Aiirbending may be easy to underestimate,
but what are the actual strengths and weaknesses of airbending?
First, let's take a look at some overall advantages of airbending.
Right away, it's pretty clear the air benders are at an advantage
when it comes to bending material.
Air is everywhere.
It's possible to isolate water, earth and fire benders
away from their respective elements.
But there's a reason the Fire Nation had such a hard keeping a hold of Aang.
Not only is air everywhere, but it's also not particularly limited
by cyclical factors.
Unlike water, which is tied to the moon or fire, which is tied to the sun,
air doesn't seem to have any weaker, stronger times of day.
And though it does grow stronger in the autumn,
airbending doesn't have periods of total in activity
like the lunar or solar eclipse.
Finally, Airbending can be frighteningly powerful
as an offensive weapon when it's untethered from the peace,
loving air nomad philosophy, airbending can be fearsome
and very dangerous.
Air's ubiquity and consistency definitely strengthen
airbending as a discipline overall, but let's take a deeper look
at their airbendings combative strengths and weaknesses.
Airbending's development
has been shaped by the Air Nomads philosophy of passes.
I've only had to use violence for necessary defense,
and I've certainly never used it to take a life.
So airbending has strong defensive techniques.
One of the most iconic moves is the air sphere,
which acts as a shield on the ground, underwater or flying through the air.
Many of airbending moves are built around the concept of conflict avoidance.
The key is to be like the leaf.
Flow with movement of gates.
Airbending is all about spiral movements.
When you meet resistance, you must be able to switch direction at a moment's notice.
Since airbending, focuses on constant mobility
and moving through the path of least resistance,
many of the defensive techniques involve dodging and evasive maneuvers,
so it's very difficult to actually land a blow on an airbender.
Even if an opponent manages to make a direct hit,
air cushions can break heavy falls and the air sphere
can even withstand concentrated onslaught fire.
Actually, airbending seems to be particularly effective against fire.
Since fire isn't a solid as earth or water,
it's susceptible to airbending blocks like the one
Aang uses against Fire Lord Ozai and Combustion Man.
Airbending's emphasis on agile, evasive movements
can turn into an offensive advantage as well
by goading opponents into tiring themselves out.
She's moving like an entirely different player!
The Platypus Bears have no juice left, but Mako and Bolin are still fresh and juicy.
Or destroying their own advantages.
You haven't thrown a single blow.
No, but you have.
And speaking of offensive strengths,
airbending is useful for long range broad moves like...
Airbending slice!
Airbenders can send out a powerful blast
that literally blows their opponents away.
These offensive moves can take on many different forms,
from a tornado to a pro bending inspired punch
to the actual form of the Airbender himself.
No air benders can launch personal attacks.
The element's greatest advantage is definitely it's wide impacts
that deflect opponents.
And last but not least, airbending also offers serious stealth capability.
In Omashu, Aang is able to drop off Tom-Tom without a sound.
He even manages to avoid Toph's seismic sense
by floating around the earth rumble ring.
Somebody's a little light on his feet.
What's your fighting name? The fancy dancer?
Airbending does have its disadvantages combat, though.
Air doesn't have the physical impenetrability of stone,
which can limit its offensive impacts against earthbenders.
Did someone leave the windows open?
It feels a little drafty in here.
Overall, airbending combative strengths are pretty impressive though,
especially when it comes to defensive and long range moves.
Of course, peace loving Air Nomads
definitely take advantage of airbending's
less combative, more practical strengths.
Well, relatively practical.
In terms of mobility, airbending is unparalleled.
Airbenders can run at incredible speeds.
That's just a bunch of Fire Lord propaganda.
There's no way that's true.
And that's not just across land.
Even airbenders in training and leap up cliffs
and sheer verticals are no match for an airbender.
And, of course, airbenders have their gliders,
which can carry them for as long as they can keep
bending the air currents to stay aloft.
It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly.
A glider can carry more than one person too.
But airbending gets even more intense.
Airbenders can technically gain the ability to fly,
though is a highly advanced skill.
Only two airrbenders are known to have mastered it.
Guru Laghima and Zaheer.
Did he just fly?
Even though it's an incredibly difficult skill,
flight is a definite strength for airbending.
Another practical application of airbending shows up
in the very first episode of Avatar The Last Airbender.
Ever wonder why Tara and Sokka are bundled up in parkas
at the South Pole but Aang doesn't even wear a coat?
Just curious.
It is because of airbender's ability to regulate their body temperature.
