I think some great points have been made recently
- what exactly is Jedi ‘Training’. The indoctrination aspect of this makes complete sense, and helps clarify why on earth the PT jedi thought you had to start training at youth, when in the OT we saw Luke start in his 20’s or whatever. It is very convincing to believe that the training has little to do with force talent. it always seems like the raw Force ability needs to be there, i have never seen that be otherwise (please correct me if i am wrong).
Aside from the references, and dialogue in the films, that in my view heavily suggest a Jedi prospect needs to study in order to reach his or her potential, here’s what George Lucas has to say about it:
“The Force is really a way of seeing; it’s a way of being with life,” Lucas has said. “It really has nothing to do with weapons. The Force gives you the power to have extra-sensory perception and to be able to see things and hear things, read minds and levitate things. It is said that certain creatures are born with a higher awareness of the Force than humans. Their brains are different. The Force is a perception of the reality that exists around us. You have to come to learn it. It’s not something you just get. It takes many, many years…Anyone who studied and worked hard could learn it. But you would have to do it on your own.”
So, in my view you are right when you say training has little to do with talent, but just like Muhammad Ali had many years of training before he could stand a chance of becoming a world champion, despite his obvious talent, so too must a talented Force user learn and train for many years before he or she can control the Force. To be talented, and to be good at it instantly without any training are two very different things imo.