Waterbending techniques in Avatar: The Last Airbender were some of the coolest techniques displayed in the show. The sub-styles of bending that branched off waterbending were, in particular, very interesting to explore, especially bloodbending, where a waterbender could bend the blood flowing inside any living being and control their movements.

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In the Avatar world, water also had healing properties, which meant that a waterbender was also the only type of bender that could use its element to heal people. Katara, in fact, was one of the very few people in the world who mastered all the styles of waterbending.

10 When Korra Used Spiritbending To Defeat Vaatu And Saved The World

9 Korra spirit bends vaatu

Spiritbending was a branch of waterbending wherein a waterbender could restore the balance in a creature's spirit by turning dark spirits into light spirits and vice versa. When Unalaq combined with Vaatu and released dark spirits to take over the world, Korra fought against them in her spirit form.

Once she had extracted Raava from Vaatu’s clutches, she used spiritbending as her final move and turned him to light. If Korra had not learned spiritbending, the world would have been destroyed by dark spirits.

9  When Katara Fought The Swamp Monster Using Water Blades

9 katara fights swamp bender

When the Avatar Gang visited the Foggy Swamp, they were attacked by a giant swamp monster that seemed to be vines. Every time someone damaged the vines, they grew back again and negated the attack.

Katara used the swamp water to make sharp water blades and attacked the monster using several of these blades consecutively. This move was too fast for the vines to grow back in time, and they finally discovered that the monster was actually Huu.

8 When Katara Fought Against The Earth Kingdom’s Soldiers

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This was one of the most underrated Katara battles from the series, where she, along with her friends, went up against the Earth King’s soldiers.

Katara used whatever water she had to its maximum potential, where she fought not only the soldiers with it but also created ice pathways for quicker movement. She also used water arms to grab the soldiers standing on a higher ground than her and threw them into the water.

7 When Katara Stopped Raindrops In Mid-Air And Built A Dome

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In “The Southern Raiders,” when Katara finally faced her mother’s murderer, Yon Rha, it had begun raining. Katara used her waterbending to freeze the raindrops mid-air and created a water dome with them so that no raindrops would fall.

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She then exploded the dome and turned the water into sharp ice shards she could shoot at Yon Rha. Even though she did not go through with it, this moment showed just how far Katara had come as a waterbender.

6 When Ming Hua And Kya Fought Against Each Other

6 ming hua Korra

Kya was Katara’s daughter and had inherited her mother’s expert waterbending skills, while Ming Hua was a fierce Red Lotus member who used water as her arms. Fans still count the battle between these two as the best waterbending battles in the entire show.

Ming Hua did not let her disability stop her from becoming a formidable opponent. And instead, she made it her strength. Fans were treated to the delightfully ingenious waterbending techniques she used to fight her enemies.

5 When Aang And Katara Defeated The Giant Serpent Together

5 katara and aang against giant serpent

The Avatar Gang was trying to get across the dangerous Serpent’s Pass when attacked by the giant serpent that lived in the water surrounding the path. As strong and terrifying as the creature was, it was no match for Aang and Katara’s waterbending.

They both jumped into the water and moved around the serpent in a circular motion, which created a giant whirlpool beneath the creature, whose force caused it to hit its head on a landmass and faint.

4 When Katara Learned Bloodbending On The Spot And Saved Aang

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Hama used bloodbending to control Sokka and Aang’s movements and impaled Aang with Sokka’s sword when Katara intervened using bloodbending on Hama to stop her.

This was a bending style that had taken the old lady years to perfect and practice, yet Katara was able to bloodbend after hearing about it in just one evening. In fact, she used the technique so well on her first go that she beat Hama, the bloodbending master, at her own game.

3 When Korra Used Icebending To Freeze The Giant Mecha Suit

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After most of the outer attacks failed, Team Avatar tried to get inside Kuvira’s giant mecha suit to destroy it from the inside, but the suit’s hand kept flicking them away.

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Korra used icebending to freeze the mecha suit in its place and stopped the hand from reaching them. This gave all of them enough time to squeeze through the hole in its side and take it down from the inside.

2 When Katara Froze Azula In Ice To Restrain Her

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After Azula injured Zuko with her lightning during their final Agni Kai, it was up to Katara to defeat her. Katara lured Azula above a water drain and, just as the Fire Nation princess was about to attack, used the water below to freeze them both.

She then freed herself from the ice and used a chain to tie Azula up and defeat her. This move showed Katara's resourceful thinking, and it was this aspect of hers that finally brought Azula down.

1 When Katara Used Water To Bring Aang Back To Life

1 katara heals aang using spirit water

In “The Crossroads of Destiny,” Azula zapped Aang with electricity while transforming into the Avatar state, killing him.

Katara had brought a vial of water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole, water that had magical healing properties far beyond normal water. If she had not used this water to bring Aang back from the dead, the world would have lost its Avatar forever.

NEXT: My Hero Academia: 5 Characters Who Should Be Waterbenders (& 5 Who Shouldn't)