sides repeatedly during the Skiff scene and Luke's lightsaber would repeatedly jump from his left to his right hip, for example) or whether Lucas simply didn't notice or care that his main actor (who's left-handed in real life) was using his hands interchangeably.






share|improve this answer





















  • 13





    One of our readers / users could contact Mr. Hammil and ask. It would be awesome to get his two cents.

    – Mindwin
    2 days ago






  • 30





    Note that a lot of us lefties are a lot more comfortable using our right hands if a situation arises where that would be more convenient than a typical right-hander would be using their left. In a world designed for right-handers, we have to learn to be flexible sometimes.

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday











  • I suspect Luke would learn to duel with his right hand because that's probably what the forms are based around. Perhaps a highly skilled leftie would be at an advantage in an equally matched duel; but Luke was never in an equally matched duel in the OT.

    – Azor Ahai
    yesterday






  • 6





    @AzorAhai - ...or OOC, most likely Mark's fencing instructors only felt comfortable teaching him right-handed. Teaching it left-handed is much more complex, and I could see where they wouldn't want to get into all that just for the sake of a movie. (IC, change names to "Luke" and "Obi-Wan" and this argument still mostly holds. Remember his training was being rushed.)

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday








  • 3





    @Adamant - I've watched a bunch of candid vids and he strongly favours his left for dominance; youtube.com/watch?v=Z-sVuNB4eGY - signing / youtube.com/watch?v=K-bENZW7Jyw - holding a mic, etc

    – Valorum
    yesterday
















113














Luke is pretty consistently shown to be ambidextrous (having the ability to use both hands without favouring one) throughout the original trilogy film series.



In A New Hope he totes a gun and shoots with his left hand while on the Death Star.
enter image description here



He operates a control panel with his right hand
enter image description here



He ladles food onto his plate with his left and then passes a heavy jug from his right hand to his left to pour.
enter image description here



He uses a screwdriver with his right hand.
enter image description here



He handles the lightsaber with his right hand.
enter image description here





He favours his right hand for throwing a grenade in Empire Strikes Back.
enter image description here



He eats with his right hand in the swamps of Dagobah, as well as pulling a gun with his right.
enter image description here
enter image description here



But then eats with his left hand a few minutes later.
enter image description here



He favours his right hand for reaching out with the Force.
enter image description here



He totes his gun in his right hand on Cloud City.
enter image description here





He throws a skull with his left hand in Return of the Jedi.
enter image description here



He salutes Jabba and catches his lightsaber with left hand.
enter image description here



He calls the lightsaber to his right hand and fights almost exclusively with his right.
enter image description here





It's not clear if this was an intentional directorial choice, a goof (reversed plates meant that Fett's antenna swapped sides repeatedly during the Skiff scene and Luke's lightsaber would repeatedly jump from his left to his right hip, for example) or whether Lucas simply didn't notice or care that his main actor (who's left-handed in real life) was using his hands interchangeably.






share|improve this answer





















  • 13





    One of our readers / users could contact Mr. Hammil and ask. It would be awesome to get his two cents.

    – Mindwin
    2 days ago






  • 30





    Note that a lot of us lefties are a lot more comfortable using our right hands if a situation arises where that would be more convenient than a typical right-hander would be using their left. In a world designed for right-handers, we have to learn to be flexible sometimes.

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday











  • I suspect Luke would learn to duel with his right hand because that's probably what the forms are based around. Perhaps a highly skilled leftie would be at an advantage in an equally matched duel; but Luke was never in an equally matched duel in the OT.

    – Azor Ahai
    yesterday






  • 6





    @AzorAhai - ...or OOC, most likely Mark's fencing instructors only felt comfortable teaching him right-handed. Teaching it left-handed is much more complex, and I could see where they wouldn't want to get into all that just for the sake of a movie. (IC, change names to "Luke" and "Obi-Wan" and this argument still mostly holds. Remember his training was being rushed.)

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday








  • 3





    @Adamant - I've watched a bunch of candid vids and he strongly favours his left for dominance; youtube.com/watch?v=Z-sVuNB4eGY - signing / youtube.com/watch?v=K-bENZW7Jyw - holding a mic, etc

    – Valorum
    yesterday














113












113








113







Luke is pretty consistently shown to be ambidextrous (having the ability to use both hands without favouring one) throughout the original trilogy film series.



