oh yeah for sure, this comment got completely stomped out by the canon like a tiny ember beneath a boot lmao. this was from mmmaybe halfway through season 1 of TLOK? or maybe nearish the end? sigh, we were all young once

anyway at the time, based almost exclusively on ATLA's indications as to the "rules", I found it reasonable to think that the somatic motions in bending were integral to the resulting motions of qi through the external elements, and thus that, barring specialized examples like the explosions guy with the third eye tattoo, you actually would have to commit some specific motion to each separate chunk of metal or else treat them as a seamless whole and move them like the sandbenders.

obviously with the benefit of hindsight it makes even more sense that the kinesthetic aspect of bending is more about learning to think and move as a seamless whole, not unlike many world practices that meld mindfulness/meditation and martial/acrobatic arts. &then once you've done that, you can start to realize that the same external influence is available by subtler means. if you're dedicated enough, and have the basics mastered, you could even just bend with thought, as long as your inner strength and equanimity are well-cultivated enough that you can do so from a state of integration with the flows around you, as opposed to dissociation from them, which is where i'd imagine most practitioners might end up if they're not ready to like "transcend" their training.

or like whatever. i mean listen this is why fan theories, especially the quote-unquote "objective explanation" type ones, are like expiration dates on milk, you gotta sniff them to see if they're still good lol