The Kamehameha is one of Dragon Balls most iconic techniques, used by Goku in a variety of situations and in many different ways over the years. It’s an old standby that can often be trusted to do the job, but there is one person that the Kamehameha is completely worthless against, and that person is actually Tain.
Tien, of course, was not always an ally of Goku. In his first appearances at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, Tien was a ruthless figure, trained by Master Roshi’s rival school, the Crane School, by Master Shen. While Tien today has a reputation for being left in the dust by Goku and Vegeta in terms of power, Tien in his initial appearances is quite a bit stronger than either hero. Coming from a rival school of martial arts training, many of Tien’s abilities are designed specifically to counter those taught by Master Roshi, making him especially dangerous for Goku, Yamcha, and Krillin to fight.
Tien is the only character who can redirect a Kamehameha
Tien’s special skills completely defeat the Kamehameha
In chapter 118 of Dragon BallDuring the 22nd Martial Arts Tournament, Tien faced Yamcha in the first round. Yamcha prepares a powerful Kamehameha of his own, firing it at Tien. However, Tien doesn’t stop that far and performs a special technique, which not only deflects the attack from him, but redirects it back at Imha.Which Imaha lets go and at the last second. Tien is able to use Yamcha’s distraction through the deflected attack to his advantage, knocking Yamcha down and then breaking his leg for good measure.
While many enemies have survived a Kamehameha over the course of Dragon Ball And his subsequent series, Tien remains the only one who simply deflects the attack and returns it to his attacker. Due to a strange translation in some versions of the Dragon Ball manga, some fans have interpreted a line spoken by Lord Roshi about the Kamehameha being “useless” on Tien as meaning that Tien was immune to the attack altogether. It was this technique that Roshi was referring to, as he does in chapter 133.
Tien should teach his friends this secret technique
Tien’s Kamehameha Deflection Technique would have come in handy
As the story goes on, some enemies, such as Cell and Buu, gain the ability to use the Kamehameha, but Tien’s special technique for reversing the attack is never seen again. It would definitely have been helpful if Tien had shared this particular technique with his friends once he turned to the side of good, but that wasn’t the case. The most likely explanation for why it never appears again is simply that Toriyama forgot that Tien possessed this technique at the time that enemies started using the Kamehameha regularly.
The result, however, Tien still has a rather unique ability to deflect one of Dragon BallThe most iconic attacks of all time, and that’s something no one else in the series can claim.