In A New Hope he totes a gun and shoots with his left hand while on the Death Star.
enter image description here



He operates a control panel with his right hand
enter image description here



He ladles food onto his plate with his left and then passes a heavy jug from his right hand to his left to pour.
enter image description here



He uses a screwdriver with his right hand.
enter image description here



He handles the lightsaber with his right hand.
enter image description here





He favours his right hand for throwing a grenade in Empire Strikes Back.
enter image description here



He eats with his right hand in the swamps of Dagobah, as well as pulling a gun with his right.
enter image description here
enter image description here



But then eats with his left hand a few minutes later.
enter image description here



He favours his right hand for reaching out with the Force.
enter image description here



He totes his gun in his right hand on Cloud City.
enter image description here





He throws a skull with his left hand in Return of the Jedi.
enter image description here



He salutes Jabba and catches his lightsaber with left hand.
enter image description here



He calls the lightsaber to his right hand and fights almost exclusively with his right.
enter image description here





It's not clear if this was an intentional directorial choice, a goof (reversed plates meant that Fett's antenna swapped sides repeatedly during the Skiff scene and Luke's lightsaber would repeatedly jump from his left to his right hip, for example) or whether Lucas simply didn't notice or care that his main actor (who's left-handed in real life) was using his hands interchangeably.






share|improve this answer















Luke is pretty consistently shown to be ambidextrous (having the ability to use both hands without favouring one) throughout the original trilogy film series.



In A New Hope he totes a gun and shoots with his left hand while on the Death Star.
enter image description here



He operates a control panel with his right hand
enter image description here



He ladles food onto his plate with his left and then passes a heavy jug from his right hand to his left to pour.
enter image description here



He uses a screwdriver with his right hand.
enter image description here



He handles the lightsaber with his right hand.
enter image description here





He favours his right hand for throwing a grenade in Empire Strikes Back.
enter image description here



He eats with his right hand in the swamps of Dagobah, as well as pulling a gun with his right.
enter image description here
enter image description here



But then eats with his left hand a few minutes later.
enter image description here



He favours his right hand for reaching out with the Force.
enter image description here



He totes his gun in his right hand on Cloud City.
enter image description here





He throws a skull with his left hand in Return of the Jedi.
enter image description here



He salutes Jabba and catches his lightsaber with left hand.
enter image description here



He calls the lightsaber to his right hand and fights almost exclusively with his right.
enter image description here





It's not clear if this was an intentional directorial choice, a goof (reversed plates meant that Fett's antenna swapped sides repeatedly during the Skiff scene and Luke's lightsaber would repeatedly jump from his left to his right hip, for example) or whether Lucas simply didn't notice or care that his main actor (who's left-handed in real life) was using his hands interchangeably.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 2 hours ago

























answered 2 days ago









ValorumValorum

406k10929503175




406k10929503175








  • 13





    One of our readers / users could contact Mr. Hammil and ask. It would be awesome to get his two cents.

    – Mindwin
    2 days ago






  • 30





    Note that a lot of us lefties are a lot more comfortable using our right hands if a situation arises where that would be more convenient than a typical right-hander would be using their left. In a world designed for right-handers, we have to learn to be flexible sometimes.

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday











  • I suspect Luke would learn to duel with his right hand because that's probably what the forms are based around. Perhaps a highly skilled leftie would be at an advantage in an equally matched duel; but Luke was never in an equally matched duel in the OT.

    – Azor Ahai
    yesterday






  • 6





    @AzorAhai - ...or OOC, most likely Mark's fencing instructors only felt comfortable teaching him right-handed. Teaching it left-handed is much more complex, and I could see where they wouldn't want to get into all that just for the sake of a movie. (IC, change names to "Luke" and "Obi-Wan" and this argument still mostly holds. Remember his training was being rushed.)

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday








  • 3





    @Adamant - I've watched a bunch of candid vids and he strongly favours his left for dominance; youtube.com/watch?v=Z-sVuNB4eGY - signing / youtube.com/watch?v=K-bENZW7Jyw - holding a mic, etc

    – Valorum
    yesterday














  • 13





    One of our readers / users could contact Mr. Hammil and ask. It would be awesome to get his two cents.

