The Flipping Arena

Of course there's a philosophy to it. It is. So, there is. We can shut the book on that now.

I always think that I think differently about the knife than everyone else does. But I'm probably wrong. *shrug* For instance. I believe the knife is in constant motion. That the knife isn't ever really resting on my hand. Rather, it's floating through my combo and my fingertips are just guiding it into axis. Which I know isn't true but, if I'm having trouble with a trick I think about it that way and I'm like "Oh shit! I just gotta move THIS finger HERE and *WHAM!*" Trick accomplished.

How do you see the knife?
What do you think makes your combo different?
How can you stand out if there are only so many balisong moves?
In what way do you think about your knife that you think others do not?

I dunno. Go for it.

Just like you. My fingers are just too damaged to do what you do. Looks like I am going to have to work from the Loosey book...oh yes, there will be blood.

I view it similarly to yourself. Once the knife is in motion, you're not doing the work, you're just channeling the momentum. Like water. Just like I think there comes a point where it's no longer a series of techniques, but a natural flow. Kinesthesia. There are a few flippers here that I think, when they're doing their thing, it's not move A, move B, etc. through the combo; it's just going with the flow. Yes, they planned it out from start to finish, but the way the body moves with the knife... you can't really put steps to that, and that's when individual style really shows.

I can't say much for the other questions, however, as I haven't solidified a style for myself, let alone completed all the moves in the tutorials list.

This is what I like to see in a combo. I always plan mine from start to finish. But if you've ever flipped on camera, you know how hard it is to stick to a 60s routine. There's ALWAYS some improv.

I agree here. I always have an idea what moves or combos I want in a routine, but generally how I get to those moves is never the same...That said, I've yet to succesfully make a good 1 minute routine so I'm obviously not good at the improv.

I try to mix up my routines a little more though. It seems like a lot of people use the same linking moves a lot so I try to come up with my own, whether it's a transfer, an aerial, or a unique ricochet. More often than not I end up using transfers as linking moves, so I end up building a bit of a routine around the transfer so it doesn't look like I just threw one random move with my off hand in there. I guess that's what I do with the whole routine, I pick the moves I want, then build everything around them.

Very like you. Though I also think about the fact that physics can't let me down, and that I have to respect the blade in order to master it. The blade doesn't respect me, I respect it. I earn its respect. I respect the blade, I overcome its power over me. I don't respect it, I get cut. I also make sure to keep a level head. Keep confident, but don't get over-confident.