Breathing techniques teaches the pupil to keep warmth and to gain proper breath control. It is supposed to be simple, with no chance of doing anything wrong. Meditation is meant to help the pupil allow his or her spirit to wander, like the air. To achieve this, an obstacle course is used to develop an airbender's evasive capabilities, consisting of suspended sand bags to avoid, a rope to cross, several balancing posts to navigate, and finally a large rock wall to climb.Īir is the element of freedom therefore, it is necessary for anyone who wishes to master it to get into a mindset of freedom. Forcing one's way through the panels will result in them hitting the pupil while they attempt to traverse it.Īs airbenders move like the wind, they need to be evasive, since Air Nomad philosophy tends to avoid conflict or violence. The goal of the exercise is to maneuver through the gates without touching them the pupil is required to learn to switch directions at a moment's notice in order to get to the other side. Airbending is used to set the gates in motion, either by an airbending master or by a fellow pupil who has completed the exercise. According to Tenzin, one must also have a quiet environment free of any distractions.Īs airbending is a highly defensive discipline, it is essential to build up the instinct to avoid and evade conflict as well as to follow the path of least resistance. Airbending training focuses on avoiding resistance. The trainee stands blindfolded, which forces them to sense the earth through vibrations.Īirbending masters employ distinct training exercises that considerably aid their pupils in mastering the art. The trainer begins by bending a rock swiftly from below the ground, and the trainee is supposed to whack the rock before it is retracted just as quickly. The whack-a-rock exercise is a training technique that helps teach seismic sense. From here, the trainee needs to recover from the fatigue of throwing such a heavy load in enough time to catch it before it hits the ground. Although the payoff of learning how to better understand the earth is a necessity of the training, sand punching is liable to engender pain in those who attempt it without complete knowledge of properįor the sand sack throw, the trainee gets into a ready position and hurls a contained number of rocks high in the sky. It is the trainee's goal to push the "rock dummy" over a boundary drawn on the ground.Īs the name suggests, sand punching has the trainee punch into containers that have been weighted with heavy sand. In this training technique, the trainer and trainee are flanked by two earthen walls bent by the trainer, who proceeds by covering themselves with stones, effectively creating a mobile "rock armor". When Toph trained Aang in earthbending, she used a variety of different exercises. Earthbending training involves both practice of earthbending techniques and a mastery of neutral jing. Tough and rigid, masters demand perfection and persistence from their pupils. Later on, Katara used the concept when training Aang, demonstrating versatility and phase change through her exercises.Įarthbending training is a rigorous and serious process. In her duel against Mai and Ty Lee, she quickly utilized water whips before pulling them back in to create ice walls that shielded her from Mai's stilettos. During the battle, Pakku subverted Katara's attacks to his own benefit, transforming her water strikes into solid ice and re-purposing them to launch his own attacks.Īfter mastering the art during her visit to the Northern Water Tribe, Katara began to demonstrate the concept of versatility as well. In Master Pakku's duel with Katara, he demonstrated that success in waterbending is as much about versatility as it is about strength. The mark of a true master is their ability to effectively use water interchangeably in different phases with relative ease. Water is the element of change, and as such, many waterbending masters will stress the versatility of water during training. Moreover, bending training differs from one location to the next, as masters from the polar Water Tribes tend to focus more on benefiting from an advantageous environment, while those situated elsewhere emphasize resourcefulness and use of water from non-conventional sources. The techniques used are directly influenced by each individual master's own upbringing and specific style of bending. Masters of waterbending employ a variety of distinct training exercises that considerably aid their pupils in mastering the art.
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