Bending Arts

The bending arts are four mystical martial arts that allow their wielder to control one of the four elements. The four elements are fire, air, water and earth though legend has it that in ancient times people bent the energy within themselves. A person can only ever learn to bend one element and must be born with this ability. No amount of training will allow a non bender to bend or a bender of one element to be able to bend another. The only exception is the Avatar who is able to bend all four elements and through great perseverance can learn the extinct art of energy bending. Bending is somewhat hereditary most benders are the children of benders though it is not unheard of for a bender to be born to non bender parents and vice versa. People born in certain seasons are more likely to become a bender of their nations element. For example a child born in the fire nation with fire bender parents born in summer is very likely to be a fire bender. In today's heterogeneous culture it is often a mystery what element a child will be born with. Though if a person has no direct linage to someone of one of the four nations they will not be born a bender of that element. So if some one has an earth kingdom father a fire nation mother and no grand parents from either the air temples or the water tribes they will definitely not be born an air or water bender.

=How Bending Works= Bending is a combination of someones physical and mental energies acting in unison to form chi (aka ki or qi). And using that chi to command an element. To bend someone must first be a bender then they have to mentally will control over their element, then they must perform a physical action to direct their ki and their element. This means that some one who is physically restrained can not bend properly (they may be able to do it a little bit but nothing like what they normally would be able to perform). Also if an outside force is controlling someones body (like the illegal art of blood bending) but does not control someones mind as well then that force can not make someone bend. Both the mind and the body must be able to willing act in unison for someone to bend something. Each of the bending disciplines are based on a real world martial art and the movements used to bend are mirrored from that martial art. The four traditional styles of bending follow these martial arts closely however since the time of Avatar Korra modern or "street" styles of bending have developed. That don't follow the traditional disciplines it is up to you to decide whether you want to utilize the reliable but somewhat stagnant traditional styles or to use the much more dynamic though chaotic modern styles. You are also fully capable of making up your own fighting style to compliment your bending.

=The Four Bending Arts:= =Fire Bending= Fire bending was learned from the dragons and is the only bending discipline where the bender is able to generate their own element instead of just controlling it in the environment. Fire is the element of power and is easily the most aggressive of the bending arts. Fire bending relies on overwhelming an opponent with quick and powerful attacks and aims to finish a fight as quickly as possible. This is because that while fire bending has the most powerful offensive techniques it also has the weakest defensive techniques. A fire bender has few ways to protect themselves from attacks beside dodging and attacking first. A fire bender is a living example of the phrase the best defense is a good offense. Because of their lack of defense fire benders tend to be very agile so they can dodge attacks. Aside from air bending fire bending is the most dynamic of the bending arts. Also fire benders have a natural resistance to heat do to constantly working so closely with their element. However they are also very susceptible to cold and if a fire bender is exposed to a cold environment for too long their bending will weaken greatly. Fire bending is powered by the sun and is at its strongest during the day and reaches it zenith at noon. Tropical environments near the equator also increase a fire benders power. While fire bending is influenced by outside power sources a fire benders true power comes within. To fire bend a person must have the will and the inner fire to do so. Without a passionate emotion to drive them a fire bender cannot produce fire. Intense emotions like rage and hatred can make fire bending more powerful but it will also make it harder to control. Fire benders who use these emotions to power their bending tend to end up destroying themselves. It is safer to use more reliable emotions like ambition or passion to fuel ones fire bending. A fire bender's power comes not from their physical strength but from the breath. Some one with a strong control over their breathing can produce stronger and more stable flames then someone who wields their bending with pure force.

