How are Tien and Yamcha so ripped yet so weak?

[floofychan333]

I'm pretty sure Yamcha is just as ripped as Goku, and Tien probably more so. Only Broly is more ripped than Tien. So if muscles are supposed to be an indicator of strength, then how are Tien and Yamcha so ripped yet so weak?
Keep in mind I don't want to set anyone off by saying they're weak. They're only weak compared to the other Z Fighters.

[Cipher]

1) Muscles have never been an indicator of strength in Dragon Ball.

2) They're amazingly strong and only weak in comparison to the unbelievable, among-the-strongest-in-the-multiverse-fighters like the Saiyans, Piccolo and later villains.

[DBZAOTA482]

Muscles don't really matter much even in real-life. Like Mike Tyson is likely physically stronger than Bruce Lee but Bruce Lee murk Tyson in a fight since he's significantly faster and more skilled.

[Soppa Saia People]

Muscles don't really matter much even in real-life. Like Mike Tyson is likely physically stronger than Bruce Lee but Bruce Lee murk Tyson in a fight since he's significantly fasterand more skilled.

Not to go off topic but wasn't Tyson's whole deal that he was strong and fast ?

[Pantalones]

A huge, huge portion of the characters' strength in DBZ comes from ki, not muscles. Somebody could be skinny and have tremendous ki that makes them stronger than anyone else (SSj God Goku for example, or Beerus!), or they could be a huge musclebound idiot who only looks strong to ordinary humans due to sheer size, but has very little ki and no idea how to use it so he's actually... just a little stronger than normal humans.

[MarCas92]

But Bruce Lee murk Tyson in a fight since he's significantly faster and more skilled.

Gr8 b8 m8!

But seriously, everyone in the series is ripped! Rightfully so! Even Krillins body is chiseled like marble!

[Marco Polo]

Being is ripped is precisely not the good way to get strong. See Nappa vs Saiyan Saga Vegeta, Frieza's and Cell's successive forms, Ascended SSJ vs SSJ2, SSJ3 vs SSJ God, etc.

[Hitiro]

I'm pretty sure Yamcha is just as ripped as Goku, and Tien probably more so. Only Broly is more ripped than Tien. So if muscles are supposed to be an indicator of strength, then how are Tien and Yamcha so ripped yet so weak?
Keep in mind I don't want to set anyone off by saying they're weak. They're only weak compared to the other Z Fighters.

In this universe the most important element for combat is Ki. But that is not to say that you can't get significantly stronger with a body suited for that Ki. Piccolo noted that when Fat Boo became Evil(Super) Boo his body became more suited for combat and that he is better in every way.

Chapter: 486 (DBZ 292), P2.2-6
Context: after Boo transforms into evil Boo
Piccolo: “…Have you noticed? …This change in Majin Boo’s ki…[ ] …He’s changed…All due to some idiotic Earthlings…He’s become pure evil, and his body has become more suited toward battle…Th-this…this…”
Kuririn: “Wha…What?...D-don’t tell me you’re saying this is bad!? …It’s al-alright! We’ve got the squirts’ Fusion! Goku said that right? That Fusion was the strongest…!”
Dende: “…”
Piccolo: “…That’d be nice, but…”

Ki is what amplifies your bodies strength so to look at a simple example Gotenks Ki as in both of his failed bodies may be the same same as a successful fusion of Gotenks. But the Ki would be amplifying a terrible body so it won't be as good as a successful fusion. Essentially:

Gotenks(Skinny)
Ki: 10
Strength: 1
Strength amplified by Ki: 1*10 = 10
Speed: 2
Speed amplified by Ki: 2*10 = 20

Gotenks(Fat)
Ki: 10
Strength: 2
Strength amplified by Ki: 2*10 = 20
Speed: 1
Speed amplified by Ki: 1*10 = 10

Gotenks
Ki: 10
Strength: 5
Strength amplified by Ki: 5*10 = 50
Speed: 5
Speed amplified by Ki: 5*10 = 50

In comparison. Tenshinhan and Yamcha have impressive bodies but their Ki is weak so their amplification is low.

Tenshinhan
Ki: 3
Strength: 5
Strength amplified by Ki: 5*3 = 15
Speed: 5
Speed amplified by Ki: 5*3 = 15

Yamcha
Ki: 2
Strength: 5
Strength amplified by Ki: 5*2 = 10
Speed: 5
Speed amplified by Ki: 5*2 = 10

Akira Toriyama has said there is a limit to physically training your body. And to exceed that you must increase your Ki and Ki control. So it is likely the characters have reached their physical limits, all that is left is to increase their Ki to get stronger.

What are the requirements for becoming strong?
There are physical limits to the strength of the body itself, so in order to overcome that barrier, it’s necessary to increase your “ki”. Normally, the more you increase your ki, the harder it is to control, so ki control is also important.

So Yamcha and Tenshinhan have probably reached their physical limits and to overcome them they need to increase their Ki. Hence why they are so ripped yet so weak.

