The Martial Arts in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Introduction

Unless you’ve been isolated from pop culture for the last decade you’ve most likely heard of Avatar: The Last Airbender. If that’s the case let me summarize it. It’s an animated tv series that aired from 2005 to 2008 on Nickelodeon set on a fantasy world with elements from different real world cultures, mainly Asian in origin. It’s populated by humans and strange animals. And there’s a special kind of humans who can manipulate one of the four classical elements (earth, air, fire and water). This type of people can literally bend their element to their will, hence the name benders. In every generation an Avatar is born, a special bender who can manipulate all four.

A lot has been written about the philosophies portrayed in the show, the different cultures it reflects, and some about the martial arts in it. Every type of bending is based on a real world martial art. More specifically, five styles of traditional Chinese martial arts (also known as Kung Fu). Without further ado, let’s go to the bending styles, I’ll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum but beware.

But First the mind (or the body) behind it

From the beginning, as the creators of the show built a world inspired by Asian philosophies and culture, they planned to include some form of martial arts. The original idea was to design some entirely original fighting styles for each bending but luckily for all of us the man they consulted had a different idea. The man pictured on the right is Sifu Kisu. He heads his own kung fu school in California. He’s an experienced martial artist with decades of practice. He studied many styles along his life including jujitsu, Karate and Taekwondo. He eventually met his teacher Master Kenneth Hui of the Northern Shaolin style and keeps teaching Chinese kung fu to this day. You can find videos of him showing the different moves from Avatar and even some demonstrations from kung fu events. His knowledge and skill are evident just by seeing the show.

Earth

Earth is the strong, tough, grounded element. Earthbenders can manipulate the soil, hurl flying rocks, control the ground beneath your feet and make it lethal. To do all that you need a good stance. This style of bending is based on Hung Gar Kuen (Hongjia Quan in Mandarin, 洪家拳), Hung family fist. A powerful style from the south of China that focuses on low stances, so as to better root oneself.

The techniques and fighting principles are based on the five animals (tiger, crane, leopard, snake and dragon) and the five elements of Chinese cosmology (water, earth, fire, metal and wood). Techniques contain long and short range fists,  and mainly (but not exclusively) low kicks. Many people call Hung Gar tiger & crane style because of it’s emphasis on this two animals which represent the hard and the soft aspects of the martial arts. In most Hung Gar forms you’ll find at least a tiger claw hand, maybe some crane wings moves and maybe some crane beak. Another common technique is the phoenix fist, a closed fist with the index finger slightly forward so the mid knuckle can reach vulnerable and hard to reach places (neck, eyes, armpits, genitals).

There’s a second style of earthbending based on another southern style but a very different one. Our protagonist Aang learns it from fan favorite character Toph Beifong. Toph’s bending style comes from Chu Gar (Zhujia in Mandarin, 朱家) a branch of Southern Praying Mantis. In contrast to Hung Gar the stances are shorter and higher and the focus is on very close combat with a heavy emphasis on arm and hand strikes. Typical uses of the hands include: slicing strikes, exploding fingers from the fist, claw-like raking actions, hooking and deflecting hands, elbow strikes and outward strikes of the knuckles.

Fire

The volatile element, fire ignites and burns. Fire can also dance and flow, thus firebending is an explosive dynamic style. Firebenders use their inner fire and express it outwardly in bursts, streams or even waves. It’s based on Northern Shaolin (Bei Shaolin in Mandarin or Bak Siu Lum in Cantonese, 北少林) a system designed by Master Ku Yu Cheung. One of the most prominent traditional northern styles of Chinese martial arts.

The northern styles of kung-fu generally emphasize long range techniques, quick advances and retreats, wide stances, kicking and leaping techniques, whirling circular blocks, quickness, agility, and aggressive attacks. This is reflected on how firebenders fight and how they use Shaolin long range attacks to expel fire from their limbs and destroy their opponents. Like any Chinese martial art Northern Shaolin’s curriculum includes the four categories of techniques, hands/fists, legs, locks and throws. Also included is a long list of weapons, some of which we see in the tv show.

Air

The next in our list is the first in the series: airbending. Air is all around us and is a deadly weapon in the hands of a skilled bender. Airbenders move in circles and spirals and so do their real world counterparts. The inspiration for airbending is Baguazhang (八卦掌), or Eight Trigram Palm, one of the so called internal styles of kung fu. The martial aspect of Bagua is based on 8 palm change practices adopting regimented postures performed whilst walking a circle. Airbenders use this same circular moves to generate whirlwinds, gusts and even spheres to float. Much as the air envelops and encircles us, so can an airbender use it in their favor.

Baguazhang uses a lot of open hand attacks and part of its fighting strategy is to surround and envelop de opponent. The baguazhang fighter trains to be able to evade and counterattack using circular and spiral motions. This helps to take advantage of openings by using unusual angles . There are many different styles or branches of Baguazhang, each with it’s own particularities but all have the same foundations of circular movement.

Water

Last but not least there’s waterbending, based on Yang Style Taijiquan (aka Tai Chi Chuan, 太极拳). Waterbenders make the water flow from their hands and use it to smash, hit like a whip and absorb attacks, much like the fighting principles of Taijiquan. It also needs a clear and relaxed mind and body to achieve the best results. Most people relate Taijiquan with healing and internal energy or qi/chi and that’s very much reflected in waterbending.

In Yang Taijiquan the practiced is at an even slow pace to develop the relaxed power. A contrast between the real life Taijiquan and waterbending is the range. Taijiquan works better at short distance almost touching your opponent to better feel and adapt to their movement. Waterbending by using the water allows a far longer range. Taijiquan is not so much about the techniques as it is about how to move and apply that to fighting. The main focus is on the four energies or jins. These are Peng, to repel/ward off. Lu or rollback. Ji to press and An, to push. Most techniques are an application of these principles, but there are some very recognizable techinques.

Non-bending styles

Not every fighter in the show is a bender. Some of them are just normal people without powers but that doesn’t make them any less formidable fighters. Of these non bending martial arts two are the most notable. The Kyoshi Warriors, a group of all female fighters who are very skilled with the fan. The other style is a precise pin point striking art that attacks joints and pressure points so as to incapacitate the opponent and even disable their bending temporarily. Both styles actually come from the same real world martial art of Northern Shaolin. Respectively the Iron Fan form and the subsystem of joint locks found in the system.

Hope you enjoyed this not so brief immersion into the martial arts of Avatar and feel free to leave a comment.

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Ezequiel Davidovich Caballero

I'm from Argentina, Spanish is my mother tongue, and English my second language. I've been into martial arts for as long as I can remember. I've been doing Hung Sing Choy Li Fat (aka Choy Lee Fut or Choy Lay Fut, same thing) for almost two decades now with bits of other Chinese styles in it. Hope you like what I write.

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