The higher form of Fire Bending is lightning generation. Of all the higher bending arts it is the simplest and most straight forward it merely involves generating and then firing a bolt of lightning at a target. What this technique lacks in adaptability it makes up for in pure speed and power. Once released the bolt is incredibly hard to dodge and if it hits the target they will almost certainly die. Only immediate medical attention from an experienced water bending healer will save the victims life if the take a direct hit from a bolt of lightning. And even if their life is saved they may be crippled for months or even for the rest of their lives. Only a true master of the healing arts or water from a spirit sanctuary can heal the burn scar left after someone is hit with a bolt of lightning. Fire benders can also learn to redirect lightning and electricity through their bodies though this is a very difficult and dangerous technique as failure to redirect the energy correctly can lead to death. In Ba Sing Se a lesser for of lightning generation has been created. Nicknamed "spark bending" it involves generating an electrical current instead of a bolt of lightning. This technique is useful for powering machines and if controlled properlly can be used like a tazer to incapacitate someone. Sparkbending can be performed much quicker then lightning generation and is less dangerous so it is a more widespread technique. =Air Bending= Air was learned from the sky bison and is the most dynamic of the bending arts. Air is the element of freedom and its practitioners strive to release themselves from worldly restraints. Air benders are naturally incredibly agile and can increase their speed and jumping ability greatly with their bending. They can create strong gusts of wind that can easily knock foes off their feet or that can deflect projectiles. In its natural form air bending is a purely defensive art. This has led to most air benders being pacifists or apposed to killing. While air bending is the fastest of the bending arts and makes its user almost untouchable its weakness lies in its lack of finishing moves. Air bending attacks usually do nothing more then knock an opponent down. While this is usually enough to defeat the common rabble a truly committed or powerful enemy will just keep attacking the air bender relentlessly no matter how many times they are pushed around. Air bending is fully capable of utilizing lethal moves but many of its practitioners refrain from learning such techniques. However the Way of the Heavenly Voice teaches a corrupted form of air bending that encourages killing foes. Such air benders are truly dangerous as the have all the strengths of traditional air benders but lack their restraint. A lesser weakness of air bending is that it requires a large amount of space to be used to its fullest potential tight spaces are an air benders worst nightmare. It is incredibly difficult to cut an air bender off from their element, but if one were to submerge an air bender or put them in a vacuum it would render them unable to bend. This isn't such a unique weakness however as human beings die in air less environments any way.

Sound Bending is the higher form of air bending. As sound is merely vibrations in the air it is possible for an experienced air bender to manipulate them. This can be used for subtle abilities like changing someones voice or moving in complete silence. Sound benders can greatly magnify their sense of hearing and can learn to use echolocation to give them a sight beyond what their eyes can see similar to the earth bender's seismic sense. Sound bending can be also used for more destructive abilities. Such as amplifying a noise so much that is has the strength to heavily wound or kill someone by destroying their inner ear and disrupting the fluid inside the brain. Sound bending is a very rare ability and was invented rather recently so it is difficult to find a teacher. Also the general public do not know of its existence so many air benders live out their lives unaware that their art has a higher level. =Water Bending= Water unlike the other elements was not learned from a greater animal. Instead humans learned to bend water by watching the moon push and pull the tides. Water is the element of change a master water bender can adapt to any situation. Water bending is a bending art that focuses almost solely on counter attacking and using an opponent's strength against them. That isn't to say that water bending can't be used offensively but when it turns an enemies power against them is where the true strength of water bending lies. Water benders can control water in its solid, liquid or gaseous state and can make water change between these states at will. Though it is easiest for a water bender to control water in it's liquid form and this is the state that is most often employed in combat. The most common and useful sub skill of water bending is healing. Water benders can send their healthy chi into a person's body to heal them by using water as a medium. It is a difficult art to learn and an even harder one to master and some people are even unable to learn healing at all despite being proficient in regular water bending. It is unknown if the other elements are capable of healing but so far it would seem that they cannot. Like it's opposite bending element fire, water bending is powered by the breath and someone's emotional state. A water bender with a strong control over their breathing is more powerful then someone who relays on brute force to control their breathing. Also powerful emotions can make water bending stronger but less controlled. Unlike fire benders who try to focus their emotions to power their bending water benders tend to suppress their emotions and stay in a calm state when fighting. Also like fire bending, water bending is enhanced by an outside celestial force namely the moon. Water bending is stronger at night then during the day and reaches its zenith at midnight. The phases of the moon also greatly strengthen or weaken a person's water bending. A new moon will make it very difficult to bend while a full moon greatly invigorates a person's bending strength. Water benders under the influence of the full moon are able to perform feats that would normally be impossible during the day.

Blood bending is the higher form of water bending it is the cruelest an most depraved of all the higher bending arts and is also the most difficult one to perform. Blood bending is literally the ability to control the blood in someone's body. This gives blood benders the ability to completely force their will over their victim's body. It can also be used to directly injure a person's internal organs and cut off circulation. Blood benders tend to lose themselves to their power and their ability to control others. For most blood bending is a one way trip to psychotic madness. However this isn't entirely true and some of the greatest healers ever to live where blood benders and their are injuries that can only be healed if the surgeon is a master blood bender. Most benders are unable to blood bend when it is not a full moon that is because blood bending requires a great amount of power and control. However with a lot of training and natural talent it is possible to learn to blood bend at any time. Those wishing to learn blood bending should know that it is illegal to teach or know in Ba Sing Se and if you wish to learn it in the empire you must obtain a license which is very difficult to come by. However like all illegal things it is only a crime if you get caught.

