Editing Fremen (section)

===Combat===
[[File:Crysknife.jpg|thumb|upright|A crysknife from ''[[Frank Herbert's Dune]]'' (2000)]]
The dangerous conditions of Arrakis, which ensure that only the strongest survive, have also forged the Fremen into superior hand-to-hand combatants. In ''Dune'', Paul trains his Fremen forces in the use of the "weirding way", the Fremen name for the specialized Bene Gesserit [[martial arts]] that he learned from his mother. The [[Mentat]] assassin [[Thufir Hawat]] is later shocked to learn that Fremen have not only overcome some of Shaddam IV's fierce and previously unstoppable [[Sardaukar]] soldiers, but have done the impossible and captured some as well. Herbert also writes that "Paul recalled the stories of the Fremen—that their children fought as ferociously as the adults." In the novel Shaddam notes, "I only sent in five troop carriers with a light attack force to pick up prisoners for questioning. We barely got away with three prisoners and one carrier. Mind you, Baron, my Sardaukar were almost overwhelmed by a force composed mostly of women, children, and old men."<ref name="Dune"/>

In Herbert's fictional universe, [[Holtzman shield|personal body shields]] have made all forms of projectile weapons semi-obsolete. Only a slow-moving weapon can penetrate a shield, putting knives and similar weapons in common use. The beam of energy weapons called [[lasgun]]s react violently with a shield, creating an unpredictable explosion comparable to sub-atomic [[nuclear fusion|fusion]] which can kill the attacker, shield wearer, and surrounding individuals. Fremen do not use shields because they also attract the native giant sandworms of Arrakis and drive them into a killing frenzy. As a result, the Fremen have the advantage of not being trained to slow their knives when attacking, as those battling a shielded opponent do. Fremen use different archaic weapons such as [[maula pistol]]s, lances and crossbows to great effect, but the most deadly and prized possession of a Fremen warrior is the '''crysknife'''.<!-- This section is the redirect destination of [[Crysknife]] --> A crysknife is a personally-tuned blade ground from the crystal tooth of a sandworm, and is the formal and sacred weapon of the Fremen. It is a milk-white, double-edged curved knife, the blade about {{convert|20|cm|sigfig=1}} long. The crysknife comes in two forms, fixed and unfixed. Unfixed knives need to be stored in proximity to an electrical field produced by the human body or they will disintegrate after a period of time. Fixed crysknives are put through chemical processes to keep them permanently intact.<ref name="Crysknife">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Crysknife|year=1965}}</ref> In ''Children of Dune'', Leto II notes that "The crysknife dissolves at the death of its owner."<ref name="Children">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=[[Children of Dune]] |year=1976}}</ref> All young Fremen must go through a [[Coming of age|ritual confirming their adulthood]], which is sealed with the gift of a crysknife to the adolescent warrior. According to the religious beliefs of the Fremen, a drawn crysknife must not be sheathed until it draws blood. The Fremen also forbid outsiders from possessing crysknives, and in ''Dune'' the Lady Jessica refers to "the fabled crysknife of Arrakis, the blade that had never been taken off the planet, and was known only by rumor and wild gossip." When the Shadout Mapes gives one to Jessica, the Fremen woman warns, "Who sees that knife must be cleansed or slain!"<ref name="Dune"/>