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Many times in the prequel movies, whenever Force users were disarmed, they didn't attempt to use any telekinesis to to give them an advantage, even though they were disarmed. For example, when Count Dooku was about to be killed by Anakin, why didn't he use a Force push on him before Anakin killed him, as Count Dooku had already shown that he could use telekinesis by almost crushing Obi-Wan?

Another example would be in Obi-Wan's fight against General Grevious. Since Grevious wasn't Force-sensitive, why doesn't Obi-Wan repeatedly use telekinesis against Grevious, especially in the last portion of the fight when Obi-Wan was unarmed?

My last example is the iconic fight between Mace Windu and Darth Sidious. When Sidious was cornered up against a wall, he resorted to Force lighting. When he realized that wasn't working, couldn't he have just force pushed Mace out of the window? Is there any canon explanation for this?

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    Anakin and Obi-Wan having a Force Push-off in Ep. III springs to mind. Probably not all that effective when you're at a disadvantage, especially since both sides can see slightly into the future and there's very little chance of you catching them off-guard.
    – DisturbedNeo
    Commented May 31, 2017 at 13:00
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    @DisturbedNeo - Grievous has learned to keep his Jedi opponents off-balance through continual attacks or running away. When Obi-Wan finally uses a Force Push, Grievous just rolls with it and suffers no harm.
    – Valorum
    Commented May 31, 2017 at 13:15
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    I don't know if it's a trope or not but beings with telekinesis do seem to pass up a lot of opportunities that there powers would solve rather quickly. It must be plot driven. :)
    – MrInfinity
    Commented May 31, 2017 at 13:27
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    Also, @MrInfinity (TVTROPES WARNING), tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ForgotAboutHisPowers, here you go :) there's even an entry on Star Wars under "Films - Live-Action"
    – DisturbedNeo
    Commented May 31, 2017 at 13:47
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    I don't know what you're talking about, I Force-maimed everyone I met in The Force Unleashed and The Old Republic.
    – Gallifreyan
    Commented May 31, 2017 at 17:45

2 Answers 2

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    Looks like telekinetic force abilities could not be used by average Force user at will

  Example 1: Yoda vs Dooku. Both are very powerful Force users, Dooku former Jedi Master and Sith Lord, Yoda Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. Yet, both of them required couple of seconds to actually control large objects. Dooku is much quicker with Force Lightning then with Force Push/Pull. Interestingly, neither of them tries to use Force to directly move opponent. Most likely because of Force resistance, ability to repulse opponent's attack with Force.

  Example 2: Yoda vs Palpatine. Yoda manages to Force Push Palpatine at the beginning, but this is just one time event when Palpatine was not ready. After that they only throw objects at each other. Palpatine (probably most powerful Force user in the Galaxy) seemingly easy throws pods at Yoda. Yet, when Yoda with some effort hurls one pod back to him, looks like Palpatine's concentration is broken. He could not stop that pod and doesn't attempt same tactics again.

  Example 3: Anakin(Dath Vader) vs Obi-Wan on Mustafar and later on Death Star. Here we have two not so powerful Force users. Anakin never achieved his full potential, Obi-Wan was more of average Jedi, with some luck and wisdom. They attempt to Force Push each other in one moment, but both Force Resist. Rest of conflict is usual swordplay with lot of jumps, but no other visible Force display. On Death Star not even that, both of combatants have aged and grown weaker. They do know to protect themselves from telekinetic attacks, so neither one tries anything

  Example 4: Obi-Wan vs Grievous. Grievous is a living being, but not Force sensitive. So Obi-Wan does Force Push Grievous but only once. Why not more ? Most likely because Grievous is too heavy and powerful (good grip on any surface with his limbs and claws), and looks like Obi-Wan spent lot of his Force power for even that one effort. As I said before, Obi-Wan force powers were average, or somewhat above average. His telekinetic abilities are more of grabbing lightsabers (or pistols) than pushing large objects around.

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  • For the heavy objects though "size matters not" is what Yoda always says though. prbobaly more the concentration that he couldnt afford while trying to survive than any "energy" problems.
    – Thomas
    Commented May 31, 2017 at 21:38
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    @Thomas "Size matters not" was not entirely true in practice :D, even for Yoda. Any Jedi could easily pull his lightsaber, but even Yoda had to deeply concentrate and even close eyes for a split second when moving heavy Senate pod. So, size matters does :P
    – rs.29
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 4:31
  • I think that the Darth Vader scene in Rogue One sort of contradicts this answer. Darth Vader was able to lift a person up in the air, continuing to walk forward, kill, and deflect blaster bolts, until he reached the floating person and casually sliced them in half.
    – Hyperdrive Enthusiast
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 11:45
  • @Hyperdriveenthusiast enthusiast Vader lifted one Force non-sensitive person and choked another after that . He could not push all of them at once (Yoda managed to push two Imperial Royal Guards). This is consistent with his displayed abilities in previous works. Also, he could not, for example, stop Tantive IV from departing . So, size matters.
    – rs.29
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 16:37
  • @rs.29 Sorry, I wasn't challenging you on the size matters thing, I was just saying that the answer is basically saying using Telekinesis requires a lot of concentration, which contradicts what Vader did in Rogue One.
    – Hyperdrive Enthusiast
    Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 20:41
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I've wondered this a number of times. The only solution I've ever come up with is that it requires a significant amount of focus to use Force telekinesis, and getting disarmed in the middle of a fight isn't conducive to concentration.

What's really going to mess you up, though, is when you start wondering why Jedi and Sith don't narrow their Force Pushes down to a point for stabbing someone instead of just tossing people around all the time.

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  • Are you asking a separate question? Or giving a comment on the answer? If this is indeed an answer can you provide a source?
    – Edlothiad
    Commented May 31, 2017 at 17:54
  • Smaller targets are harder, naturally.
    – Adamant
    Commented May 31, 2017 at 18:19

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