=Earth bending= Earth bending was taught to mankind by the badger moles it is the element of substance. It is the least dynamic of the bending arts but has the strongest defensive techniques and is also renowned for it's sheer power. Earth bending is the opposite of air bending and draws it's power from a strong solid stance if an earth bender's stance is broken they will be unable to bend effectively or at all. Also most earth benders require a direct connection with the ground to be able to bend at full strength. However it is incredibly difficult to knock an earth bender down or off their feat. As earth is the most stubborn element and requires the most amount of force to bend earth benders tend to be physically stronger then most people just as air benders tend to be more agile then regular people. Like water benders an earth bender's effectiveness depends on how much of their element is present for them to work with. An earth bender in a rocky gorge is almost unbeatable while one on a wooden ship in the ocean is almost defenseless. Earth benders can learn an ability called seismic sense that allows them to "see" through the vibrations in the ground. An experienced earth bender can fight using nothing but their seismic sense and does not need to rely on another sense like hearing or vision. Earth benders can bend any kind of sediment be it stone, dirt, mud, sand or crystal though most dense crystals like diamonds and emeralds are impossible to bend. Sand bending is a sub skill of earth bending and resembles air bending more then traditional earth bending so it is difficult for most earth benders to work with without proper training.

Metal Bending is the higher form of earth bending and was invented by Toph Beifong who was possibly the most powerful non avatar earth bender ever to live. As metal is a much stronger element then earth metal bending is a much more powerful and deadly art then normal earth bending. Unlike the other higher bending arts metal bending is very similar to it's base art. A metal bender can bend almost any kind of metal except ones that are so pure that they do not contain any earth in them like platinum, gold or silver. It takes great strength and discipline to become a metal bender as it is an even more stubborn element then earth. Vibrations travel more effectively through metal then earth so seismic sense is more effective on a metal floor. Though metal is rarer then earth with the world becoming more and more industrialized and urban environments becoming increasingly more common this art has become more practical then it once was and a metal bender in a city is unmatched. Metal bending is the most common of the higher bending arts which is mostly due to the fact that it is the least inherently dangerous of the higher arts.

=Energy Bending= The original bending art it has since become extinct with the only known practitioners of it left alive are the last lion turtle and occasionally the avatar. Despite this the full abilities of energy bending are unknown but it is known that it's purpose is to bend the energy within people. The most common energy bending technique is the removal of someone's bending. This technique is permanent and only the energy bender who removed the victims bending may restore it. It is also possible to grant someone the ability to bend an element if they are a non bender though their chi and chakras must be compatible with the element they wish to learn. This was how Avatar Aang and Avatar Korra restored the lost art of air bending to the world by gifting it to Air Acolytes who they deemed worthy. Someone who is a bender of one element can never have their bending changed to another element. It is said that energy bending has numerous other techniques and applications but those are the only ones that where used in recent history. Energy bending is incredibly dangerous for if you try to bend the energy of someone else and your spirit isn't strong enough it will destroy you. Scholars believe that this is the main reason why energy bending fell out of favor but their is no denying that it is a powerful force and possible the most powerful of all the bending arts.

=Psychic Bending= Technically not a bending art at all, psychic bending refers to the ability to bend an element with out moving and using only your mind. It is an extremely difficult skill to learn and requires a large amounts of time, patience and training to learn. Some people how ever are born with the innate ability to bend using only their mind. This was the case with the Combustion Man the fire bender who first invented psychic bending. Though he invented it his psychic bending had several flaws that would lead to his demise at the hands of Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. Yakone the criminal mob boss from Republic City would later perfect the technique and applied it to his blood bending which made him almost invincible. In the present time the technique has become more widespread but still only an elite few can use it. A bender of any element can learn to utilize psychic bending and can even use it in conjunction with the higher bending arts. Though lightning generation is somewhat the exception as the lightning must still be directed and aimed with the practitioner's arm. A bending attack is more powerful if the bender uses their entire body to perform it but the element of surprise and versatility of psychic bending still makes it a worthwhile technique to learn. Also psychic bending is the only defense against a blood bender and can be used if some one is fully restrained.