Here is an extensive history of the art of Earthbending.
Earth is the element of substance.
The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong.
They are persistent and enduring.
Let's dig in. To start, we'll look way back to the era of Raava,
thousands of years before Avatar: The Last Airbender.
My name is Raava.
I am the force of light and peace.
Like the other three elements, the power of earthbending was granted
to hunters by the ancient lion turtle that they lived on.
The lion turtle.
Great guardian of our city, we are venturing into the Spirit Wilds
to bring back food for our people. Please, grant us the power of fire.
The power is yours to keep until your return.
And the hunters were expected
to return the power when the hunt was over.
When humans began to migrate away from the lion turtles,
many of them kept their earthbending powers permanently
The world is entering a new age.
Our time protecting mankind is over.
We will no longer give humans the power of the elements.
While this gave people the ability to bend earth,
their skills definitely needed some refining.
[grunting]
That's where Oma and Shu come in.
As a pair of star crossed lovers on opposing sides of a great war,
it wasn't easy for Oma and Shu to see each other.
But determined to be together,
the two earth benders were the first to truly master the art
by observing the geokinetic abilities of the Badgermoles.
Using their new found mastery of earthbending,
they created a complex labyrinth beneath the mountain.
You might know it as...
♪ Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! ♪ ♪ Through the mountains ♪
♪ Secret, secret, secret ♪ ♪ Secret tunnel! Yeah! ♪
But when Shu was killed in the war, Oma displayed
her devastating earthbending abilities to the villagers,
single handedly bringing an end to the war.
She could've destroyed them all.
But instead, she declared the war over.
Both villages helped her build a new city where they would live together in peace.
But she also brought a new beginning...
the beginning of the earthbending fighting style we know today.
These techniques evolved over time, being used not only for combat
but for construction... transportation...
and even espionage.
And who're the mean-looking guys in robes?
Inside is the Royal Palace.
Those men are agents of the Dai Li, the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se.
They are the guardians of all our traditions!
By the time of Avatar Aang, earthbending was even being used for sport.
Round one: The Boulder vs. The Big Bad Hippo!
And through this sport, we were introduced to one figure
who single handedly changed the course of earthbending history...
Your champion, the Blind Bandit!
...Toph Bei Fong.
Having learned directly from the Badgermoles herself,
Toph was able to hone rare
and maybe even unprecedented earthbending skills.
Namely, her seismic sense, an ability that allowed her
to sense the vibrations in the ground and functionally see with her feet.
Uh. Ooh!
It was so refined, in fact, that she could even
sense a person's heartbeat and detect if they were lying.
He's not lying.
How can you tell?
I can feel his breathing and heartbeat.
When people lie, there's a physical reaction.
He's telling the truth.
But Toph's greatest contribution to earthbending history
was a technique nobody else thought possible,
metalbending.
[breathing]
Come on, metal... budge.
Whoo! Toph, you rule.
This new skill played a huge role in ending the hundred year war.
[creaking]
[moaning]
Have I ever mentioned how sweet it is that you invented metalbending?
You could stand to mention it more.
As the sole user of the art, Toph had the responsibility
of passing it on to a new generation.
She began to notice that some earthbenders during particularly emotional moments
would subconsciously cause the metal in her meteorite bracelet to vibrate.
Believing that these particular earthbenders had the potential
to become metalbenders, she took them as her students
at the first ever metalbending academy.
While at first, the class seemed completely hopeless,
after a few road bumps, her students became
fully fledged metalbenders, proving Toph's theory right.
And as the skill spread, it changed the Earth Kingdom forever.
Now, they had access to metal working
that was far superior to that at the Fire Nation,
making them an industrial powerhouse.
Before long metal cities were being built,
trains were revolutionized.
And in Republic City,
a metalbending police force was born under the leadership of Toph, herself.
Cool. Metalbenders.
I caught the bad guys for you, officers.
Arrest them.
[grunting]
It had been earthbending that played a major role
in sparking the industrial revolution.
And by the era of Avatar Korra, we saw an age of advanced technology
built and sometimes even operated through metalbending.
While earthbending is often perceived,
as the most rigid and unchanging of the elements...
The key to earthbending is your stance.
You've got to be steady and strong.
Rock is a stubborn element.
If you're going to move it, you've got to be like a rock yourself.
It's ironic that throughout its rich history,
it seems to be the element that had the most drastic evolution.
Check this out.
And brought about the most change to the Avatar world.