Toph Bei Fong (北方 托芙) is a 12-year old blind Earthbender (while she is very skilled, Toph has never been dubbed a master, similar to Zuko's situation) who has agreed to teach Aang Earthbending to help him fulfill his duty as the Avatar, and to restore balance to the world by defeating the imperialistic Fire Nation. Toph is approximately 5'1" (5'3" including her hair bun).
Toph is the only child of the wealthy Bei Fong family, who reside in the Earth Kingdom town of Gaoling and whose symbol is a flying boar. Toph's parents are very protective of her, viewing her blindness as a disability in every sense of the word. They assume that she is weak and vulnerable to everything around her. To avoid risk and danger, they kept her at the beginner level of Earthbending for over six years, had guards keep close watch on her at all times, and kept the knowledge of her existence from the public.
Despite her handicap, Toph has developed special skills that make her a very formidable Earthbender. However, she kept them secret from her family and Master Yu, her Earthbending teacher. Toph fought frequently in Earth Rumble, an underground earthbending Lei tai tournament, under the alias "The Blind Bandit." By the time Aang and his friends discover Toph at the tournament, she had won her way to become the current champion, holding a 42-0 win-loss record until Aang showed up at the tournament where Toph lost to Aang (though in a sense Aang did not use Earthbending as the rules require).
The Bei Fong family appears to be well-known and influential in the Earth Kingdom. In the episode "The Serpent's Pass," Toph's mere showing of her family's seal was sufficient enough to gain passage on a Ba Sing Se-bound ferry, despite lacking proper documentation to obtain a ticket normally.
Toph's hometown, Gaoling (高陵) (which means "tall hill"), is also a name of a county in Shanxi, a central province in China.
In the episode "The Blind Bandit," Aang was searching for an Earthbending teacher who "listens to the earth." (just what King Bumi told the young Avatar) After watching Toph's performance, he believes she is that person and challenges her to a duel (for a chance to speak to her) when Xin Fu, the tournament host, calls for volunteer challengers. With the help of his Airbending, Aang easily defeats Toph, because of her inability to see whats not on the ground, and upsets her winning streak. She, however, does not give Aang a chance to speak to her and immediately leaves the arena in a huff.
Aang later finds Toph at the Bei Fong estate, and he is eventually able to talk to her about his quest and need for an Earthbending teacher. However, before Toph can make a decision, she and Aang are kidnapped by the Earthbending tournament stable, who believe that Toph lost intentionally because they didn't see anything hit her though that was because he hit her with a blast of air.
The tournament wrestlers demand a ransom, which Katara, Sokka, Master Yu, and Toph's father pay, but only Toph is released. The competitors announce that they will be taking Aang to the Fire Nation instead for the reward, prompting Katara to plead Toph for her help in rescuing Aang. Her father interjects, claiming that his daughter is blind, tiny, helpless, and fragile, and unable to help them. Toph, however, is hurt by this, disagrees and steps forward, and she soon single-handedly defeats the entire tournament stable and the host, Xin Fu. Master Yu is speechless and awed by Toph's amazing Earthbending skill. Her father is silent and amazed.
That night, Toph tries to reason with her parents that she is skillful at fighting and enjoys it, and that she should be allowed to live a normal life like any other kid and not hidden from the world. She hopes that all of this new information does not change the way they feel about her. Toph's father replies that it does not change his love for her as a father, but it instead has made him realize that he has allowed her too much freedom. He plans to have guards watching over her all day long. Toph's protests are unheard and she sulks silently.
Outside town, just as Aang and his friends are about to depart, Toph appears and claims that her father had changed his mind, saying that she was free to travel the world. Based on Katara's and Sokka's reactions, it is apparent (to the viewer) that Toph is lying and is simply running away from home, but it is unclear whether or not Aang realizes this. With his daughter's sudden absence, Toph's father concludes (incorrectly) that the Avatar has kidnapped his daughter and issues a large reward to Master Yu and Xin Fu to bring her back by any means necessary.
Toph is currently a member of Aang's group of friends and serves as his Earthbending teacher. Aang refers to her as "Sifu Toph" in the episode "Bitter Work." Katara is jealous that Aang does not call her "Sifu Katara" and this begins the rampage of Katara and Toph.
While traveling with the Avatar, Toph's social attitudes change considerably. She becomes much less snide and private, but nonetheless still retains her cocky attitude. Her bending abilities also improve throughout Book Two, as she has learned to bend metal using her special ability to "see" the impurities (small fragments of earth) in the metal as she breaks the metal box that Master Yu and Xin Fu trapped her in.
