Air Bending

Air Bending, one of the four elemental Bending Arts, is the aerokinetic ability to control and manipulate air.

The peaceful Air Nomads utilized this type of bending in their everyday lives.

## Abilities

* **Air ball**: An airbender can create a compressed ball of air by moving their hands together in a circular motion. This technique has many applications such as levitating small objects or trapping opponents.
* **Air blast**: A more offensive maneuver involving a direct pulse or jet of compressed air shot from the hands, feet, or mouth. The force of the attack is generated more from the bender's own power rather than assisted by momentum. The blast can reach further distances with greater accuracy and is used to inflict greater damage.
* **Air bomb**: A technique that creates a powerful, outward-moving air current in all directions around the bender. Usually performed after landing on the ground from above, this airbending form has great concussive force, and the capacity to completely blow away anything within its radius.
* **Air cushion**: Airbenders can make a cushion out of air to break anyone's fall, including their own.
* **Air funnel**: Similar to an air vortex but on a smaller scale, Aang inventively used this technique as a cannon by creating a small air funnel through which small coal projectiles could be loaded and fired out of the opposite end.
* **Air manipulation**: By using circular, evasive movements, airbenders build up a large amount of energy and momentum, which is released through powerful moves. It also allows for wind-based counter-attacks that knock opponents off-balance, mimicking the sudden directional shifts of air currents. Attacks vary from simple gusts of wind to miniature tornadoes and cyclones, maintaining the circular theme. Even a simple movement can create an air gust and airbenders increase the power of their moves by performing larger sweeps and spins, using the momentum of their movement to produce larger gusts. This is also demonstrated with their use of a staff or fans to increase or create precision within the air currents. Similarly, airbenders can also augment the momentum of thrown objects.
* **Air punch/kick**: Another more offensive move than is typical of airbending discipline, air punches or air kicks are small, compressed formations of air that can be fired off the fists or feet of an airbender. This is similar to many firebending abilities and the air blast, in the sense that it involves the firing of compressed or solidified air at an enemy in a disjunct fashion i.e. the bender does not create a single great stream of air.
* **Air shield**: The most common defensive tactic for an airbender involves circling enemies, suddenly changing direction when attacked, and evading by physical movement rather than bending. However, an airbender can still deflect attacks as needed by throwing up gusts of air close to their bodies as a shield. This is rarely to stop attacks directly and more often to push the attack aside, conserving energy and allowing them to turn the movement into an attack at the same moment.
* **Air swipe**: The air swipe is both a defensive and offensive technique in which an airbender conjures a crescent-shaped wave of compressed air capable of deflecting colossal projectiles, such as the catapulted flaming rocks.
* **Air wheel**: This is a modified version of the air scooter. Air is rapidly spun around the airbender and carries the person inside the wheel of air. It is also able to cut through solid objects.
* **Breath of wind**: Similar to the standard air jet, but created from the mouth and lungs. It requires extremely good breath control to employ effectively. Size and focus are easily controlled, from narrow jets that can strike targets as small as insects, to large gale-force gusts capable of cooling magma into solidified rock.
* **Enhanced agility**: Air movements can also be used as a levitation aid. Airbenders are able to jump high and far by riding on strong gusts of wind and can also slow or deflect falls by creating cushions of air. The constant movement required by this art makes airbenders naturally flexible and agile, making masters of the art difficult to hit. Even without the use of bending they can easily maneuver around an opponent by ducking, jumping, and sidestepping, appearing to flow around their opponents without expending any energy at all, letting the opponent tire themselves out and thus creating exploitable openings. This conservation of energy combined with high stamina gives them an advantage in prolonged combat.
* **Enhanced speed**: Airbenders enhance their movement in battle; they can run swiftly by decreasing air resistance around them and even sprint across or run up vertical surfaces by generating a wind current behind themselves to propel them forward.
* **Heat regulation**: Airbenders are able to warm themselves using proper breathing techniques, allowing them to thrive in frigid environments with relative ease.
* **Suction**: A technique used to bring people or objects toward the airbender.
* **Air blades**: A more offensive move than is typically used in airbending, this involves a focused, slicing air current that can cut through stone or timber with relative ease. This is frequently conjured with a staff rather than the body, using the narrow profile of the object to create a more focused and precise air movement.
* **Air cocoon**: A master airbender can rotate while jumping to wrap themselves in a cocoon of wind.
* **Air propulsion**: A skilled airbender can propel themselves forward at great speed by negating the effect of wind resistance.
* **Air spout**: Similar to the water spout, master airbenders are able to rotate and control the direction of an air spout enough to levitate themselves off the ground and remain in the air for as long as they wish to or can maintain it.
* **Air vortex**: A spinning funnel of air of varying size, the air vortex can be used to trap or disorient opponents as well as to deflect any objects thrown at it.
* **Air wake**: By running in a circle and instantly building massive momentum, a master airbender can shoot a blast of highly compressed air shaped like the user's body at a target.
* **Asphyxiation**: A rather sinister technique of airbending, whereby an airbender manipulates the flow of air within a person's respiratory system, extracting it from the lungs via the nostrils and mouth, and prevents any new intake of breath by forming a ball of air around the head, thus eventually killing the victim by suffocation.
* **Levitation**: In the same way flying bison can fly and stay aloft for extended periods of time, a master airbender can achieve this same feat by generating and controlling air to form a cloud-like board under their feet and surf through the air, thereby emulating flight.
* **Tornado**: This is a smaller-scaled version of the air vortex which airbending masters can use as a means of both combat and transport. By encircling themselves in a spiraling air current, masters can travel at high speeds and even ascend near-vertical drops.

## Known Benders

* Air Nomads
* Sharon Vamir