How to Do the Air Bending Trend on TikTok: Full Tutorial

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Now you can bend air like Aang from Avatar

Co-authored by Nicole Levine, MFA Reviewed by Candace Gasper

Last Updated: December 25, 2025 Fact Checked

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How to Do Air Bending

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Where did air bending come from?

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If you've been seeing those viral TikTok air bending videos–you know, the ones with people sliding backwards, forwards, or sideways as if pulled by air–you're probably thinking they're made with AI. Well, even though air bending looks impossible, it's actually super easy to do–you'll just need some slippery socks, a smooth floor to slide on, and the reverse effect in the TikTok app. We'll show you how!

How do you do air bending on TikTok?

Air bending videos are made using the TikTok reverse effect. To do the trend, find a room with smooth floors, put on slippery socks or slippers, and record yourself sliding into view. Then, to get the "pulling" effect, tap the edit icon, select "Edit" (the scissors), and then tap "Reverse".

Section 1 of 2:

How to Do Air Bending

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1
Set up your camera in a room with a smooth, slippery floor. Any polished floor will work, including polished wood, laminate, or concrete–just make sure it's the kind of floor you can slide around on in socks.
- The room should be big enough for you to slide into the camera's view from out of frame.
- You can put your camera on a tripod, make a DIY phone stand, or just prop it up against something.
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Put on some slippery socks or slippers. The goal here is to be able to slide across the floor smoothly, so you'll want to wear socks or slippers/house shoes that have no grip on the bottom.
- Most outdoor shoes won't be slippery enough, other than some professional dance shoes made for sliding across a stage.
- Air bending won't work on carpet, the sidewalk, or grass. If you've seen an air bending video that looks like it was shot outside, the creator probably used a green screen.
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3
Recording yourself sliding into view from out of frame. When you slide into view, make sure you start your slide outside the room (or at least outside the camera's view). At the end of your slide, it's important not to stumble, because the end of your slide needs to be smooth. When you reverse the video, the end of your slide will be the beginning of your air bend.
- If you want to air bend backwards, run and slide forward. Once you reverse the video, you'll get an effect like in this TikTok from @richdkid1.
- You can also slide sideways to get an effect like in this TikTok from @tre.clarke.
- If you're super good at sliding, you can air bend forward by sliding backward, which will end up like this TikTok from @the_real_a_lyric.
- Start slow so you don't hurt yourself. Try sliding a little bit to the left or right instead of attempting a running start from the jump. You could fall and get hurt. After all, grippy socks do exist for a reason.
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Do some cool airbending moves at the end of your slide. Remember, everything you do after your slide will show in the video before you airbend out of view. Once you slide in, you can use your arms, legs, and even objects in the room to make it look like you're playing with or manipulating the air around you.
- For example, in this TikTok from @bigjae19, the creator first slid in to view from the side, and then did those moves after a smooth ending.
- Get some inspiration for your air grabs, pulls, and movements from this YouTube video compilation of every airbending moment from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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Open the video in the TikTok video editor. Tap the Edit icon (it looks like a sideways phone) on the right side of the video in TikTok to display the editing options.^{[1]
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- If you recorded the video in your phone's camera app instead of in TikTok, create a new TikTok, select the video, and tap Next to find the Edit icon.
Now you're in editing mode, which allows you to reverse your airbending video.^{[2]
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Swipe left across the options and tap Reverse. This option is toward the end of the icon list, so you'll need to swipe past a bunch of other editing options first. As soon as you tap this option, the clip will reverse.
- Watch a preview by tapping the Play icon (the triangle).
- Once you're finished editing your video, you can save it to your drafts to post later or share it on TikTok now.
8
Add the trending sound (optional). Most air bending videos on TikTok use a sound called "Who decided that" by @gra_stay_geekin. You can add the sound to your video in the editor by selecting the current sound (if there is one), selecting Replace, and searching for "Who decided that."
- You don't have to use this sound if you don't want to. However, if you're hoping your airbending video will go viral, using viral sounds can help!

Section 2 of 2:

Where does the air bending trend come from?

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The air bending trend on TikTok is inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA). In both the animated and live-action series, airbending is one of the 4 "bending arts," which are special abilities used to manipulate elements (air, fire, water, and earth).^{[3]
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Research source} Airbenders can grab, pull, and otherwise control air, which leads to powerful offensive and defensive moves.^{[4]
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- While Avatar is the inspiration behind the air-bending technique, the sound in most airbending videos is actually a clip from the character Escanor from the anime and manga series The Seven Deadly Sins.^{[5]
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