gaara sand control

As the host of Shukaku, Gaara possesses the ability to manipulate sand, typically moving it through the air to serve various purposes. The amount of sand he can control at one time is immense: in Part II he is able to gather enough sand to shield the entire village of Sunagakure from Deidara's explosives, albeit at great physical exertion. If sand is lacking in abundance, Gaara can break down the earth minerals in the ground to create more sand. While he can control any dry sand, ordinary sand requires more chakra to manipulate, tiring him at a rapid rate. As a result, Gaara keeps his own chakra-infused sand with him at all times, in a calabash gourd also made out of sand on his back. Because this sand is already infused with his chakra, Gaara has a great deal more control over it, enabling stronger and faster attacks with it.

During battle, Gaara rarely moves, attacking with his sand from a single location, and rarely using taijutsu. When first introduced, his basic means of attacks is to first use Desert Coffin to capture, immobilize, and potentially suffocate an opponent with sand. Once the opponent is subdued, he uses Desert Funeral to cause the sand to crush the opponent with varying intensities. Though he comes up with other means of attack throughout the series, the "catch and crush" tactic remains at the center of his fighting style. Gaara attempted to use it four times on Kimimaro but Kimimaro's sturdy bone structure makes him a frustrating target.

As the second element of his stationary combat style, Gaara has a number of sand-based defences to be used in case an opponent gets too close. His primary defence is his Shield of Sand, an automatic sand shield that surrounds and protects him from damage whether he wants it to or not. Gaara can control the shield to some degree, strengthening it to steel-like quality or calling upon it to completely encase himself. While an effective defence, the shield can be overcome with high speed attacks, or simply be broken through with incredibly forceful strikes. Should this happen, Gaara has a layer of sand covering his body called the Armour of Sand. Although it's a useful secondary defence, the armour requires large amounts of chakra to remain active, and also has the side-effect of weighing Gaara down.