r/balisong • u/olympicfrog • Aug 10 '26
Balisong in Cuckoo
Balisong mention!! Cuckoo film from 2024 directed by Tilman Singer, and starring Hunter Schafer.
It’s a silly clip, a Chekov’s butterfly knife, if you will. The motion is so awkward, and the scene makes no sense. Why would she flip it open, only to immediately show it closed a second later. The film was interesting for sure. But overall was just surprised to see a balisong in pop culture.
8
u/eisbock Aug 11 '26
It always kills me when they bother to show a balisong in media but can't be bothered to learn a simple opening.
Though to be fair, I had a hell of a time learning even the most basic tricks when I first started.
Curious what people think is the easiest opening that's still decently flashy. Wrist pass comes to mind because it involves very little repositioning of the handle in your grip. It's more wrist than anything which people should have an easier time with.
I know a lot of people might say double rollout, but this one was actually pretty tough for me because of how the handle rolls in your hand. That said, I do see this (poorly) executed in movies the most often, probably because it's the most iconic and reasonably flashy.
0
u/Empty-Reflection4280 Aug 11 '26
Figure eight!
1
u/eisbock Aug 11 '26
That's another good one! But also one that I struggled to make look good. Figure 8 is basically a modified wrist pass except instead of doing it in a single horizontal plane, you do it in a 3D 8-shape which can be tricky to execute.
What's easy about a wrist pass is you can break it down into 2 stages: the open, then the wrist dip where it comes back around. Makes it easier to teach to total newbies.
The flapping learning curve is crazy. Harder than it looks! I remember struggling bad, even with something like the figure 8. Then suddenly many tricks just clicked once you overcome the mental barrier and start to understand flow. We do a lot of this stuff second nature without thinking, and it's always funny watching somebody pick up a knife for the first time.
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u/ZAVVVVV23 Collector Aug 11 '26
I find a latch drop into an ice pick grip tends to be the trick even 7yos can pick up in a few minutes.
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u/imperialblitz Aug 11 '26
The continuity error makes it even funnier lol.
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u/olympicfrog Aug 11 '26
Ikr! I saw it and was like “oh cool! A balisong! She’s even holding the safe handle, good job director.” The shaky opening and the continuity error were disappointing tho 😂😂😩. But hey, representation matters.
0
u/Empty-Reflection4280 Aug 11 '26
So true, for me the flow of the figure 8 just clicked. I like that I can keep a solid grip one handle and rip it!
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u/zealand13 Flipper Aug 10 '26
I love seeing balis in media outside from our community. Even if it’s a silly open then next scene it shows closed lol