Chi-blocking

Chi-blocking is an ancient technique that has been practiced in secret for centuries.Transcript:San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Blocking someone's chi renders the victim's muscles useless and temporarily disables a bender's abilities. It is mainly used by nonbenders as a way of self-defense or even to attack. This ability was notably used in combat by Ty Lee, the Kyoshi Warriors, Thod and his disciples, the Equalists, and Tokuga.
== History ==
=== Origins and proliferation ===
Chi-blocking is an ancient art, though has been extremely obscure for most of history. The ancient earthbender king Hundun knew chi-blocking. The art relies upon sacred and knowledge about chi, corresponding with ancestral Air Nomad theories about chi movement. While much of this overlapped with more empirical theories about medicine and the human body, there were also key differences. This sort of knowledge that was essential for chi-blocking remained only temples for much of history.
During the early era of Yangchen, Zongdu Chaisee was able to collect an Air Nomad acupuncture map. Chaisee was looking to create human weapons under mental conditioning which could give her an unstoppable amount of leverage over the four nations. The zongdu's subordinates ran a camp on a Mo Ce Sea island, where nonbenders were recruited and made to fight one another in barracks to develop chi-blocking abilities. Chaisee's subordinates whittled down those who could not withstand the pressure, and threatened to send home the fighters with less pay. This pushed the nonbenders to punch one another harder and harder, as many of them were from economically insecure backgrounds. Huge stores of dit da jow "hit medicine" was used to numb and toughen knuckles ruined by punching in the process.
Although the experiment managed to produce chi-blockers, its success was eclipsed by that of experiments on firebenders. Combustionbenders became the main focus of the Unanimity project, and the chi-blockers were effectively cut loose when new recruits and supplies stopped coming to the island after the combustionbender demonstration in Bin-Er. A storm killed many people as some of the adults tried to leave the island in rotting longboats, leaving a girl named Hsien as the only known survivor of the chi-blocking project. Hsien was saved from the island by Avatar Yangchen and her companions, and was offered a new life at the Western Air Temple. Yangchen's companion, Kavik, did not inform the Order of the White Lotus of Hsien and her abilities, as he did not want her to be seen as an asset, and believed hand-to-hand combat would never change the balance of the four nations.
Centuries later, an Air Nun named Rioshon was a master chi-blocker also living at the Western Air Temple. She was sought all over the world for her abilities, though she only taught the art to those she was absolutely sure would use it for principles adhering to Air Nomad philosophy. One of her students was Princess Zeisan of the Fire Nation, whom she fell in love with.
Although many remained unaware of the existence of chi-blocking, knowledge of the art had proliferated throughout all nations by the Hundred Year War, a marked difference from it essentially having to be rediscovered from scratch in Avatar Yangchen's lifetime.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 50.
=== Later usage ===
During the Hundred Year War, an extremely strong, flexible, and agile girl named Ty Lee learned the art of chi-blocking after she began studying at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 36. The first time the members of Team Avatar experienced chi-blocking was upon the group's initial encounter with Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula in Omashu. The three girls attacked Aang, Sokka, and Katara, after breaking a deal to trade King Bumi for Tom-Tom. During the fight, Ty Lee blocked Katara's chi, rendering her bending useless. However, Sokka arrived and used his boomerang to free his sister, allowing them to escape.
During their second encounter, Mai and Ty Lee chased down Katara and Sokka on the shores of the Nan Shan River. Despite being aware of Ty Lee's skill, she still managed to chi-block Sokka, rendering most of his limbs useless. However, she hurt her hand when she attempted to chi-block his head.
Ty Lee's chi-block ability was of use again when Azula's team led an attack on Ba Sing Se with a drill. Ba Sing Se's Terra Team attempted to stop the machine, but Mai and Ty Lee took them down with ease; Ty Lee dealt paralyzing chi-blocking blows to anyone who attempted to fight her.
Later, the trio tracked down Appa once more and discovered that the Kyoshi Warriors were with them. A battle ensued, during which Ty Lee utilized chi-blocking to immobilize her opponents. The technique was used yet again after the trio invaded Ba Sing Se disguised as Kyoshi Warriors. Katara came to them after seeing Zuko searching for aid, but once again, Ty Lee paralyzed her, catching her by surprise. Ty Lee also immobilized Sokka and Toph when Azula threatened Earth King Kuei with her firebending, forcing them to surrender.
The technique was utilized by Ty Lee once again on Ember Island. Feeling threatened by several boys at a party hosted by Chan crowding around her, she used chi-blocking to free herself.
Ty Lee later journeyed to the Boiling Rock prison with Azula and Mai during Sokka, Zuko, Hakoda, and Suki's escape. The trio pursued them onto a gondola, where Ty Lee faced off against Suki, who was anxious for revenge after being defeated by Ty Lee before. Although Ty Lee attempted to chi-block Suki again, the Kyoshi Warrior was able to avoid the attacks, having learned from past experience. Later, when Mai and Azula prepared to fight after the former betrayed Azula by saving Zuko, Ty Lee used chi-blocking to paralyze Azula and temporarily block her bending to protect Mai from harm.
