Chi blocking



Chi blocking is a special ability that Ty Lee and, many years later, the Equalists utilize in combat with their enemies. When they block someone's chi, it renders their victim's muscles useless and disables their bending abilities. This earned Katara's fear and spite after Ty Lee blocked her chi in Omashu. This ability is even capable of taking down a platoon of elite earthbenders, as proved by Ty Lee.

History
Chi blocking was first shown by Ty Lee when she disabled Katara's waterbending with a series of jabs in her arms and back. Later, she used it to render Sokka's muscles useless, numbing his arms and one of his legs. Ty Lee made good use of it during a fight when she took down the entire Terra Team with some cover from Mai.

The concept of chi blocking was used by Team Avatar to destroy the Fire Nation drill by striking its pressure points, causing the drill to collapse upon itself. Ty Lee also defeated at least one of the Kyoshi Warriors who were protecting Appa with this ability. Disguised as a Kyoshi Warrior, Ty Lee once again paralyzed Katara, catching her by surprise. She also immobilized Sokka and Toph when Azula threatened the Earth King at flame point, forcing them to surrender.



The technique was used by Ty Lee when she was cornered by several boys at Chan's party on Ember Island. She attempted several times to use it on Suki during the Escape from the Boiling Rock, but Suki was on guard against it due to her past experience. Later, in the escape's aftermath, Ty Lee used it to paralyze Azula and strip her of her bending when she was about to strike down Mai.

Ty Lee made friends with and joined the Kyoshi Warriors after giving them chi blocking lessons in prison. This probably means the Kyoshi Warriors are capable of utilizing the technique.

Seventy years later, members of the Equalists used chi-blocking to try and stop Mako and Korra in their attempt to recover Mako's brother, Bolin, though they ultimately failed when Naga chased them away.

Method
Chi blocking is utilized by hitting pressure points with "quick jabs" and "punches". Ty Lee hits these pressure points with relatively light jabs using her fingers and knuckles. Apparently, even people wearing strong, but not necessarily heavy, armor are not spared from its effects. It seems she can use any of her fingers, such as when she disabled Katara with her thumb. Ty Lee can also use her feet to disable others' chi flow with a swing of her foot. She used this method to fend off the boys who cornered her in Chan's house. Although a very useful method of fighting, chi blocking is most effective against an opponent not expecting such a light blow to be so devastating. It is less effective against someone who either knows chi blocking or who has battled a chi blocker in the past. This was first seen when Katara, having already faced Ty Lee once, successfully dodged Ty Lee's attempts to block her chi.

Effects


Chi blocking blocks the victim's chi, renders their muscles useless, and disables one's bending abilities; this would be particularly devastating for people who rely solely on their bending. Ty Lee had shown the ability to be able to control the damage she did: when she first attacked Katara, she was still able to move, though not able to bend. When attacking the Terra Team, they could barely move, were powerless, and felt pain afterwards; Katara was unable to heal them, stating that their chi was completely blocked. Later, Ty Lee struck down Katara who was paralyzed from head to toe and fell to the ground motionless. It is possible that Ty Lee can use her chi blocking ability to kill or seriously injure an opponent.

Variation
An accidental form of chi blocking was used twice against Combustion Man. In two occasions, his third eye was hit (once by a pellet resulting from Toph's attack and once by Sokka's boomerang, deliberately aimed at him), causing his ability to "misfire". In the second occasion, the explosion was strong enough to demolish a section of the Western Air Temple, which led to his demise.

Connections

 * Chi blocking is likely inspired by the martial arts technique dian xue or dim mak, which purports to kill or maim by disrupting the body's flow of internal energy. While it is true that there are specific points on the human body where comparatively light pressure can cause pain, involuntary motion or even serious injury, no scientific evidence has ever emerged for the existence of these internal energy flows.
 * Qigong (sometimes spelled Chi Gong) uses similar techniques and pressure points to help others' chi flow more easily and is considered a standard medical technique for hospitals in China.
 * While at the San Diego Comic-Con 2011, Bryan Konietzko stated that chi blocking was not an art unique to Ty Lee, rather that it was ancient and "cloaked in secrets".

Equalists
The Equalists, led by Amon, is an organization against the art of bending, and by extension, against benders themselves. To effectively combat benders, the Equalists utilize chi blocking as a means to counteract bending. It may be true that chi blocking can also take away a person's bending permanently.