Apprentice Star Wars Fans Learn to Become Jedi Knights
By Kyle Warnke
Young Star Wars fans these days are spoiled as hell, and it’s all Disney’s fault. They’ve got more media than I ever had growing up in a galaxy far, far away. Trying to keep track of all the comic books and video games and TV shows that the Mouse is developing right now is like trying to navigate through an asteroid field.
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And now they’ve got another experience I wish was available when I was a kid: a freaken Jedi school.
OK, so the school is actually in Chile, which isn’t exactly around the corner for most fans. It’s in the town of Quilpue, north of the capital of Santiago, to be exact. But how cool is that? Do you guys know what Chile looks like?
That’s right. It’s pretty much the Endor moon. Or even Kashyyk. You could train as a Jedi on the Earth equivalent of a Star Wars setting. Even George Lucas would be jealous.
No word on how much the course costs, or whether they only take Republic credits, but the leader of this particular Jedi Council is William Berrueta, who founded the school five years ago. He’s teamed up with fellow instructor Sergio Angeloni, presumably because his last name also sounds like the name of an extraterrestrial race.
Sergio Angeloni, left, and William Berrueta pose with their Padawans.
Together, these guys teach their students the ways of the Force: self-defense, meditation and lightsaber skills (Force choking is still being worked into the curriculum, apparently). More than 20 kids have already graduated from the school, but with only a pair of pupils currently enrolled, it appears the Rule of Two is in full effect.
Check out a video of the school below:
If Chile seems like light years away, there is another option. There’s a Jedi club in New York City that holds weekly lessons for Padawans and even performs at conventions and Star Wars-themed events. Flynn Michael started the club in a dance studio after he and some friends put on a lightsaber show at a Halloween parade.
Check out an ABC News report on the club here.
For now, feel free to join me in hoping one of these Jedi-in-training succumbs to the Dark Side and starts a Sith school.