"When we made the first Star Wars, the lightsaber effects weren't quite up to today's standards, so for the dual between Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi, I had to settle with the idea that it was slow because it was an ancient old man facing a half man, half machine. Those handicaps can be slightly hindering in battle..."
--George Lucas

So that pretty much sums it up folks...

Or not. That's kind of a cop out of an explanation isn't it? I mean, Yoda is Eight Hundred years old and flies around the cave like a caffeinated super ball in AOTC. And Grevious seems to be a force to be rekoned with in ROTS. So maybe, within the context of the movies, and not from a more technical movie making stand point, the reason the former master and apprentice took so long to dual was because they were scared of each other...

No really, listen. Look at the damage Obi Wan inflicted on Vader during their last dual. He cut Anakin's legs clean off. Is it so far fetched that Vader may have learned some patience in the intervening years? Perhaps now he knows that he shouldn't just rush into the heat of battle when facing such a learned opponent? He was not about to make the same mistake again. He was going to defeat Obi Wan, kill him, if it took him forever to do.

And what about Obi Wan? He knows that Anakin has been stewing over his defeat at the man he claimed was holding him back for so long. He had boasted that he was stronger than Obi Wan and more powerful than the Council, but ultimately lost out to the will of both. He wasn't granted the title of master and Obi Wan knew that patience and tactics would win out over pure hatred and rage. However, it has been nearly twenty years and he has been living the life of a hermit, while Vader has gone on to become one of the leaders of the most militaristic and battle hardened regimes in the history of the galaxy. He knows that Vader has learned a thing or two, and knows that his best offense is a good defense.

They weren't encumbered by their handicaps, but enhanced by their experience...

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