Line #36 Main/ImposedHandicapTraining


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6	[[quoteright:320:[[Anime/DragonBallZ https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gokuweighttraining.png]]]]
7	[[caption-width-right:320:How do you think Goku got that powerful anyways?]]
8	->'''Tien:''' Goku, this thing weighs a ton! Have you been wearing it for the entire tournament?\
9	'''Goku:''' Yup! Kami told me to. It was part of my training. It's not much different than Master Roshi's style. He wore a big turtle shell to gain strength. It's pretty much the same principle here.
10	-->-- ''Manga/DragonBall''
11
12	Sometimes, it's not enough to just practice in a "fair" or typical way. Getting really good at something implies the ability to do it even when there are factors impeding the person doing it. This trope is an intentional invocation of this, by having the trainee devote themselves to what would otherwise be a routine training session with additional restrictions.
13
14	This is not necessarily a SubTrope of TrainingFromHell, but they do frequently overlap. In order to be an example of this, the training should involve tasks or conditions which wouldn't be present when the person is doing the thing they trained for "for real". Training for a difficult task by subjecting yourself to that task is just standard practice. This is training for a less difficult task by subjecting yourself to a more difficult one. If the trainee (or a trusted partner) can't remove the handicap at will, then it's not an example of this trope.
15
16	Examples include:
17	* Attempting to use normal abilities while under the effects of a PowerLimiter
18	* Conversely, attempting to perform a difficult task without the aid of a SuperMode or other powered-up state that they would normally have readily available
19	* Doing a strenuous activity with additional weights bound to the trainee
20	* Asymmetric sparring... the trainer has a distinct martial advantage over the trainee, such as longer reach, padded armor, or is simply bigger and stronger
21	* Attempting something that requires deep concentration while there are distractions, ranging from obnoxious noises to a whole other facet of training to deal with
22	* Attempting common tasks in a manner the trainee is not familiar with, such as fighting while leading with their other hand or wayfinding in foreign territory
23
24	The reasons for doing this can vary. Maybe the trainee is already excellent in his field and this is the only conceivable way to get better still. Or maybe this is the best use of an otherwise modest budget. Regardless, the effect is usually that the trainee quickly finds ways to work through or around the limitations and [[TookALevelInBadass becomes more formidable as a result.]]
25
26	It's possible to invoke this trope using handicaps that are completely and totally unrelated to the task actually being performed, such as practicing for combat with the added stipulation that you have to sing while you fight. Unless you can perform MagicMusic, those kinds of handicaps aren't likely to help you get better.
27
28	When such handicaps are used for fun/glory instead of training, it's a SelfImposedChallenge. If done in a particularly dangerous fashion, this overlaps with TrainingFromHell. See CharlesAtlasSuperpower for the eventual result. When they reveal this sort of thing in the middle of "the real deal", like a combat situation, that's IAmNotLeftHanded. Also related is BoxingLessonsForSuperman, in as much as it's a similar means of expanding a character's repertoire by bolstering their superpowered abilities with beneficial skills that are mundane by comparison. See also WaxOnWaxOff for when exercise is disguised as a mundane task.
29
30	----
31	!!Examples:
32
33	[[foldercontrol]]
34
35	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
36	* In ''Manga/AirGear'', Ikki is forced to invoke this by his big sister figure, Rika, in part to make him stronger but with the benefit of forcing him to be unable to go as high normally since she's worried about him falling and dying. Ikki ends up taking advantage of the weights as improvised armor, allowing him to tank blows he normally wouldn't.
37	* ''Anime/Berserk1997'': Accidentally invoked by Guts, who was reared in a mercenary band and thus started training with swords meant for adults. As an adult, his swords are still longer than he is tall.
38	* In ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'', Hyuga's coach trains his soccer team by ordering them to dribble and kick the balls on shore tides. Hyuga himself takes this further by using a heavier ball.
39	* ''Franchise/DragonBall'': one of the most common methods of training is making one's body heavier, which increases both their strength and speed. They came in two styles: weighted clothing and higher gravity. While Goku and co. attain various [[SuperMode transformations]] that increase their power enormously, they often choose to train under these circumstances because the forms multiply their base power, which is easier to put under more effort.
