Hand-to-Hand Combat

Korra stood at attention as Azula paced along the edges of the training arena. The older woman's eyes were twin pools of molten gold, taking in every detail.

"Today, we will be working on hand-to-hand combat." Azula stopped and pinned Korra in place with her gaze. "Specifically, hand-to-hand combat without the benefit of bending."

Korra frowned. "What? Why? I'm a bender. You're a bender. It's only natural that we bend while we're fighting."

"There are several reasons." Azula folded her arms across her chest. "There may be situations where you have to blend in, situations where bending will call undue attention to you. Imagine that you are trying to infiltrate and then eliminate a group that does not include benders. Being able to fight without bending would be crucial. There may even be situations that leave you unable to bend. If that occurs, you must be able to defend yourself."

"What do you mean unable to bend?" Korra felt the first stirrings of unease. She'd been a bender all her life. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be unable to bend.

"There are certain… methods that can make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a bender to use their powers. As the Avatar, you are the most powerful bender in the world. Those with a lot of power have a tendency to become reliant on it. Believe me, your predecessor was not immune to the methods I'm speaking of, and neither are you."

"What about you?" Korra asked. "I mean you're one of the strongest firebenders in the world. Heck, you're probably still the strongest. Don't you rely on your bending too much?"

"Perhaps I did at one point, but I learned very early in life that firebending alone was not sufficient to ensure continued success. Cunning, planning, and subterfuge – I employ all of those before even committing to battle. You, on the other hand, are somewhat more spontaneous in your approach to things. And I did learn other ways to fight." Azula flicked her wrist, and Korra froze as a knife sailed through the air, a hair's breadth from the side of her head. "Knives, for instance, can be very handy if you know how to use them. They can be very quiet too, if you know where to put them."

"You're going to teach me how to use a knife?" Korra asked.

"Later, perhaps, but not today. Today, you'll be fighting without bending because you won't be able to use any." Azula raised her voice. "Ty Lee."

Another old woman entered the arena. Well, entered wasn't quite the right word. She leapt in, spinning end over end through the air before landing with a flourish. Korra stared. She'd thought Azula was sprightly for an old woman, but this Ty Lee put her to shame. Wait… wasn't Ty Lee the woman that…

"Ty Lee will be your opponent." Azula somehow managed to keep a straight face as Ty Lee leaned over to give her cheek a quick kiss. "If you can last five minutes against her, then you will have the rest of this week's training off."

"Are you serious?" Korra gaped. That was like a dream come true. "What's the catch?" There was always a catch.

"There is no catch. Last five minutes, and you'll get the rest of this week's training off."

"And I can use my bending?" Korra knew better than to break the rules. Azula loved it when she bent the rules or worked them in her favour, but she took a somewhat dim view of her outright ignoring or breaking them. It lacked cleverness, she said.

"You're welcome to use your bending. I doubt you'll be using it for long."

"Is that so?" Korra moved into a fighting stance. "Let's go!"

Less than a minute later, Korra found herself on the ground, twitching and unable to move properly or use her bending.

"My bending!" Korra thrashed. "Why can't I bend?"

"Calm down." Azula knelt beside her and pressed a few specific points on her body before easing her into a sitting position. "It's only temporary, but I trust I've made my point?"

Korra nodded quickly. Fighting Ty Lee had been, well, terrifying. The old woman had moved incredibly quickly, and with just a few touches, she'd paralysed Korra and taken away her bending. The feeling of power – of control – that she'd been accustomed to her whole life had been taken away with nothing more than Ty Lee's bare hands.

"How did she do that?" Korra whispered.

"Ty Lee is a practitioner of several forms of martial arts that feature techniques capable of paralysis and chi-blocking. Bending relies upon chi. Block the flow of chi through the body, and bending becomes impossible. Likewise striking certain nerve clusters and muscles can render normal movement impossible too." Azula caught the panic in Korra's eyes. "Calm yourself. The effects are temporary. Your bending and movement will return soon."

To Korra's great relief, she didn't have to wait long.

"Korra, there are others who know techniques similar to those Ty Lee uses. It is possible that you will one day encounter opponents who can take away your bending or your ability to move properly. If that occurs, you must be able to handle the situation."

"But how?" Korra shivered.

"Panic is your greatest enemy. The moment your body and bending stopped working the way you're used to, you panicked. That is the first thing we're going to fix." Azula's lips thinned. "We're going to get you used to what it feels like to have your chi blocked and different parts of your body immobilised. Then we're going to teach you how to fight the way a non-bender would and how to fight with varying degrees of disability. By the time we're done with you, you should be able to handle even a skilled opponent without relying on your bending or even all of your limbs."

"That sounds hard."

"It will be." Azula got to her feet. "It took me years to learn, but it was worth it."

"And the chi-blocking and paralysis stuff, I'll learn that too, right?" Korra asked.

"Of course." Azula chuckled. "How else will you learn how to beat it if you don't know how it works? You'll also find that it comes in handy against other benders since they very rarely expect another bender to learn techniques like that. Now, get up. Ty Lee will be handling this part of your training since she is the expert. I will be observing and making what suggestions I deem appropriate since some of her techniques are particularly devastating when combined with bending." Azula's lips curled. "You can imagine how easy it is to beat even a skilled bender with a bit of chi-blocking followed up by some timely bending before they realise what you've done."

Ty Lee gave Korra a reassuring smile. "Don't let Azula scare you. It's not that hard to learn, and she's always saying how talented and hardworking you are in her letters."

Azula coughed. "Ty Lee…"

Korra bit back a grin. Azula wrote stuff like that about her? Maybe her firebending instructor wasn't so cold-hearted after all.

Ty lee caught her grin. "You should know that teaching you has really been beneficial for Azula. She's definitely enjoying it – her aura has been so much pinker since she started training you –"

"Ty Lee!"

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I do not own Legend of Korra. I am not making any money off of this either.

Azula would never leave anything to chance. By the time Azula is done with her, Korra is going to be the very definition of a bad ass.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.