While in prison, Ty Lee taught several Kyoshi Warriors the art of chi-blocking and joined their group shortly after the end of the Hundred Year War. These lessons allowed Suki to chi-block San during an altercation in Seashell San's House of Shells, effectively rendering his firebending ineffective.
The technique slowly became more widespread after the Hundred Year War. In the Southern Water Tribe, Thod had become a master chi-blocker by 102 AG and took on two students. They utilized their skill during a conflict with Head Chieftain Hakoda.
During the conflict with Liling and her bender supremacists in Cranefish Town, Suki effectively protected herself with her chi-blocking abilities and later passed on the skill to the Earthen Fire Refinery's nonbender guards, forming the basis of an impressive police force that was to be strengthened with trustworthy benders.
By 170 AG, several members of the Equalists movement utilized chi-blocking to combat benders during the Anti-bending Revolution. Amon, the leader of the organization and head of the movement, also frequently used the art of chi-blocking.
While abducting members of the Triple Threat Triad and Bolin, the Equalist organization was trailed and attacked by an angry Mako and Korra. In response, several of the chi-blockers turned to fight them, disabling their bending, an action which frustrated and stunned Korra.
Amon brought a unit of chi-blockers with him to a midnight duel with Korra on Aang Memorial Island. As the Avatar was walking away from the island, believing Amon was a no-show, she was ambushed by the nonbenders and chi-blocked, rendering her helpless when Amon faced her.
Tokuga also became knowledgeable of the chi-blocking technique and used it in 174 AG to temporarily stun the Creeping Crystal Triad, when he and his Triple Threat Triad engaged them in a turf war.
== Method ==
Chi-blocking relies on rapidly hitting pressure points with quick jabs and punches, often giving little time for the recipient to react. Ty Lee hit those pressure points with relatively light jabs using her fingers and knuckles, though any fingers can be used, such as when Ty Lee disabled Katara with her thumb. Ty Lee could also use her feet to disable others' chi flow; she used this method to fend off the boys who cornered her in Chan's house.
=== Variation ===
A more temporary form of chi-blocking can be used against combustionbenders, such as Combustion Man and P'Li. Since combustionbending requires a properly calibrated focus of chi channeled through the forehead, often marked by an intricate third-eye tattoo, the technique can be temporarily disabled by striking this marking to disrupt the flow of chi, causing the combustion beam to misfire until proper flow is restored.
== Effects ==
Chi-blocking stops a bender's chi flow, reduces their muscular strength, and disables their bending abilities temporarily; this would be particularly devastating for people who rely solely on their bending to fight. A master chi-blocker is able to control the damage done by the technique: when Ty Lee first attacked Katara with the art, the latter was still able to move though not bend, but when Ty Lee assaulted the Terra Team, they could barely move, were powerless, and felt pain afterward. Katara later attempted to heal the fallen men but noted that they had been completely cut off from their chi, placing them beyond her help.
Azula described the chi-blocking sensation as a feeling of all the joints going soft, "like they're made of melted wax", and one felt "more flexible than you ever thought possible" for a few moments as the chi-blocking effect wore off completely.
== Weaknesses ==
Anticipation: Although a useful method of fighting, chi-blocking is most effective against an opponent not expecting such a light blow to be so devastating. When confronted with someone knowledgeable about chi-blocking, they can anticipate the attack and adapt their fighting style to avoid being struck, as demonstrated by Suki when she faced off a second time against Ty Lee atop the gondola. When a bender knows they are fighting a chi-blocker, they can use their bending to keep the chi-blocker at bay with long-range attacks, preventing them from executing their technique.
Metal armor: Since chi-blocking relies on the ability of hitting pressure points, a strong armor is capable of deflecting the crippling blows. To this end, Sokka designed chain mail armor to deceive Thod and his students, and the Republic City Police Department donned segmented metal armor as their standard uniform to withstand the attacks from chi-blocking Equalists.
== Known users ==
* Amon
* Fai LanAvatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Quickstart, Version 1.0, 2021, p. 31.
* Hsien
* Hundun
* Kyoshi Warriors
** Suki
** Ty Lee
* Lao Beifong's guards
** Guard captain	
* Sister Rioshon
* Ru
* Several Equalists
* Thod
* Thod's disciples
* Tokuga
* Yoshiro
* Princess Zeisan
== Connections ==
* Chi-blocking resembles the martial arts technique, Dim Mak, which purports to kill or maim by disrupting the body's flow of internal energy.AvatarSpirit.net interview: An Avatar Spring Break with Mike and Bryan; April 6, 2007. It also has some connections to varma kalai, an ancient martial art of Southern India.
* Qigong () (sometimes spelled Chi Gung), a form of traditional Oriental medicine, uses similar techniques and pressure points to help others' chi flow more easily and is considered a standard medical technique in Chinese hospitals.
== References ==
== See also ==
* Chi
* Healing
* Chakras
de:Chi-Blocken
es:Bloqueo de chi
fr:Blocage du chi
pl:Blokowanie chi
pt-br:Bloqueio de Chi
ru:Блокирование ци
vi:Điểm chi
Category:A to Z
Category:Bending
*