Although blind, Toph has the unique ability to use Earthbending to "feel" even the most minute vibrations in the earth, including the march of ants several metres away and the presence of trees and buildings. Through this heightened seismic sense, she can visualize where people are, their relative distance to her, and their physical build, but she cannot visualize faces, as stated in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se." This sense provides her with a distinct advantage when facing other Earthbenders in combat, as they often make contact with the ground or rip rocks from their surroundings, all of which cause vibrations that Toph feels. Because she can predict attacks as they begin and quickly react, her speed and agility also greatly benefit. This sense also helps her battle Firebenders, Waterbenders, and other skilled fighters, as all attackers (short of Airbenders) normally require constant contact with the ground while launching attacks.
However, because Toph is dependent on vibrations in the earth, she is vulnerable to air-based attacks and thusly has great difficulty attacking Airbenders, as they are capable of gliding above the ground for short periods of time. This vulnerability to air-based movements is apparent in "The Blind Bandit," when Aang easily defeats Toph using Airbending in the tournament. At the end of the same episode, Toph is completely surprised by Sokka dropping a large belt on her head.
Terrain that impairs Toph's ability to sense vibrations also hinders her abilities. As shown in the episodes "The Library" and "The Desert," Toph has some difficulty with sand. Sand constantly shifts and is not a solid mass like rock, and she cannot accurately "feel" where she is going, describing the vibrations in the earth as "fuzzy." She is able to compress sand into solid earth, however, to gain some temporary footing. Toph also expresses an aversion for flying, as she she can't sense her surroundings without her feet on solid ground. Toph also loses her ability to perceive her environment if her feet are injured as evidenced in the episode The Western Air Temple where Zuko accidentally burned her feet. It is unclear if this will hinder her 'sight' in future episodes.
Also as a result of her closeness or affinity with earth, Toph can rest or sleep comfortably on solid rock without any sleeping bag or blanket and can walk on any kind of terrain in bare feet. While standard trait for Earthbenders, Toph especially relies on direct contact with her feet and the ground for "sight" as well as for her Earthbending. When acquiring Fire Nation clothing, Toph goes as far to punch out the soles of her shoes in order to maintain maximum perception. She is however very sensitive, and as a result, Toph is very reluctant to allow anyone to touch her feet. She touches them regularly, however, to groom them and keep them clear of debris for better contact with the ground.
Despite her substantial prowess on land, a great weakness of Toph lies in the fact that she does not know how to swim (seen in "The Serpent's Pass"). This, combined with the lack of earth required for her to "see," makes her very vulnerable in deep water as she is essentially rendered helpless.
Toph has a great sense of hearing and can recognize people by the sound of their voices. In "The Desert," Toph recognizes the Sandbender who stole Appa, adding that that she never forgets a voice. In "City of Walls and Secrets," Toph is seen feeling even slight vibrations as she tells a man they meet "I can feel you shaking." In the episode "Lake Laogai," Toph demonstrated an ability to sense when a person is lying by the vibrations of their heartbeat and breathing patterns. However, this ability is not effective on people who are very good at lying calmly, such as Azula. Most likely, with this system, she can also determine the level of excitement or exhaustion that a person is in.
Toph's earthbending style is based on Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu, which is a style that is apparently unique to her; the style of Earthbending used by other Earthbenders is rooted in the Hung Gar style of Kung Fu. She is the only bender on the show known to use a style based on a different root martial art than the standard for their bending art. This may be because she is self-taught rather than trained in the traditional Earthbending form. According to creator commentary, Toph came to develop her unique style by observing the movements of the similarly blind Earthbending Badgermoles that can be found around her hometown. In Sokka's Master, Toph herself mentions that she was taught by these creatures.
As of the episode "The Guru," Toph is the first known character with the ability to bend metal. Metal is derived from ore, which is found in the earth. In the episode, while Toph is seen concentrating in her iron prison, Guru Pathik explains in a parallel scene that "Metal is just a part of Earth that has been purified and refined." Because of Toph's ability to feel the vibrations in earth, she is able to locate the impurities (the small fragments of earth) in metal and manipulate them to "bend" the metal portion. As of the end of Book Two, Toph is the only known Earthbender with the ability to bend metal. In "Sokka's Master", Sokka gives Toph a small piece of meteorite, which being composed of earth and metal, she can easily mold into a myriad of shapes, and subsequently transforms it into an arm bracelet she now wears.
