Welcome to The Basics! These five pages will show you the fundamental techniques to wield finger floggers with both substance and style:
- Getting Started
- Practice Goals
- One-Handed Drills
- Two-Handed Drills
- Florentine Weaves
Now that we have our goals and practice setup, the drills below will help you nail down the basic movements used when spinning finger floggers. You can slow down the video clips if needed. For now, flog with one hand at a time, aiming to hit the same spot and with the same amount of force repetitively.
Forward Direction
Start with forward direction, where you’re striking down on your target.
1. Forward direction, left hand: striking down, four times on the forehand, then four times on the backhand.
2. Forward direction, right hand: striking down, four times on the forehand, then four times on the backhand.
3. Figure-8, forward direction, left hand: striking down, alternating forehand and backhand.
4. Figure-8, forward direction, right hand: striking down, alternating forehand and backhand.
Finding a Natural Flow
As you’re doing the exercises above, if you find yourself struggling to maintain a consistent rhythm, you may want to take a slight step back and practice your form first. Instead of hitting a target, spin your floggers in the air only.
Now, imagine you’re pushing a friend sitting in a swing. If you time your pushes properly, you’ll give them an extra nudge in the direction their momentum is already taking them, and they’ll keep going higher and higher. On the other hand, if you time your pushes improperly, you’ll end up pushing against your friend’s natural momentum, and everything and everyone will come to a crashing halt.
The same concept applies to spinning floggers. Aim to make even loops on both your forehand and backhand, moving your hands with the natural flow of the spinning tails. Let their momentum do most of the work, so that your hands are only nudging and guiding the floggers in the direction they’re already moving. This will also allow you to conserve energy and flog harder and longer.
Once you’re able to harness the natural momentum of your floggers, add impact back to your practice and try to keep your flow going! Because the next step is where it gets tricky …
Reverse Direction
Now, reverse the direction of your flogging and strike up on your target. This gets tricky because gravity is now working in the opposite direction as the flogger tails. With every strike, your flogger will lose momentum to both the force of the impact and the pull of gravity. As such, you’ll have to add an extra flick with your wrists to keep your floggers moving smoothly.
5. Reverse direction, left hand: striking up, four times on the forehand, then four times on the backhand.
6. Reverse direction, right hand: striking up, four times on the forehand, then four times on the backhand.
7. Figure-8, reverse direction, left hand: striking up, alternating forehand and backhand.
8. Figure-8, reverse direction, right hand: striking up, alternating forehand and backhand.
And those are your one-handed drills! Once you have these down, you’re ready to move on to two-handed drills …
Flog & Flow 