Newbie question

S

SharpEdge

Joined
Jul 7, 2000
Messages
140
Hi,
I just got infected by the balisong bug
smile.gif
, and I am just facinated by everything about balisongs. I have very few experience w/ balisongs, what's the best way for a newbie like me to start learning some of the technique of manipulating balisongs. Books? Online sources?? Oh, i need a recommendation for an entry level bali also, maybe in $50 range. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks


[This message has been edited by SharpEdge (edited 09-23-2000).]
 
Most of the things that I have learned about balisong manipulation have come from www.balisongxtreme.com

If your not ready to purchase a Benchmade balisong I'd go for a Jaguar balisong(range from about $20 to $30) or a Bear balisong ($30 to $75).

Welcome to the forum.

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Chung San

Butterfly Knife Exchange
www.butterflyknifeexchange.com
"A new kind of balisong store"
 
Yeah, BalisongMan pretty much covered it all. I first learned to do manipulations off of balisong.com, playing the videos in slow motion.. then advancing to balisongxtreme.com (lots and lots of techniques). I'd recommend to start with balisong.com first, but don't use anything without video. I find the easiest way to learn is to use the videos and drag them across in slow mo. And do make sure you check out sniperboy's site like BalisongMan suggested. It's an interesting site with nice pics. Also make sure you check out Gollick's site too... I'm not sure if balisongman mentioned it, but the url is:
www.balisongcollector.com
 
Y'all are to kind.

Clay's aforementioned site is excellent and will be a great resource for you. Jeff Imada's classic video is also very good and nice because he shows each manipulation technique from several angles and in slow-motion. I'm also a fan of Scott Brennan's videos. All of these videos are still very much in publication and available brand new for going prices, so don't do what I see a lot of people doing: buying 'em on eBay for three times the going price.

The last tip: keep in touch here on the forum. It's a great place to learn more.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been as much discussion of manipulation as I might have liked. Posting videos of manipulation techniques on the forum is not possible, but they are not hard to make with a little video conference CCD camera that hooks to either a USB or parallel port on your computer and costs less than $50. The software to make a .avi video file will come with the camera. Then, you can easily post those videos on a website. Don't got a website? Well, there are many places where you can get free or very inexpensive web space. So, why not show us your progress?



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Well not I am feeling old..... I learned how to maipulate the balisong the hard way.... self taught trial and error.
When I first started with them, the home computers were a luxury, let alone the internet....lol.

Jonathan

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Yeah...I'm a newbie too, and when I heard that this weed-smoking individual in my Boy Scout troop could get me a butterfly, I did a search on the 'net, and found Clay's site...awesome stuff(which I studied with religious zeal).

Since I'm having trouble finding one(and that guy isn't very reliable), I started twirling stuff around my fingers(PVC pipe, hockey sticks, vacumn cleaner attachments), and I found this cheap-ass-Leatherman-ripoff that I stole in elementary school. I made the handles really loose, and I'm trying to pretend it's a Balisong...

Obsession is fun, isn't it?
 
You can see video of me and my Leatherman PST on my website. The PST is just slightly different since it has a third joint in the middle (and not the kind of joint your friend is thinking of), but many of the manipulations work. I especially impress people with my aerial PST tricks.

Fastest pliers in the west, as I'm fond of saying.



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
It's nice to know I'm not alone.

I have a Leatherman Wave, but I can't do jack with it. It won't budge at all when I try to flip it open.

I can do plenty with my five-buck imitation though...after I oiled the handles on the thing, it's smooth as hell.

The Balisong seems to be one of those "easy to learn, difficult to master" things...you can learn how to do a few basic openings in five minutes.

 
Believe me, once you get past the "basic openings" and get into transitions, flipping it around locked open (and closed), tons of different kinds of aerials, twirls, flips, snaps etc. you won't be saying that it's "easy to learn".

But, once you get done learning everything you can from other people you start making up your own stuff (that's the hard but especially fun part).

------------------
Cameron
"It takes a killer...to stop a killer"
uriel.gif

http://home.san.rr.com/balisongfans/galleries/kile/index.html
 
I meant, I know quite a few people who can use it and look pretty impressive, but they basically know only one opening. The few basic openings are easy to learn.

The rest of the techniques, however, I'd expect to get exponentially harder.

BTW, my friend said you can just wave it around and make up your own stuff and it'll look cool(to most people anyway).

Is it bad to have "trained" with a pair of pliers before having touched a Balisong, because you might develop misconceptions? It's fatter and heavier, and doesn't have a blade to cut you with.

I modified my multi-tool a bit...took out all the tools, and may drill holes in the handles, but right now I have duct tape to differentiate between the safe and bite handle.

I love WD-40!
 
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