bolin [bending style analysis]

Sunday, April 22, 2012

bolin [bending style analysis]

re: bolin’s bending style

okay so a lot of people are saying that everyone who thinks bolin is a bad bender are picking on him and he’s only bent in two episodes to which i say

yeah OKAY look at that shit

that’s totally probending style. small bricks of earth, keeping flexible, mainly on the defensive. he follows through waaaay too much and he’s too light on his feet. being an earthbender [traditionally] is about being stubborn, holding your ground- which instills a sense of pride which is a BIG EARTHBENDER THING that he’s… not really doing.

i seriously doubt bolin ever got the chance to train properly as anything other than a probender because he never had to, whereas mako is incredibly focused and stubborn no matter what he chooses to do and could probably master traditional firebending reasonably quickly.

when he’s backed into a corner and panicking he constructs a wall but it takes a great deal of force, because (as i’m assuming) using pure power is not something he’s used to. he takes his feet off the ground almost every time he moves which is a big no no in earthbending- rooted stances is the entire basis of the art. it’s worth noting that as they run away, this wall crumbles easily.

earthbending is about listening and waiting- a perfect mix of offensive and defensive, hard power and soft power- and bolin seems far too flighty for that. earthbending is about being decisive and stubborn and that is not a bolin quality. he tries to cajole and evade his way around his problems (getting korra into the ring, not working with the gang, getting away from amon) instead of being tough enough to hold his ground. he’s flighty and fun-loving and quick on his feet for such a big guy and he’s got the qualities of an airbender more than anything else (which is why i love bolin and korra, because they can learn from each other so much, but that’s beside the point).

he follows through with his whole arm and back in more of a firebending movement. earthbending involves straight striking.

earthbending is the element of substance and pride and bolin doesn’t seem to have much of either, being the easy-going, fun-loving and naive goofball that we’ve seen so far. learning how to bend outside the ring is probably going to be something that’s difficult for bolin, both mentally and physically, because he’s had someone taking care of him his whole life and never had to rely on his own bending abilities. it’s also going to be difficult for him to realize that because of his association with korra people will be coming at him outside the bending ring, and that in real life, you can’t always just lose and come back and fight another day.

bolin has to learn to protect his brother and be as stubborn as the element he was born into.