40	** The earliest example dates right back to the very first training Goku undertook, where he and Krillin wear weighted turtle shells while performing manual labour, which pushes their abilities beyond human (this is what Goku refers to in the page quote). Those training with Kami also wear a weighted shirt, boots, and armbands, with Kami's evil counterpart Piccolo always wearing a weighted turban and shoulder pads. A character deciding to take their weights off meant [[LetsGetDangerous things were getting serious]], and next to "I'm not fighting at full power", [[IAmNotLefthanded discarding what are revealed to be weighted clothes]] was one of the most common mid-fight reveals. Weights would appear again while Goku was in Other World (as shown in the page image), with their colossal weights accomplished through magic.
41	** Starting with the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' stories, weighted clothing would be switched out with higher gravity. Goku first encountered this when visiting Kaio's world, which has 10x the gravity of Earth (and as Kaio points out, Goku's opponents came from a world with the same, so he had a lot of catching up to do). For the journey to Namek Goku had Bulma's father allow his spaceship to apply 100x gravity, which paired well with the [[CameBackStrong "Zenkai" boost]], and Vegeta would later demand the same. Higher gravity is also present in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber past the central living area.
42	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
43	** In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'', Jonathan's first real fight after learning Hamon is against UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper, who has been turned into a zombie by Dio. His Hamon mentor, William Zeppeli, imposes a restriction on him to prove the results of his training: he must defeat Jack while holding a glass of wine, and without spilling a single drop. The wine ends up actually giving him an advantage, as he can use it to find Jack's location in the dark by channeling Hamon through it.
44	** In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', Lisa Lisa forces Joseph to wear a special Hamon breathing mask during his TrainingFromHell. This mask only allows him to breathe if he performs the Hamon breath technique. By wearing it nearly 24/7 for a month, only taking it off when eating and brushing his teeth, Hamon breathing becomes second nature to him.
45	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
46	** Rock Lee wears ludicrously heavy training weights on his legs most of the time, which make a pair of craters when he drops them. This makes him extremely fast once they are removed.
47	** One of Kakashi's self-training methods is free climbing with one hand tied to his back.
48	* In ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'', Goh trained his Magikarp for a jumping competition, and during the final round, it was revealed he was always wearing weights so heavy, two Machamp could not lift them. With the weights off, it leads to the Magikarp jumping so high, he goes out into space. [[GoneHorriblyRight Because Magikarp was not able to complete his jump, his jump is not counted and he loses]].
49	* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'': Akira accepts the task of TrainingThePeacefulVillagers to turn the slum gang he’s supporting alongside Sheryl into a Hunter Gang, after a brutal attempted robbery of the relic shop at their headquarters served as a MisfitMobilizationMoment for them. He gives them AugmentedReality goggles, with his VirtualSidekick Alpha using them to simulate the gunshots and provide tutorials, bullet trajectories, etc to the trainees. In order to balance Akira’s mock battles against the whole group alone, he fights with the power settings for his PoweredArmor set lower than normal, and his EverythingSensor is limited to simulate enemy jamming.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Comic Books]]
53	* ''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'': Dick takes Tim Drake for training that involves riding train tops around Bludhaven while blindfolded and doing various balancing exercises. Tim is not amused when they get ambushed while doing so.
54	* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'' once trained under a master samurai to learn how to properly wield a katana. The training regimen included this, where he would regularly spar with that master using a wooden practice blade broken to half length, while the master was DualWielding.
55	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Women training in hopes of becoming Amazons have to go through quite a few obstacles while their hands and/or feet are bound and while blindfolded.
56	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': During a period when he had lost his spider senses, Spider-Man agreed to let ComicBook/ShangChi teach him to fight. During the beginning of their training, Shang Chi had Spider-Man wear a power-dampening collar designed by [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]]. Inverted after Shang Chi taught Spider-Man the basics and they worked together to create a new martial arts form that would take advantage of his strength and wall-crawling abilities; Shang Chi instead would wear Stark-Tech boots and gloves that allowed him to duplicate Spider-Man's wall-crawling.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Fan Works]]
60	* ''Fanfic/TheApprenticeTheStudentAndTheCharlatan'': Nova Shine duels against Twilight Sparkle blindfolded, which allows him to more directly train his energy-sensing ability since he won't be distracted by eyesight.
61	* ''FanFic/VoyagesOfTheWildSeaHorse'': Captain Chaser Kiyoshi of the Marines wears a super-heavy armor-plated coat [[PowerLimiter that keeps her from moving at full speed]] as a combination of armor and a way to hone her SuperStrength and SuperSpeed. When she decides to get serious, she [[ShedArmorGainSpeed tosses her coat aside so she can move at full speed]].