    – Mindwin
    2 days ago






  • 30





    Note that a lot of us lefties are a lot more comfortable using our right hands if a situation arises where that would be more convenient than a typical right-hander would be using their left. In a world designed for right-handers, we have to learn to be flexible sometimes.

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday











  • I suspect Luke would learn to duel with his right hand because that's probably what the forms are based around. Perhaps a highly skilled leftie would be at an advantage in an equally matched duel; but Luke was never in an equally matched duel in the OT.

    – Azor Ahai
    yesterday






  • 6





    @AzorAhai - ...or OOC, most likely Mark's fencing instructors only felt comfortable teaching him right-handed. Teaching it left-handed is much more complex, and I could see where they wouldn't want to get into all that just for the sake of a movie. (IC, change names to "Luke" and "Obi-Wan" and this argument still mostly holds. Remember his training was being rushed.)

    – T.E.D.
    yesterday








  • 3





    @Adamant - I've watched a bunch of candid vids and he strongly favours his left for dominance; youtube.com/watch?v=Z-sVuNB4eGY - signing / youtube.com/watch?v=K-bENZW7Jyw - holding a mic, etc

    – Valorum
    yesterday








13




13





One of our readers / users could contact Mr. Hammil and ask. It would be awesome to get his two cents.

– Mindwin
2 days ago





One of our readers / users could contact Mr. Hammil and ask. It would be awesome to get his two cents.

– Mindwin
2 days ago




30




30





Note that a lot of us lefties are a lot more comfortable using our right hands if a situation arises where that would be more convenient than a typical right-hander would be using their left. In a world designed for right-handers, we have to learn to be flexible sometimes.

– T.E.D.
yesterday





Note that a lot of us lefties are a lot more comfortable using our right hands if a situation arises where that would be more convenient than a typical right-hander would be using their left. In a world designed for right-handers, we have to learn to be flexible sometimes.

– T.E.D.
yesterday













I suspect Luke would learn to duel with his right hand because that's probably what the forms are based around. Perhaps a highly skilled leftie would be at an advantage in an equally matched duel; but Luke was never in an equally matched duel in the OT.

– Azor Ahai
yesterday





I suspect Luke would learn to duel with his right hand because that's probably what the forms are based around. Perhaps a highly skilled leftie would be at an advantage in an equally matched duel; but Luke was never in an equally matched duel in the OT.

– Azor Ahai
yesterday




6




6





@AzorAhai - ...or OOC, most likely Mark's fencing instructors only felt comfortable teaching him right-handed. Teaching it left-handed is much more complex, and I could see where they wouldn't want to get into all that just for the sake of a movie. (IC, change names to "Luke" and "Obi-Wan" and this argument still mostly holds. Remember his training was being rushed.)

– T.E.D.
yesterday







@AzorAhai - ...or OOC, most likely Mark's fencing instructors only felt comfortable teaching him right-handed. Teaching it left-handed is much more complex, and I could see where they wouldn't want to get into all that just for the sake of a movie. (IC, change names to "Luke" and "Obi-Wan" and this argument still mostly holds. Remember his training was being rushed.)

– T.E.D.
yesterday






3




3





@Adamant - I've watched a bunch of candid vids and he strongly favours his left for dominance; youtube.com/watch?v=Z-sVuNB4eGY - signing / youtube.com/watch?v=K-bENZW7Jyw - holding a mic, etc

– Valorum
yesterday





@Adamant - I've watched a bunch of candid vids and he strongly favours his left for dominance; youtube.com/watch?v=Z-sVuNB4eGY - signing / youtube.com/watch?v=K-bENZW7Jyw - holding a mic, etc

– Valorum
yesterday













59














During the Detention Centre shootout, Luke is taking cover on the right-hand side of the corridor (from his perspective) and the alcove he's using for cover would make it harder to fire his blaster right-handed. He's trying to stay behind that little bit of bulkhead as much as he can to avoid the incoming Stormtrooper fire, so holding the blaster in his right hand would mean having to lean farther out to get a shot off and making himself more of a target.



