Talk:Energybending/@comment-41.215.160.159-20120726000028/@comment-99.74.200.11-20120726001552

Well I think it was like bending: a combination of physical and spiritual.

On the physical side, he could have used bloodbending to block a person's chi in the opposite way a healer unlocks chi (Katara did this during "The Drill").

On the spiritual side, it was very clear everyone thought he was literally taking bending away. That and the hand placement on the forehead, symbolizing clarity and illusion increased the block on bending.

Between the combination of blocking chi and getting everyone to believe he was really taking bending were able to use bloodbending to take away another person's bending.