the real question is why did katara get in the way

i think he redirected it like aang did with ozai....it was messy and kinda hurt...zuko's redirection was worse cuz he was in mid-air but he still redirected it but got hurt in the process......but actually...he might not of redirected it...because when lightning enters your body.......it has to exit.....so that shoot of lihghtning in the sky was just probably the lightning exiting his body into the sky....idk...

Well they can do the movements, but i doubt waterbenders could actually redirect real lightning, which is a Firebending skill

I think Iroh simply meant he studied the movements from the Waterbenders and created a technique from them into a Firebending move

I know someone did NOT just say a WATER bender could redirect lightning? If anything, a Waterbender shouldn't be anywhere NEAR someone using lightning(hey what do you know, that actually happend). I mean water is a conducter.

Anyway, lightning is a strickly Firebender exclusive technique. Only certain Firebenders can use the skill that CREATES the lightnign, but any Firebender can redirect lightning. Atleast that's how it seems.

Heh, a non-Firebender trying to redirect lightning? I think I've just gotten some new comedy material.

Yeah, I can imagine Sokka trying to do that, and end up in the same place as Jet......

And yeah that what I was trying to tell
isabelwhatx that redirecting lightning is a Firebending-exclusive technique

Heh that would make a good comedy show

Seems to me the technique is exclusive to Firebenders as they're the only element that generates the element from within(Airbenders only make the air around them move, it's always there). We've heard how Firebending is done("...breathe becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire."), and Aang described Firebending as it's "energy". Fire Lord Sozin redirected heat from a volcano LONG before Iroh existed, so I really think that Firebending is really more or less energybending, but the most common manifestation is by fire.