Anyone else think Chirrut was portrayed as being a little to powerful in his use the force? I am assuming he used the force to sense his surroundings and fight. I really didn’t want there to be any new force users in this movie. I like the idea of him as a temple guardian who believes in the force for protection… but the way it was executed they basically made him almost a Jedi in all but name only…
According to the RO Visual Guide the Guardians of the Whills has a form of martial arts called zama-shiwo meaning “the inward eye of the outward hand” which allows Chirrut to have complete control of his body and senses. He also has some kind of device powered by a tiny kyber crystal embedded in his staff which released a small harmonic sound which apparently helps him navigate his surroundings.
So he’s basically just the SW equivalent of Zatoichi the blind swordsman.
He could of course have the slightest sliver of Force abilities though. The Force is after all supposed to be created by all living beings according to Yoda, so I don’t see why someone not specifically Force-sensitive can’t tap into some basic abilities. And back in the 80’s Lucas did consider the Force to be attainable to everyone, whereas some just had a much stronger natural connection to it (like the Skywalkers). Pablo Hidalgo has also stated that someone doesn’t have to be Force-sensitive to be affected by it, stating in a tweet “You can disbelieve in it, but still have it. I’m sure Ol Ben would attribute Han’s amazing piloting and “luck” to the Force. Han wouldn’t.” You could argue that this is more or less what Baze does at the end of the film as well.