Ki infused weaponry.

[Hitiro]

I don't know if this has been brought up. But does anyone think infusing weapons with your ki allows you injure an opponent? For instance, Trunks was able to cut up Freeza with a sword. And we all know that characters had long surpassed being injured by any weaponry by the Red Ribbon arc as Goku on multiple occasions was hit by projectiles and sharp weaponry. I think DBO makes a note of infusing weapons with ki in its story too. So what do you guys think? Does ki allow you to surpass the limits of a weapon which would normally be ineffective against an opponent if you had no ki?

[The Monkey King]

Yup.
How else did Birusu take out the Z-senshi with just chopsticks?

[Hitiro]

Yup.
How else did Birusu take out the Z-senshi with just chopsticks?

Goku also kind of does it with his finger to block the sword. Concentrating ki into a smaller space probably yields a much greater defence.

[Storm]

Ki is just a field of spiritual energy you wrap around your body. It can shield you or make your own attacks stronger, like an armor. I don't think it's a stretch of the imagination that an advanced ki user could use objects around him as an extension of his body. Trunks' sword may have been specially made (though I don't ever recall this being mentioned in the manga or anime, but I hear this a lot) but there's no way even the most powerful muggle swordsman in the world could do what Trunks did to Freeza with that weapon.

[Pantalones]

Yeah, this is pretty much how I always figured Trunks' sword worked (and any other higher-level characters using regular weapons and actually being able to do damage with them--Dabura's sword might be another example.) If it was someone with a power level of 5 or 10 or whatever using the same sword... it would've instantly shattered on Freeza just like it did later when used against Android 18.

Also, Freeza's clan apparently doesn't know how to infuse weapons with ki. King Cold assumed right away that it was some special property of the sword that let it cut Freeza so easily rather than just Trunks being that powerful... it wouldn't make much sense to assume that if he had known how to do the same thing (or even known it was possible), knew that Trunks was a Super Saiyan just like Goku, and knew that a Super Saiyan was strong enough to nearly kill Freeza.

I wonder about Yajirobe's sword, though. Apparently he doesn't ever learn how to control ki... so unless strong enough people automatically infuse ki into their weapons without even being consciously aware of it, I'm not sure how he'd be able to cut Oozaru Vegeta's tail off as easily as he did with just a normal sword.

[Hitiro]

Yeah, this is pretty much how I always figured Trunks' sword worked (and any other higher-level characters using regular weapons and actually being able to do damage with them--Dabura's sword might be another example.) If it was someone with a power level of 5 or 10 or whatever using the same sword... it would've instantly shattered on Freeza just like it did later when used against Android 18.

Also, Freeza's clan apparently doesn't know how to infuse weapons with ki. King Cold assumed right away that it was some special property of the sword that let it cut Freeza so easily rather than just Trunks being that powerful... it wouldn't make much sense to assume that if he had known how to do the same thing (or even known it was possible), knew that Trunks was a Super Saiyan just like Goku, and knew that a Super Saiyan was strong enough to nearly kill Freeza.

I wonder about Yajirobe's sword, though. Apparently he doesn't ever learn how to control ki... so unless strong enough people automatically infuse ki into their weapons without even being consciously aware of it, I'm not sure how he'd be able to cut Oozaru Vegeta's tail off as easily as he did with just a normal sword.

Well, I think King Cold did do it but it wasn't enough to overpower Trunks' innate durability. But then again, King Cold did call it a marvellous blade so perhaps he did believe the blade had some sort of innate property to cut Freeza. I just thought he was admiring the craftsmanship of the blade as opposed to any sort of trait the blade had.

From what I've seen of Yajoribe using his sword it seems like he has practised some sort of sword style. I assume that he has practised it so much he subconsciously infuses ki into the blade.

[Storm]

Also, Freeza's clan apparently doesn't know how to infuse weapons with ki.

It's funny you bring this up, because I've been rewatching DB/Z and I'm in the middle of the Ginyu Tokusentai fight; Butta remarks that it's rare to find a person who can bring up their power even higher via ki instead of transforming. It seems to me that outside of Earth, it's uncommon for people to use ki to do more than shoot beams and fly around.

