Elemental Bending

## The art of Bending

Bending is the ability to manipulate an element and is significant to many aspects of life in the World of Avatar. There are five known bending arts; four of them bend a specific physical element while the fifth bends the energy within the human body itself. The four elemental bending arts are based on the four classical elements, water, earth, fire, and air, and each is manipulated through certain martial art styles which are reminiscent of the qualities of the element itself. While bending is traditionally performed through the motions of one's hands and feet, certain benders are able to effectively manipulate their element with only minimal movement of their body, such as by using just their head or torso. In even rarer cases, benders are able to perform their bending without the aid of any physical movement at all, by instead using sheer focus and force of will, a skill known as psychic bending. Each element is also associated with a particular nation in the world; the Water Tribe corresponds with waterbending, the Earth Kingdom with earthbending, the Fire Nation with firebending, and the Air Nomads with airbending. However, other bending affiliated groups exist, such as the Foggy Swamp Tribe for waterbending and the Sun Warriors for firebending.

The fifth bending art, energybending, is unlike the other four in that little physical action is required to direct the bending itself. The four elemental bending arts are all dependent on the energy, or chi, within the human body, relying on its flow through the body to manipulate a specific element. A person is able to bend when they extend the influence of their chi beyond the body to interact with the environment. Energybending, on the other hand, is concerned with the manipulation of the energy itself and is able to remove or grant bending abilities.

Though each nation is affiliated to a specific bending art, not all citizens from any nation, with the exception of the Air Nomads, are born with the ability to bend an element. In the case of mixed marriages, the children may be benders of either element if they are benders at all; for example, firebender Mako and earthbender Bolin are brothers with parents from the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. The only case of any one person being able to bend multiple elements is the Avatar, who has the ability to practice all five bending arts.

## Waterbending

***Waterbending*** is practiced by some people of the Water Tribe. A versatile element, it is unique in the sense that the original bender of the element was not an animal, but rather the Moon. Similar to their element, waterbenders are extremely adaptable and versatile. Waterbending concentrates on the flow of energy and focuses less on strength and more on turning the opponent's own energy against them. While a bender's victory in battle depends on their skill or ingenuity, waterbenders, unlike other benders, gain a serious advantage or disadvantage depending on the amount of water around them, although highly skilled waterbenders can draw water from anywhere; they can draw humidity from the air and bend the water in living things, especially plants. As the element of change, waterbenders can fluidly and quickly alternate from defense to offense, from a wall of ice to a jet of water, turning their opponent's strength against them. The opposite of waterbending is firebending, with its relatively stagnant, direct philosophy. Due to its lunar sympathy, waterbending is stronger at night and ineffective during a lunar eclipse or when the Moon Spirit dies. However, to counter waterbending's ineffectiveness during a lunar eclipse, waterbenders gain immense power during the peak of the full moon. The sub-skills for waterbending are healing and bloodbending. Waterbending is the element of change, and its season is winter.

## Earthbending

***Earthbending*** originates in the Earth Kingdom and it demands a special connection with the earth that is achievable with neutral jing, listening, though seemingly doing nothing, and waiting for the right moment to strike. The first earthbenders were badgermoles. Like waterbenders, earthbenders gain an advantage or disadvantage in battle based on the amount of earth around them, though the conditions are not as extreme. Because of their element's stability and its stress on neutral jing, earthbenders stand their ground, absorbing or intercepting attacks until they completely overwhelm their opponents. Unlike the other bending arts, earthbending's strength equally lies in both offense and defense. Earthbending is in stark contrast to airbending as airbending's emphasis is on evasion and mobility while earthbending's emphasis is on fortitude and strength. The sub-skills for earthbending are seismic sense, metalbending, and lavabending. Earthbending is the element of substance, and its season is spring.