[dario03]

Like others said its because of ki being the main source of strength in DB. Didn't AT say that muscle strength maxes out pretty early in DB? And the only way to get stronger is through ki. One of the aspects of ki is physical condition but its never said that big muscles equal more ki. Fighters sometimes do get more bulk when they power up but they also sometimes get smaller when powering up.

Muscles don't really matter much even in real-life. Like Mike Tyson is likely physically stronger than Bruce Lee but Bruce Lee murk Tyson in a fight since he's significantly fasterand more skilled.

Not to go off topic but wasn't Tyson's whole deal that he was strong and fast ?

Mike Tyson was really fast back in his day.
https://youtu.be/u6zlaIl0yh0?t=86
https://youtu.be/uYZzMPsm6c4?t=65

And muscles do matter in real life. It isn't everything but it is something. There is downsides to having to much muscle but somebody that has built muscle right and didn't skip conditioning would have advantages over another person of similar size that is simply overweight or somebody that is of similar height but much lighter due to lack of muscle. A better thing to say is that show muscles of body builders don't matter much because the really big body builder types run out of air quickly and can be slow. So you could be so big that the negatives out weight the positives. Its about balance, like look at GSP (who is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time) is decently big and he says he doesn't even weight train anymore. He does gymnastics because it works out the entire body strength and conditioning all at once, and he has always been a very strong, fast, and well conditioned fighter.
And comparing Mike Tyson to Bruce Lee wouldn't really prove that muscles don't matter. For one thing they never fought so we don't really know. But beyond that if they did fight in say MMA I could see it going either way, but if Bruce won it would probably have more to do with Bruce knowing more fighting styles since Tyson only boxed (afaik). And if it was just a boxing match I would pick Tyson for sure, they have weight classes for a reason.
But like I said its about balance. I would pick a 150lb Bruce Lee to win against a 120lb Bruce Lee and a 200lb's of muscle Bruce Lee since 120lb Bruce probably wouldn't really be faster and would be weaker and 200lb Bruce would be slower and tire quickly.

[PrinceOfAllFans23]

Tien and Yamaha have Gotten pretty jacked over the years especially tien. They are just men and they could never keep up with the elite characters of the show. I mean yes they have trained a ton, and they are strong when it comes to normal humans the only one that could beat them amongst humans is krillin. Plus muscles have never been a symbol of strength In the dbz universe but it has been like a sign that they train a lot that's why tine is so ripped cause he has always tried to catch the other z fighters unsuccessfully.

[fadeddreams5]

Overall bulk/size is an indicator of physical strength, not muscular appearance, especially if we go by the official weight of these characters (isn't Goku supposed to be like 130ishlb or something?).

This is one of the most muscular welterweight boxing champions:
http://75a9.http.cdn.softlayer.net/0075 ... y-2910.jpg
https://rbgsocialclub.files.wordpress.c ... c_4339.jpg

He also happens to be one of the most feather fisted in his division, despite being tremendously skilled.

Muscles don't really matter much even in real-life. Like Mike Tyson is likely physically stronger than Bruce Lee but Bruce Lee murk Tyson in a fight since he's significantly faster and more skilled.

An aged Mike Tyson went toe to toe with Bruce Lee's master!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPZtB6xYo_Y

[floofychan333]

1) Muscles have never been an indicator of strength in Dragon Ball.

2) They're amazingly strong and only weak in comparison to the unbelievable, among-the-strongest-in-the-multiverse-fighters like the Saiyans, Piccolo and later villains.

I only said they were weak compared to other fighters in the series

[Kuririn Fan]

1) Muscles have never been an indicator of strength in Dragon Ball.

2) They're amazingly strong and only weak in comparison to the unbelievable, among-the-strongest-in-the-multiverse-fighters like the Saiyans, Piccolo and later villains.

I only said they were weak compared to other fighters in the series

The stronger fighters are all aliens who live just to fight and have incredibly unfair advantages over the humans.

[omaro34]

Muscles don't really matter much even in real-life. Like Mike Tyson is likely physically stronger than Bruce Lee but Bruce Lee murk Tyson in a fight since he's significantly faster and more skilled.

Depends which Tyson we're talking. It is quite known that prime Tyson punched so hard that when you blocked it your whole body vibrated and shook. Same goes for big George Foreman when he was younger. But boxing can't really be compared to actual martial arts, as it is a different sport. In a boxing match Bruce Lee would get killed by Tyson, and vice versa for Tyson vs Lee in a martial arts bout. Tyson was also very fast, and routinely destroyed guys that were bigger, heavier, and taller than him.

But to answer the question, it hurts me when a guy like Tien is always paired with a goofball like Yamcha. Tien was the much better fighter. he was more determined, better skills and techniques, and was a legitimate rival of Goku back in Dragonball.

[ZombieVito]

Weak? They are stronger than 99% of the entire universe.

[precita]

Yamcha is probably on par with the Ginyu Force who were considered the strongest fighters in the universe under Freeza's army.