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Force Choke appears to be just that - the use of the Force to restrict the airways. In that regard, it is similar to Force Levitation or other actual "Force" based Force powers. I'm wondering two things:

  1. Has any Jedi ever used it, either in canon or in Legends?
  2. If not, is that because it is specifically a dark side power? If so, what distinguishes dark side powers over light side powers? For example, we see Dooku using the Force to try to bring down a building on top of Obi-Wan and Anakin in Episode 2. He is using the Force darkly, but that's just Force Telekinesis.
TheLethalCarrot
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Michael Stachowsky
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    It's just telekinesis used for evil, same as if you picked someone up and dropped them into lava. It's not that there's an inherently evil power, it's that one is using the Force to do evil. – DavidW Jun 02 '20 at 18:02
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    Indeed, and that makes sense. But there appear to be some powers, like force lightning, that are specifically dark side powers. I was wondering if the same thing applied here – Michael Stachowsky Jun 02 '20 at 18:03
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    I'm pretty sure iirc that in The Mandolorian (minor spoiler ahead!) "Baby Yoda" force chokes someone. My assumption is they are not yet trained in either Jedi or Sith skills though. – Wiggo the Wookie Jun 02 '20 at 18:35
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    Also, related https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/108353/what-did-luke-do-to-jabbas-guards the accepted answer says Jedi Luke didn't use force choke but other people seem to disagree. – Wiggo the Wookie Jun 02 '20 at 18:40
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    @MichaelStachowsky At least in some works, there aren't "dark side" powers as such, only powers that it's very rare to use in a light-sided way. Force Lightning, for instance, is mostly an inefficient but extremely painful way to kill people, making it extremely dark. But it might not be a dark power if you use it against, say, a starship. – Cadence Jun 02 '20 at 19:34
  • @Cadence, it depends upon who may be on the ship. – Wiggo the Wookie Jun 02 '20 at 19:49
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    related https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/224279/how-can-force-abilities-be-strictly-light-side-or-dark-side https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/162202/did-yoda-and-other-jedi-have-any-lethal-force-abilities – Mithoron Jun 02 '20 at 21:40
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    According to the KOTOR2 ability tree, force choke is a dark side power. – MooseBoys Jun 03 '20 at 05:56
  • I always thought of the "lightning" as a manifestation of pure hatred, made visible and palpable through The Force. Thus, effectively a dark-side power because you can't do it if you don't hate. – Solomon Slow Jun 03 '20 at 14:12
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    @MooseBoys also in KOTOR1 as well as most ganes that have Jedi powers. Another example is Jedi Academy. – VLAZ Jun 03 '20 at 21:16
  • That KOTOR2 ability tree - and Force Choke itself - sounds like a game term, not anything like "choking" in reality or Star Wars. Is that authorised by George?

    Doesn't the Question forget there is one Force? That Light and Dark are terms for users, their reasons and methods as, say, with magic?

    Why do you see this as different from any power or weapon, such as a gun, a knife or a rope? Don't assassins and body-guards use the same weapons in different ways and for different purposes?

    What's different about a cop's night-stick or truncheon, and a crook's black-jack or billy-club?

     – Robbie Goodwin Jun 03 '20 at 21:18
  • @RobbieGoodwin IMO the lore in KOTOR and other games in the Star Wars universe is much more self-consistent than that of the films. And the game doesn't stop you from using force choke as a Jedi; it just takes less energy to do so as a Sith. – MooseBoys Jun 03 '20 at 21:47
  • Sure, MooseBoys, and still and again, how is that about Star Wars SF&F, rather than gaming? – Robbie Goodwin Jun 06 '20 at 21:43

2 Answers2

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To answer your first question, Luke Force Chokes the guards in Jabba's palace in Return of the Jedi and there are many episodes in the Clone Wars series where Anakin (who was still considered a good Jedi) uses the Force Choke. There is also an instance of Ahsoka using Force Choke (Force picked someone up by their neck):

There is nothing indicating that this is specifically a dark side power. There are many Force abilities that both light and dark users frequently use.