## Firebending

***Firebending*** is used by the people of the Fire Nation and is the most aggressive bending art. Dragons were the first firebenders; they subsequently taught the Sun Warriors. Unlike other benders who depend on external sources of their elements to bend, firebenders can create fire using their internal heat source in addition to controlling already existent flames. As the element of power, firebenders have to be able to maintain a constant source of energy and balance in battle, unleashing a volley of direct, successive attacks. Firebending's relatively simple and direct style contrasts the complex and changing style of waterbending. Due to its solar affinity, firebending is stronger during the day and at its full power at noon, but completely ineffective during a solar eclipse. When a comet passes close to the planet, the power of a firebender is greatly increased. For a long time, disciplines of firebending were taught to be fueled by hatred, as opposed to the original source. Skilled firebenders are able to fly using powerful jets of flames. A notable feature of special firebenders is an ability to create a hotter, blue fire; Azula was the only known firebender who demonstrated this extra-powerful flame. The sub-skills for firebending are combustionbending, generating and redirecting lightning. Firebending is the element of power, and its season is summer.

## Airbending

***Airbending*** is the bending art used by the Air Nomads; the flying bison were the original airbenders. It concentrates on speed and evasion, forgoing a strong offense for a greater defense. Though apparently lacking fatal finishing moves, it is the most dynamic of all the bending arts. As the element of freedom, airbenders use their capability to bend unencumbered by the ground or any other environmental factors and use their own momentum as a weapon, evading attacks with astounding agility to tire their opponents out or building up massive inertia for explosive gusts of wind to make their counterattacks finishing moves. Airbenders, when resorting to physical confrontation, are able to harness the immense and intangible power of wind. Airbending's opposite is earthbending and the confrontational style that serves as its foundation. Airbenders can use a flight technique by operating a glider and using the air to provide thrust and lift. After the art was almost wiped from existence, the only airbender left was Avatar Aang,[4] until his son, Tenzin, and three grandchildren later inherited the ability. Airbending also resurfaced in a number of nonbenders following the Harmonic Convergence of 171 AG, further reviving the almost extinct bending art. The sub-skills of airbending are flight and spiritual projection. Flight has only been achieved by two people in the entire history of airbending, namely Guru Laghima and Zaheer. Airbending is the element of freedom, and its season is autumn.

## Energybending

***Energybending*** is the art of bending the energy within one's body. It existed in the era of Raava and the four bending arts, though was considered lost. It is a highly dangerous technique; if one's own energy is impure and therefore bendable, the practitioner will be consequently destroyed. Few Avatars have learned this bending art, and even fewer have used it. Energybending allows the user to remove other people's bending abilities, such as when Avatar Aang used it to strip Ozai and Yakone of their abilities, or restore them after a bender had their abilities blocked by bloodbending, demonstrated when Aang used it to restore Avatar Korra's bending from Amon's damage, and Korra used it to restore Lin Beifong's earthbending. Korra also used the art to create a spiritual projection of herself within the Tree of Time and battle the Dark Avatar.

## Subbending Abilities

*Primary, Secondary, Tertiary bending diagram.*
### ***Water***

***Healing***

*Healing* is a sub-skill of waterbending which involves healing wounds by redirecting energy paths, or chi, throughout the body, using water as a catalyst. It is effective on external, physical wounds, though knows its limits with internal injuries and illnesses. A waterbender can also employ this skill to heal their own wounds. On rare occasions, waterbenders may instinctively be able to perform this technique without any formal training.

***Spiritbending***

Unalaq developed a unique skill, known as *'**spiritbending*****, that utilizes knowledge in both healing and spirituality to alter and affect spiritual energy within spirits.**

In one aspect, the technique involves changing a spirit's negative energy into positive energy, restoring its internal balance in the process. It is performed by encircling a spirit in water and is completed when the spirit begins to glow bright yellow, at which point the spirit dissipates or assumes a pacified form. Although the technique has been used extensively to calm single spirits, it can also be used to calm several spirits simultaneously, as both Unalaq and Korra have demonstrated.

In another variation, the conversion process can be used to promote imbalance, by changing a spirit's positive energy into negative energy. The mechanics of the technique remain the same, although the spirit is covered by purple light instead of gold. Unalaq claims that this variation has the potential to destroy a human's soul.

