The show 's creators based each bending style on an existing martial art , leading to clear visual and physical differences in the techniques used by Waterbenders ( T'ai chi ch ` uan ) , Earthbenders ( Hung Ga kung fu , for the most part ) , Firebenders ( Northern Shaolin kung fu ) and Airbenders ( Baguazhang ) .
The show 's creators based each Bending style on a style of real-world martial art , leading to visual differences in the techniques used by Waterbenders ( tai chi chuan ) , Earthbenders ( Hung Ga kung fu , for the most part ) , Firebenders ( Northern Shaolin kung fu ) and Airbenders ( baguazhang ) .