KNB Balisong Modalities

Balisong Freestyle & Flow

There are a plethora of ways that you can manipulate a balisong. There is flipping, fluttering, fanning, finger twirls, rolling, aerials - just to name a few - and then all the various combinations. There are tricks and then there’s tactical. There is right side up and upside down flipping. And then when you introduce footwork and full body movement, you start to develop a flow.

The balisong moves differently for each person. We are learning that how a person naturally moves and their other developed skills can affect how they move and flow with the balisong. If you are an experienced balisong flipper, Filipino Martial Artist, practitioner of other martial arts, dancer, or athlete, your balisong flow may be influenced by how you have developed your movement and flow within your other developed skills.

Location of Video: Bohol, Philippines

Balisong & Filipino Martial Arts

Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) has evolved throughout the history of the Philippines, and included in this history is the Filipino hand-made balisong - also known as the "butterfly knife," "Batangas blade," and “bentenueve.” The balisong was first made in the historic town of Taal, Batangas at the turn of the 20th century. Since then, the balisong has been the unicorn of FMA.

Where legal, the practice of the tactical use of the balisong can be quite effective in self-defense due to its quick deployment and versatility. The balisong can also be incorporated into the “karenza” or flow. In order to learn how to get into the "state of flow," it’s important to first learn the fundamentals which includes basic flipping, upside down, hand transitions, developing the less dominant hand, and footwork. Then, the discovery phase is next where you learn how to fuse FMA skills with the balisong fundamentals. This is when the flow begins to flow.

Location of Photo: Batangas, Philippines

Balisong "Sayaw" (Dance)

Throughout history, Filipinos have hid our martial arts of sword fighting in our cultural dances when the practice of swordsmanship and the carrying of swords in public was banned by the Spanish conquistadors. The “sayaw” or dance is the “art” part of Filipino Martial Arts. It’s no wonder why some of the great FMA grandmasters have also been great dancers. They understood the intersection of dance and martial arts. They also understood movement, footwork, and flow.

The Balisong "Sayaw” is the rhythmic flipping and flowing to music. There’s a way to make the balisong dance as you flow with it where the balisong becomes a "flow" tool. With music, you can get into a rhythm where the “clackety-clack” of the balisong becomes instrumental to the beat. As you would flow to music while dancing, working out, and practicing martial arts, the moving with the balisong can be rhythmic and performative. This is where the martial meets the arts.

Music: Best Part by Daniel Caesar ft. H.E.R.

Location of Video: Bohol, Philippines

Balisong as a Therapeutic, Meditative & Mindfulness Tool

The CDC reports that ADHD, anxiety, behavior problems, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children. The following are estimates for ever having a diagnosis among children aged 3-17 years between 2016-19:

ADHD: 9.8% or approximately 6.0 million children
Anxiety: 9.4% or approximately 5.8 million children
Behavior problems: 8.9% or approximately 5.5 million children
Depression: 4.4% or approximately 2.7 million children

In recent history, fidget spinners and toys have become very popular focus tools for children. For those in the balisong community, the balisong has always been the original fidget spinner. And just like with fidget spinners, flipping a balisong trainer:

Allows you to sharpen your focusing skills
Gives your brain a break from the everyday clutter of thoughts
Lowers your heart rate and improves your breathing
Improves your hand-eye coordination and reflexes

However, the fidget spinner is limited in its movement whereas, in contrast, it is endless with the balisong. The balisong is an obscure mindfulness tool that can lessen anxiety and stress. It is not a coincidence that there are communities of young balisong flippers around the world who can flip for hours at a time. When you are hyper-focused on a physical activity and can do it for hours, you are not thinking about much else.

Location: Bohol, Philippines