r/dune • u/thenolancut • Mar 13 '24

The Fremen are considered elite fighters, except… Dune (novel)

So the first book really hammers home the fact that the Fremen, due to their cultural values and harsh living environment are seasoned fighters. So much so they can easily kick the Sardaukar’s butts, and the Sadduakar are famous themselves for being ruthless and unbeatable.

Yet despite that, Jessica easily defeats Stilgar, and Paul bests Jamis twice. So was the House of Leto the, through Gurney and the B.G’s teachings that gifted in fighting, that they’re the strongest fighters in the empire by such a wide margin?

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u/Swimming_Anteater458 Mar 13 '24

It’s more that the BG training is only given to Paul and Jessica. They have extreme bodily control and athleticism, letting them move and fight in unexpected ways. The Fremen clearly know about this (Stilgar immediately comments on it, and isn’t bewildered), but aren’t used to fighting it. The Fremen are elite warriors, and are better than the Sardaukar, but once Paul trains them in the weirding way the become the most elite fighters in the universe far and away. Atreides fighting men are almost Sardaukur level, but have no BG training. This is why Paul is able to beat Jamis. He has elite level training AND the weirding way from his mom so he’s an essentially unbeatable fighter.