Bokken Jedi is a term that Baylan Skoll mentions in episode 6 of Ahsoka to describe the training of Ezra Bridger.
Shin Hati asks Baylan Skoll if he knows Ezra Bridger while they track Sabine across the wastelands of Peridea. He tells her that Ezra is too young, trained in the wild like many other “Bokken Jedi”.
When Shin compares herself to Ezra, Baylan insists that he trained her to be much better than any Jedi could possibly be. Baylan constantly alludes to deficiencies within the Jedi and how they could be so much more with a few changes in their mindset.
A select, talented group
A Bokken is a wooden sword used for training in kenjutsu, and because the Jedi were loosely based on samurai culture, the use of the word Bokken here has a certain significance.
In this context, Bokken Jedi refers to Jedi not trained in the traditional methods of the temple. The Jedi temple existed at a time when the Jedi were seen as keepers of the peace and bureaucrats, given military posts expected to negotiate deals occasionally.
Some claim that this rigidness levied upon the Jedi is what contributed to their downfall, with Bokken Jedi free from the shackles that weighed down their brethren.
Notable examples of Bokken Jedi include Ezra Bridger who was trained by Kannan Jarrus, Luke Skywalker who was trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda, and Rey who was trained by Luke Skywalker.
Luke aimed to establish a new Jedi Order following the fall of the Empire but he saw himself going down the same path and making the same mistakes as his predecessors, leading to his disillusionment and self-exile.
Baylan himself is someone who was trained at the temple and seems to have outgrown what he has learned after traveling the galaxy and learning more about the history and the origins of Jedi.
Sabine’s training even though she isn’t aptitude for the Force isn’t the greatest is yet another example that the ways of the Temple do not have to be the only way.
Ahsoka is someone who very early on questioned the motivations of the Order and she is the perfect teacher in this regard. This term redefines what it means to be a Jedi, an opens up the possibility of many more Jedi not bound by an Order.
Also Read: Ahsoka season 1 episode 6 recap & review: Far, Far Away