In Cloud City, you can see that Luke's hiding behind a wall at a left-hand turn (his perspective), so naturally he wouldn't need to shift his sidearm to another hand since he'd still be in cover if he decided to lean out and shoot at Fett and the Imperials.



EDIT: Several comments have indicated that Mark Hamill is left-handed, while I've also seen that Luke may be intended to be ambidextrous with a preference for one hand or the other depending on the action. But in terms of in-universe actions, Luke's simply taking best advantage of his cover the same way that Han and Chewie are shoving themselves up against the wall in the Detention Centre. As a side note, you'll sometimes see Stormtroopers carrying their blaster rifles left-handed; this was because the Sterling submachine guns used for the blank-fire props have a VERY awkward horizontal magazine that sticks out of the left side of the gun and makes it difficult to hold in the typical "Stormtrooper Ready" position, even with a chopped-down 10-shot magazine.






share|improve this answer





















  • 12





    This. I don't really see how it would even be physically possible to shoot right handed while taking cover like that.

    – terdon
    2 days ago






  • 4





    It's physically possible, but would be awkward while you're trying to avoid getting hit yourself.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    2 days ago






  • 2





    @SpaceWolf1701 indeed. I'm right handed, and in such a situation it would be easier for me to just shoot left-handed than to try to contort myself. Also, the situation in the Detention Centre is what we would call today Urban Combat. Urban combat de-emphasizes sharpshooting at long distance (in which dexterity matters a lot) in favor of squeezing off lots of basically-ok shots at close to medium range quickly and using cover effectively. It's also happens to be a textbook environment for submachine guns (SMGs), and the E-11 blaster prop is actually based on the Sterling SMG.

    – Robert Columbia
    yesterday













  • @RobertColumbia Quite true. I'm right-handed also and would do the same, though if I had my choice I'd be on the other side of the corridor with a different blaster rifle. Han and Chewie are lucky enough to be in cover where it's easier to shoot, although I think Chewie was waving around a DLT-19 at that point which would be handy in that situation because of its high fire rate but even more awkward than the E-11s. And aye, I did mention the Sterlings in my answer, including the unfortunate position of the magazines that led to many Stormtrooper extras holding them left-handed.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    17 hours ago
















59














During the Detention Centre shootout, Luke is taking cover on the right-hand side of the corridor (from his perspective) and the alcove he's using for cover would make it harder to fire his blaster right-handed. He's trying to stay behind that little bit of bulkhead as much as he can to avoid the incoming Stormtrooper fire, so holding the blaster in his right hand would mean having to lean farther out to get a shot off and making himself more of a target.



In Cloud City, you can see that Luke's hiding behind a wall at a left-hand turn (his perspective), so naturally he wouldn't need to shift his sidearm to another hand since he'd still be in cover if he decided to lean out and shoot at Fett and the Imperials.



EDIT: Several comments have indicated that Mark Hamill is left-handed, while I've also seen that Luke may be intended to be ambidextrous with a preference for one hand or the other depending on the action. But in terms of in-universe actions, Luke's simply taking best advantage of his cover the same way that Han and Chewie are shoving themselves up against the wall in the Detention Centre. As a side note, you'll sometimes see Stormtroopers carrying their blaster rifles left-handed; this was because the Sterling submachine guns used for the blank-fire props have a VERY awkward horizontal magazine that sticks out of the left side of the gun and makes it difficult to hold in the typical "Stormtrooper Ready" position, even with a chopped-down 10-shot magazine.






share|improve this answer





















  • 12





    This. I don't really see how it would even be physically possible to shoot right handed while taking cover like that.

    – terdon
    2 days ago






  • 4





    It's physically possible, but would be awkward while you're trying to avoid getting hit yourself.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    2 days ago






  • 2





    @SpaceWolf1701 indeed. I'm right handed, and in such a situation it would be easier for me to just shoot left-handed than to try to contort myself. Also, the situation in the Detention Centre is what we would call today Urban Combat. Urban combat de-emphasizes sharpshooting at long distance (in which dexterity matters a lot) in favor of squeezing off lots of basically-ok shots at close to medium range quickly and using cover effectively. It's also happens to be a textbook environment for submachine guns (SMGs), and the E-11 blaster prop is actually based on the Sterling SMG.

