Serendipity

Blasto

Blasto

Joined
Mar 6, 2001
Messages
791
Serendipity (n) : accidental sagacity; the faculty of making fortunate discoveries of things you were not looking for.

A few weeks ago while trying to film some manipulations, I landed my 42a into the base of my thumb, causing some minor nerve damage. It rendered my thumb almost completely useless for about a week. Well, I wasn't going to let this stop my practicing, so I began to work on thumbless manipulations. This has been one of the biggest learning steps I've taken since I began 5 years ago. Within days, my fingers became noticably stronger and more agile, and I taught myself some new moves to boot! I continued experimenting with different finger combos, like no index finger, or just my ring and pinky. I even tried tying my 4 fingers together. I've learned more in the past week than I have in the last 3 months combined.

Depriving yourself of certain things, can bring out other areas stronger than before. Give it a shot sometime. I think you'll be suprised.

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~Dave

"One in the hand is worth two in the sheath"
 
My thumb is alright. I'm just glad I got it on video. When I can get this stuff from tape to digital, I'll post some bali-blooper videos. I've got plenty.

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~Dave

"One in the hand is worth two in the sheath"
 
Does that make it a serendipitous "ouch"?
Hope your thumb recovers completely. Look forward to seing your new found techniques.
 
Dave,

I hope you heal OK.

Interestingly enough, there is a Filipino Knife Grip where the thumb is held up, some people do this momentarily and some people do it almost constantly and then they will drop the thumb down to the hammer or saber grip during an actual slash or thrust.

The thumb being lifted up promotes two basic things;

#1 Even more fluid action of the wrist.

#2 You can pass someone and encircle their wrist, for lack of a better description, and pick their wrist up in the hook that is formed by the thumb being up off of the knife. With a single edged knife, you have a lever, with a double edged knife, you have a lever that CUTS.

Just to let you know. Raising the thumb up while combatively working a Balisong is not a bad thing at all.

Even if you are not interested in the Combative Aspects of the Balisong, it will increase the strength in your other fingers.

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Usual Suspect
Ipsa scientia potestas est aut disce aut discede
Some of my Knives and other neat things
 
Blasto,

I am glad that your thumb has come back ok.
BTW, your balisongs should last longer now (remember your other post that your bali didn't even make it to the car) as your manipulation is now 'milder' ..
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I started doing thumbless moves back in the old days,but my thumb at the time was in a splint.One of my sometimes klutzy friends accidentally did something that ended up jamming my thumb.So,it was in a splint for about 2 weeks.
That's when I started working a lot more on the other fingers,but also learning how to grip with the meaty part of the palm at the base of the fingers.From practicing all of the stuff I could with just fingers and that part of the palm,I also learned how to cut with the knife without having the thumb involved (and without the knife falling out of the hand).


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*The* Lunatic Puppy
It wasn't me...It was my *good* twin..
My "inner puppy" made me do it..
 
Hmmm, I'll try that.
Has anybody besides me manipulated their balisong with your feet/toes??

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Cameron

"And shepards we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command, so we shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be, En Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti"
A few of my first balisongs
My ClubPhoto albums of balisongs and misc knives and wallpapers
 
Thanks for the well-wishing everyone. I'm healing up just fine and my thumb has full movement.

Don - that's really interesting. I guess the reason I even posted this is because of how natural it felt to not use my thumb, and how well it worked. There was a certian flow there, when you're not folding your hand with your thumb. I'll really have to look into this further.

MacCanine - I could see a couple of ways of cutting without my thumb, but it's tough... I'd like to know how you accomplish this.

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~Dave

"One in the hand is worth two in the sheath"
 
I tried doing it with my toes for a while. I actually managed to open it once or twice, but it too frustrating to stick with (not to mention being stuck with).
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Draxil:
I tried doing it with my toes for a while. I actually managed to open it once or twice, but it too frustrating to stick with (not to mention being stuck with).</font>
Click to expand...

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~Dave

"One in the hand is worth two in the sheath"
 
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LOL I know exactly what you mean!!!!!! LOL, that does suck
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Cameron

"And shepards we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command, so we shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be, En Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti"
A few of my first balisongs
My ClubPhoto albums of balisongs and misc knives and wallpapers
 
Blasto,when you learn to develop a non-thumb grip,you develop a lot more strength in the rest of the hand muscles.You just need to learn how to use enough pressure between the fingers and the palm.
Another trick is learning how to roll the knife in the palm without having the thumb being involved.From this point,you wil find several ways in which the knife can be held which will give you enough pressure behind the cutting action.
All you need to do is practice and experiment.

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*The* Lunatic Puppy
It wasn't me...It was my *good* twin..
My "inner puppy" made me do it..
 
Oh,forgot to mention that yes,I've tried doing some moves with the toes as well.It's a pain in the arse.
Also tried things between the index & middle fingers,with no other fingers involved.There's not that many moves you can do with this position,but it can still be done.

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*The* Lunatic Puppy
It wasn't me...It was my *good* twin..
My "inner puppy" made me do it..
 
I have tried in between my teeth and lips but I was too afraid I'd bust out some of my teeth so I don't do that anymore.
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Cameron

"And shepards we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command, so we shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be, En Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti"
A few of my first balisongs
My ClubPhoto albums of balisongs and misc knives and wallpapers
 
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