Finger Twrils

L

Lundo

Joined
Apr 10, 2000
Messages
141
Hi,

I have been away for a while, but now have time to dedicate to balisongs.

I have been watching Jeff Imada's video, and I CANNOT FIGUR OUT how finger twirls are done. How do you start? Where/which finger do you put where. He makes it look SOO easy, and really cool. I know I could learn to do that, but, I don't seem to be able to figure out where to put my fingers. I know you always hold the safe handel, and never slip your index finger between the latch handle and the blade, but I just can't get anything going.

Any and all help appreciated.

Frustrated in Pittsburgh,
 
Is it like<A HREF="http://www.balisongxtreme.com/baliplanet2/advanced/fulltwirlH/fulltwrlH.htm">this</A>?

If so, you start the twirl by sticking your index finger between the safe handle and blade. The other three fingers are outside the safe handle. Then you begin by twirling the handle between your index and middle finger.

I'll take a pic if you want.
 
A pic would be nice.

I watched that avi over and over, and it looks really cool. I can't believe someone is actually doing that. But, I just can't figure it out. It is so smooth, so even tempoed. When I try, it is just as if I am fumbling around.

If you could take a pic of WHERE the fingers go, and how you do this twirl/ricochet thing, I would appreciate it.

TIA,
 
Well,if you want a very simple one to do,I'll try to describe it as best as I can...hopefully you'll be able to do it.It will be done step by step.If I had a vidcam,I'd make an avi...but unfortunately I don't have one.

This is called the "Fingerwalk".It will be described using a Batangas style knife.

First,set your hand out,palm up.
Set your balisong in the palm,latch handle on the bottom.
Make sure that your thumb and index finger are set firmly on the latch handle near the tang pins (pivot pins),allowing them to overlap the safe handle slightly..just enough to let the handle pivot out easily.

The next step you want to practice by itself a few times..to get the hang of it.
Flip the safe handle out..straight out in front of you.
Once the safe handle is out,take your bottom 3 fingers and place them around the safe handle.As you do this,your thumb should slide up to the top of the grooved side of the bite handle,while your index finger is now bent just slightly to act like a pivot bar.
Slide your thumb off the bite handle and flip it out in front of you,sliding the bottom 3 fingers so that they are now on the inside (towards your body,not away from it) side of the safe handle,with the index finger now sitting on top of the back of the safe handle.
The handles should now be at an inverted 90 degree angle.
From this point,all you need to do is remove the index finger (point it straight out along the knife),and bring the latch handle back up to sit on top of the safe handle.

The closing is the tricky part.

Flip the latch handle back out.The back of the blade is now resting on top of your index finger.Reach out the bottom 3 fingers and grab the latch handle with them.Your thumb will be resting on the back of the safe handle.
Once you do this,keep pressure on the back of the blade and the latch handle with your index finger and bottom 3 fingers.
Move your thumb and flip the safe handle out,keeping the blade trapped in it's groove with the index finger.
The safe handle should now be pointing straight out in front of you.

As you flip the safe handle back up to close the knife,move your index finger out of the way.
The knife should now be closed and in the same position in which you started.

Practice each section slowly so that your hand can learn what it needs to do for the manipulation.Once you have each section practiced,put them all together.From here,you shouldn't have any problems getting it to be fast & smooth.

This was one of the first few manipulations that I developed within the first month of having a balisong.It's basically a single forward finger flip.

I hope this description helps you learn it :)
This move will help you figure out how to do other finger twirls & ricochets.
 
whoa! good description! must have taken a while

I tried to teach my girlfriend finger twirls. that was QUITE the headache ;)
 
Nah...it didn't take that long..although I was half asleep when I was typing it all in,so I would constantly have to pick up my balisong to remind myself of each little piece of the description.

By the way,once you get this manipulation down going forward,it can also be turned to go to the side.Once you know a move one way,you can usually see how it can be done in another direction.

Oh,forgot to add that once learned,this move can be done so smoothly that it looks like it's rolling out of your hand,then is all of a sudden in the open position.It's a really fun move to do.
 
I even find it difficult to do a routine WITHOUT it! It's a great move that can get you into any position, and can set you up for many different throws
 
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