So, I was watching the Avatar series over again when I noticed something. A fatal weakness that every bending style seems to have. I'm sure that anyone somewhat versed in martial arts could tell you, but every single style of bending in the show lacks any techniques that can be used in a grappling situation.
All bending styles in the avatar world seem to rely on standup fighting only, and while these styles are aesthetically pleasing and work well against other characters in the series, a good grappler or groundfighter could neutralize any character's bending if he or she got close enough.
Think of it like this, all bending techniques shown in the series require at least one thing: free movement of one's limbs. This is shown when the Dai Li bind the character's hands. After that, no one was able to bend with the bound hands. The only exceptions to this that I can think of are Iroh's firebreathing technique and Aang blowing a stream of air.
It seems to me that just about any bender could easily be defeated if their opponent knows any grappling techniques like judo or brazilian jiu jitsu. That is, or course, assuming that they are physically capable of getting close enough to their opponent before being frozen, burned, crushed, or just blown away.
Thoughts?
All bending styles in the avatar world seem to rely on standup fighting only, and while these styles are aesthetically pleasing and work well against other characters in the series, a good grappler or groundfighter could neutralize any character's bending if he or she got close enough.
Think of it like this, all bending techniques shown in the series require at least one thing: free movement of one's limbs. This is shown when the Dai Li bind the character's hands. After that, no one was able to bend with the bound hands. The only exceptions to this that I can think of are Iroh's firebreathing technique and Aang blowing a stream of air.
It seems to me that just about any bender could easily be defeated if their opponent knows any grappling techniques like judo or brazilian jiu jitsu. That is, or course, assuming that they are physically capable of getting close enough to their opponent before being frozen, burned, crushed, or just blown away.
Thoughts?
