

In the episode _The Puppetmaster_ when Katara learns that Hama was responsible
for the disappearance of people during a full moon Hama then goes to control
Katara with Bloodbending.

Short after forcing Katara to her knees she is able to get back up on her own
and fight back showing no sort of resistance or strain as if Hama was no
longer controlling her.

It wasn't like Hama couldn't Bloodbend because she controlled Sokka and Aang
later on and it's not that she can't control someone bending because Katara
stopped her forcing Sokka killing Aang by taking control of her body.

So why wasn't Hama controlling Katara and instead allowed her to fight?


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Why wasn't Hama still controlling Katara?


**Tl;dr**

Once Katara understood the technique, Hama would have to overpower her to
control her. Others who don't know the technique, they're easy puppets. Hama
just wanted to force Katara to bloodbend regardless of how she accomplishes
it.

* * *

I imagine it is a battle of focus and skill. It is much harder to combat
someone who has similar abilities because they can nullify it. Aang can water
bend but isn't a master like Katara, nor does he know about bloodbending. So
controlling him and Sokka, a non-bender, is easier than controlling Katara.
And when you throw actual combat in, it should be even harder to keep full
control.

You also have to take into account power level. Katara is young, Hama is not.
Even if they are both knowledgeable, Katara has a general advantage. Hama can
only bloodbend when the full moon is out and has to draw power from it. Once
Katara decides to draw power from the moon as well, Hama is no longer able to
control her.

Sokka doesn't draw power from the moon. Aang may, but it's likely not as
influential as Katara.

EDIT: Since it people need more proof that Katara couldn't be overpowered,
here's a quote from the episode.

> You're not the only one who draws power from the moon! [Assumes a fighting
> stance.] My bending is more powerful than yours, Hama. Your technique is
> useless on me!

Katara understands the technique and can overpower Hama. So Hama can't
bloodbend her, but can still target others.


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answer


If we analyse the episode,

Hama isn't actually fighting but rather **forcing Katara to willingly use
bloodbending**.

Hama only attacked Katara because Katara refused to learn the art of
Bloodbending. She was horrified to learn the technique and by the idea of
controlling another person's body.

In Avatar Wikia, [Bloodbending](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Bloodbending) is
stated as:

> a sub-skill of waterbending which allows a waterbender to hydrokinetically
> take hold of and manipulate the various fluids within an organism's body.
> **This technique is referred to as the darkest, most powerful, and most
> feared of all bending techniques and is the only art known to endanger the
> user's mental state**.

Going Back to the [Episode](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/The_Puppetmaster) " _
**The Puppet Master**_ "

**Hama Teaches Katara the Southern Water Bending Style**

They Meet an old woman in an Inn named
[Hama](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Hama) which then teaches katara the
Southern style waterbending and also a series of techniques in order to obtain
water in places devoid of any obvious water sources.

[![Hama trained Katara in Southern style
waterbending.](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OlxBe.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OlxBe.png)

> Following her demonstration, Hama offered to teach Katara a powerful
> technique that was only possible during the full moon. When Katara expressed
> hesitance due to the rumors of disappearances, Hama reassured her that two
> master waterbenders under a full moon should be able to handle anything.

**Hama Reveals Bloodbending and offered to teach Katara**

> That night, Hama led Katara into the forest and told her about bloodbending
> and its ability to control another living organism. **Horrified by the idea
> of controlling another person's body, Katara refused to learn
> bloodbending**. Hama argued with her, stating that it did not matter whether
> she wanted to learn it or not, because the power to use it existed either
> way. For trying to wipe out their entire culture, Hama extolled that they
> must have vengeance upon the Fire Nation. This outburst led Katara to
> realize that Hama had been causing the villagers to disappear, but the
> latter angrily stated that the people of the Fire Nation deserved the same
> treatment that they had given to her and all the southern waterbenders.
> **Hearing this caused Katara to adamantly refuse to learn bloodbending and
> to try to stop Hama from further terrorizing the town**.

Hama used bloodbending against Katara to temporarily force her into submission

> " _They threw me in prison to rot, along with my brothers and sisters! They
> deserve the same! **You must carry on my work**._" — Hama to Katara.

Katara soon regains control of her body, reminding Hama that she too draws
power from the moon, and is powerful enough to overcome Hama's technique. The
two begin to battle, each drawing water from the grass and trees surrounding
them, but it quickly becomes obvious that Katara is the superior combatant.
Hama's bloodbending is useless on her.

[![Hama bloodbent Aang and Sokka under a full
moon.](https://i.stack.imgur.com/n39mA.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/n39mA.png)

> When Katara appears on the cusp of victory, Aang and Sokka arrive to assist
> her—and succeed in doing little more than providing Hama with an advantage,
> as she uses bloodbending to control them like puppets to attack Katara.
> Katara evades their attacks and manages to freeze both Aang and Sokka to two
> separate trees to stop them, but this proves to be only a temporary
> solution. Hama frees them both and resorts to sending them flying at each
> other, with Sokka's sword pointing straight at Aang. At the last second,
> **Katara desperately uses bloodbending to subdue Hama and protect Aang**.

[![Katara uses bloodbending to save Aang and
Sokka.](https://i.stack.imgur.com/fwr7z.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/fwr7z.png)

**Hama succeeded in making Katara use Bloodbending**

> **Hama remarked that her work was done** , as Katara had already willingly
> used and mastered bloodbending. She laughed maniacally as she was dragged
> off, leaving Katara in tears.

**Hama surrendered herself knowing that she had now passed her technique
bloodbending onto another waterbender** from the same tribe (Southern water
Tribe) which is Katara.

We can Infer that Hama isn't actually fighting Katara but rather **forcibly
teaching her to use Bloodbending** and to pass her art onto another
waterbender, which is against her will.

here is a [review on the The
Puppetmaster](http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/08/28/avatar-the-last-
airbender-the-puppetmaster-flashback-review) from IGN

> Great aspect of this episode was Hama's origin story, which we saw through
> flashbacks. In addition to showing us how she (Hama) was captured by the
> Fire Nation and later developed bloodbending, it also did a good job of
> making her a sympathetic character. While her actions were clearly out of
> line -- namely, kidnapping innocent Fire Nation civilians -- you could
> understand where she was coming from after being locked away for so many
> years. She even made some good points about the morality of bloodbending and
> how using it was not a choice but a necessity: "The power exists, and it is
> your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war."
>
> Of course, the highlight of this episode was the final showdown between Hama
> and Katara, which dovetailed nicely with Aang, Toph and Sokka's
> investigation into the "Full Moon spirit." But I think [the part where] Hama
> was demonstrating her bloodbending on Katara, and Katara rising above it
> adding, "You're not the only one who draws power from the Moon." This,
> followed by Katara's own mastery of waterbending, which far exceeded Hama's
> amateur skill level. **Regardless, Hama accomplished her mission -- to pass
> on the art of bloodbending to another waterbender** \-- thus concluding the
> episode on a noticeably dark note.


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Hey remember me? well in the avatar wiki it was stated that blood bending is
useless when applied to people who also know blood bending.(Link
<http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Bloodbending#Limits> ) this is from the page:
Bloodbending seems useless when applied to a fellow waterbender of the same
caliber, if not superior, to the user. that's the answer to your question and
there is a lot more info about blood benders on the page.


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