A Jedi apprentice was Force-sensitive child who had been identified by the Jedi and brought into a Jedi clan for training in the ways of the Force. An apprentice who graduated would become either a Jedi guardian or a Jedi knight; the latter were worthy of carrying a lightsaber in the service of lords to whom they were pledged, but the former were not deemed worthy of the weapon.
According Kouru had been wanted by her parents, but they had not been allowed to keep her; to her understanding, having the Force meant she belonged to the Jedi and thus to the lords of the Empire. Alongside many of her peers, she joined the Sith rebellion led by the man who later became the Ronin.
When the Ronin was a prisoner of the Jedi lord Hanrai, one of his guards was a Twi'lek boy named Yuehiro, an apprentice of . Yuehiro's insightful questions led the Ronin to give him a subtle warning to be more careful. The Ronin believed that inquisitive children like Yuehiro would be kept from the higher ranks of Jedi, particularly if they questioned their lords, although they may be deemed useful for spywork or strategy within the guardianship. Other Jedi apprentices who would not progress past the guardian ranks were those whose lords believed they did not have sufficient physical gifts, such as apprentices who were unable to run.