A Tap is a trick where the pen is precisely pushed from a static, stationary position into a topspin. It could be fingerless, pushed by a wrist rotation (e.g. backtap); or finger-pushed, moving just one finger (e.g. halftap/palmtap). A pen usually doesn’t change slots during its spin and is usually 0.5 revolutions, but could be more. When using this term, the emphasis is on how the push is done.

Topspins that are set up by around style pushes are not typically considered taps.

History

Variation

Half Tap

Halftap is a tap 0.5 which is pushed by the index finger.

The original name is continues half-taps, by David Weis in 1998. Kam listed the trick in Pentrix as half taps and for some years, taps was the preferred term over tap.

Full Tap

It’s a tap 1.0 which is pushed by the index finger.

The original English name is full-tap and the Japanese name, フェイクトノーマル (faked normal). However, the direct translation faked normal can be seen in some English sources like the UPSB trick book from 2007, and is more or less widely understood.

Bak Tap

A tap 0.5 done on the back of the fingers. For example, in a baktap 12, the pen is parallel to the fingers, on top of 1 and 2, in palm down position. With a sudden wrist movement, the pen starts spinning counterclockwise, usually 0.5 revolutions.

Palm Tap

In palm up position, the pen spins clockwise after being pushed by the base of the index finger, which remains straight throughout the movement. It’s sometimes said that a palmtap is an inverse baktap but this is incorrect, as the pushes are different.

While the name palmtap comes from Le0n, the actual trick was almost certainly already done before.

Soft Tap

The soft tap starts in palm side position, with the mod over the lateral side of 2 and next to the back side of 1. The index finger is then bent and moved backwards, so that the pen spins over 2. It is finally stopped by the palm side of 1. The trick has 0.5 revolutions.

Fist Tap

The pen starts in fist stall position. From there, 4 is slightly straightened and the pen starts spinning clockwise over the fingers, after which it is caught by 4.

Hybrid Tap

A full/half tap but instead of the index finger, another finger is used to push the pen.

Tutorials