***Bloodbending***

*Bloodbending* is a sub-skill of waterbending which allows a waterbender to hydrokinetically take hold of and manipulate fluids within an organism's body. This technique is referred to as the darkest, most powerful, and most feared of all bending techniques, and it is the only art known to endanger the user's mental state.

### ***Earth***

***Seismic Sense***

*Seismic sense* is a technique originally developed by the blind badgermoles, skilled earthbenders are able to sense vibrations through the ground, "seeing" by sensing their surroundings and making a mental image of it. It allows for a 360 degree field of "vision", outside of normal line-of-sight. To operate, the user needs direct contact with the ground, preferably without something like shoes in between. The technique is only usable on surfaces the user can bend. Being blind, Toph constantly used this technique to navigate the world; she described it as "kind of like seeing with [her] feet".

***Metal***

*Metalbending* is a specialized sub-skill of earthbending that allows an earthbender to ferrokinetically bend processed metal in a similar fashion to bending regular earth. Initially regarded as impossible to do, the technique was invented by Toph Beifong to escape from a metal cage in which she was captured and transported by Xin Fu and Master Yu. Metalbenders can also bend liquid metals, such as mercury, though utilize more fluid movements to do so, akin to waterbending. It is also possible to bend liquid metal inside someone's body.

***Sand***

Sandbending is an alternate earthbending style that has been adapted for use in the Si Wong Desert by the people that live there. They move quickly in the desert on specialized wooden sailers that are propelled by bending miniature, localized sandstorms behind their sails. Because sand is sediment which travels in flows, their style resembles air and waterbending more than earthbending. It is implied that most, if not all, earthbenders are capable of easily bending sand, but because of the loose shifty nature of sand it is not an easy transition for the average earthbender. The sandbenders of the desert are especially proficient with it due to their particular habitat.

***Lava***

*Lavabending* is a specialized sub-skill of earthbending that allows the user to manipulate molten earth. This rare ability allows the bender to phase-change earth into lava, lava into earth, and otherwise manipulate existing lava with great dexterity.

### ***Fire***

***Combustion***

*Combustionbending* is a form of telekinetic firebending. It consists of the ability to channel chi through the forehead, often marked by an intricate third-eye tattoo, superheating the surrounding air and producing a beam of explosive energy capable of immense damage, both in short and long range. Unlike conventional firebending, which produces a flame from the body, the technique instead creates a powerful beam that explodes upon contact with a solid surface. Combustionbending can instantaneously evaporate large bodies of water and counter fire attacks.

***Lightning***

*Lightning generation*, also known as cold-blooded fire, is a sub-skill within firebending that allows a firebender to produce lightning by separating the positive and negative energies internally, before directing it up through the arm and out the fingertips.

*Lightning redirection* is a sub-skill of firebending that allows a firebender to absorb lightning into their body as energy, and release it in a more desirable direction. The technique was developed by Iroh after he studied master waterbenders, who redirect an opponent's energy rather than oppose it head-on. Lightning redirection works well for both natural and bender-generated lightning, and for electricity conducted through metal.

### ***Air***

***Spiritual Projection***

*Spiritual projection* is a specialized airbending technique that consists of projecting one's spirit out of the body to travel to another location in a matter of seconds. Through projection, an airbender is able to explore locations that would otherwise have been unaccessible, such as moving around freely under water or at sealed locations by passing through solid matter, while they can also normally talk with other people. Airbenders can also use this technique to find individuals with whom they have a strong bond by focusing on their spiritual energy. It is a very advanced technique that requires a strong spiritual connection.

***Flight***

During a battle to rescue Korra from the Red Lotus, Zaheer developed the ability of flight through the teachings of Guru Laghima, becoming the first airbender in four thousand years to do so. As a result of P'Li's death at the hands of Suyin, Zaheer let go of his final earthly tether and jumped off the mountain, with Korra over his shoulder, flying off toward the stolen airship acquired by Ming-Hua and Ghazan. Zaheer has demonstrated that the power of flight allows for fast and agile movements, being able to out-speed an injured Korra while she was in the Avatar State and performing airbending attacks whilst airborne.