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Balisong trick names fall into two groups. A handful of family names describe what the knife is physically doing: rollouts, ricochets, fans, rollovers, chaplins, twirls, aerials and transfers. Everything else is a named combination built out of those, such as Y2K, zen rollover, helix, behind the 8 ball or shortstop. Learn the eight families and most trick names stop being mysterious.
That is the short version. Below is a working glossary organised by difficulty, with one plain sentence for each move describing what actually happens to the knife, plus an honest note about the names flippers still argue over. Nothing here is invented. Where a term is genuinely contested in the community, this page says so rather than picking a side.
How balisong trick names actually work
Unlike skateboarding, balisong flipping has no governing body and no official dictionary. Names spread through video tutorials, forums and one flipper teaching another, which means most moves have one widely accepted name, a few regional variants, and occasionally two moves fighting over one word.
The useful mental model is layers. At the bottom are the families, which describe a type of motion. In the middle are named moves, which are specific instances of a family, usually distinguished by which finger is involved and which handle you start on. At the top are combos, which are named sequences of two or more moves that flippers perform as a single unit.
The eight families almost everyone agrees on:
- Rollouts. The blade and one handle are flung out and the momentum rotates the knife through 180 degrees.
- Ricochets. The swinging handle abruptly reverses direction instead of continuing round.
- Fans. You hold one handle loosely so the blade and the other handle rotate freely around it.
- Rollovers. The knife spins around a single finger placed between the two handles.
- Chaplins. The knife rotates around one finger placed between the spine and the safe handle.
- Twirls. One handle passes between alternating pairs of fingers as it rotates.
- Aerials. The knife leaves the hand entirely and is caught again.
- Transfers. The knife moves from one hand to the other.
The words underneath the names
Trick descriptions assume a small shared vocabulary. Without it, tutorials read like nonsense.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Safe handle | The handle the blade’s spine folds into. Your normal grip handle. |
| Bite handle | The handle the cutting edge folds into. The one that cuts you. |
| Forward grip | Blade pointing out of the top of your fist, the standard hold. |
| Icepick or reverse grip | Blade pointing out of the bottom of your fist. |
| Backhand | Tricks performed on the back of the hand rather than the palm side. |
| 0g or zero g | A move where the knife is momentarily weightless on a finger rather than gripped, used as a stage inside rollovers. |
| Open and closed | Whether the handles are around the blade or around your palm at the end of a move. |
| Closer | A trick used to end a combo, usually finishing with the knife shut and latched. |
| Flow | Linking tricks continuously without a reset between them. |
The difficulty ladder
This ordering reflects how most tutorial series and flipper progressions sequence things. It is a guide, not a rulebook, and individual hands find different moves hard.
| Level | Representative moves | What you are learning | Trainer or live? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. First hour | Basic open, basic close, two-handed open | Handle recognition and gravity | Trainer |
| 2. First week | Basic horizontal, fan, double rollout, quickdraw | Continuous motion instead of single swings | Trainer |
| 3. First month | Index rollover, Y2K, zen rollover, tabletop, wrist pass | Rotating the knife around a finger | Trainer |
| 4. Intermediate | Chaplin, full twirl, icepick spin, Y3K, road to nowhere | Finger independence and grip changes | Trainer, then live once boring |
| 5. Aerials | Basic aerial, icepick aerial, knuckleduster | Timing a catch with no contact | Trainer only, for a long time |
| 6. Advanced combos | Helix, behind the 8 ball, shortstop, cherrypicker | Chaining moves without a reset | Trainer first, always |
| 7. Expert | Ladders, chokers, scissors, gunslinger, bumps | Sustained flow and multi-finger control | Whatever you are honestly ready for |
Level one and two: openings, closings and fans
Basic open. Grip the safe handle, drop the latch, let the bite handle fall, and swing it up and over your hand so it slaps back into your palm. The move every other move is built on, covered step by step in our guide to opening a butterfly knife.
Basic close. The same motion in reverse, ending with the blade seated between the handles and the latch shut.
Basic horizontal. The flat version of the open, where the knife travels sideways rather than vertically. Mechanically it is usually described as an outward double rollout followed by a final flip to close the handle into your palm.
Basic vertical. The upright opening described as two ricochets followed by the opening or closing of the knife.
Rollout. The knife is flung out from the hand and the momentum carries it through half a rotation. A single building block rather than a finished trick.
Double rollout. Two rollouts in a row, performed on the safe handle. It does not end anywhere in particular, which is exactly why it is useful for flowing into other moves.
Figure 8. Two rollouts with the second reversed, so your wrist traces a figure-eight path.
Fan. Hold one handle loosely and let the blade and the free handle rotate around it in a circle. The first move that looks like flipping rather than opening a knife.
