Republic City Dispatch

[NOTE: This is fan art. It’s really good fan art, but I found it here and have no indication this is Adult Toph from the series in a official way. But COME ON, it’s totally a hot adult Toph]

Here is Tumblr user biteinsane ’s breakdown of Toph Vs. Bolin’s Earthbending Style:

I have seen this around tumblr and maybe I because I only skimmed through most of them but I think there should be a say from someone who trained in the martial arts very similar to the martial arts modeled for earthbending. When someone who actually trained in real said martial art tells me otherwise, this is my two cents. This might also be a long two cents.

I was trained in Tang Soo Do, a South Korean martial arts, since I was 8 and quit when I was 18. In this martial arts, you have to be stable on the ground and yet be able to flow very easily like a snake. You need to move in and out with your hands and feet to stay on the ground. This is obviously what Toph does being a blind earthbender who uses her feet to “see” everything around her which makes sense.

This is traditional earthbending.

But even traditional has its moments.

Not only is there a good chance Bolin was never really trained under an earthbender, but he was trained in the streets. I have read these parts of people’s arguments and I agree. Bolin was possibly trained by Mako or with Mako and their styles are very similar when you watch them bend in the probending. What people fail to realize is that Bolin is still very close to the earthbending’s “true” form. 

If you were fighting Bolin, one on one, you probably couldn’t knock him down because even being light on your feet doesn’t mean you will be blown away by a gust of wind. My own experiences come into play here. Not to brag, but the fighting part of tournaments was my favorite and easiest part of them for me as a child. I had energy that many people couldn’t keep up with. I jumped around when I fought, I was light on my feet, but my feet were still ON THE GROUND which is an important part to the martial arts I was trained in. This is also based off the fighting stance I brought up on which has both feet on the ground yet because one foot holds all weight the other can be used without a second thought. Example:
 

(Sorry, had to use iphoto in a darkish room while wearing darkish clothes. Also I like don’t wear shoes, but we never did in karate either.)
As you can kind of see there is on foot that it completely on the ground when the other is on the ball of the foot so if you try and take out my foot, it won’t work. I’ll still be solid on the ground and in perfect balance. That is also the foot I use to attack and I can switch footing as well since I like to kick with my left foot. The power comes from the heel and the top of the foot when kicking. 
Here’s examples of Bolin fighting that I screencapped that will help you understand:

 

Bolin is the same way. His feet are on the ground. They are off the ground when he kicks and when he needs to move fast to avoid getting hit. The earthbending style is not only standing your ground but also being able to flow like a snake to get out of tough situations. He is light on his feet enough to move fast but balanced enough to stay fully on the ground when he lands. So he is using an earthbending style similar to Toph’s but mixed with streetfighting.

And this is only looking at his feet. I won’t talk about his arms and fists in this one. Unless someone wants me too or that comes up.

Thank you for reading. There are probably so many grammar and spelling mistakes. If you think I missed anything worth talking about tell me and I’ll add it.