    – Robert Columbia
    yesterday













  • @RobertColumbia Quite true. I'm right-handed also and would do the same, though if I had my choice I'd be on the other side of the corridor with a different blaster rifle. Han and Chewie are lucky enough to be in cover where it's easier to shoot, although I think Chewie was waving around a DLT-19 at that point which would be handy in that situation because of its high fire rate but even more awkward than the E-11s. And aye, I did mention the Sterlings in my answer, including the unfortunate position of the magazines that led to many Stormtrooper extras holding them left-handed.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    17 hours ago














59












59








59







During the Detention Centre shootout, Luke is taking cover on the right-hand side of the corridor (from his perspective) and the alcove he's using for cover would make it harder to fire his blaster right-handed. He's trying to stay behind that little bit of bulkhead as much as he can to avoid the incoming Stormtrooper fire, so holding the blaster in his right hand would mean having to lean farther out to get a shot off and making himself more of a target.



In Cloud City, you can see that Luke's hiding behind a wall at a left-hand turn (his perspective), so naturally he wouldn't need to shift his sidearm to another hand since he'd still be in cover if he decided to lean out and shoot at Fett and the Imperials.



EDIT: Several comments have indicated that Mark Hamill is left-handed, while I've also seen that Luke may be intended to be ambidextrous with a preference for one hand or the other depending on the action. But in terms of in-universe actions, Luke's simply taking best advantage of his cover the same way that Han and Chewie are shoving themselves up against the wall in the Detention Centre. As a side note, you'll sometimes see Stormtroopers carrying their blaster rifles left-handed; this was because the Sterling submachine guns used for the blank-fire props have a VERY awkward horizontal magazine that sticks out of the left side of the gun and makes it difficult to hold in the typical "Stormtrooper Ready" position, even with a chopped-down 10-shot magazine.






share|improve this answer















During the Detention Centre shootout, Luke is taking cover on the right-hand side of the corridor (from his perspective) and the alcove he's using for cover would make it harder to fire his blaster right-handed. He's trying to stay behind that little bit of bulkhead as much as he can to avoid the incoming Stormtrooper fire, so holding the blaster in his right hand would mean having to lean farther out to get a shot off and making himself more of a target.



In Cloud City, you can see that Luke's hiding behind a wall at a left-hand turn (his perspective), so naturally he wouldn't need to shift his sidearm to another hand since he'd still be in cover if he decided to lean out and shoot at Fett and the Imperials.



EDIT: Several comments have indicated that Mark Hamill is left-handed, while I've also seen that Luke may be intended to be ambidextrous with a preference for one hand or the other depending on the action. But in terms of in-universe actions, Luke's simply taking best advantage of his cover the same way that Han and Chewie are shoving themselves up against the wall in the Detention Centre. As a side note, you'll sometimes see Stormtroopers carrying their blaster rifles left-handed; this was because the Sterling submachine guns used for the blank-fire props have a VERY awkward horizontal magazine that sticks out of the left side of the gun and makes it difficult to hold in the typical "Stormtrooper Ready" position, even with a chopped-down 10-shot magazine.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 2 days ago

























answered 2 days ago









SpaceWolf1701SpaceWolf1701

50626




50626








  • 12





    This. I don't really see how it would even be physically possible to shoot right handed while taking cover like that.

    – terdon
    2 days ago






  • 4





    It's physically possible, but would be awkward while you're trying to avoid getting hit yourself.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    2 days ago






  • 2





    @SpaceWolf1701 indeed. I'm right handed, and in such a situation it would be easier for me to just shoot left-handed than to try to contort myself. Also, the situation in the Detention Centre is what we would call today Urban Combat. Urban combat de-emphasizes sharpshooting at long distance (in which dexterity matters a lot) in favor of squeezing off lots of basically-ok shots at close to medium range quickly and using cover effectively. It's also happens to be a textbook environment for submachine guns (SMGs), and the E-11 blaster prop is actually based on the Sterling SMG.