Quickdraw. The fastest practical opening, performed from either handle, used to present the knife open in one motion.
Tabletop. The open knife is landed flat on the back of the hand, sitting there like a small table.
Rollovers: index rollover, Y2K and zen rollover
A rollover spins the knife around one finger placed between the handles. This family is where most beginners stop feeling like beginners.
Index rollover. The knife rotates around the index finger. Which handle you start on does not much matter, which makes it the standard teaching rollover and a common way to close a combo.
Y2K, also called the thumb rollover. The knife rotates around the thumb, starting on the bite handle. It is the gateway to a large number of advanced moves, including the helix, and it is one of the most commonly taught intermediate tricks.
Zen rollover. Mechanically close to the Y2K, but it starts on the safe handle and ends on the bite handle. Because the two are so similar, flippers sometimes use the terms loosely, and tutorials do not always agree on which direction is which.
Wrist pass. Rather than catching the knife, you absorb its momentum and redirect it around the wrist so the blade never contacts your arm. It usually follows a thumb rollover and is widely treated as one of the most important moves to learn well.
Icepick spin. A rotation that changes your grip from forward to icepick, starting on the safe handle.
Road to nowhere. A simple move that goes nowhere by design, used as a tidy closer at the end of a combo.
Chaplins and twirls
Chaplin, often shortened to chap. The knife rotates around one finger placed between the spine and the safe handle. Chaplins are addictive, extremely common in flow routines, and the base for a large family of variations named after whichever finger is used: index chap, middle chap, ring chap, pinky chap.
Y3K. A short combo joining a Y2K to a chaplin.
Walking chaplins. Continuous chaplins where the knife is transferred from finger to finger without stopping.
Full twirl. One handle held between the index and middle fingers does a full rotation, transfers to the middle and ring fingers, then rotates back.
Ladder, also called the Murnax ladder. An advanced form of twirling where the handle passes through the fingers in distinct rungs. An infinity ladder is a ladder looped indefinitely until you choose to exit it.
Kiss goodbye. A classic twirling combo that uses the pinky, easy to drop into a longer routine.
Choker fan. An underhand fan performed while twirling the held handle between alternating fingers. An infinity choker loops it continuously.
Chadder. Chaplins and ladders combined, run in reverse.
Aerials
An aerial is any move where the knife leaves your hand. This is the family that deserves the most caution, and the one where the drop rule matters most: never reach for a failing catch. Our safety guide explains why the reflex grab causes the worst injuries in the hobby.
Basic aerial. Throw the balisong from one handle, let it complete one rotation in the air, and catch both handles.
Icepick aerial. The same throw, caught into an icepick grip.
Knuckleduster. A short, quick aerial that passes over the knuckles.
Scissoring. An aerial caught and continued as a twirl between the index and middle fingers. A double scissor is two of them in a row.
Bumps. A helix thrown as an aerial and then struck from underneath mid-flight to add height before the catch.
Power aerials. High throws with multiple rotations, including versions caught behind the back or under a leg.
Behind the back. Not a single trick but a placement. Any throw or catch executed behind your body counts, and it appears inside named moves such as the gunslinger, a two-handed scissor with aerials thrown and caught behind the back.
Cat. A chaplin aerial transfer, throwing the knife between finger positions.
Named combos and expert moves
Helix. Three rollovers run together, conventionally a thumb rollover, a 0g index roll and a zen rollover, producing an over, under, over pattern. A reverse helix runs the same three backwards.
Behind the 8 ball, usually written BT8B. Two linked chaplins, a distinctive grab near the pivots, and a zen rollover to finish. One of the standard first steps into complicated flipping.
Shortstop. A reverse thumb rollover into a partial reverse middle chaplin, with the thumb intercepting the bite handle, caught in icepick grip.
Cherrypicker. A flow-oriented linking move that appears in a great many combos. Descriptions of the precise sequence vary between tutorials, so check the specific version your source is teaching rather than assuming there is one canonical cherrypicker.
Snatch. An index finger scooping motion that transitions a 0g roll into a horizontal chaplin.
Giraffe. A combo that starts with a zen scissor and moves into a reverse ring chaplin.
Z choker. An open or locked ladder transitioning into a choker fan variation.
Mobius flip. A hybrid of a rollover and a fan that does not sit neatly in either family, which is why flippers tend to give it its own category.
