Avatar Korra

• Episkey wrote on 2012-05-08 02:02

  Quote from Elena;858336:

  
  Oh my god, you guys:
  [spoiler]
  

  [Image: http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3kmynq6gM1qceiz6o1_500.gif]

  
  

  [Image: http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3kmynq6gM1qceiz6o2_500.gif]

  [/spoiler]

  
  
  I almost cried when I saw this scene.
  
  Poor Bolin :T_T:
• Juno wrote on 2012-05-08 03:40

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;857374:

  doesn't make sense how chiblockers are ridiculously strong against benders
  As if it's hard to hit someone far away and keeping them from getting close to you.

  
  
  It seems like benders are relying too much on their bending...whereas chi-blockers really sharpen their fighting skills.
• Elena wrote on 2012-05-08 04:24
  Yeah. Poor, sweet Bolin.
  
  One thing I'll say is even in the old series a chi-blocker could keep up with a bender. In fact, a lot of non-benders were very capable fighters. There are many ways of fighting in the world of ALTA and LOK, bending is just one of many. Powerful, yes, but not the only way.
• truefire wrote on 2012-05-08 05:09

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;857374:

  doesn't make sense how chiblockers are ridiculously strong against benders
  As if it's hard to hit someone far away and keeping them from getting close to you.

  
  
  Except the chi blockers of this era utilize technology to make up for their lack of bending abilities, and very few benders are capable of thinking outside of the box for their usual bending styles (metal bending and lightning bending are still relatively new sub-categories of their elements). That and if there's anyone who's well-versed in bending studies, it'd be the guys whose sole goal is to nullify those abilities. Chi-blocking might have been relatively new in the era of Ty Lee, but it's been 100 years since then, there has actually been quite a bit of actual unrest between benders and non-benders, and it would make sense that non-benders out of a necessity to defend themselves, would have an edge against benders by combating them in ways benders never before considered; half of TLA was about using bending itself in unconventional ways.
  
  Among the things that are relatively new in Korra's era are the huge technological advancements. In Aang's era, the Fire Nation tanks and zeppelins were new and foreign to everyone, and those were powered by bending. The weapons of the chi blockers are tools that have both been crafted without bending and do not rely on bending for actual use. Sure, some benders who understand how the tools work and what they're comprised of might be able to bend the tools away from them, but the chi blockers still have the advantage of mystery on their side. It's new and frightening and a lot more present to benders than it was in Aang's era, both from the chil blocker standpoint and the technological standpoint.
  
  Also, while the act of bending is a very physical act, you can imagine that a lot of benders don't go as far as the chi blockers in movement because with the ability to bend, they just don't need to. The chi blockers rely solely on their physical ability, and as such are stronger, faster and more agile out of a more focused discipline, and out of necessity. They need to be able to dodge better than a bender because they can't neutralize the elements being flung at them from afar. And once they get in close, the benders, who are still used to bending at close range instead of relying more on melee get caught up in blind spots, misdirection and the fact that for once, they're not looking for trails of fire, water or earth, but should have been watching hands and feet, and should have been guarding parts of their body they never previously thought could be considered vulnerable.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2012-05-08 05:31
  actually thinking about it
  pro bending is an abomination to the art of bending
  
  perhaps Korra can be an Azula (in terms of being a powerhouse bender, not personality)
  and also, from the TLA
  it seemed that old dudes are the most competent benders
  so it would be nice to see Tenzen and Lin in action
  
  speaking of Amon, [SPOILER="Spoiler"]the cat agrees that there's much more to him then taking away bending. Aang was able to take away Ozai's bending because he's much stronger spiritually. If Amon actually does take away bending, he would have to be spiritually stronger than any bender. This is very, very unlikely for a non-bender. Too bad Korra's so spiritually weak. her bending is at great risk if she doesnt pick up[SPOILER="Spoiler"][/SPOILER]
  [/SPOILER]
• truefire wrote on 2012-05-08 06:14

