Avatar Spinoff Series Announced

I'd imagine that Aang would have tried to teach many young, promising students how to airbend. I mean, the art of bending was never implied to be a genetic trait, just something that people can learn when they try hard enough. If bending had indeed been genetic, then they would never have talked about the original benders learning from animals and space rocks.

It was, sort of. First we have the fact that during the 100 years Aang was gone not a single airbender came around, this could either be the fact that there was no one or nothing around to teach people airbending, or the fact that the entire population of the Air Temples were killed.

And then we have the fact that the southern water tribe had no more water benders until Katara, yet somehow the Fire nation knew about Katara and attacked the village. And also the fact that Sokka can't water bend, during the first of the series Sokka showed that he was a little bit jealous of Katara being able to water bend, so if bending was simply a try hard enough and learn it I am sure Sokka could have done it.


And finally there is the fact that there aren't more benders around, so that sort of implies even if bending was something you could learn through hard work that the person needs to be special enough to be able to learn how to bend. So while it might be a hard work thing it also seems like it is in part a genetic thing also.