Who trained Goku before Master Roshi?

So the answer is not “no one”. Goku already possesses remarkable strength, fighter reflexes and a named technique when he meets Bulma at the start of Dragon Ball. His wild childhood explains part of his physical abilities, but his first true master is Grandpa Gohan, the man who took him in and raised him on Earth.

We must also distinguish three things that are often mixed up: being trained by a master, learning alone through experience and copying a technique after seeing it. Grandpa Gohan passes on the foundations. Life in the mountains maintains endurance and instinct. Master Roshi shows the Kamehameha, which Goku immediately reproduces, then later imposes a complete program on him with Krillin.

This guide follows Akira Toriyama's original manga and its anime adaptation Dragon Ball. Details added by other works are not necessary to identify the hero's first teacher. The later periods, from Master Karin to Whis, only serve to understand how Goku's training continues after Turtle School.

Grandpa Gohan is Goku's first master

Grandfather Son Gohan discovers Goku as a baby in a mountainous region and adopts him. He doesn't know the whole story of the Saiyan child sent to Earth, but he gives him a home and raises him. Gohan is himself an experienced martial artist, a former disciple of Master Roshi. He therefore has a technical tradition to pass on, even if he lives far from tournaments.

When Bulma meets Goku, the boy already knows how to fight against gigantic animals and bandits. His power comes in part from his Saiyan nature, but his martial behavior does not appear out of nowhere. Grandpa Gohan taught him moves, rules and a way to approach combat. The young hero identifies him as his grandfather rather than as a distant instructor: education and training are inseparable.

Gohan's name then remains central in the family. Goku names his first son after this man. The article on the origin of Son Gohan's first name explains why this transmission is affective rather than biological.

To locate the hero's other parents, the guide about Goku's parents distinguishes Bardock and Gine from his earthly adoptive father. Knowing his ancestry explains his arrival, but Grandfather Gohan remains the one who transforms the baby into a child capable of living among Earthlings.

The collection dedicated to Son Goku allows you to visually compare your different ages. A representation of Goku as a child is suitable for this first period; an outfit bearing the symbol of another school refers to later learning.

What does Grandpa Gohan teach him?

The technique most clearly attributed to this teaching is Jan-Ken, an attack inspired by rock-paper-scissors. “Rock” becomes a punch, “scissors” a finger attack to the eyes and “leaf” a palm strike. Goku uses it very early, then reuses it in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai by varying his announcement to surprise Jackie Chun.

This movement seems simple and comical, but it already sums up Goku's style: physical attack, multi-beat rhythm and improvisation. Faced with an opponent who knows the sequence, he knows how to lie about the announced gesture. The boy's natural talent is therefore based on a learned base, then transformed by his inventiveness.

Grandfather Gohan also gives him more general foundations. During their reunion at Baba the clairvoyant's house, the old man shows that he knows Goku's habits well and exploits his tail, then the young fighter's weak point. Their confrontation reveals a real mutual knowledge, the fruit of years spent together.

However, it would be excessive to attribute every move Goku uses before Master Roshi to him. The account does not provide a detailed schedule of their daily training. The safe conclusion is that Gohan is her adoptive parent, her first martial mentor, and the teacher of Jan-Ken. The rest of Goku's initial strength also comes from his build and lifestyle.

The question of its tail and its transformation is developed in the guide dedicated to Goku's monkey tail. Grandpa Gohan understands the danger of the full moon, but Goku does not yet experience his own transformation into a giant ape.

Did Grandpa Gohan teach Goku Kamehameha?

No, the story shows Goku replicating this technique after observing Master Roshi use it to put out the fire on Mount Fry-Pan. Grandpa Gohan knows Kamehameha himself as a former disciple, but that doesn't prove he taught it to the boy. We must distinguish the teacher's ability from the student's learning scene.

After Gohan's death, Goku also learns on his own

Grandpa Gohan dies when Goku, transformed into a giant ape under the full moon, accidentally crushes him. The boy ignores his responsibility and thinks that a monster killed his grandfather. He then continues to live alone in the mountain, with the four-star Dragon Ball as a family souvenir.

This period maintains practical qualities: Goku hunts, fishes, climbs, carries heavy loads and faces local dangers. It is not a teaching structured by a new master. It is a daily adaptation that develops one’s autonomy and familiarity with the effort.

The journey with Bulma then broadens her experience. Goku meets fighters with different methods, faces Yamcha, goes through new situations and learns quickly. Bulma is not his martial arts master, but she opens the outside world to him. Its enemies become opportunities to observe and invent.

His learning speed is one of his major traits. He can reproduce a gesture after a single observation, understand a feint during a fight and adapt a technique. This does not make the masters useless: they give him methods, constraints and adversaries capable of revealing what he still has to develop.

The Vegeta Dragon Ball collection offers a contrast with the education of the Saiyan prince, trained in a warrior society and conscious of his rank. The article on the name Kakarot used by Vegeta explains why the hero's original identity remains distinct from the child raised by Gohan.

