History Main / TrainingTheGiftOfMagic

** Many members of the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' come from worlds whose denizens have the same powers they do. Chameleon Boy, for example, is a Durlan with the natural ability to shapeshift. However, because of the intense training and breadth of experiences they undergo as Legionnaires (combat, rescue, exploration of strange phenomena, helping with scientific experiments, investigation and more), members tend to become far more adept at the application of their abilities than others their species, as well as genuinely growing stronger by constantly testing their limits and working to overcome them. To use Chameleon Boy again, the average Durlan is a recluse who never leaves their home planet, while he's personally gone out into the galaxy and learned about all kinds of different creatures with amazing abilities he can utilize in their forms. Some like Saturn Girl or Cosmic Boy also start out as above-average examples of their kind and only get better with experience.

** Many members of the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' come from worlds whose denizens have the same powers they do. Chameleon Boy, for example, is a Durlan with the natural ability to shapeshift. However, because of the intense training and breadth of experiences they undergo as Legionnaires (combat, rescue, exploration of strange phenomena, helping with scientific experiments, investigation and more), they tend to be far more adept at the application of their abilities than members of their species, as well as genuinely growing stronger by constantly testing their limits and practicing to overcome them. To use Chameleon Boy again, the average Durlan is a recluse who never leaves their home planet, while he's personally gone out into the galaxy and learned about all kinds of different creatures with amazing abilities he can utilize in their forms. Some like Saturn Girl or Cosmic Boy also start out as above-average examples of their kind and only get better with experience.

* While the metaphysics of the Creator/DCComics universe is often confused, it seems that some characters (such as ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}) are "Homo Magi", members of a subspecies of humanity with the ability to work magic quickly and easily, while others (such as [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]]) have to work through rituals and hard study.

* In ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'', the magical power a magic-user has is more or less determined when their powers first manifest at about four or five; any training only gives {{linear|WarriorsQuadraticWizards}} improvements ''at best''. Training, however, improves the user's control over their magic. This is important to people like Keith whose magic is both [[MarionetteMaster very powerful and very difficult to control]]; PowerIncontinence is part of his DarkAndTroubledPast.

# one must have an inborn gift to practice magic
# one must train in order to use it effectively

* ''Literature/TheBrokenEarthTrilogy'': Orogeny is a trait that one must be born with, and is usually but not always genetic. The Fulcrum believes orogeny is inherently dangerous and [[MutantDraftBoars actively conscripts orogenes]] in order to control their powers, in all senses of the word. In an inversion of how it's usually portrayed, orogenes are naturally capable of massive, dramatic displays of power -- what the Fulcrum teaches is ''subtlety''.

--> [...] the possibility of your Light is unlimited. I mean this very seriously. A novice go player has the exact same power to place stones as a 9-dan master. The only difference between them lies in their knowledge and ability to choose. [...] the only difference in "power" between you and me lies in what we have learned and practiced.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' and ''VideoGame/Destiny2'', being a Lightbearer requires one to be risen from the dead by a [[RobotBuddy Ghost]] that believes they displayed the right qualities to deserve empowerment (the usual mantra is "devotion bravery, sacrifice, death"). Once that's done, however, one's facility with the Light depends wholly on their willingness to exercise it and push their boundaries -- while some characters are said to be naturally strong in the Light, nothing stops anyone else from attaining the same level with enough experience. Even Ikora Rey, one of the strongest Guardians in history, began her career only marginally more capable (at best) than average. As she explains to a self-described "low power Guardian":

* In ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' and ''VideoGame/Destiny2'', being a Lightbearer requires one to be risen from the dead by a [[RobotBuddy Ghost]] that believes they displayed the right qualities to deserve empowerment (the usual mantra is "bravery, sacrifice, death"). Once that's done, however, one's facility with the Light depends wholly on their willingness to exercise it and push their boundaries -- while some characters are said to be naturally strong in the Light, nothing stops anyone else from attaining the same level with enough experience. Even Ikora Rey, one of the strongest Guardians in history, began her career only marginally more capable (at best) than average. As she explains to a self-described "low power Guardian":

--> [...] the possibility of your Light is unlimited. I mean this very seriously. A novice go player has the exact same power to place stones as a 9-dan master. The only difference between them lies in their knowledge and ability to choose.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' and ''VideoGame/Destiny2'', being a Lightbearer requires one to be risen from the dead by a [[RobotBuddy Ghost]] that believes they displayed the right qualities to deserve empowerment (the usual mantra is "bravery, sacrifice, death"). Once that's done, however, one's facility with the Light depends wholly on their willingness to exercise it and push their boundaries -- while some characters are said to be naturally strong in the Light, nothing stops anyone else from attaining the same level with enough experience. Even Ikora Rey, one of the strongest Guardians in history, began her career only marginally more capable (at best) than average. As she explains:

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12672455/1/Dedicated-Hearts-made-Fullmetal Dedicated Hearts made Fullmetal]]'' has this slowly happen as [[Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist the Elric Brothers]] help teach [[Anime/AttackOnTitan the Humans of The Walls]] about the art of [[AlchemyIsMagic Alchemy]] as a means to help better their society, with Hange Zoe and Armin Artlet becoming their first two students. [[VillainTakesAnInterest After realizing the danger that this development poses]], Reiner convinces Bertholdt that they need to capture at least one of the Elrics and take them back to their homeland in order to extract that knowledge for the sake of [[spoiler:Marley]].

