Waterbending

Waterbending, one of the four elemental bending arts, is the hydrokinetic ability to control water in all of its various forms. This type of bending is used by the people of the Water Tribe, who are divided into the Southern, Northern, and lesser known Foggy Swamp tribes, as well as those of the United Republic, each with their own unique bending style. Water is the element of change. The moon is the source of power in waterbending, and the original waterbenders learned to bend by observing how the moon pushed and pulled the tides. The Water Tribes are the only people who did not learn bending from an animal, though the Moon and Ocean Spirits took the form of koi fish in the mortal world near the beginning of the Avatar World. The fighting style of waterbending is mostly fluid and graceful, acting in concert with the environment. Foggy Swamp style waterbending, however, is more rigid and straight. Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy; they let their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' own forces against them. Even when waterbenders do take an attack stance, their moves always appear to flow from one to the other. - Waterbending, Avatar Wiki

Breath of ice
A waterbender can use their breath to rapidly freeze objects or opponents. For a more advanced version of the technique, the user takes a deep breath and exhales the air as a cloud of freezing mist.

Ice blade
Waterbenders can create a swordlike blade of ice.

Ice bullets
Waterbenders are able to rapidly shoot shards of ice at their opponents.

Ice claws
Shown by Hama, using ice claws involves the bender drawing water around their fingers and freezing it. They can also be sent forward, shooting them at an opponent. A waterbender can also use this as an advantage; being small and unnoticeable, they can hide them in their sleeves. Additionally, this technique uses little water and thus can be performed quickly using the condensation technique.

Ice creeper
A waterbender can send a ray of ice on the ground, speeding at an opponent to freeze them. This technique freezes a trail of water beginning with the waterbender performing the move and ending with their targets freezing.

Ice disc
A waterbender can create a cylindrical column of ice and proceed to slice razor-sharp sections of it off and send them at an opponent. They are sharp around the edges but also thin.

Ice gauntlet
Similar in technique to the ice claws, a waterbender can freeze water around their hands and turn it into a sharp spike that can be used to scale mountains or impale their opponent.

Ice hook
Waterbenders, if creative enough, may form a hook out of ice which they can use to climb vertical surfaces.

Ice shield
Waterbenders are able to freeze water in front of them, creating a shield of ice.

Ice spear
The ice spear is a waterbending move that involves freezing a stream of water into a spike and firing it at the intended target.

Iceberg spike
Waterbenders can shoot small shards of ice at their opponent, or cause a giant spike to protrude from a body of water. The Northern Water Tribe employs these as a primary defense of their homeland when enemy ships are sighted.

Phase change
Waterbenders also possess the ability to alter the physical state of the water they manipulate, between liquid, solid and gas, at will. Changing the phase of water allows for multiple techniques in the course of a battle, from encasing an opponent in ice to hiding behind a wall of mist. Ice and steam/fog can also be molded in a diverse range of shapes. Ice provides a degree of hard lethality since it can be molded into spikes or blades to pin down or impale opponents. Steam or mist can obscure a battlefield and mask movement. Waterbenders also possess the ability to breathe an icy mist that freezes water and other substances.

Streaming the water
Named by Katara, it is a move that draws water from a source that waterbenders move around their bodies. A more advanced version demonstrated by Aang apparently involves "sinking and floating". This move is thought to be used for basic training so that beginning waterbenders can get a "feel" for water, but it is in reality a useful move performed by waterbenders of every skill level.

Water bullet
The water bullet is a move where a waterbender bends a large amount of water and sends it in a forceful blow toward their target. It is similar to a water jet, but it is more for a quick use since the jet takes more concentration. It is basic yet useful because it takes little time to perform and has a significant effect on the target.

Water cloak
A waterbender can use their water as a form of armor with tentacle-like arms. The bender can use these arms to grab objects or enemies, whip enemies, blast enemies with water, and freeze them. If a waterbender has less water available, he or she can simply form the arms instead of the entire cloak. When mastered, this technique can mold the ends of the tentacles into any shape, such as a claw or a hook, as well as only locally freeze the ends while retaining the mobility of the tentacle as a whole.

Water filtering
When working in concert with an earthbender, a waterbender can purify polluted water. The waterbender suspends the polluted water in the air while the earthbender removes the pollutants.

Water jet
High pressure jets can be used to force opponents back or even blast clean through a target if focused enough. Water jets are primarily used if the user has the intent of severely hurting their opponents.

Water knife
The ability to shape water into a super-sharp edge or point for a split-second, enabling a waterbender to cut through metal, wood and stone.

Water manipulation
Almost all forms of waterbending involve moving and shaping a body of water to the waterbender's desire. By simply levitating a large mass of water, waterbenders can move water anywhere they wish, even parting it under the surface of a lake or sea, allowing them to walk along the bottom of a basin without the need to swim. These large bodies of water can also be used as weapons, either by shaping them into gigantic whips, swung repeatedly at a target as a snake-like body, formed momentarily into a razor-sharp edge that can cut through even metal, or simply dropped onto an opponent to smother them or put out a fire. On the sea or ocean, waterbending can be used to create giant maelstroms.

