In the hit manga series, Dragon Ball, Goku and Vegeta are constantly training. While the story is largely fantasy, there is actually some scientific basis to it. The training the Goku and Vegeta undergo may not be entirely possible, but the underlying principles are legitimate.
Goku and Vegeta are Super Saiyans who routinely fight threats to Earth and participate in fighting tournaments. As a result, they are constantly seeking to grow stronger. They spend a great deal of time in the series training and there are often time skips where training occurred. Now, a closer look at Goku or Vegeta’s training reveals that the principles they apply and tools they use have some scientific backing – even if their levels of intensity are unachievable.
According to the official Dragon Ball site, heightened gravity and the Room of Spirit and Time would be beneficial as a training method and location. Masayuki Kato – a science teacher and writer specializing in biology – interviewed Professor Yutaka Hirata, a neuroscientist. His specialties include systems neuroscience and bioinformatic engineering. He states that what is really being trained in heightened gravity is the mind. The gravity increase optimizes neural networks, therefore improving motor skill acquisition. The key to Saiyan – and human – improvement isn’t actually in the gravity itself; the key lies in increasing “the rate of synaptic transmission…to minimize movement errors.”
In Dragon Ball, training is seen being done in the Room of Spirit and Time. This room is all-white, creating a bright environment. According to Professor Hirata, strong light has also seemed to positively impact motor skill acquisition during scientific experiments. Furthermore, when Goku does push-ups and other low-height actions, he disperses the pressure over more of his body, lessening the concentrated intensity of heightened gravity. The place, method, and actions involved in the Dragon Ball series aren’t as far-fetched as they may initially seem – even though humans get sick very easily in slightly increased gravity, while Goku trains in 100g.
While Dragon Ball is largely fantasy, there’s no question that it has had a very real impact on fans – particularly when it comes to fitness. The series is incredibly inspirational, with Goku and Vegeta always pushing themselves harder to be their best. As incredible as their feats may be, there’s no question that they’re fictional with unattainable physiques. However, some aspects of the series have a real-world basis and application. Though it isn’t possible for humans to go Super Saiyan, there are legitimate ways that Goku and Vegeta’s training methods can be applied in reality. Dragon Ball may not help readers pass biology tests, but that doesn’t make it completely baseless when it comes to scientific topics.
Source: Dragon Ball Official Site
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