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
65	* In ''Film/FireBirds'', Nicholas Cage's character (who's been assigned to train to fly the new-fangled Apache combat helicopters) is unable to fly straight because he has cross-dominant eyesight (he's right-handed but he aims with his left) and the Apache's HUD monocle is designed to be placed above the right eye. The solution by the main instructor: blindfold Cage's character and tie a periscope around his right eye (with ''panties'') and have him drive a Jeep around the base so he'll get used to it.
66	* ''Film/MegaMonsterBattleUltraGalaxyLegends'': Ultraman Leo trains Zero this way, placing a restrictive suit on him while sparring in order to help develop his skills and strength without relying on his powers.
67	* ''Film/{{Redbelt}}'': The main character drills his students in self-defense techniques with randomly assigned handicaps, such as binding one hand behind their back. This inspires some promotors to take this practice into UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts bouts, something that [[ArtisticLicenseSports could never happen in real life]].
68	* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', Jedi learn to block blaster bolts with their vision blocked so they use the Force rather than trying to react to what they're seeing. We first see it in ''Film/ANewHope'' with Obi-Wan and Luke, then several young Jedi running similar drills under Yoda in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Literature]]
72	* ''Literature/BridgeOfClay'': Clay's a sprinter and his training routine is running up the stairs of an apartment block. With his younger brother Tommy on his back. And with his older brother Henry shouting abuse at him.
73	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': After [[spoiler: gaining the Winter Mantle]], Harry wears a weighted vest weighing several hundred pounds during his daily jogs just to make them worthwhile.
74	* In the ''Literature/HomerPrice'' stories, Grandpa Hercules trained to make a big leap while wearing additional weights on his clothes. If the muscles are used to moving with the added weight, they'll let him jump large distances once the weight is gone. This works.
75	* In ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'', towards the end of the series, Eragon and Arya are sparring to keep their edge in time to fight Galbatorix. Arya pulls out every distracting trick she can think of, including making Eragon DistractedByTheSexy, so as to toughen his mentality in case Galbatorix starts to use illusion magic, he will be able to remain focused on his goal.
76	* In ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'' students learning [[SympatheticMagic Sympathy]] at [[WizardingSchool the University]] often practice using less than ideal links, such as trying to set a hair on fire by burning a straw.
77	* In the book version of ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'', one of Inigo's sword teachers emphasized this to the point of disdaining all else. He would rant about how fights to the death are rarely, if ever, going to be held under ideal conditions and thus you have to be ready for every possible bad scenario, such as [[YouCanBarelyStand what if you're trying to fight while severely injured]], if you're [[BattleInTheRain in the midst of terrible weather]], etc. This master ridiculed other famous [[MasterSwordsmen master teachers]] for teaching as though bouts would take place in a ballroom, and when Inigo is badly wounded by Count Rugen, it's this training and experience he calls on to see himself through it.
78	* In ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', knight training is harsher and more intensive than it was in ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' and includes wearing weighted practice harnesses, adding more and more weight to them over time, to build pages' muscles and get them ready to move and fight while wearing armor.
79	** In order to make Keladry's life harder, [[FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon Joren]] gets a weighted practice lance and makes sure Kel gets it as she starts training with the lance for the first time. Consequently she struggles at first and, seeing that the boys don't seem bothered, glumly believes that she's not as strong in the arms as they are and immediately starts learning exercises to strengthen her arms. When she realizes that her lance is weighted she keeps using it, partly to avoid looking like a complainer and partly because she hoped that practicing with extra weight would help develop her strength and endurance. As a result, jousting became one of her specialties and she proved her worth to several experienced knights who challenged her. She also wound up switching to ''all'' weighted training weapons so that she wouldn't lose the benefit of the extra strength training when practicing another kind of combat.
80	* ''Literature/TheWitchOfKnightcharm'': Rosa Montaldo, a student witch at an evil WizardingSchool trains with weights on her legs to build up her strength and make herself even tougher. This is helpful for her because her combat style focuses largely on physical attacks which are backed up by buffing her own strength and stamina, so by improving her baseline physical attributes, she can become even tougher.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
84	* In an episode of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', Fitz needs to be able to put together a transceiver in under 6 minutes. Unfortunately, he suffered brain damage in the previous season and has lost most of the function in one hand. Coulson tells him to practice doing it one-handed, and throughout the episode we see him doing so. By mission time, he tells Coulson that despite all his practice, he could only get his time down to just a little over 7 minutes. Coulson tells him that's too slow, to which Fitz replies that the one hand he'd been practicing with was his ''bad'' hand. With both hands, he'll be fine.