    – Robert Columbia
    yesterday













  • @RobertColumbia Quite true. I'm right-handed also and would do the same, though if I had my choice I'd be on the other side of the corridor with a different blaster rifle. Han and Chewie are lucky enough to be in cover where it's easier to shoot, although I think Chewie was waving around a DLT-19 at that point which would be handy in that situation because of its high fire rate but even more awkward than the E-11s. And aye, I did mention the Sterlings in my answer, including the unfortunate position of the magazines that led to many Stormtrooper extras holding them left-handed.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    17 hours ago














  • 12





    This. I don't really see how it would even be physically possible to shoot right handed while taking cover like that.

    – terdon
    2 days ago






  • 4





    It's physically possible, but would be awkward while you're trying to avoid getting hit yourself.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    2 days ago






  • 2





    @SpaceWolf1701 indeed. I'm right handed, and in such a situation it would be easier for me to just shoot left-handed than to try to contort myself. Also, the situation in the Detention Centre is what we would call today Urban Combat. Urban combat de-emphasizes sharpshooting at long distance (in which dexterity matters a lot) in favor of squeezing off lots of basically-ok shots at close to medium range quickly and using cover effectively. It's also happens to be a textbook environment for submachine guns (SMGs), and the E-11 blaster prop is actually based on the Sterling SMG.

    – Robert Columbia
    yesterday













  • @RobertColumbia Quite true. I'm right-handed also and would do the same, though if I had my choice I'd be on the other side of the corridor with a different blaster rifle. Han and Chewie are lucky enough to be in cover where it's easier to shoot, although I think Chewie was waving around a DLT-19 at that point which would be handy in that situation because of its high fire rate but even more awkward than the E-11s. And aye, I did mention the Sterlings in my answer, including the unfortunate position of the magazines that led to many Stormtrooper extras holding them left-handed.

    – SpaceWolf1701
    17 hours ago








12




12





This. I don't really see how it would even be physically possible to shoot right handed while taking cover like that.

– terdon
2 days ago





This. I don't really see how it would even be physically possible to shoot right handed while taking cover like that.

– terdon
2 days ago




4




4





It's physically possible, but would be awkward while you're trying to avoid getting hit yourself.

– SpaceWolf1701
2 days ago





It's physically possible, but would be awkward while you're trying to avoid getting hit yourself.

– SpaceWolf1701
2 days ago




2




2





@SpaceWolf1701 indeed. I'm right handed, and in such a situation it would be easier for me to just shoot left-handed than to try to contort myself. Also, the situation in the Detention Centre is what we would call today Urban Combat. Urban combat de-emphasizes sharpshooting at long distance (in which dexterity matters a lot) in favor of squeezing off lots of basically-ok shots at close to medium range quickly and using cover effectively. It's also happens to be a textbook environment for submachine guns (SMGs), and the E-11 blaster prop is actually based on the Sterling SMG.

– Robert Columbia
yesterday







@SpaceWolf1701 indeed. I'm right handed, and in such a situation it would be easier for me to just shoot left-handed than to try to contort myself. Also, the situation in the Detention Centre is what we would call today Urban Combat. Urban combat de-emphasizes sharpshooting at long distance (in which dexterity matters a lot) in favor of squeezing off lots of basically-ok shots at close to medium range quickly and using cover effectively. It's also happens to be a textbook environment for submachine guns (SMGs), and the E-11 blaster prop is actually based on the Sterling SMG.

– Robert Columbia
yesterday















@RobertColumbia Quite true. I'm right-handed also and would do the same, though if I had my choice I'd be on the other side of the corridor with a different blaster rifle. Han and Chewie are lucky enough to be in cover where it's easier to shoot, although I think Chewie was waving around a DLT-19 at that point which would be handy in that situation because of its high fire rate but even more awkward than the E-11s. And aye, I did mention the Sterlings in my answer, including the unfortunate position of the magazines that led to many Stormtrooper extras holding them left-handed.

– SpaceWolf1701
17 hours ago





@RobertColumbia Quite true. I'm right-handed also and would do the same, though if I had my choice I'd be on the other side of the corridor with a different blaster rifle. Han and Chewie are lucky enough to be in cover where it's easier to shoot, although I think Chewie was waving around a DLT-19 at that point which would be handy in that situation because of its high fire rate but even more awkward than the E-11s. And aye, I did mention the Sterlings in my answer, including the unfortunate position of the magazines that led to many Stormtrooper extras holding them left-handed.

– SpaceWolf1701
17 hours ago


















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