Small potatoes. Asphyxiation is only the tip of the iceberg. Not only could you literary crush a person or break their bones with air pressure- we know air genders can generate such pressure- they rode little balls of it-
An air bender could literally just create a pressure differential between any of the cavities in your body and the atmosphere. Collapse our lungs, burst them like a balloon, cause your face to explode or your skull or heart. In theory, they could control the oxygen in your cells and rip you apart on a cellular level or cause embolism. A skilled and sadistic air bender with a little scientific knowledge could be very dangerous. They require a pressure vessel and not much else to create explosions and all manner of chaos.
They actually don’t even rest need the vessel since they seem to be able to “trap” air- meaning they could condense air and then release the pressure to create a shock wave for example. Then consider all the molecules containing air, as well as the effects of oxidation on many materials including metals. Also- in theory this “trapping” air could generate force fields of sorts with all those implications.
An air bender could literally just create a pressure differential between any of the cavities in your body and the atmosphere. Collapse our lungs, burst them like a balloon, cause your face to explode or your skull or heart. In theory, they could control the oxygen in your cells and rip you apart on a cellular level or cause embolism. A skilled and sadistic air bender with a little scientific knowledge could be very dangerous. They require a pressure vessel and not much else to create explosions and all manner of chaos.