Why does Kylo Ren keep hitting the side of his body?

Question

In The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren is shot in the side by Chewbacca. Later on in the forest, we see him hit himself repeatedly in the area where he was shot.

Why does he do this?
_{Wouldn't that, like... really hurt?}

I took the liberty of improving your title in order to make it more descriptive. Whenever possible, please avoid writing nondescriptive titles such us "Why does this character do that?". Replace "this" and "that" whenever you can do this without spoiling anything important. A rule of thumb is "can the average reader guess, by reading the title alone, what the content of the question is going to be?" — Andres F., Dec 20 '15 at 02:38
but... spoilers. I guess hitting yourself isn't a huge spoiler but... spoilers :( — RedCaio, Dec 20 '15 at 02:48
Seriously, what am I missing? Why is saying that a character keeps hitting a side of his body a spoiler? — Andres F., Dec 20 '15 at 06:41
@AndresF. I guess to most people a spoiler is something big and crucial that would be ruined if you knew it beforehand. To me, if someone who hasn't seen the movie doesn't know it, it's a spoiler! lol. :) — RedCaio, Dec 20 '15 at 07:30
@AndresF. well then when I go see the movie, for the first 100 minutes Kylo Ren isn’t hitting the side of his body, my brain starts saying “Well, something must happen to make him start hitting the side of his body”, and I’m trying to figure out what that is instead of experiencing the movie fresh. — Paul D. Waite, Dec 20 '15 at 12:45
Stem pack?!!! I know they use those in the games and maybe it's built into the suit. Throwing out a wild guess for the hell of it — , Dec 21 '15 at 08:16
Stem pack?? it is a stim pack and wrong game ( stim packs are from fallout ). if anytning he would use kolto pack or kolto probe or some such nonsense. — Cherubel, Dec 21 '15 at 08:40
@Cherubel Stim packs are actually found in a number of different games - the "Stim" is short for "stimulant," since including a stimulant is the handwavium explanation for why they can get you back to full operational effectiveness despite being injured. They're generally the science fiction equivalent of "health potions," since "health potions" can sound embarrassingly un-science-fiction-y. — user867, Dec 22 '15 at 03:02

score 46 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:43

I think there's a much simpler answer.

Hitting a part of your body that is causing a distractingly sharp, acute pain can numb that pain by turning it into a blunt, dull, persistent and therefore less distracting pain. Basically flattening the pain by maxing it out.

This is something I've done in real life when sharp (non-wound...) pains like cramp or muscle strain momentarily prevent me from doing important things. I wouldn't recommend it... But it feels like it helps at the time, for a few seconds at least. I'm sure I've seen lightly-injured sports players do it, too. I'm trying to find a reference to link to, but all I can find are disturbing self-harm advice pages which I don't want to link to... But it is a thing.

It's also a (self-defeating) way to vent anger and frustration. Kylo does this at times his opponent is too far to lash out at.

Of course, this is not a sensible thing to do, because it makes the actual wound worse, and the numb feeling wears off in seconds - but we shouldn't expect Kylo to be behaving sensibly at this point.

It's been well established that he doesn't cope well with anger, and at this point he's even more of an emotional mess than ever - not just for the obvious reasons, but also because his prime motivation seems to be a fear of failure/mediocrity and at this moment, not only is the plan is on the cusp of failing, but also, with his injuries and his inability to focus, he's struggling to defeat two people he should defeat easily.

The pain from his wound is distracting him and compromising his ability to beat two enemies he should defeat easily - and he's lashing out in characteristic fashion, trying to literally beat the pain away.

Not sensible, but perfectly in-character.

From a storytelling point of view: - it reminds the viewers that he's injured from Chewie's shot, is struggling to focus, and is not at all at his best, and could pre-emptively answer the question "Why is such a powerful character struggling to defeat two characters who have little to no experience with lightsabers?". The clips where he beats his wound also include other similar reminders such as, visible blood on the snow, him hunched over momentarily limping, him roaring in frustration, etc.

Judging from how this scene is discussed, I suspect it maybe didn't succeed in communicating this to all viewers...

Although he didn't succeed, it was totally badass. Really emphasized how out of control he is. — Mdev, Dec 21 '15 at 18:48
@Omegacron I believe the film's working title was "Star Wars VII: Basically, Kylo Ren's A Fruitcake" — user56reinstatemonica8, Jan 13 '16 at 21:56
+1 for the storytelling point -- some viewers may have forgotten he was shot, while others might be wondering if the movie somehow forgot Kylo's wound if he didn't continue to acknowledge his injury. — Jibb Smart, Jan 15 '16 at 00:21
I guess perhaps not a lot of athletes hang out here? Not only are the first few paragraphs quite true, but also if a muscle seizes up or starts spasming (eg: with Charlie Horse) smacking it a bit can sometimes help it to unclench and start obeying orders properly (and its already in pain, so the pain from hitting it isn't a big deal). A more effective treatment is a massage, but there isn't exactly time for that while the action is still ongoing. This is what I assumed was going on. Presumably the misbehaving body part had something to do with the damage from the earlier bowcaster bolt. — T.E.D., Jan 16 '16 at 03:28

score 23 · Answer 2 · edited May 12 '23 at 06:10

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According to Wookieepedia:

Kylo could be seen beating his wound to utilize his pain and tap into the dark side of the force.

