while the origin of this topic and
s video kinda stemmed from an on-going in depth discussion about blade grabs on a different forum, the short of it is basically that while blade grabs have been around for a long time, it is now a semi new area that people are starting to explore and take further than the standard aerial to blade grab. Incorporating new ways to get into it that fits their style and enables more options as to what to do with it once in the blade grab position.
The fact that it can disrupt the flow can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how it is performed....i feel that if you get into a blade grab and freeze up like a deer in headlights and pause to call attention to the fact that you grabbed the blade, then you have in fact ruined the move. The fact that you used the blade should be an afterthought to the viewer, they shouldn't even really notice it until after the move is done..and if they do realize that you catch the blade, it only looks good if you keep moving and don't stop.
how can disruption be a good thing?....if it breaks up the visual pattern created by certain combos, it can break the pace and rhythm as well as visual pattern. like music, there is an on beat and offbeat...and if a song had the same beat throughout with no deviation or change of tempo, it would quickly get boring.
Making blade grabs work, also depends on the flippers style....but it doesn't mean that it can't be done. I personally love blade grabs, and have been experimenting with them for a long time, i feel as if my personal flipping style works well with blade grabs....and on the other side of the coin, more fast paced technical flippers like flip4fun and silent
have shown that they can incorporate blade grabs to work with their style of flipping.
the zen blade rollover you posted is very similar and is basically the same way that i get into a blade grab for a combo i did a tutorial on awhile back, except it doesn't start from the open knife position, but its basically the same roll just from a combo start up, which i think is a nice utility move to get into blade grabs.