If it weren't so cold, I go right back to sleep.
Then this is the perfect time to learn meditation and proper breathing technique.
Air benders are able to warm themselves with only their breathing.
That comes in handy during Aang's travels,
and it also might allow airbenders live comfortably
at high altitude in the mountain top.
Airbending is also strong enough to move heavy objects,
whether that's in combat or in fake earthbending.
That lemur, he's earthbending.
And there are many other creative airbending techniques,
like amplifying sounds, stopping lava in its tracks,
creating suction and even cooling down soup.
Allow me.
Oh, my.
That doesn't mean Airbending doesn't have its drawbacks.
when it comes to practical usage.
Though powerful, airbending lacks durability.
Earthbending can create permanent structure like Earth tent,
a building, or even an entire island,
with the help of a few other elements and the Avatar State.
Similarly, Waterbending doesn't always require constant active bending.
Waterman can freeze an opponent in ice,
or build an entire city, like the North Pole.
Even firebenders flames will keep burning if given enough fuel.
Fire is alive. It breathes, it grows.
But airbendings effects require constant effort.
So even an air sphere seems to have a limited life span.
Airbending's immorality may count as a weakness,
though it's a fitting trait for an element that produces
freedom from earthly connections.
Air is the element of freedom.
The air nomads detached themselves
from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom.
And that philosophy of freedom leads us to the cultural strengths
of airbending.
After harmonic convergence,
not all the new airbenders became Air Nomads.
But being both an airbender and an Air Nomad
has some serious perks. Since many of the strengths
of airbending actually come from the Air Nomad's culture and customs.
First up, the unique bond with the sky bison.
A sky bison is a companion for life.
getting a lift from a flying bison is a unique and pretty fast way to travel.
We've been riding for hours.
I don't know why, but I thought this thing would be a lot faster.
Though it's not for everyone.
But a sky bison more than a pet or a beast of burden.
I guess this means we'll always be together.
An Air Nomad who bonds with a flying bison gains a lifelong friend,
a powerful defendant and possibly an airbending teacher.
The original air benders were the sky bison.
Maybe you could give me a lesson sometime, buddy.
The emphasis that Air Nomads place on spirituality.
also yield some incredible abilities, like spiritually projection.
- How are you here right now? - Shh, quiet.
It's a high level airbender move with a little spirituals stuff thrown in.
This technique lets an airbender explore distant or inaccessible areas,
like flight though, spiritual projection in the very rare skill.
Jinora is the only known airbender able to use it,
and the difficulty of spiritual projection
actually points towards one significant barrier to mastering airbending.
The deep spiritual dedication that it requires.
No one seems to be interested in the hard work required
to become a part of the Air Nation.
As we see with Korra's initial struggles to learn airbending,
it takes a great degree of meditation and training to master the elements,
As with earthbending, a student's temperament
can make airbending tough to learn.
Yeah, it's not sinking in yet.
I'm going to get a glass of lichi juice.
Korra, the meditation's not over yet.
- Daddy, can I have some litchi juice too? - No.
Also, Airbending emphasizes letting go of earthly attachments.
Well, this is neither a pro nor a con in itself.
Letting go can prove difficult, even for Aang.
Meditate on what attached you to this world.
He's able to relinquish his physical connections to his culture
one by one, as his journey progressive.
Three of the four air temples are destroyed.
His traditional air nomad garb is ruined in Ba Sing Se,
and even burns his glider, which was hand crafted by the monks.
However, he refuses to completely let go of the people he loves.
Katara's in danger.
- I have to go. - No, Aang.
While nobody would argue that Aang is a weak airbender by any means,
there are certain airbending skills
he likely never achieved skills like flying,
which require an airbender to completely relinquish
all connection in the material world.
But the monks taught me that I had to detach myself
from the world so my spirit could be free.
Many great and wise Air Nomads have detached themselves
and achieved spiritual enlightenment, but the Avatar can never do it.
Overall, though airbenders generally embraced the philosophy of nonviolence,
Airbending's power is not to be underestimated.
In the balance of the Four elements, Air definitely holds its own.
And though Airbending went untethered
from the Air Nomads peaceful beliefs,
is a fearsome element with incredible power.
Aang himself demonstrates
the immense strength that comes from the air benders,
spiritually convictions.
The monks always taught me that all life is sacred,
even the life of the tiniest spider fly caught in its own web.
To bend another's energy,
your own spirit must be unbendable.
Or you will be corrupted and destroyed.