For the next post I would like to go into a few different combinations which I find useful, as well as going into some harder/impossible stuff to give you an idea of how far I think finger stalls can go. I'll go through in order of difficulty giving a little explanation of each combination along with any tips I have (if there are any). More than anything I just want to open peoples eyes to some the combinations that are available, then from there you can go off and create your own weird and wonderful stuff that I haven't even considered!
For most of these explanations I am assuming you will be trying them first with the 1-2 stall, but please try them all any way you like! It will only help to improve your balance in the end.
EASY
Rolls into Finger Stalls
Most likely when you practice a stall you place the ball on your finger tips/thumb and balance from there. After you get comfortable with the stall you are learning, try going from having the ball in your palm to the stall position (so the ball rolls up your fingers). This applies to the cradle position on the opposite side of your hand as well. When you have these two learnt you can go from pretty much any roll into a finger stall. There's not much of a technique for this one, it's just something that gets easier as you get better at the stall.
One fun trick to try is to practice the "handerfly" from Brinechild's video below, then you are able to stall at the mid point of a butterfly!
Another interesting example can be seen in this vid by PePPyOOO on Youtube. Butterflys are usually done just between the 1-2 fingers, but why not do it between all of them? And when you get really good why not finger stall at each mid point of the butterfly?
MEDIUM
1-2 -> 2-3 -> 1-2
This is one of the most basic switches between finger stalls, and one of the most useful.
To get the ball to roll over your middle finger you will need to give your hand a small jolt towards you, so you end with your middle finger pointing more towards your face than being vertical (basically the usual 2-3 hand position). If you notice the ball falls off the end of the 3 finger, then you know you need to be rotating the hand further towards you. There's not much else to say for this other than practice, and have your 2-3 stall down really well too!
For the 2-3 -> 1-2 part, reverse the above steps (you should find this easier than 1-2 -> 2-3 as you are presumably landing in your strongest stall). It's best to practice each individual step first before trying to do the whole thing in one go.
Throw to Stall
Getting used to doing throws into finger stalls is very useful! There isn't much to say for this one, start small and then build your way up. It can help to spread your fingers wide to get a stable catch. From there, just see how high you can go!
Hops
After you get throws into stalls down, try doing it from finger stall to finger stall! It's not as hard as it seems.
Back to Back Pass
Another fun one to try is to do a finger stall version of the back to back pass typically done on the back of your hands. This time you want the hand you are passing to to be on the inside (so the side closer to your body) as opposed to the outside like in the regular pass. Just to make it more clear I'll include a grab from a video so you get the idea. Not much to say to this one other than practice!
For most of these explanations I am assuming you will be trying them first with the 1-2 stall, but please try them all any way you like! It will only help to improve your balance in the end.
EASY
Rolls into Finger Stalls
Most likely when you practice a stall you place the ball on your finger tips/thumb and balance from there. After you get comfortable with the stall you are learning, try going from having the ball in your palm to the stall position (so the ball rolls up your fingers). This applies to the cradle position on the opposite side of your hand as well. When you have these two learnt you can go from pretty much any roll into a finger stall. There's not much of a technique for this one, it's just something that gets easier as you get better at the stall.
One fun trick to try is to practice the "handerfly" from Brinechild's video below, then you are able to stall at the mid point of a butterfly!
Another interesting example can be seen in this vid by PePPyOOO on Youtube. Butterflys are usually done just between the 1-2 fingers, but why not do it between all of them? And when you get really good why not finger stall at each mid point of the butterfly?
MEDIUM
1-2 -> 2-3 -> 1-2
This is one of the most basic switches between finger stalls, and one of the most useful.
To get the ball to roll over your middle finger you will need to give your hand a small jolt towards you, so you end with your middle finger pointing more towards your face than being vertical (basically the usual 2-3 hand position). If you notice the ball falls off the end of the 3 finger, then you know you need to be rotating the hand further towards you. There's not much else to say for this other than practice, and have your 2-3 stall down really well too!
For the 2-3 -> 1-2 part, reverse the above steps (you should find this easier than 1-2 -> 2-3 as you are presumably landing in your strongest stall). It's best to practice each individual step first before trying to do the whole thing in one go.
Throw to Stall
Getting used to doing throws into finger stalls is very useful! There isn't much to say for this one, start small and then build your way up. It can help to spread your fingers wide to get a stable catch. From there, just see how high you can go!
Hops
After you get throws into stalls down, try doing it from finger stall to finger stall! It's not as hard as it seems.
Back to Back Pass
Another fun one to try is to do a finger stall version of the back to back pass typically done on the back of your hands. This time you want the hand you are passing to to be on the inside (so the side closer to your body) as opposed to the outside like in the regular pass. Just to make it more clear I'll include a grab from a video so you get the idea. Not much to say to this one other than practice!
Outside Arm Roll to Finger Stall
A bit more advanced version of the above, try doing an outside arm from from your hand to your elbow, and let the ball keep rolling off the end onto the fingers of your other hand. As the ball is moving it will want to roll over your finger tips, so try to make the ball roll up your fingers a tiny bit to kill some of the speed.
1-4 -> 2-3
This one isn't so hard but looks pretty cool. Do a 1-4 tall, then pop up 2-3 at the same time so the ball is raised and rests on those fingers instead.
HARD
1-2 -> 2-3 -> 3-4
All I can really say is practice each individual section both ways, and really make sure you have your 3-4 finger stall stable! Try not to rush the process, do the switch then let yourself regain balance before trying the next part.
Keep one digit the same
This is something I haven't done yet (and maybe I physically can't), but how about always using a single finger (such as 1) while constantly switching between the others? For example 1-2 -> 1-3 -> 1-4 or 1-2 -> 2-3 -> 2-4 etc.
Clasp
With this trick you exchange which hand is clasped and which one is doing the stall in one fast motion. If you have reached this point there isn't much in the way of advice, just try to keep the moment where both sets of fingers are "up" as short as possible to keep it looking clean.
I'll attach a video as it shows how I get into/out of it. It is the third trick.
H -> HTU/HTD
This is a difficult one, but it's possible to roll the ball from a horizontal 1 stall along your index finger and then turn onto your thumb, in either the HTU or HTD position. Again, not really much in the way of tips for this other than have all of the stalls very solid!
Thumb Butterfly! (Thumberfly?)
All I can say is start and end in the HTD position as it is the most stable, and it helps to make it one smooth motion rather than stop/start. You can see this in the video posted in the "Clasp" section.
DEATH
This is the world of speculation, I'm sure it's all possible but it's a long way off! I'll just leave them here for now...
1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 (aka Single Finger Switches)
The big shiny goal at the top of the mountain. Give it a few years/decades!
How about a single finger butterfly?
If you can get really comfortable stalling the ball on all parts of the index finger then this is definitely possible.
How about combining fingers from different hands?
So 1-1 using both hands, or any other combination! This is a lot harder than it sounds...
There are loads more but I'll leave it here for now. I think I'll leave the finger stall series for a little while and move onto something new, but I might come back if I find something new to talk about. Have fun playing around with all these variations and go try coming up with your own! The possibilities are endless.
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