I wonder about Yajirobe's sword, though. Apparently he doesn't ever learn how to control ki... so unless strong enough people automatically infuse ki into their weapons without even being consciously aware of it, I'm not sure how he'd be able to cut Oozaru Vegeta's tail off as easily as he did with just a normal sword.

Yajirobe could at least sense ki, so he has some training in it. Ignoring that, he's still very strong, and Vegeta was caught totally off guard; not only with the tail, but later Yajirobe gets a good cut in on his back after he's severely weakened, and Vegeta was noticeably injured from it. So I think it's a combination of having to consciously shield your body with ki and Yajirobe just being really strong for his standards.

[RandomGuy96]

I wonder how much more effective the shape and nature of an attack makes it. For example, Piccolo's SBC pierced right through Raditz, despite only being a tiny bit stronger/a tiny bit weaker (depending on whether or not you follow the official number for Raditz). Krillin's Kienzan cut off Freeza's tail. Gohan and Dabura seemed to think that Dabura's sword would cut right through him like butter, despite Dabura being weaker. Yajirobe cut through Ozaru Vegeta and regular Vegeta. He also used it to one-shot Cymbal. Would Trunks' sword, being by its nature a cutting attack, help him a lot versus someone of an equal PL?

The thing is, this actually happened in Movie 7, but in a weird way. One second the racist caricature android is catching the sword with two fingers, the next second he's being cut in half.

Do you think it has something to do with concentration? Most techniques we see characters use are just inefficient. A beam that engulfs its target results in a lot of energy not actually HITTING the target. What energy does hit them is spread all over their body, which is the worst way to go about things. With a cutting attack, on the other hand, you don't have to completely overpower an opponent, just overpower a small section. It's the difference between cutting through something and smashing it into dust.

[Scarz]

I'm surprised none of the characters have ever used their ki as a literal weapon other than to shield themselves or to shoot blast. It would've been interesting to see at least one character use their ki like how Kuwabara used his spirit energy to form a sword.

[RandomGuy96]

Vegetto and Salza formed swords. Kinda. Does that count? What about Bojack and his crew using ki to form chains?

But yeah, I think ki was rather underutilized. Most people just stick to shooting blasts and punching things, which gets boring.

[Chuquita]

Ki-infused weapons would've been a great way to keep nyoi-bo relevant (I really like that weapon; was sad when it was dropped from use).

[mAcChaos]

I'm surprised none of the characters have ever used their ki as a literal weapon other than to shield themselves or to shoot blast. It would've been interesting to see at least one character use their ki like how Kuwabara used his spirit energy to form a sword.

They don't have training though in swordsmanship or that kind of thing. They would probably be at a disadvantage compared to just using their martial arts.

[RandomGuy96]

The more likely explanation is that if everyone used cutting and piercing attacks, then it'd just be broken, since now they can kill their enemies in one hit, and hand to hand is a waste of time. I think there's a reason Piccolo, Freeza, and Krillin only use their cutting/piercing attacks a few times each.

Hmmm... if 100% Freeza used a full power Death Beam on SS Goku, would it pierce him? What would it do?

[Storm]

A pierce is likely, given that FPSSJ Goku could blow off the top half of Perfect Cell, who was probably about the same distance in strength as 100% Freeza/Namek Goku.

[Hitiro]

I would assume that infusing weapons with ki would only be useful if you are that much stronger than your opponent. It would make sense as to why Trunks stopped using his sword after a short while.

[Kamiccolo9]

I would assume that infusing weapons with ki would only be useful if you are that much stronger than your opponent. It would make sense as to why Trunks stopped using his sword after a short while.

Didn't it break?

[Mjb1985]

I think speed has a lot to do with it too. I don't think Trunks necessarily amplified the sword, more like the speed at which the sword is being swung probably resulted in Freeza being chopped up.

Look at how Piccolo Daimao hurt Goku with small rocks with just his breath.

[Hitiro]

I would assume that infusing weapons with ki would only be useful if you are that much stronger than your opponent. It would make sense as to why Trunks stopped using his sword after a short while.

Didn't it break?

It did break slightly but I still think it was usable. He still has it after the fight anyway.