What each family actually teaches you
| Move | Family | What it teaches | What it unlocks next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic open | Rollout / ricochet | Handle recognition, gravity, wrist economy | Everything |
| Basic horizontal | Rollout | Continuous motion in one plane | Fans, figure 8 |
| Fan | Fan | Loose grip control and rhythm | Choker fan, mobius flip |
| Index rollover | Rollover | Spinning the knife around a finger | Y2K, zen rollover |
| Y2K | Rollover | Thumb control from the bite handle | Helix, Y3K, shortstop |
| Zen rollover | Rollover | The reverse of Y2K’s start and finish | Helix, behind the 8 ball |
| Wrist pass | Rollover | Absorbing momentum instead of catching it | Almost all flow work |
| Chaplin | Chaplin | Rotation on a single finger against the spine | BT8B, walking chaplins, chadder |
| Full twirl | Twirl | Finger independence and handoffs | Ladders, kiss goodbye |
| Basic aerial | Aerial | Timing a catch with no contact cue | Scissors, bumps, power aerials |
| Helix | Combo | Chaining three rollovers without a reset | Reverse helix, bumps |
| Behind the 8 ball | Combo | Linking chaplins to a rollover | Reverse BT8B, longer routines |
Names the community argues about
Being straight about this is more useful than pretending the vocabulary is settled.
- Pinwheel. This is not a settled balisong term. It does not appear in the main community trick lists, and flippers who use it generally mean a continuous fan or a twirl rather than a specific named move. If somebody tells you to learn a pinwheel, ask which motion they mean before you look for a tutorial.
- Zen rollover versus Y2K. Both are thumb rollovers. The usual distinction is the starting handle, with Y2K starting on the bite handle and the zen rollover on the safe handle, but plenty of tutorials describe them by direction instead, and the two get used interchangeably in casual conversation.
- Behind the back. Used both as a general description of any behind-the-body throw and, loosely, as if it were a specific trick. It is a placement, not a move.
- Rollover versus roll. The same thing. Some flippers shorten it, some do not.
- Chaplin versus chap. Identical. The story that the name comes from Charlie Chaplin’s cane spin is community lore rather than documented history, so treat it as an anecdote.
- Basic horizontal versus double rollout. Often used for the same motion, though double rollout more precisely describes the building block and basic horizontal the complete opening.
Butterfly knife laws vary by state, county and city, so check your local law before buying or carrying one.
More reading: butterfly knife tricks, how to flip a balisong for beginners, how to open a butterfly knife, butterfly knife safety for beginners, and the balisong trainer knives guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a Y2K and a zen rollover?
Both spin the knife around the thumb. The usual distinction is that a Y2K starts on the bite handle, while a zen rollover starts on the safe handle and ends on the bite handle. Because they are so similar, tutorials sometimes describe them by direction instead, and flippers use the terms loosely in conversation.
What is a chaplin in balisong flipping?
A chaplin, often shortened to chap, is a move where the knife rotates around a single finger placed between the blade’s spine and the safe handle. It is one of the core families and gets named by the finger used, so index chap, middle chap, ring chap and pinky chap are all chaplins.
Is a pinwheel a real balisong trick?
Not as a standard name. It does not appear in the established community trick lists, and people who use the word usually mean a continuous fan or a twirl. If someone recommends learning a pinwheel, ask them to describe the motion or show you, rather than searching for a tutorial by that name.
What is the helix?
The helix is three rollovers performed as one continuous move, conventionally a thumb rollover, a 0g index roll and a zen rollover, giving an over, under, over pattern. It is a common first advanced combo and it requires a reliable Y2K or zen rollover before you attempt it.
Which trick should a beginner learn first?
The basic open and the basic close, then the horizontal open. Once those are automatic, add the index rollover and a fan. Skipping to rollovers before your openings are clean simply means learning two things badly at once, and it is the usual reason beginners plateau in the first month.
What does 0g mean in trick descriptions?
Zero g refers to a moment where the knife is momentarily weightless on a finger rather than gripped, letting it rotate freely before you take control again. It appears as a stage inside larger moves, most commonly the 0g index roll in the middle of a helix.
What is behind the 8 ball?
Usually written BT8B. It is two linked chaplins followed by a distinctive grab near the pivots, finishing with a zen rollover. It is one of the standard first steps into genuinely complicated flipping, and the reverse version is considered significantly harder because the chaplin transitions run backwards.
How many balisong tricks are there?
There is no fixed number, because flippers invent and name new combinations continuously. There are only about eight motion families, which is the useful count. Learn those and almost any new trick name you hear will resolve into a recognisable combination rather than something entirely unfamiliar.
Do trick names differ between countries?
Names spread through video tutorials, so the common vocabulary is fairly consistent internationally. Local groups do develop their own terms for moves they invented, and a few names have competing usages. When a tutorial’s name does not match yours, compare the motion rather than the word.
Should I learn these on a trainer?
Yes, and this applies well past the beginner stage. Aerials in particular should be dull on a blunt blade before you attempt them sharp. Most experienced flippers learn every new trick on a trainer first and then move it across once it is reliable, which is cheaper than healing.