85	* In one of the most iconic episodes of ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'', Ryo trains himself to defeat his rival Jin by practicing while wearing a harness that uses heavy springs to make it extremely difficult for him to move. He ends up bleeding and screaming in pain from the springs cutting into his body but he doesn't give up. When he later fights Jin, part way through the fight it is revealed that [[IAmNotLeftHanded he is still wearing the harness under his clothes and is able to overpower Jin after ripping it off]]. The increased strength also allows him to unleash a flurry of punches powerful enough to defeat a MonsterOfTheWeek that previously was too durable for the Dairangers to damage.
86	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
87	** Subverted in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E14LowerDecks Lower Decks]]." Worf, who teaches a Klingon martial arts class aboard ''Enterprise'', blindfolds and spars with one of his students; ''telling'' her that this is what's happening. What he's ''[[SecretTestOfCharacter actually]]'' doing is trying to teach her to be more assertive. After Worf knocks her on her butt a few times, she finally stands up to him and protests the blatantly unfair contest; which is ''exactly'' [[BatmanGambit what Worf wanted her to do]].
88	** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS2E9Tattoo Tattoo]]" The Doctor programmed himself to experience Levodian Flu for 29 hours to prove to the crew that minor discomforts and illnesses are nothing to complain about and he could still work even with the holographic virus infecting his program. It winds up being a lesson for him as Kes secretly adds a few hours on because she felt it wasn't a fair demonstration if he knew when it would end. It results in The Doctor learning a major lesson about showing compassion to crew members experiencing pain and sickness.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Radio]]
92	* ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'': Lintilla has a pseudofracture (all the pain, discomfort, and swelling of a broken arm without the trouble of it actually being broken) and a 'crisis inducer' which place her under extreme pressure and thus push her to work harder/faster.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
96	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Many SpaceMarine Chapters have their initiates fight against full Space Marines before, during, and after their surgical enhancements as part of their grueling TrainingFromHell, as well as getting them used to fighting enemies bigger than them (which the galaxy has no shortage of).
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Theatre]]
100	* ''Theatre/MyFairLady'', Higgins makes Eliza read a poem while holding marbles in her mouth, reasoning that if she can speak clearly with a mouthful of marbles she can easily manage the same without them.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Toys]]
104	* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': a {{flashback}} reveals that one part of the Toa Mata's training was to retrieve their [[MaskOfPower Kanohi Masks]]... thing is, being without their masks is a major AchillesHeel for the Toa.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Video Games]]
108	* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', weapon skills level up based on the number of times you hit an enemy, not the power of the weapon[[note]]In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' the base damage of the weapon does count, but any smithing, skill or enchantment bonuses don't [[/note]], so it is advisable to use the weakest weapon possible if you want to grind effectively.
109	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'': Can be Invoked by the player in combat. Your party members are fully capable of attacking or casting offensive spells on each other, which can be used to increase their stats as per the game's StatGrinding system. In short, your party gains experience by switching the fight from "kill the goblins" to "kill the goblins while the party's fighter takes swings at you and the mage steals away your mana".
110	* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games, the Macho Brace and Power items boost the [[StatGrinding Base Points]] gained in battle, but halve the speed of any Pokémon holding them.
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Webcomics]]
114	* Full-blooded elves in ''Webcomic/DragonMango'' are hurt and weakened by touching ColdIron. Eclair is a swordswoman who graduated from the Sherbert School of Incredibly Dangerous Swordplay (which fits its trainees with iron armor as part of its [[TrainingFromHell training regimen]]). She continues to wear iron armor even after graduating -- removing it lets her fight on even footing with a dragon.
115	* In ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'', Cale is trained to fight unarmed against multiple armed opponents, whilst blindfolded.
116	* During Season 3 of ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'', Baam is forbidden from using the Thorn or the power of the Black March while training under Evankhell in order to hone his basic abilities.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Web Original]]
120	* Parodied in ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'':
121	** When Raditz is fighting Goku and Piccolo, they discard their weighted training clothes (which is only their outer layers) and Raditz' scouter shows their power level increasing. Being an alien, Raditz mistakenly believes that on Earth nudity makes people stronger - and off-screen can be heard unzipping his pants - until Goku points out it's because of the weighted clothing they just took off.
122	** Piccolo removes his weighted clothes in his fight against Frieza, only to realize that he hasn't bothered to increase the weight recently and it isn't going to make much of a difference.