Water pressure manipulation
Waterbenders are also able to manipulate water pressure, allowing them to use water to grasp other objects or cut through without simply parting around them. Water can be used as a semi-solid while being able to move and flow like a liquid. Water can be pressurized to such a level where it can slice through metal. Waterbenders can also use this to avoid sinking in water, effectively allowing them to walk on water, as demonstrated by Katara multiple times.

Water wall/water shield
Water can be molded into a variety of shapes and can be used to deflect an attack, trap opponents in a viscous body, reshaped and propelled at attackers before they can recover, or solidified into a shield of ice. This diversity and ability to swiftly change to suit the situation is what makes the waterbender's defense so adaptable. Although usually protective, the shield needs some type of compression or else it will not be effective.

Water whip
The water whip is a commonly used move that involves creating a lashing tendril of water to swipe at an opponent. The shape, size, and length are all determined by a waterbender's control, and more powerful benders can create larger whips, or ones of greater finesse. The whip can be sharpened into a blade that can slice through metal with relative ease, it has been demonstrated that the ability to create water whips with feet is possible.

Wave
By moving a large mass of water without separating it from its original source, waterbenders can create waves of nearly any size. They do this by using an upward movement that raises the source, which they subsequently send away in their desired direction. This can be used to sweep opponents away or even as a form of transport, with the bender surfing on the crest of the wave. This same process can be used to propel waterborne crafts.

Bubble
Capable waterbenders are able to cross large bodies of water by creating a bubble around themselves and their fellow travelers, maintaining a supply of air for their journey.

Ice dagger
Much like ice claws, ice daggers form on a waterbender's fingers and shoot at high speeds away from him or her.

Ice dome
A highly advanced technique, a waterbender may surround a foe in a sphere of water and freeze it, trapping their opponent inside.

Ice drill
By turning the tip into ice, waterbenders control massive amounts of water into a spiraled frozen drill.

Ice floor
With a sufficient amount of water available, a master can cover a large area of the ground with ice, trapping their enemies' feet in ice while allowing them to slide around.

Ice prison
This technique covers an opponent in a prison made of ice. By finely controlling the position of the person within, this technique can restrict the motions of an opponent's hands, thus rendering them powerless.

Ice ramp
Waterbenders can manipulate ice as a means of short transportation for themselves or others. Similarly, waterbenders can also shift snow and water to create stairs of ice in order to improve mobility in snow.

Ice sled
An advanced version of the ice ramp, master waterbenders can craft a sled out of ice and propel it forward with their bending at speeds that rival those achieved by motorized transportation, such as snowmobiles.

Ice tunneling
Waterbenders are able to swim through thick ice with the same ease as through water, allowing them to surprise their foes.

Maelstrom
In a large body of water, a waterbender can create a gigantic whirlpool.

Multiple water whips
An advanced waterbending move similar to the single water whip, except it deals with more than one whip, usually four or five. This technique seems to be able to inflict a large amount of damage.

Octopus form
A body of water formed around the user into eight or so whip-like limbs which can be used to grasp or strike an opponent or to intercept incoming attacks.

Partial ice whip
Waterbenders can take hold of the end of an opponent's water whip and locally freeze the opposite end in order to trap their opponent and pull them in closer.

Razor rings
An experienced waterbender can create multiple simultaneous water rings capable of cutting.

Water ball
Similar to the bubble technique and the ice prison technique, a waterbender can trap their opponent in a ball of water.

Water boxing
To perform the technique, a waterbender surrounds their fist with a small amount of water and punches their opponent.

Water dome
A master waterbender can collect water from the rain, forming a dome which can be used for both offense and defense.

Water drill
A high-pressure, rotating column of water. Capable of exerting a significant amount of pressure upon a solid surface, that allows the action of a drill. The move takes mastery of waterbending since the motions to create a constantly twisting body of water requires bending skill.

Water gimbal
Skilled waterbenders can create a gimbal, or two rotating rings of water, around their bodies. This has both defensive and offensive capabilities, such as being used as a cannon.

Water pinwheel
This move involves the user moving a large mass of water and spinning it vertically around him/her.

Water ring
A skilled waterbender can create a ring of water around their body which can be used for both defense and offense, such as shooting ice shards or sending water whips at their opponent.

Water spout or "water vortex"
This high-level technique involves controlling a whirlpool-like pillar of water or snow, rotating it and directing its movements at the same time, making it easier for the user to dodge attacks. In accordance with the water spout's constantly shifting and coiling movements, it forms a giant snake of water around the lower body, elevating them from the surface of the water. The waterspout has a limited height, however, depending on the amount of water fueling it.