- Joined
- Mar 6, 2001
- Messages
- 791
I cant quite decide if this post if off-topic or not, but Ill let you decide. The vast majority of discussion on this forum leans toward the knife itself, and less on its manipulation or use. As Im about as broke as anyone on here, I cant afford to own more than what I carry, and most of my time and interest goes into using them.
Well, youve probably heard me ramble on about my fascination with the human hand and the human ability to make it work. So after about a half a dozen books, and studying the principles of Feldenkrais (learning how to be aware of your body and use it more efficiently, and gracefully), I think Im ready to write up a short (well, well see about short) essay on the kinesthetics of the balisong and the hand that holds it. I think youll enjoy this.
First, a short lesson on whats attached to your wrists. The human hand is unique only to human beings. Primates come the closest, but there is a HUGE difference. Primates have opposable thumbs (thumb opposes the fingers) and can grasp tree branches and just about anything else with little difficulty. But thats about all they can do hold things. But human hands have convergent thumbs (the thumb can CROSS the fingers). We can touch our thumb and our pinky together, roll our thumb in a circle, and spread our fingers apart independently of each other. This allows us to do a few things we can manipulate objects using the tips of our fingers, hold things in a straight line with our arm to extend our reach and strike things more effectively, and since the mechanics of each individual finger is almost entirely independent, it allows for an infinite combination of positions and movement. It allows us not only to be tool users, but incredibly versatile tool users. Also, have you ever wondered why most people have a dominant hand or side of the body? This too, is unique only to humans. This is because our hands work as a team. You may consider your left hand to be weaker and slower (if youre a righty), but it really just serves another purpose. Your left hand always knows where your right one is going to be, and your right hand always knows where your left hand just was. From a young age, you determine (without realizing it), which hand suites you better as your dominant hand, and each hand gets to train indepently of each other, so they become specialized. You dont have to waste half of your time teaching your left hand a specific skill, when you can spend all of your time specializing your right (and vice versa). I recall Cameron mentioning that he mostly throws with his right and catches with his left, but not too often the other way around. Its most likely because his right has had much more practice throwing through his life, not necessarily because its the stronger of the two, or better. Its just specialized (and remarkably skilled too!
)
Another very interesting thing to note is everyones unique style. Its been proven that language and emotion really have nothing to do with our voices. Your brain doesnt care if you use your hands to talk or your mouth, both are just as accurately descriptive. Someone who uses sign language can just as eloquently describe the taste of a peach as well as you or I, but by using space, movement and timing, as we speak with inflection and tone. This is the basis on what makes dance so powerful and how it can communicate such precise emotions. Just like with a balisong. Hard and fast ricochets, slow graceful lines and blurred aerials are all just as important in letting yourself come through in your manipulations. Let yourself do what feels right and natural, not necessarily the technical aspects of what youve learned. Sort of bali-zen.
How often do you manipulate sitting down as opposed to standing or even lying on your back? Do you notice any differences? How much conscious thought do you put into your hands and arms and how they feel, as opposed to how the knife is moving. Where is your arm when you twirl or flip? Is it hanging down toward the floor, straight out in front of you? If youve read the tips section at Clays site, you know that hes very aware of his body and it shows! I used to get caught in ruts like when I was learning finger twirls. No matter what I did, I just couldnt get it work, and I wasnt getting any further. So I dropped the bali, and focused on my hands. It still just wasnt helping, until I found a cool system of techniques called Feldenkrais. Follow this link and give it a try. Youll need some floor space. After I had finished it for the first time, my arms, shoulders and hands were tingling from all the new muscles I had become aware of, and I was almost giddy (strike that I WAS giddy
). My arms, wrists and fingers seemed longer and more fluid. Within one week I was twirling better than I had been able to do in 3 months of practice. And I had done it without using my bali. Muscle memory is what allows our bodies to have a direct, thoughtless connection with our brains, so we can move faster than we can think, and accurately. But muscle memory also has its downsides. If you complete a task like opening a car door, or executing a horizontal opening often enough, you may end up choosing the same muscles and movements every single time. Sure, you may have learned how to swing doors open like a pro, and youre horizontal opening is faster than greased lighting, but youve hardened yourself into a rigid performance. Try extending your arm out fully in front of you and doing a horizontal opening. Now extend your arm out to the side and do it. Straight down, above your head, arm bent, arm straight, laying down, kneeling
experiment. Theres a lot of different movements and muscle groups for that one simple move isnt there? If youre thrown flat on your back in an alley and needed to defend yourself, would you be able to do a windmill as well as if you were standing up? Try it. Remember that your whole body is connected, and even the position of your toes can change the way your arms move.
