Where does the idea of a Hadouken and Kamehameha come from?


Having read a few manga/watched some anime, I have seen that many characters
can use attacks where they gather their "ki" or, according to wikipedia, "Life
force", and release it in a fireball like manner. The most widely known
examples of these are the "Hadouken", and the "Kamehameha". Where does the
idea for this kind of attack come from? Did one person think of it and
everyone copy them, or is there like a old teaching or story about this?

Thanks in advance :)




I'm going to talk about the Kamehameha here if I talk about either one of them
specifically, because I know more about Dragon Ball than I do about Street
Fighter.

The Kamehameha is supposed to be the ultimate attack, in which the user
gathers all of their Ki into one point and releases it at once.

Ki, also spelled Chi or Qi, is "life-force" as you mentioned. The idea of ki
is one that is pervasive throughout East Asian mythology. It originates from
[tai-chi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_chi). Tai-chi is not just a
martial art in the sense that someone brought up in the West like myself might
think of it -- that is to say, it doesn't exist just so that you can learn to
defend yourself from an assailant. It is a practice that was birthed from
Taoism, also spelled as Daoism, which is a very spiritual set of beliefs.

Taoism, as you may know, has as one of its core principles the balance of
internal and external force -- _yin_ versus _yang_. Yin represents the
internal force, and yang the external.

In tai-chi, one does learn self-defensive techniques and weapon drills, it's
true. However, one also learns to cultivate the _yin_ in one's body. This may
be an oversimplification but I believe that defensive and weapons training is
considered the cultivation of _yang_.

To cultivate yin, one learns completely passive techniques, such as breathing
and meditation. These are designed to promote overall health and wellness of
one's own body. To someone unfamiliar with tai-chi, the exercises might look
like aerobics or even just stretching exercises. In mythology, it is believed
that masters of such artistry can live for well over a hundred years, or even
forever. (hint hint, Master Roshi, although it's explained in the show as him
drinking from "The Fountain of Youth" -- that part is a parody of the "eternal
martial artist" trope in Asian stories). The breathing and movement techniques
are said to keep one's ki in balance, and cultivate untapped potential ki
which has not begun to flow in the body yet.

In other words, although a show like Dragon Ball is fantasy, to explain it in
real world mythology: Master Roshi became such a master of tai-chi that he can
manipulate his ki into an external force directly.

The same principle applies to Ryu. He is supposed to be a master martial
artist. To someone familiar with East Asian mythology and tropes, this means
that he knows how to manipulate his life energy to make fireballs, to put it
simply.




I'm going to talk about the Kamehameha here if I talk about either one of them
specifically, because I know more about Dragon Ball than I do about Street
Fighter.

The Kamehameha is supposed to be the ultimate attack, in which the user
gathers all of their Ki into one point and releases it at once.

Ki, also spelled Chi or Qi, is "life-force" as you mentioned. The idea of ki
is one that is pervasive throughout East Asian mythology. It originates from
[tai-chi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_chi). Tai-chi is not just a
martial art in the sense that someone brought up in the West like myself might
think of it -- that is to say, it doesn't exist just so that you can learn to
defend yourself from an assailant. It is a practice that was birthed from
Taoism, also spelled as Daoism, which is a very spiritual set of beliefs.

Taoism, as you may know, has as one of its core principles the balance of
internal and external force -- _yin_ versus _yang_. Yin represents the
internal force, and yang the external.

In tai-chi, one does learn self-defensive techniques and weapon drills, it's
true. However, one also learns to cultivate the _yin_ in one's body. This may
be an oversimplification but I believe that defensive and weapons training is
considered the cultivation of _yang_.

To cultivate yin, one learns completely passive techniques, such as breathing
and meditation. These are designed to promote overall health and wellness of
one's own body. To someone unfamiliar with tai-chi, the exercises might look
like aerobics or even just stretching exercises. In mythology, it is believed
that masters of such artistry can live for well over a hundred years, or even
forever. (hint hint, Master Roshi, although it's explained in the show as him
drinking from "The Fountain of Youth" -- that part is a parody of the "eternal
martial artist" trope in Asian stories). The breathing and movement techniques
are said to keep one's ki in balance, and cultivate untapped potential ki
which has not begun to flow in the body yet.

In other words, although a show like Dragon Ball is fantasy, to explain it in
real world mythology: Master Roshi became such a master of tai-chi that he can
manipulate his ki into an external force directly.

The same principle applies to Ryu. He is supposed to be a master martial
artist. To someone familiar with East Asian mythology and tropes, this means
that he knows how to manipulate his life energy to make fireballs, to put it
simply.

