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One of Dragon Ball's most powerful transformations is Ultra Instinct, a technique involving mastering the self to the point where the body reacts on its own rather than thinking about it. To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars: A New Hope, the idea is to let go of the conscious self and act on instinct.
While the idea itself is present in martial arts and considered key in Dragon Ball, the problem is that it's a little unrealistic when attempting to apply it to the real world. To master something, a lot of it needs to be going in steps where learning from the ground up is always advised. It's an idea that doesn't come easy and requires years of work.
Disclaimer: The following article contains Dragon Ball Super spoilers. Any opinions therein are all based on the author's opinions.
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Dragon Ball Super's Goku's Ultra Instinct may already be in use by regular people
The concept of Ultra Instinct
Ultra Instinct was first introduced in Dragon Ball Super's anime during the Tournament of Power for Goku. The concept was introduced as an Angel transformation when Whis began training Vegeta and Goku. It's quite the difference between Goku's version and an Angel like Whis.
The basic concept is simple: Ultra Instinct represents pushing consciousness from the body; hence the body moves and fights independently of a martial artist's thoughts and emotions. The body moves without thinking about moving and acts on instinct, hence the name. It works to help Goku get out of difficult spots.
While it's part and parcel for Dragon Ball's central protagonist to have multiple transformations, this one isn't a raw power transformation. It takes a lot out of Goku just to keep up the transformation. It's a huge risk as it nearly breaks his body in half upon its first usage.
Successful people like Ronaldo or Picasso possibly have it already
In Dragon Ball Super, it's suggested that Master Roshi tapped into the skill during the Tournament of Power. A regular human managing to outmaneuver even someone like Jiren was considered a tremendous feat, even if Roshi only had the basics down. He was still able to dodge, weave, and keep going.
Several schools of thought posit the idea that successful people are masters of their craft because they aimed to practice a lot each day until it became second nature. Examples include famous painters like Bob Ross and Pablo Picasso or soccer stars Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo.
The theory goes that the aforementioned people worked tirelessly for their talent in their field, practically all the time, until their talents caused them to improve and their bodies to move according to instinct. Kicking game-winning goals, or painting a masterpiece, does not come easy and requires rigorous practice.
Learning to master things
Dragon Ball has a lot of training and practice within, showing plenty of backbreaking and breathtaking moves that require plenty of practice to master. Ultra Instinct is no exception to this rule, as Goku required months of training with Vegeta, Beerus, and Whis to get the principles down and still struggles with it.
This isn't new to the series, Goku, or real life. Goku took a while to learn the Kaio-Ken, Instant Transmission, and every Super Saiyan transformation after he attained the first during the Frieza Saga. Goku has had to work for the techniques he's attained and practice to the point where they became second nature, even if they nearly broke his back and body to do so.
American author and empowerment guru Robert Greene had much to say about mastery of skills in a podcast interview for The Diary of a CEO, conducted on March 23, 2023. In it, he explicitly stated:
"Perhaps higher up on the hierarchy is knowing how to...master a skill. If I'm shooting free throws everyday...it takes time, it takes repetition to build [neural pathways]. You can...be Lionel Messi, making passes nobody's ever seen before."
It was part of an interview where he outlined the idea that the brain's neural pathways and motor skills take a lot of time to build up. It's not something someone can complete in an hour or instantly. He also talked about how he suffered a stroke and having to relearn a lot of those skills helped his writing on the subject.
Final thoughts
As a final thought on this particular subject, it's worth noting that fiction can derive details from life, and people get inspiration from fiction, likewise. Dragon Ball has been called an inspiration to many to work harder, push past their limitations, and master skills they may not have otherwise thought they could've.
While Ultra Instinct remains a hurdle for Goku to overcome, many philosophers and theorists like Robert Greene state that people like Messi or Picasso don't just wake up with that type of talent on hand. It requires a lot of practice to achieve desired results, whether it be writing a novel, painting a masterpiece, or trying to score goals.
If any readers would like to share their stories where practice made all the difference or share any related thoughts on Dragon Ball Super, Goku, or Ultra Instinct, they are more than welcome to do so in the comments.
