Every society has managed to come up with a sport to entertain and provide an outlet for violence. So it makes total sense that in a world where bending exists, multiple sports involving the abilities have been formed.
Pro-Bending is perhaps the most popular sport during the era that The Legend of Korra is set in. In fact, several of the main characters were actively involved, and avid fans of the sport to boot. With that in mind, we’re going to do our best to educate fans about everything one should know about Pro-Bending. You know, on the off chance that you ever need to show off your knowledge of the subject.
What Is It?
Republic City founded Pro-Bending at some point over the years, in order to show off the best of the best for their benders. Each match pits two teams against each other, with each team being made up of three members.
Each member of the team represents a different element in their bending, and they are to use their bending in order to drive their opposing team back, until they have pushed them off the board, or otherwise gained a victory.
Homage
Fans watching the series will likely notice that Pro-Bending has an oddly familiar feel to it. And that was done on purpose. Pro-Bending was specifically designed with one sport in mind: MMA, aka Mixed Martial Arts.
The different styles, general setup of the rings, and so on were all done with MMA in mind. It makes sense when you remember that each bending style was based on a different form of martial arts.
The Field
The playing field for Pro-Bending is very specific. The overall shape is hexagonal, though it is then split into two sides. One side is colored with red, the other blue. Additionally, each side is split into three more segments or zones.
There are forty-two holes on the field; twenty-one on each side. These holes disperse rocks, for the earthbenders. Meanwhile, there are grates allowing access to water for the waterbenders. There’s also water below the rings, for a safe landing when players are pushed off the ring.
Next, there are ropes running along the sides of the ring, with the exception of the sides facing away from the opposing team. Finally, there are lights to indicate if and when a team is allowed to move forward.
The Goal
The whole goal of the match is to push the opposing team backward off of their side of the ring. During the match, you must stay within the light up sections of the ring, moving forward as your opponent gets physically knocked back.
Once a player has been knocked into a farther ring, they cannot return during that round. If they can hold on for more than one round, then they have the opportunity to move forward again. If they are pushed into the water entirely, the match is over.
Tournament Rules
There are specific rules for tournaments, naturally. Along with a specific and generalized set of rules, there are also rules for each of the main bending types (see below). Though you’ll notice that airbending has been left off the list – there are currently not enough airbenders to warrant a special set of rules for them.
Other rules fit in well with the way the tournament runs. Players are not allowed to get into any fights with the opposing team – outside of the match, that is. Any team that breaks this rule will be booted from the tournament.
The last rule only applies to a specific and very minor subset of the players; the Avatar (Korra, in this case) must pick one and only one element with which to bend with. They are not allowed to switch elements at any point.
Waterbending Rules
The waterbenders in the area have a specific set of rules, with which they must work inside. They can have water blasts but said water blasts are limited in duration (one full second). This is to prevent a constant stream from pushing (and possibly drowning) their opponents.
Additionally, waterbenders are not allowed to alter the state of the water. Meaning that they cannot freeze, steam, or otherwise change the state of their bending material. As bloodbending is against all laws, it is naturally not allowed within the ring either.
Waterbenders are allowed to aim for the head – the only bending that allows for it. Finally, waterbenders can only pull the water from the grates we already mentioned; not the water down below which is there solely to provide a safe landing for the athletes.
Earthbending Rules
Earthbenders are only allowed to use earth in the rawest form – no metalbending allowed. No sand or dust is allowed either. This keeps the ring safe and undamaged, at least in theory. Therefore the benders can only use the disks provided, through the holes mentioned above.
They cannot alter these disks in any way. Not to break them down, or alter their form. Despite this limitation, they can still use more than one disc at a time (as many as they can control). The only limitation for aiming with earthbenders is that they are not allowed to aim for the head – anything else is fair game.
Firebending Rules
Firebenders do not have to rely on an outside source, which is an advantage to the athletes. However, there are some other restrictions they must follow. For one thing, they cannot aim for the face. Nor can their jets of flame exceed one full second (much like the waterbenders). This is to prevent solid streams and the obvious advantages it would have.
Additionally, firebenders are not allowed to call on an altered form of their ability. This means that no lightning is allowed within the arena. Otherwise, they are allowed to use their fire as they see fit.
Penalties
In a game like Pro-Bending, it’s probably no surprise that there are plenty of ways to gain penalties. Luckily, most of them are pretty obvious, and fairly easy to avoid if you’re being careful and paying attention.
The most obvious penalty involves crossing the light-up lines. This one is probably the easiest one to mistakenly get if you’re paying more attention to your opponent than your footwork. Other penalties include being needlessly aggressive or rough with your opponents, breaking any of the listed rules above, or aiming at inappropriate targets. These targets can include the referee, the stands, or the audience.
Top Teams
There were many different teams shown during the course of the Legend of Korra. However, it was only the teams with named characters that most fans found themselves being concerned with. And understandably so.
The Black Quarry Boar-q-pines (Chang, Shui, Toza, and Xin), Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps (Ko, Loong, and Shan), Golden Temple Tigerdillos (Haka, Josei, and Kano), and Red Sands Rabaroos (Adi, Ula, and Umi) all had named characters on their teams. Though none as famous as the members of the Future Industries Fire Ferrets, who had Bolin, Mako, Korra, and Hasook on the team at certain points in the series.