123	---> '''Piccolo:''' Don't think you have the upper hand yet. I'm still wearing weighted armor. ''removes training clothes''\
124	'''Frieza:''' Weighted armour. How quaint. And how much does it weigh?\
125	'''Piccolo:''' Same as it always does. One hundred kilo--!\
126	'''Frieza:''' ''condescending smirk''\
127	'''Piccolo:''' [[OhCrap Oh.]]\
128	'''Frieza:''' That's just ''cute''.\
129	'''Piccolo:''' [[SoLastSeason That... concept just sort of lost meaning after a while, didn't it.]]
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Western Animation]]
133	* In the ''WesternAnimation/MaoMaoHeroesOfPureHeart'' episode "All By Mao Self" Mao Mao decides that he's not facing challenges befitting a legendary hero so he gives himself leg weights to making fighting more challenging. When he still thinks it's too easy he also blindfolds himself and holds scorpions in his hands to increase the handicap.
134	* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'': Rabbit unintentionally tricks Tigger into doing this in the episode "[[Recap/TheNewAdventuresOfWinnieThePoohS1E20bTiggersShoes Tigger's Shoes]]." Sick of being bounced on by Tigger, Rabbit decides to prank him by telling him a lie about a relative of his called "Awesome Bunny of Upsidasium" who could bounce up a huge cliff in his sleep and then giving him a pair of weighted shoes that he claims will help him bounce like his relative. His intent was to wreck Tigger's confidence in his bouncing abilities by making it impossible for Tigger to bounce up the cliff, but Tigger stubbornly keeps practicing with the shoes and ends up actually jumping over the cliff in his sleep when he isn't wearing the shoes, leading him to think that this trope was Rabbit's intent all along.
135	* ''WesternAnimation/RocketPower'': In one episode, Twister takes over as the captain of the main four's hockey team and imposes some odd--but effective--training methods. In one case, he blindfolds Sam and Reggie and has them go through an obstacle course, explaining that he saw on television that cutting off one sense strengthens the others. Sure enough, Reggie and Sam are able to navigate the course by using smell and hearing alone.
136	* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': In "[[Recap/SamuraiJackS2E1JackLearnsToJumpGood Jack Learns to Jump Good]]", a monkey tribe teaches Jack to "[[HulkSpeak jump good]]" by tying heavy rocks to his wrists and ankles, and a boulder to his back.
137	* Spoofed on the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "You're Fired, Mrs. Puff", when the new boating teacher makes [=SpongeBob=] run the obstacle course blindfolded. It works, only now [=SpongeBob=] can only drive ''[[CongruentMemory while blindfolded]]''.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Real Life]]
141	* Many athletes at the professional or Olympic level take part in what's known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altitude_training altitude training]], which involves training at high elevations where the air is thinner. This conditions the body to make better use of what little oxygen is available, resulting in greater endurance when competing in areas closer to sea level.
142	* Martial Arts training, at a certain level, will typically include training with handicaps (e.g. "practice this blindfolded" or "practice this form while we try to pull you off balance by your arms"). The intent is to acclimate one to real fighting, where unexpected things and dirty techniques come into play. It also is intended to perfect technique (one should not need to see where their limbs are in order to strike correctly). Naturally, the intensity of this must be attuned to a trainee's levels of skill and strength. Not to mention, technique training is traditionally done after physical training. And as with several other examples here, one can add weights on the wrists and ankles for some extra resistance when training speedy strikes.
143	* Swimmers will sometimes train while wearing extra clothing, like leggings, to give them more "drag" in the water. Once they get good at this, in theory, when they swim in a regular suit they'll be faster, because it's easier by comparison.
144	* If a runner is training for speed invoking this is mandatory. Running unhindered for long durations will only train you to run for long durations. Speed can only be improved with added intensity, achieved by doing something that isn't running, or by adding weights while running.
145	* Baseball players train with weighted bats so that swinging a game bat is effortless. Training with a game bat would cause the muscles to experience a plateau.
146	* As a young boy, Hank Aaron didn't know how to swing a baseball bat properly. And this was no small misunderstanding--''he literally didn't know which hand went above the other''. You can give your hands a nasty wrench swinging that way ... but you can also develop insanely strong wrists, which the young Hammer did by the time he was taught a proper grip.
147	* Aircraft pilots who want to be rated for IFR (instrument flight rules) flying train wearing a "hood" or visor that obscures their view outside the cockpit and forces them to rely solely on their instrument panel for guidance.
148	* Ancient Roman gladiators would train using heavy swords, then were given the actual, lighter weaponry when fighting in the Colosseum, proving this trope OlderThanFeudalism.
149	[[/folder]]
150

Context Main / ImposedHandicapTraining