Goku copies the Kamehameha before becoming a student of Master Roshi

During the fire on Mount Fry-Pan, Master Roshi concentrates his energy and launches a spectacular Kamehameha. Goku observes the posture, immediately tries to imitate it and achieves a version powerful enough to damage a car. The scene surprises the creator of the technique, who has devoted extensive training to mastering it.

This achievement does not mean that Goku is already a member of the Turtle School. He just copied a movement. Official training begins later when he presents himself to the master, soon joined by Krillin. The correct chronology is therefore: first training with Grandpa Gohan, observation of the Kamehameha, then structured learning under Master Roshi.

The guide on how Kamehameha works returns to concentration and ki projection. The comparison between Genkidama and Kamehameha later distinguishes a technique learned from Kaio from an attack linked to the Turtle School.

What’s new about Master Roshi training?

Master Roshi doesn't start by teaching a long list of attacks. He strengthens the body and discipline of his students through daily tasks: milk deliveries, field work, construction, swimming, running and studying. Goku and Krillin wear increasingly heavier shells, turning ordinary movements into continuous training.

The method develops speed, endurance, strength and resistance without completely separating combat from life. The master also imposes rest and general instruction. Goku, who until then trained as needed, discovered a rhythm and a partner of the same age with whom to progress.

Their participation in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai serves as a test. Master Roshi disguises himself as Jackie Chun to keep his students from thinking they've already reached the top. His teaching therefore does not only consist of making Goku stronger: he maintains the desire to learn and fights excess confidence.

The lineage between the masters makes this step coherent. Grandfather Gohan was a student of Master Roshi; Goku in turn enters this school. He does not replace his first mentor, but continues a tradition that he had already opened to him.

The Piccolo Dragon Ball collection evokes another type of transmission: Goku's former adversary becomes his son's master. The guide on Piccolo's evolution into an ally shows how the relationship between teacher and student can also transform the teacher.

Does Goku keep anything from each master?

After Master Roshi, Goku continues to learn from Master Karin, Mr. Popo and God. Everyone expands their relationship with the body, perception and ki. In the afterlife, Kaio teaches him Kaioken and Genkidama. On Yardrat, he learns teleportation. Later, Whis helps him work on divine principles leading to Ultra Instinct.

The article on Goku and Vegeta's training by Whis shows how far his training is from the mountains of his childhood. Yet curiosity and observational learning remain constant. The guide on learning Ultra Instinct allows us to follow this evolution without presenting the technique as a simple gain in power.

Grandpa Gohan holds a unique place because he intervenes before Goku consciously seeks out masters. He teaches him both how to live and how to fight. Tortue Géniale then transforms this base into a method. The other instructors respond to increasingly precise limits.

The Broly Dragon Ball collection can be used to compare a Saiyan largely trained by an authoritarian father and a Goku passed by numerous masters. The Frieza, Cell and Majin Buu collection recalls the adversaries who force Goku to successively mobilize this learning.

A Injured Super Saiyan 2 Gohan figurine illustrates the next generation. Goku in turn becomes master of his son in the Room of Spirit and Time, just as grandfather Gohan had guided his beginnings. The product title helps identify the shape, without allowing other unconfirmed characteristics.

The Black Goku Rosé figurine with scythe offers a contrast: this appearance uses Goku's body without having experienced his education or his relationships. The guide on the resemblance between Black Goku and Goku explains this difference in identity.

Finally, the general collection of Dragon Ball figurines allows you to build a timeline of Goku's outfits and symbols. Associate each representation with the corresponding master only when the habit, the period and the file confirm it.

Frequently asked questions

Was Grandpa Gohan stronger than Goku as a child?

He was an experienced martial artist and knew Goku's habits. During their reunion, however, Goku has already progressed a lot. The story does not provide a valid classification for each moment of their lives; their relationship as master and student is more important than this abstract duel.

Who taught Goku Jan-Ken?

Grandfather Son Gohan. Goku uses this three-move attack from his first adventures and then adapts it against Jackie Chun. This is the technique most explicitly linked to his first mentor.

Did Goku invent the Kamehameha?

No. Tortue Géniale is the creator. Goku reproduces it after seeing it only once, before becoming his official student. His speed of imitation does not make him the inventor.

Did Bulma train Goku?

Not martial arts. She takes him on an adventure in the narrative sense: she introduces him to the world and the quest for the Dragon Balls. His battles during the journey enrich his experience, but Bulma is not his battle master.

Is Master Roshi Goku's first master?

He is his first grandmaster in a structured school shown at the beginning of the manga, but Grandpa Gohan raised and trained him before him. The answer therefore depends on the meaning of “master”; chronologically, Gohan comes first.

In summary

Before Master Roshi, Goku was trained by Grandpa Son Gohan, his adoptive father and first martial mentor. He learns Jan-Ken in particular, then develops endurance and instinct alone after the death of the old man. He copies the Kamehameha while observing Master Roshi before following his official program with Krillin. All its future progression is based on this alliance between heritage, discipline and capacity to adapt.