TheLethalCarrot
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sf02
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    Or, maybe not? https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/108356/54124 – Jesse C. Slicer Jun 03 '20 at 13:32
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    @JesseC.Slicer I suppose a Jedi mind trick is a possibility, but if you watch the scene you see the guards reaching for their throats. They reacted as if they were being choked. – sf02 Jun 03 '20 at 14:25
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    I was maybe 11 when it came out and I thought Luke choked the guards. Lucasfilm apparently wants Luke to be pristine and said (I think that answer references it, but I don't recall) that the mind trick was to make the guards THINK they were choking. I didn't care at the time - it was fun action. – Jesse C. Slicer Jun 03 '20 at 15:35
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    Didn't Anakin massacre a group of sand people including children in episode 2 Attack of the Clones, before the time of the Clone Wars series? If so, Annakin was already evil in the Clone Wars series. Murdering children is what makes someone evil, not switching their formal allegiance from the light side and the Jedi to the dark side and the Sith. – M. A. Golding Jun 03 '20 at 16:52
  • @M.A.Golding, murdering children probably makes someone evil. It is neither a requirement for being evil, nor necessarily makes one evil (although sure, it probably does). You're right, however, that a) being "dark" isn't about any formal allegiance, and b) Annakin was well on the way to "dark" already. – Matthew Jun 03 '20 at 17:59
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    It's basically a slippery slope once you start using the force to deal damage directly, force pushing people off buildings also quite "dark sidey", but force choking is like real life choking someone's life out slowly vs a, relatively un-personal, shot from a gun at a distance. One is an intimate desire to see someone die at your hands, the other is killing as the desired outcome. – Populus Jun 03 '20 at 19:15
  • @Matthew probably is "probably" not a good choice of words here. :-) – StephenG - Help Ukraine Jun 03 '20 at 22:01
  • Luke literally blows up a "moon" with Obi saying "Use the force" in the background. I don't know how many people were on the Death Star but that's a lot of people killed indirectly from using the Force. The intentions was however (mostly) "Protect the rebels by destroying the threat" and not "Destroy for revenge". In my opinion it's about why you use the Force not how. But then again "The road to hell is pawed with good intentions" as they say. That said, I agree with this answer. – Pingu510 Jun 09 '20 at 09:44
  • Another example, somewhat related is that Jedi Master Plo Koon developed a "light side version" of Force Lightning, aka Electric Judgement. instead of the blue/white lightning, his is an electric green. – DocBon3saw Aug 12 '20 at 22:13
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To answer your second question, in movie canon, it is not specific powers which are explicitly "dark-side", but the intention behind their use, as Yoda explains in ESB:

Luke: ... Is the dark side stronger?

Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

Luke: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?

Yoda: You will know... when you are calm, at peace, passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.

However, you can also find many instances in other lower-canon works where a very explicit distinction is made, for example, in video games where the player can choose to use "dark side" powers or "light side" powers. There are also "universal powers". In these instances, Force Choke/Force Grip is categorized as a dark side power.

TheLethalCarrot
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Ed Marty
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    I've edited so the links are inline and so it is clear what each reference is referring to. If I made a mistake feel free to roll the edit back. – TheLethalCarrot Jun 03 '20 at 09:13
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    Good point. There's no real force "choke". There's force "affect objects". Willing a lightsabre into your hand, levitating a slice of pear, pushing over some droids, gently squeezing someone's airway, all really the same thing. – Grimm The Opiner Jun 03 '20 at 12:36
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    Game mechanics such as light/dark side powers and Force meters have never been considered canon. They're there for game balancing purposes only. – 520 Jun 03 '20 at 14:54
  • I read Yoda's line with his accent in my head. Amazing, it is not? – user23139 Jun 03 '20 at 15:33
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    Although the games categorized the powers, IIRC they had no impact on the ending chosen by the player. Kyle Katarn even explains that "abilities aren't inherently good or evil... it's how you use them.". – stewbasic Jun 03 '20 at 23:53
  • Yoda was so full of it. He himself used the force to attack in the movies and most Jedi seem to do it on a regular basis. – user Jun 04 '20 at 09:18
  • @user I’m guessing Yoda would have skewed any attack as simply defense. – Ed Marty Jun 04 '20 at 14:23
  • I imagine one possible obvious use of airway constriction for defense would involve use on self or others to prevent inhaling water or poison gas. – Damian Yerrick Jun 04 '20 at 15:49
  • On some one else maybe, but there is also a force power that lets you basically hold your own breath for a very extended period of time. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Breath_control – Ed Marty Jun 04 '20 at 20:05
  • @DamianYerrick human(oid) airways have an unfortunate tendency of getting irreparably damaged by such constriction, killing their owners in the process. Sounds about as good as chopping off one’s head to prevent a headache :P – Alexander Revo Jun 04 '20 at 20:21