Kyoshi Warriors


 * This article is about the group. For the episode by 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 Island Warriors are an all-female group of fighters led by Suki on Kyoshi Island. Their individualities have been greatly expanded since the first season. In "The Warriors of Kyoshi", all of the other warriors look exactly the same, with the exception of their leader Suki; however, in "Appa's Lost Days," they all have different hairstyles and headdresses.

History
Though their fighting style and clothing mimic those of Avatar Kyoshi, they seemingly do not implement any of the bending arts in their physical movements. Clad in ornate, armored green kimonos which are mostly painted on, metal headdresses, and geisha-like makeup designed to intimidate opponents, Kyoshi Island Warriors use metal fans as their main weapons. The warrior's uniform has a gold insignia that represents the honor of the warrior's heart and the silk threads symbolizes the brave blood that flows through the veins. In "Appa's Lost Days", it was revealed they also utilize swords similar to katanas and wrist shields. Holding the fans like extensions of their own arms, they aim to turn the strength of their opponents against them, a principle also studied in Waterbending. The female warriors do not take kindly to training outsiders, let alone men, in these unique methods. However, they accepted Sokka (although he had to go along with all their traditions--including wearing their style of armor and make-up), making him the first male Kyoshi Warrior, and most likely the first Water Tribe born member. 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. In "The Serpent's Pass", it is revealed that the warriors are not on the front lines, but are serving as guards for the ferries to Ba Sing Se. They appeared again in "Appa's Lost Days" where they struggled to protect Appa from capture at the hands of Princess Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee.



In "The Earth King", Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee infiltrate the city of Ba Sing Se disguised as members of the Kyoshi Warriors. The episode "The Guru" reveals that the Kyoshi Warriors were defeated in their battle with Azula. The fate of the warriors was still unknown, although a comment by Azula in "The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse" suggested that they had been taken prisoner. It was revealed in "The Boiling Rock, Part 1" that 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 War ended and Suki resumed her role as leader. They were seen in full uniform at Zuko's coronation and even had a new member: Ty Lee. Ty Lee says that they bonded a lot in prison and now they can be "best friends forever." Ty Lee also taught them some chi blocking.



Metal Headdress
Initially, all warriors besides Suki are seen wearing a simple green headband. However, in "Appa's Lost Days", the warriors are all seen wearing distinct individualized headdresses, allowing one to discern specific warriors, such as the unnamed warrior seen in both the rank-and-file pic from "Appa's Lost Days" and also being hugged by Ty Lee at Zuko's coronation.

The Last Airbender
M. Night Shyamalan, 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 the first movie, it is said that they will appear in the second movie instead.

Appearances and References

 * The Warriors of Kyoshi
 * Avatar Day
 * The Serpent's Pass
 * Appa's Lost Days
 * The Earth King
 * The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse
 * The Boiling Rock, Part 1
 * The Boiling Rock, Part 2
 * The Ember Island Players
 * Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang