What Baylan Skoll Meant By ‘Bokken Jedi’ In Ahsoka Episode 6 – /Film

Baylan explains that Ezra comes from “a breed of Bokken Jedi, trained in the wild after the Temple fell.” “Bokken” is a Japanese wooden sword used for training purposes, one that acts as a dummy until the wielder is capable enough to use a real weapon. While bokken in itself does not carry derogatory connotations, Baylan’s usage of the term to categorize Jedi grants it a specific tint: as a bokken is a substitute weapon — in this case, a training substitute for a lightsaber — he views Bokken Jedi as pale imitations of those trained at the Jedi temple, weaker and inferior in strength and spirit.

Shin immediately points out that she’s a Bokken Jedi too, as she was trained after the Jedi Temple burned. Baylan immediately rejects this, stating that he trained her to be more, immediately distancing his disciple from those whom he perceives as inferior “breeds” of Jedi. This also means that Baylan holds the Jedi Order’s teachings in greater esteem, even though he states that he is merely wistful about “the idea” of the Order, as opposed to their actual existence, which was flawed. This is a rather complex stance to build one’s worldview on, and it remains to be seen how Baylan will navigate the chaos hereafter.

Moreover, by Baylan’s logic, someone like Luke Skywalker is a Bokken Jedi — trained in the wild, especially when he was way too old by the standards of the Order, and a little too late as the galaxy was on the brink of burning. One could argue that Luke’s wild training is the reason he succeeds, as it allows him to be divorced from dogma or structure, and follow his heart when it comes to saving his loved ones, and the galaxy in the process.