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;858463:

  actually thinking about it
  pro bending is an abomination to the art of bending
  
  perhaps Korra can be an Azula (in terms of being a powerhouse bender, not personality)
  and also, from the TLA
  it seemed that old dudes are the most competent benders
  so it would be nice to see Tenzen and Lin in action
  
  speaking of Amon, [SPOILER="Spoiler"]the cat agrees that there's much more to him then taking away bending. Aang was able to take away Ozai's bending because he's much stronger spiritually. If Amon actually does take away bending, he would have to be spiritually stronger than any bender. This is very, very unlikely for a non-bender. Too bad Korra's so spiritually weak. her bending is at great risk if she doesnt pick up[SPOILER="Spoiler"][/SPOILER]
  [/SPOILER]

  
  
  But Korra is a powerhouse bender. There's a very key difference between her and Azula. Azula, being the sociopath that she was, had very little regard for human life (except for maybe her father and sometimes Zhuko) and as such did not care much about damage control (except for when her fighting conflicted with her plotting). Korra, on the other hand, being the Avatar, has a very high (if not the highest) regard for human life. Whereas Azula would walk into a city, see all the buildings and people and just burn everything (except when they were to be used for labor or ransom, and even then that was only based on who survived), Korra would view them as targets to avoid hitting. She has that power, but her conditions for using it are much more restrictive.
  
  I also disagree about the spiritual strength of Amon. Implying that a non-bender would inherently have less spiritual prowess than a bender suggests that bending itself is the measure of spirituality. If that were true then chi blocking wouldn't exist at all, not to mention that Korra wouldn't be nearly as powerful with the three elements she controls. As her previous masters said, she is physically powerful (which Aang was not), but spiritually weak (which Aang also was not). Heck, the idea of a non-bender being spiritually inferior probably also touches on the way a lot of Republic City's more problematic benders viewed non-benders--as harmless and powerless--and also explains why chi blocking has been working so well on a psychological level. Benders constantly underestimate non-benders and then they get scared when the perceived cornered mouse fights back and wins.
  
  I'm also not sure why you consider Pro-Bending to be an abomination to the art of bending. Firstly, what exactly is the "art of bending?" Secondly, bending was often used for entertainment and recreation even in Aang's time, and often by Aang himself, and often before Aang's time. Tenzen's disapproval of Pro-Bending had more to do with a difference in ideology, much like an older person would frown upon more revealing clothing, and even he changed his mind because he saw how it could be beneficial to Korra.
• ZazieTheBeast wrote on 2012-05-08 06:32
  i think the cat is right about pro bending being the cause for the weaker benders
  
  As i see it benders=boxers, chi-blockers=MMA/streetfighters. Benders having gotten used to pro bending style of fighting which has rules and stuff associated to it just are not prepared for the non-benders style of fighting which is aimed toward more real combat.
  
  Also there is no war during this period so there are not many combat experienced benders around. Metal benders seem more combat ready and we have not seen them fight non benders(is behind so i might be wrong about that)
• truefire wrote on 2012-05-08 06:57

  Quote from ZazieTheBeast;858496:

  i think the cat is right about pro bending being the cause for the weaker benders
  
  As i see it benders=boxers, chi-blockers=MMA/streetfighters. Benders having gotten used to pro bending style of fighting which has rules and stuff associated to it just are not prepared for the non-benders style of fighting which is aimed toward more real combat.
  
  Also there is no war during this period so there are not many combat experienced benders around. Metal benders seem more combat ready and we have not seen them fight non benders(is behind so i might be wrong about that)

  
  
  I don't see pro-bending as having weakened benders for several reasons. The first is that not every bender is a pro-bender. The ones Amon made an example of were Triad members, and they could care less about rules and fair play. The other is that no pro-bender has been a pro-bender from birth. Bending in and of itself is a way of life, with pro-bending providing its own set of rules. Benders apply bending outside of sports constantly; boxing only applies boxing outside of sports in an actual fight, and there are huge restrictions on what a boxer can and can't do to a non-boxer. Bending and boxing are very different.
  
  I actually view Pro-bending as a sign of bending as a lifestyle and as a social tool evolving in certain ways. At no other point in the world of Avatar's history would you have seen such a visual representation of so many different elements working together towards a common goal. It's a symbolic presentation of the elements coming together, and just as much a visible reminder of how fragile air is at the moment. It's like an in-your-face embodiment of what Republic City set out to do.
  