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12672455/1/Dedicated-Hearts-made-Fullmetal Dedicated Hearts made Fullmetal]]'' has this slowly happen as [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the Elric Brothers]] help teach [[Anime/AttackOnTitan the Humans of The Walls]] about the art of [[AlchemyIsMagic Alchemy]] as a means to help better their society, with Hange Zoe and Armin Artlet becoming their first two students. [[VillainTakesAnInterest After realizing the danger that this development poses]], Reiner convinces Bertholdt that they need to capture at least one of the Elrics and take them back to their homeland in order to extract that knowledge for the sake of [[spoiler:Marley]].

* ''Fanfic/AFrozenFlower'': Compared to dormant ''lamberos'' who have their powers in check and know how to use them properly, awoken ''lamberos'' tend to be more unruly with their powers, often suffering from PowerIncontinence but still growing stronger as they grow older to such an extent that they end up being [[PersonOfMassDestruction people of mass destruction]] that can blow up planets and [[StarKilling suns]] if their powers reach full potency. By the time an awoken ''lambero'' reaches ten or eleven years of age, their powers are normally fully developed and the world should be in peril, with some exceptions. Orchid is one of those exceptions -- she was the apprentice of Oprah before a string of failures made her nearly give up on her. Oz, a dormant ''lambero'' himself, then stepped in as her mentor and taught her how to keep her powers under control, but died before he could train her any further. Despite this, however, Orchid manages to have a good handle on her powers by the end of the story, but they are not at full potency.

* After her SuperpoweredEvilSide's RoaringRampageOfRevenge at the end of Season 6, ''Series/{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}'''s Willow Rosenberg undergoes magical training in England. This is a slightly odd example, in that she had already reached a pretty advanced stage of development as a witch, but it's implied that she relied too much on raw power with less-than-perfect discipline, and Season 6 certainly saw the development of a very [[AddictiveMagic unhealthy approach to her power]]. Her post-England attitude to magic is noticeably more Zen, or at least more focused and less wild, than it had ever been up to this point. Characters in the series such as Giles who possess sufficient education but no apparent gift can work magic but must perform complex rituals and are a lot more tentative about it.

* Mutants in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse are sometimes described in similar terms, although their powers are explicitly ''not'' magical; these powers usually kick in at adolescence, and it's sometimes said that mutants need training to prevent them harming themselves and others. However, in practice, many mutants seem to get their powers to work pretty well without much or any training, with at worst twinges of megalomania or outbursts of PowerIncontinence.

* Magic involves both some kind of gift and training in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', though the details are vague. The protagonist, Louise, is notoriously bad at casting magic, so much so that she's been nicknamed "Zero" by her classmates (and the fact that she is able to summon a familiar is seen as a miracle), but it's unclear if ranks on the FantasticMeasurementSystem are in-born or achieved through training.[[note]]It turns out that her problem is complex. Magic in this setting is based on elemental powers -- [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], [[BlowYouAway Air]], [[MakingASplash Water]] and [[PlayingWithFire Fire]]. Most individuals can only control one element, or at least are ''much'' better with one element than with the others. Louise is inheritor to the long-lost ElementNumberFive, [[ThePowerOfTheVoid Void]], and as a result, she can't use ''any'' other form of magic -- implying an obvious problem in acquiring the necessary training.[[/note]]

* In ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', the magical gift comes in [[FantasticMeasurementSystem two measurable parts]]: "bucket capacity" (how many "spell points" you can use with one spell) and "pool capacity" (how many "spell points" you can have in total). High levels of either attribute are an in-born gift, but if you have those, you also need to study and learn magical lore. Gourry Gabriev, for example, has magical gifts but lacks the intelligence and memory to learn magical skill. Furthermore, only pool capacity can be increased through training and practice; bucket capacity is something determined at birth, so the only ways to increase it are by magical "cheating" (e.g. wearing extremely rare and specialized power-boosting talismans, or undergoing the [[FusionDance chimera process]] with magical creatures like Brau Demons).

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'', the magical power a magic-user has is more or less determined when their powers first manifest at about four or five; any training only gives {{linear|WarriorsQuadraticWizards}} improvements ''at best''. Training, however, improves the user's control over their magic. This is important to people like Keith whose magic is both [[MarionetteMaster very powerful and very difficult to control]]; PowerIncontinence is part of his DarkAndTroubledPast.
* In ''LightNovel/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool'', magic requires not just the right bloodline, but high-level understanding of physics and technological aids, which magician schools also teach. Untrained magicians tend to overheat the Magic Calculation Areas in their brain, crippling themselves forever (the Juumonji bloodline has particular problems with this, which is why training is mandatory for them), or they use magic before their bodies have developed enough to handle it, which has adverse effects on the child's growth.