Well, despite my efforts, it seems that this got to be quite lengthy
. And Im sure that much of this is old news to many of you. I apologize for rambling, but maybe someone got something out of this. Thanks for reading this far down, and have keep flippin.
Well, youve probably heard me ramble on about my fascination with the human hand and the human ability to make it work. So after about a half a dozen books, and studying the principles of Feldenkrais (learning how to be aware of your body and use it more efficiently, and gracefully), I think Im ready to write up a short (well, well see about short) essay on the kinesthetics of the balisong and the hand that holds it. I think youll enjoy this.
First, a short lesson on whats attached to your wrists. The human hand is unique only to human beings. Primates come the closest, but there is a HUGE difference. Primates have opposable thumbs (thumb opposes the fingers) and can grasp tree branches and just about anything else with little difficulty. But thats about all they can do hold things. But human hands have convergent thumbs (the thumb can CROSS the fingers). We can touch our thumb and our pinky together, roll our thumb in a circle, and spread our fingers apart independently of each other. This allows us to do a few things we can manipulate objects using the tips of our fingers, hold things in a straight line with our arm to extend our reach and strike things more effectively, and since the mechanics of each individual finger is almost entirely independent, it allows for an infinite combination of positions and movement. It allows us not only to be tool users, but incredibly versatile tool users. Also, have you ever wondered why most people have a dominant hand or side of the body? This too, is unique only to humans. This is because our hands work as a team. You may consider your left hand to be weaker and slower (if youre a righty), but it really just serves another purpose. Your left hand always knows where your right one is going to be, and your right hand always knows where your left hand just was. From a young age, you determine (without realizing it), which hand suites you better as your dominant hand, and each hand gets to train indepently of each other, so they become specialized. You dont have to waste half of your time teaching your left hand a specific skill, when you can spend all of your time specializing your right (and vice versa). I recall Cameron mentioning that he mostly throws with his right and catches with his left, but not too often the other way around. Its most likely because his right has had much more practice throwing through his life, not necessarily because its the stronger of the two, or better. Its just specialized (and remarkably skilled too!
)Another very interesting thing to note is everyones unique style. Its been proven that language and emotion really have nothing to do with our voices. Your brain doesnt care if you use your hands to talk or your mouth, both are just as accurately descriptive. Someone who uses sign language can just as eloquently describe the taste of a peach as well as you or I, but by using space, movement and timing, as we speak with inflection and tone. This is the basis on what makes dance so powerful and how it can communicate such precise emotions. Just like with a balisong. Hard and fast ricochets, slow graceful lines and blurred aerials are all just as important in letting yourself come through in your manipulations. Let yourself do what feels right and natural, not necessarily the technical aspects of what youve learned. Sort of bali-zen.
How often do you manipulate sitting down as opposed to standing or even lying on your back? Do you notice any differences? How much conscious thought do you put into your hands and arms and how they feel, as opposed to how the knife is moving. Where is your arm when you twirl or flip? Is it hanging down toward the floor, straight out in front of you? If youve read the tips section at Clays site, you know that hes very aware of his body and it shows! I used to get caught in ruts like when I was learning finger twirls. No matter what I did, I just couldnt get it work, and I wasnt getting any further. So I dropped the bali, and focused on my hands. It still just wasnt helping, until I found a cool system of techniques called Feldenkrais. Follow this link and give it a try. Youll need some floor space. After I had finished it for the first time, my arms, shoulders and hands were tingling from all the new muscles I had become aware of, and I was almost giddy (strike that I WAS giddy
). My arms, wrists and fingers seemed longer and more fluid. Within one week I was twirling better than I had been able to do in 3 months of practice. And I had done it without using my bali. Muscle memory is what allows our bodies to have a direct, thoughtless connection with our brains, so we can move faster than we can think, and accurately. But muscle memory also has its downsides. If you complete a task like opening a car door, or executing a horizontal opening often enough, you may end up choosing the same muscles and movements every single time. Sure, you may have learned how to swing doors open like a pro, and youre horizontal opening is faster than greased lighting, but youve hardened yourself into a rigid performance. Try extending your arm out fully in front of you and doing a horizontal opening. Now extend your arm out to the side and do it. Straight down, above your head, arm bent, arm straight, laying down, kneeling
experiment. Theres a lot of different movements and muscle groups for that one simple move isnt there? If youre thrown flat on your back in an alley and needed to defend yourself, would you be able to do a windmill as well as if you were standing up? Try it. Remember that your whole body is connected, and even the position of your toes can change the way your arms move.Well, despite my efforts, it seems that this got to be quite lengthy
. And Im sure that much of this is old news to many of you. I apologize for rambling, but maybe someone got something out of this. Thanks for reading this far down, and have keep flippin.