Flop Balls

Contact Manipuations

• Flying - moving the flop in space without it losing contact with back of hand/body
• Sliding - sliding flop over hand, arm, or other body part
• Walking - flipping the flop along back of hand and arm without losing contact
• Rolling - rolling flop across back of hand, down arm, or another body part
• Edge - where the flop ball is standing up vertical on its edge

Spin & Rotation Direction

• Flats - A toss with no flip
• Flat - toss with no spin
• Spin Flat - toss from back of hand with spin imparted to flop
• Spin In - toss in from fingertips imparting spin
• Wobble - toss in which flop wobbles in air and doesn’t flip

Flips

• Flips - end over end rotation
• Back flip - a flip toward body
• Front flip - a flip away from body
• In flip - a flip toward other hand
• Out flip - a flip away from other hand
• Power flips - a type of flip where a flat is tossed and a flip is initiated by hitting the flop with the same or other hand. Examples: chop flip, tap flip, and slap flip
• Passive flips - a type of flip where a flat is tossed and a flip is initiated by the flop hitting a stationary hand or body part. Examples: top flip, thumb flip

Counting Rotations

• Half flip - 180 degrees rotation, top color changes
• Full flip - 360 degrees rotation, top color is the same
• Trip flip - 540 degrees rotation, top color changes

Back of Hand Positions

• 1st or One - on back of fingers
• 2nd or Two - on back of palm
• 3rd or Three - on back of wrist

Relative Position of 2 or more Flops on Back of Hand

• One over Two (1O2)- flop in 1st position laying partially on top of flop in 2nd position
• Two over One (2O1) - flop in 2nd position laying partially on top of flop in 1st position
• One Two position - flops in 1st and 2nd position with no overlap
  
• Stack - 2 flops in alignment in any position on back of hand
• Staggered - 3 or more flops overlapping each other

Stacking & Unstacking

• (X) Stack - where x denotes the number of flops
• Flip to Stack - starting with 2 flops in front back position and back flipping the front flop onto back flop to create a clean stack
• <toss> to Stack - where <toss> is a swap from the other hand onto stack (ie: back flip, front flip, in flip, out flip, or flat)
• Crack a Stack - edging a stack of two and having them split into front and back positions
• Peel - picking off a flop in midair from the bottom of a stack with throwing hand
• Pull - pulling out a flop in midair from the bottom of a stack with opposite hand
• Clean Stack - neatly aligned before or after a flip
• Slop Stack - all flops caught after a stack flip but not a clean stack
• Stagger Stack - back over front overlapping of multiple flops up one’s arm, then tossed and caught in a clean stack

Timing of Throws Using Two Hands & 2 or more Flops

• Synchronous - tossing flops at the same time
• Asynchronous - tossing flops one at a time
• Staggered - tossing 2nd flop as 1st reaches peak

Independent manipulation of synchronous throws

• Double Sames - both hands do same throw and rotation
• Double Differents - both hands do different throw and rotation
• Split Flips - both hands do opposite flips (front/back, in/out, back front, out/in)
• Split Rotations - both hands do different number of rotations (half/full, full/half, etc)
• Split Flip Rotations - both hands do different flips and different rotations

Path of Travel & Relevant Hand Positions

• Swap - a toss where 1 or more flops switches hands
• Under/Over - describing hand and arm position of crossed arms

A Few Named Tricks

• Moon Walk - flop walk -> slide -> repeat
• Waterfall - front flip drop swap from hand to hand
• Drop Flip - a stationary front flip. Bending the fingers down to drop the flop onto a hand under
• Chop Flip - power flip where you karate chop down on the inside of the flop and follow through out and away
• Tap Flop - power flip where you tap the back side of the flop and follow through down and forward.
• Top Flip - a passive flip where the inside edge hits a top hand and flips on top
• Noggin Stall - a catch on the forehead
• Footsies (footbag) - catching the flop ball on the foot

Flop Lines

2 Handed Grips

• Top Grip - holding the line horizontal with both hands on top
• Bottom Grip - holding the line horizontal with both hands on bottom
• Split Grip - one hand holding from top and other hand holding from bottom
• End Grip - holding from the end of a horizontal flop

One Handed Grips

• Up Grip - thumb pointing up
• Down Grip - thumb pointing down
• Middle Grip - holding line in middle with down facing hand
• Flop Grip - hanging over back of hand

Rolls

• In roll - from down grip an inward swing up and around wrist (into up grip)
• Out roll - from up grin an outward swing up and around wrist (into down grip)
• Propeller - roll on finger at just off center

Flips

• Swing Flips - a toss from an end where the line is swung and flipped
• Flounder Flip - a toss from the center of the line so that the flip ‘flounders’ in the air
• Switch Flip - 180 degrees
• Full Flip - 360 degrees
• Trip Flip - 540 degrees

Switches: switching from one end of the line to the other

• Sliding - allowing the line to slip inside a loosened grip (in slide, out slide)
• Flip Switch - swing half flip into same hand

Loops (coming soon)

Mixed Props

Loops & Lines: mixed flop manipulations

• Carry Though - moving a ring around a line in the air from end to end
• Toss Through -  tossing a ring around a line, in the air, from end to end
• Ramp or Path - rolling a loop using the line as a ramp or path
• Purse Grip - holding loop with line hanging from middle and down

*This naming convention works for me and I offer it up to the player community. I know it has flaws and is probably missing huge chunks of flow that is outside my experience or style. If you feel like you have something to contribute. Please, by all means, reach out to me.