Can you imagine if Superman told Superboy “Eh, don't use your heat vision or you could lose your powers.

This is clearly the poorest training system of any superteam. This means that the Sand Masters leaders withhold from their trainees the one piece of information they need to get better at what they do! It turns out sand mastery is like exercise you have to push yourself a bit to build muscle. When he accidentally overmasters during a battle, he discovers that he can control three ribbons after rehydrating. The main character Kenton is only able to control one ribbon of sand his whole life. Though dehydration is dangerous, if they survive it, it actually makes them stronger. Unfortunately, this is a lie told by the Mastrells to hold onto their power Sand Masters can't lose their powers by pushing themselves. Related: X-Men: Marvel's Mutants Have Gotten Too Lazy To Bother Training Sand Masters are warned by the highest rank, the Mastrells, not to “overmaster.” That is, they are warned if they try to use their sand powers to the point of dehydration, they could lose them forever. Once an acolyte is done with their training, they are given a rank determined by how many ribbons of sand they can control at a time this rank is permanently held for life. Sand Masters do this by feeding water in their bodies to the lichen that lives on the sand grains, allowing them an array of abilities- from flying in a whirlwind of sand to wielding “ribbons” of sand they can use as weapons. Sand Masters are trained in telekinetic control of the white sand which covers the dayside of their tidally-locked planet.

Brandon sanderson's white sand volume 1