The Four Bending Elements
Water
Benders who use the element of water can manipulate water in any form including ice, snow, clouds, sweat, and steam. Some Waterbenders can even bend the blood inside a living thing. This ability allows the user to manipulate a subject's body and its movements. However, this can only be done during a full moon. Another subsect of waterbending is the ability of healing which is done by redirecting energy in the body.
Waterbenders typically originate from the Water Tribe.
Waterbending's fighting style is often described as fluid and graceful, flowing from one move to the next. Waterbending allows users to swifty transition from defensive to offensive manuevers.
Earth
Benders who use the element of earth can manipulate the various forms of earth and rock. Alternative styles of earthbending also include lavabending, metalbending, and sandbending. Metalbending was once thought impossible until Toph Beifong successfully developed a technique to bend the earth within metal and metallic objects.
Earthbenders typically originate from the Earth Kingdom.
Earthbending's fighting style is often described as strong, enduring and diverse. Generally, earthbenders withstand attacks as they wait and listen for the perfect moment to strike back against their oppontent. This is also known as the principle of neutral jing.
Fire
Unlike other styles of element bending, benders who use the element of fire can generate fire themselves through their own chi. They can choose also to manipulate fire that is already in their environment. Firebending's alternative styles also include combustionbending, lightning generation and redirection.
Firebenders typically originate from the Fire Nation.
Firebending's fighting style is often described as intense, aggressive, and unflinching. The style is mostly offense driven. Though there are defensive techniques like wall of fire and fire jabs that are utilized too.
Air
Benders who use the element of air can manipulate and control the air around them. Airbending can also enhance a user's agility and speed.
Airbenders typically originate from the Air Nomads.
Airbending is known to be both flexible, dynamic, and adaptive. Benders who use the element of air are also known to bend in accordance with Air Nomad philosophies, like pacifism. Airbending is mostly used defensively. They stive to utilize negative jing, and usually avoid attacking directly. Spirtuality is also a big focus in airbending, spirtual projection therefore is a subsect of airbending that heavily relies on the spirituality of a bender.