Star Wars School In Chile Teaches Children Martial Arts

By Adrian Carrasquillo, Fox News Latino

This isn't a Jedi mind trick.

A Star Wars school called "The Jedi Temple" opened in Quilpué, Chile, to give children a unique way to study martial arts.

The school, which begins its second session on March 17th, is training 20 children between the ages of 6 and 12 years old and is split into a beginners and an advanced course, BBC Mundo reported.

Combining what it considers the values of the Jedi -- wisdom and nobility -- with yoga and tae kwon do, the school believes it is providing its children something valuable along with the fun and entertainment of living a dream.

In the classes, the children are given a chance to breathe life into a Star Wars' fandom (sometimes inherited from obsessed parents), by wielding light sabers made popular by Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, Vanguardia.com reported.

A genuine Star Wars experience is provided by "an exact replica light-saber, that has the sounds and the light reminiscent of the movies," William Berrueta, the creator of the school, told BBC Mundo.

The idea for "The Jedi Temple" was borne out of a visit to Chile by Star Wars: The Exhibition in March of 2009. It was the first time a display of props from the entire Star Wars series was made available for public viewing in Chile.

But not everyone is happy about the way of the Jedi being taught to precocious youngsters.

"You guys are completely and utterly stupid," a commentor named Sebastián wrote on the school's website. "What are you thinking making a school for Jedis? Do you have something wrong with your heads?"

But one thing is for sure. As long as adults are willing to teach the ways of the force, there will be children enthusiastically ready to learn.