  The one thing I will say is that the weaker bending is most likely resulting from peace time. Actual fights aren't so life-and-death (unless you count the Triad stirring things up), but again, it seems you and the Cat keep seeing the current state of bending as how much the benders are slacking off, instead of how much the non-benders are stepping up. The old ways of differentiating between people are changing. While the whole bender/non-bender issue might have been at the back of everyone's mind when it was once earth vs. fire. vs wind. vs water vs. earth, that's gone now, and because people will always find new ways to single out other people, the bender/non-bender issue has become more apparent. It's also an indication of how much conflict has shifted from external, foreign foes to civil unrest from people within your own city walls. Chi-blocking causes very little if any city damage. Benders have to check themselves unless they want to bring Republic City to the ground. Sure, war is over, but the nature of fighting itself is changing.
  
  Of course, the non-benders aren't shooting to kill either. The chi blockers are hostile and aggressive, but so far nothing they've done has appeared to be lethal. It's also very clear just how physically superior the chi blockers are when you take away a bender's powers, because as we saw with Korra, Mako, and Bolen, once they can't bend, they don't even consider the idea that they have arms for punching and legs for kicking, because all they've ever known about the world was through bending. The way LoK treats perceptions based on one's gifts is very similar to the themes in a manga called Iris Zero. People are so used to viewing and dealing with the world in one way that when faced with something that challenges that view they have no idea what to do. Benders can't imagine a life without bending. Non-benders live a life without bending everyday. Chi blocking is foreign to benders, who don't understand it, don't want to understand it, and at the same time sit at the sweet spot of fear where they are terrified by it like the boogeyman. Chi blocking is the great equalizer to non-benders, who revere it, understand what it can do, and are constantly applying it to their interactions with benders.
• Xxazurekitex wrote on 2012-05-08 21:01

  Quote from Elena;858336:

  Well, Aang got his unblocked with a lucky, but very painful-looking blow, and it was supposed to be gone forever. Hard to say.
  
  Oh my god, you guys:
  [spoiler]
  

  [Image: http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3kmynq6gM1qceiz6o1_500.gif]

  
  

  [Image: http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3kmynq6gM1qceiz6o2_500.gif]

  [/spoiler]

  
  
  But that was for the avatar state not bending...
• Dracius wrote on 2012-05-09 04:35
  I think nearly any of the main characters from the old show would hands down, beat the benders now.
  I suppose war and doomsday is a good incentive for honing your bending skills though.
• Xxazurekitex wrote on 2012-05-09 04:58

  Quote from Dracius;859047:

  I think nearly any of the main characters from the old show would hands down, beat the benders now.
  I suppose war and doomsday is a good incentive for honing your bending skills though.

  
  
  Considering that then you only had two options:
  A( Let your land be burned down and submit to Phoenix King Ozai or
  B( Become a master bender and take the fire nation's leadership down.
  
  It it was a no other choice situation.
  
  But you're right. Benders now seem weaker...I mean 8372673890614738976 people know lightning bending now..
  (Did anyone else find it interesting that people who could bend lightning were using that to generate power in power plants? I certainly thought it was a particle concept...)
• Elena wrote on 2012-05-09 05:38
  I kind of like that they use that in the power plants. I'd thought of the possibility when I first saw that that sort of bending was possible in ATLA. They already had some pretty nice technology going for them, particularly the Fire Nation.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2012-05-09 05:38
  [video=youtube;7RGBXtgcHFk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RGBXtgcHFk[/video]
  
  [video=youtube;WDBh0L97TAE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDBh0L97TAE[/video]
• Xxazurekitex wrote on 2012-05-09 06:06
  Oh my.
  What a serious threat.
  
  How will we see the pro-bending finals now D:
• Elena wrote on 2012-05-12 00:37
  Leave pro-bending alone. ;w;
  
  Though I can definitely see why he'd target this. Bending is serving as entertainment so it's seen in a positive light, and it makes the benders themselves train harder, so they get better at doing what he doesn't want them to do.