Interplanetary flight

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Polyphase Avatron
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Interplanetary flight

Post by Polyphase Avatron » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:47 pm

I have been a bit confused about this for a while. The way Gohan explained it to Videl, flight works by using your ki to repel off the ground, sort of like a repulsorlift engine from Star Wars. This makes sense, if you are flying within or near a planet's atmosphere. But how does this account for flying interplanetary distances?

With Whis and the like I figured that their Warp technique worked on a different principle, so it wasn't a problem. But we have now seen both Beerus and Jiren fly from planet to planet using just normal flight/bukujutsu. But in space, there's nothing to push off of... the farther you got away from a planet, the smaller of a target it would be to focus your ki on, and the longer it would take for the repulsive force to reach it. And if you were even a tiny fraction of a degree off on your path, you would not be able to change your direction and would end up missing your destination planet entirely. Add to this the fact that all of the planets and stars are constantly moving, and it seems impossible to properly navigate such distances this way.

The best explanation I can think of is based on the fact that we have seen characters use ki blasts to propel themselves even without a surface to repel against, so perhaps they can adjust their trajectory with ki blasts so they don't miss their destinations? It's possible but it's still speculation.
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Re: Interplanetary flight

Post by theherodjl » Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:48 pm

I think DB's style of Bukujutsu is similar to Superman's "self-telekinesis" type of flight, being able to freely fly in any direction or accelerate without being propelled off a physical surface. Additionally, the higher one's Ki or how much Ki they use determines how efficiently they may fly. Krillin & Dende's journey to Saichoro's house on Namek took hours and hours flying in a suppressed state but Krillin going full power however made the trip much faster, especially after having his potential unlocked by Saichoro.
Another explanation is that Ki must be under intense pressure within the body, it can fire out as highly concentrated spheres of energy or massive energy waves that can engulf a planet. Such pressure could certainly explain how they fly without the assistance of wind or external thrust, Ki in the body acting like contained force that may be used to blast off in any direction the user may choose.
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Re: Interplanetary flight

Post by KBABZ » Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:15 am

My understanding of it is that it works somewhat similarly to telekinesis, only with your own Ki (tele-Ki-nesis?). You "grab" your own Ki and use it to lift off the ground*, in a similar way to how Frieza "grabbed" Krillin and lifted him up into the air before making him explode. Ki flight in space therefore is most likely much easier since you don't have to counteract against gravity and your body doesn't weigh anything.

*Ki attacks are probably an extreme version of this where you expel Ki from your body from specific points in various ways, such as from your hands for a Kamehameha or a Galick Gun.

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Re: Interplanetary flight

Post by nickzambuto » Sat Jan 20, 2018 5:48 am

Keep in mind, not everybody uses Bukujutsu. Bukujutsu is just one of many possible flight techniques. The Crane School taught Tenshinhan flight and most of the main cast picked it up from him, but Piccolo has made at least a couple references IIRC to the fact that he flies using some other method, and that he thinks his method is much better than Bukujutsu.

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Re: Interplanetary flight

Post by KBABZ » Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:11 am

nickzambuto wrote:The Crane School taught Tenshinhan flight and most of the main cast picked it up from him
Is this stated anywhere?? This is a big blank spot for me since between the Raditz and Vegeta arcs almost all of the remaining cast picks up flying, including Krillin, Yamcha and Gohan.

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Re: Interplanetary flight

Post by nickzambuto » Sat Jan 20, 2018 9:14 pm

KBABZ wrote:
nickzambuto wrote:The Crane School taught Tenshinhan flight and most of the main cast picked it up from him
Is this stated anywhere?? This is a big blank spot for me since between the Raditz and Vegeta arcs almost all of the remaining cast picks up flying, including Krillin, Yamcha and Gohan.
Kuririn had picked up flying by the 23ed Budokai, and he said or indicated that he picked it up from Tenshinhan. You're right about Yamcha though, he didn't learn flying until Kami and Popo, so who knows what method he's using. Gohan could go either way. I'd assume he's seen Goku flying before, so since prodigies like him can pick up techniques immediately, he might have picked up the Bukujutsu technique back then and then only activated it when he achieved enough power under Piccolo. Alternatively, Piccolo taught him and Gohan probably uses Piccolo's method.

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Re: Interplanetary flight

Post by KBABZ » Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:58 pm

nickzambuto wrote:
KBABZ wrote:
nickzambuto wrote:The Crane School taught Tenshinhan flight and most of the main cast picked it up from him
Is this stated anywhere?? This is a big blank spot for me since between the Raditz and Vegeta arcs almost all of the remaining cast picks up flying, including Krillin, Yamcha and Gohan.
Kuririn had picked up flying by the 23ed Budokai, and he said or indicated that he picked it up from Tenshinhan. You're right about Yamcha though, he didn't learn flying until Kami and Popo, so who knows what method he's using. Gohan could go either way. I'd assume he's seen Goku flying before, so since prodigies like him can pick up techniques immediately, he might have picked up the Bukujutsu technique back then and then only activated it when he achieved enough power under Piccolo. Alternatively, Piccolo taught him and Gohan probably uses Piccolo's method.
I think you're right. Goku didn't learn flight until after training with Kami, however given that the reveal of him knowing it was a surprise to everybody, I'd say that Goku learnt it on his own without Kami knowing. With Yamcha, it's possible that Krillin taught him how to do it after Kami's training in the lead-up to the Saiyan arrival. Gohan I think didn't learn it until Piccolo's training; if he did know how to fly he almost certainly would have used it to get down from the tall rocky peak (the one he eventually destroyed as a Great Ape).

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Re: Interplanetary flight

Post by nickzambuto » Sun Jan 21, 2018 1:55 am

KBABZ wrote:
nickzambuto wrote:
KBABZ wrote: Is this stated anywhere?? This is a big blank spot for me since between the Raditz and Vegeta arcs almost all of the remaining cast picks up flying, including Krillin, Yamcha and Gohan.
Kuririn had picked up flying by the 23ed Budokai, and he said or indicated that he picked it up from Tenshinhan. You're right about Yamcha though, he didn't learn flying until Kami and Popo, so who knows what method he's using. Gohan could go either way. I'd assume he's seen Goku flying before, so since prodigies like him can pick up techniques immediately, he might have picked up the Bukujutsu technique back then and then only activated it when he achieved enough power under Piccolo. Alternatively, Piccolo taught him and Gohan probably uses Piccolo's method.
I think you're right. Goku didn't learn flight until after training with Kami, however given that the reveal of him knowing it was a surprise to everybody, I'd say that Goku learnt it on his own without Kami knowing. With Yamcha, it's possible that Krillin taught him how to do it after Kami's training in the lead-up to the Saiyan arrival. Gohan I think didn't learn it until Piccolo's training; if he did know how to fly he almost certainly would have used it to get down from the tall rocky peak (the one he eventually destroyed as a Great Ape).
Goku definitely uses Bukujutsu because both Kuririn and Piccolo have said he does. Gohan is debatable, but it's possible he learned the technique from Goku without realizing he learned it, and only discovered it after Piccolo brought out sufficient power. Does that make sense?

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