Rather than his perpetual state of pain handicapping him, it fuelled his rage, allowing him advanced control of the Dark Side of the Force. The same used to be true of Darth Vader back in the day. It's a special case of Force Rage:

Force Rage, also known as Dark Rage, Force Enrage, or Force Fury, was a dark side alter Force ability. The Force user would tap into his or her innermost fears, pain and hate, and convert them into an intense rage. The user could then channel the anger to increase his or her own speed, strength, and ferocity. However, the body could not handle such rage for long periods of time, so the user became greatly weakened for some time after the rage subsided. If light side users wielded Force Rage, it could permanently disrupt their connection to the light side unless something happened to interrupt the Rage and bring them out of the dark side's grip. Therefore, the Rage could give the wielder an instantaneous physical and mental response, but pull them into deep depression, physiological harm, and the endless void of the dark side.

edited May 12 '23 at 06:10

Mithical

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answered Dec 20 '15 at 02:28

Rand al'Thor

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Does Wookiepedia have citations for that or that a usual Wikia case of making up narrative? – DVK-on-Ahch-To Dec 20 '15 at 02:44
hmmm, that first page only cites the movie, so it looks like someone was interpreting what they saw and guessing at Ren's motives there. Still, a good answer and you have my upvote. I look forward to any additionally confirmation, like a novelization or script, though :) – RedCaio Dec 20 '15 at 02:45
@DVK The only citation is the film itself. It does seem to make sense though. What does your novelisation say? :-) – Rand al'Thor Dec 20 '15 at 02:47
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@randal'thor - let me check. The only thing that expresses how I feel about Wookiepedia is AWRGRRRRRRRR! – DVK-on-Ahch-To Dec 20 '15 at 02:48
@DVK I know that feel, bro. Wookiepedia often makes me feel like a pirate too! :) – RedCaio Dec 20 '15 at 02:50
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Like a pirate? I thought that was a Chewbacca impersonation! – Rand al'Thor Dec 20 '15 at 02:50
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@randal'thor - you read my mind like Kilo Ren (though, considering his success rate, I'm not sure that came out as a compliment any more than Luna Lovegood telling Harry "You're as sane as I am") – DVK-on-Ahch-To Dec 20 '15 at 02:52
@DVK I'm just used to Wad Cheber's Chewbacca impersonations in chat (though, considering how well you and him get on, I'm not sure that came out as a compliment either) ;-) – Rand al'Thor Dec 20 '15 at 02:53
@randal'thor - AWRGRRRRRRWRAR!! – DVK-on-Ahch-To Dec 20 '15 at 02:54
Force Rage or Force Fury is Legends content. The Jedi Exile learns the technique from Kreia if he or she chooses the path of the Dark Side during the events of "Knights of the Old Republic II". The ability is called "Force Fury" and sacrifices defense to grant additional attacks.
In "Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast" the ability " Force Rage" is available in multiplayer sessions. The ability drains the users health down to 1 over time, but grants enhanced speed, strength, defense, and damage for its duration.
– Damien Lavizzo Apr 05 '16 at 20:15

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 21 '15 at 22:22

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I think he is hitting himself like a scare-tactic, to make them fear that he feels no pain. His lightsaber can also be a scare-tactic, because it has no practical use.

answered Dec 21 '15 at 22:22

Eric Lith

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We prefer not to have speculation. If you can add a source, please do. – Mithical Dec 21 '15 at 22:25
@Mithrandir First of all, answers with sources are greatly encouraged, but not a strict requirement here on SciFi Exchange (some of the other StackExchange sites are a different story.) Second of all, you might as well add that comment to every answer here, because all of it is speculation as no canon answer exists at this time. The problem here is with the entire thread, as it is a question that is only capable of soliciting opinion-based answers. – arkon Mar 25 '16 at 04:54

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Dec 21 '15 at 22:55

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He's hitting himself to get himself angry and riled up. Yo get the adrenaline pumping. That's like some really dark side stuff right there – using pain to get angry and turn that anger into adrenaline.

edited Dec 21 '15 at 22:55

alexwlchan

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answered Dec 21 '15 at 22:52

Jordan

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 22 '15 at 06:16

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Kylo Ren is hitting himself in the side as a metaphor, in a way. He is distracting the pain he now has internally by causing greater outside pain himself. We can see that reflected in the idea that Ren has suffered a great emotional pain, and is now using the dark side of the force to create a greater outer pain socially in the world than the pain he feels inside to make his own feel more bearable.

answered Dec 22 '15 at 06:16

user57758

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Isn't this basically the same as the bottom answer...? – Mithical Dec 22 '15 at 06:28

Why does Kylo Ren keep hitting the side of his body?

5 Answers5