Kyoshi Warriors


 * This article is about the organization. For the episode with a similar name, see "The Warriors of Kyoshi".

"earth"

- The Kyoshi Warriors are a skilled group of fighters. Trustworthy, too. They're good friends of ours.

The Kyoshi Warriors are an all-female group of warriors, formerly led by Suki on Kyoshi Island. Their individualities have been greatly expanded since Avatar Aang returned. When he visited the island, all of the other warriors looked exactly the same, with the exception of their leader Suki. However, later, they all had different hairstyles and headdresses. They were named after Avatar Kyoshi.

History
Though their fighting style and clothing mimic those of Avatar Kyoshi, they seemingly did not implement any of the bending arts in their physical movements. Clad in ornate, armored, green kimonos inspired by Kabuki theater, metal headdresses, and white-faced makeup designed to intimidate opponents. The Kyoshi Warriors used metal fans as their main weapons but also implemented katanas and retractable shields. The warriors' most prominent fighting style was not about strength but about using their opponents' force against them. Primarily, the warriors dealt with the disorderly traders and travelers who, after a night of carousing in the port of Kyoshi, often stumbled into the village and caused trouble.



The warrior's uniform has a gold insignia that represents the honor of the warrior's heart, and the silk threads symbolize the brave blood that flows through their veins. They also utilize swords similar to katanas and wrist shields. Holding the fans like extensions of their arms, they aim to turn the strength of their opponents against them, a main principle of waterbending. The female warriors do not take kindly to training outsiders, let alone men, in these unique methods. However, Sokka was admitted to the group despite being a male and outsider, but he had to go along with all the Kyoshi traditions: wearing their style of armor and traditional make-up. This made him the first known male Kyoshi Warrior in history. The only other known outsider to join them is Ty Lee, who was born of the Fire Nation.

Although Kyoshi Island had long remained neutral in the Fire Nation's war against the Earth Kingdom, after the Avatar arrived on the island, the Kyoshi Island Warriors decided to assist the Earth Kingdom army in its attempts to resist the Fire Nation. The warriors were not on the front lines, but were serving as guards for the ferries to Ba Sing Se. They also struggled to protect Appa from capture at the hands of Princess Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee.

In Ba Sing Se, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee infiltrated the city disguised as members of the Kyoshi Warriors. The real Kyoshi Warriors were defeated in their battle with Azula and subsequently imprisoned. The Kyoshi Warriors were sent to the Capital City Prison, with the exception of their leader Suki who was taken to the Boiling Rock prison. Suki was eventually freed by Sokka and Zuko with the help of Mai.

The rest of the Kyoshi Warriors were finally freed after the Hundred Year War ended, and Suki resumed her role as their leader. They were in full uniform at Zuko's coronation and even had a new member: Ty Lee. She said that they bonded a lot in prison and now they could be "best friends forever". Ty Lee also taught them some chi blocking.



A year after the end of the Hundred Year War, Mai asked the Kyoshi Warriors for help with the security of the Fire Nation Royal Palace after an intent of murder to Fire Lord Zuko by Kori, the daughter of Yu Dao's mayor, which had put in evidence the inefficiency of the palace bodyguards.

Metal headdress
Initially, all warriors besides Suki wore a simple green headband. During and after the spring of 100 ASC, however, the warriors wore distinct, individualized headdresses, allowing one to discern specific warriors, such as the unnamed warrior who was seen both with Suki and also when being hugged by Ty Lee at Zuko's coronation.

The Last Airbender


stated that the Kyoshi Warriors were one of his favorite parts of season one, and that they had filmed multiple action scenes of them in the movie with them, "dropping out of trees" and such. He said that they were great, but the problem was that he himself "loved them too much", stating that his own love of the characters in the show made him want to keep them throughout the movie as they filmed more and more. Thus the Kyoshi Warriors do not appear in, it is said that they will appear in  instead.

Appearances
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The Promise Trilogy
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 * The Promise Part 1

Trivia

 * With the white face, red lips and accents, and black eye and brow streaks, their makeup is a cross between two traditional Japanese styles, Geisha and Kabuki, more dramatic than the former but less than the latter.
 * Sokka is the only known male to be trained, to any extent, by the Kyoshi Warriors. He is also the only known male to have ever worn their uniform.
 * Ty Lee of the Fire Nation is the only known member who did not reside on Kyoshi Island to have formally joined the Kyoshi Warriors.
 * It was shown that even underwater their makeup could not be erased.
 * Their weaponry is similar to that of the samurai, making them one of the few groups in Avatar: The Last Airbender to be based on Japanese culture.