Terminology

Note: Use the alphabetic key below to move to a particular section, or use the Edit/Find function in your browser to search for a specific term.

A-C | D-F | G-J | K-O | P-R | S-T | U-Z

A-C

Announcer - A person at a tournament or other event who commentates on the happenings of the event. Most are WFJF members and former finger jousters. No more than two or three are usually present.

Arena - The playing surface where opponents joust. It resembles a smaller wrestling mat.

Armor (Armour) - A finger jouster's clothing.

Arena Coach - The head of the jousting entourage who helps the jouster with strategy and gives tips in between rounds.

Bobbo Lance - A straight jousting move wherein a player cocks his right elbow back towards his chest pulling his/her opponent closer. Then the player rapidly shoots out his arm lancing the opponent in the chest or head.

Book of Phalanges - An apocryphal manuscript dating back to the Ancient Israelites that provides a pseudo historical account of Moses' dispute with the Israelites at Phalanges and the founding of finger jousting. The Lord of the Joust has one of the few manuscripts ever made in his personal collection.

Club - A localized association of finger jousters that have been officially endorsed by the WFJF. They can hold endorsed tournaments and have other granted rights.

Coliseum - The name of the place where a tournament is located. The arenas are located in the coliseum.

Cuirass - A finger jouster's upper body clothing. Includes the torso, chest, back, and arms.

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D-F

Elements of Victory - These five elements are how you determine a finger jouster's skill and, usually in conjunction with each other, determine who would win in a match. They are quickness, strength, technique, endurance, and luck. They are the modern version of the quadrants of finger jousting.

Endorsed - Recognized and officiated in correct WFJF standing but not hosted or organized by the WFJF.

Endorsed Club - See club.

Endorsed Tournament - A tournament following the proper rules and regulations and recognized by the WFJF but hosted and/or organized by an outside party or endorsed club.

Entourage - A jouster’s support group in the arena's recet mostly comprised of an arena coach and personal trainer.

Finger Fencing - A dialectal and regional name synonymous with finger jousting.

Finger Jousting - An indie (or obscure) sport where two consenting players square off grasping their right hands in an arm wrestling fashion in an attempt to prod their opponent with their right index finger before the opposing player can.

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G-J

Gesture of Good Disposition - A physical motion executed before and after every match as a sign of gratitude toward the opponent. Approved tournament gestures are handshakes, bows, head nods, and man hugs.

Gauntlet - Another name for a finger jouster's glove on his/her lancing hand.

Greaves - A finger jouster's lower body clothing. Includes the thighs and legs.

Head Marshal - The most senior referee or marshal at a tournament. He/she often marshals the finals of the event.

Heavyweight - A division of jousters in a tournament that weigh at or more than 160 pounds but less than 190 pounds.

Helmet - A finger jouster's headwear such as a hat.

Hierarch - A term denoting a person that has a job at the administration level of the federation. They serve as an advisory council to the Lord of the Joust.

Joust - The act of finger jousting an opponent.

Jouster - A competitor in a finger jousting match whose purpose is to defeat his/her opponent by lancing him/her.

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K-O

Lance - The scoring index finger, or the act of touching the opponent with the scoring index finger. According to official documents, your lance would be your right index finger for tournament play.

Lancing Arm - The arm that you score with. This is officially your right arm for tournament play.

Latent Arm - The arm that you do not score with. This is officially your left arm for tournament play.

Leisure Match - A finger jousting match played unofficially for honor.

Lightweight - A division of jousters in a tournament that weigh less than 130 pounds.

Lord of the Joust - A title given to the president of the WFJF for his nobility (not his skills in the arena).

Majigger - A finger jousting move wherein a player rotates his/her right elbow counter-clockwise (left) while moving his/her hand down. This allows the jouster to have a clear open shot at lancing the lower body and brings the opponent off balance.

Marshal - The head of a three person referee team (3RT). Marshals watch the lances and settle disputes between the referees. Marshals have the final say in a match unless his/her position goes against the WFJF's rules and regulations. He/she is usually the most senior and experienced of the referee team.

Mediator - In a spoils match, this neutral person holds on to the spoils until the match is over and can help solve problems related to scoring if necessary.

Middleweight - A division of jousters in a tournament that weight at or more than 130 pounds but less than 160 pounds.

Official Match - A WFJF sanctioned or endorsed point play (tournament style) match under strict regulations. All referees must be certified by the WFJF for sanctioned matches or unofficially trained and designated for endorsed matches. There must be at least one referee at all times during a match, and the match must be done on a proper arena size and surface.

Official Tournament - A WFJF sanctioned or endorsed competitive event under strict regulations. It must abide by all of the necessary WFJF rules and regulations for standard tournament play.

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P-R

Partner - The group, organization, or person who funds the WFJF at the federation level and is indirectly involved with event such as tournaments.

Personal Trainer - A member of a jouster’s entourage that provides medical assistance and helps warm up the player. No more than one can be in the entourage. This type of trainer is not provided by the WFJF and, with the jouster's permission, can carry out most medical assistance instead of the tournament medical team.

Phalangelic - Something that is beneficial toward the fingers is considered phalangelic. This term was coined by the Lord of the Joust. Finger yoga is an example of something that is phalangelic.

Phalangelic Harmony - To be in phalangelic harmony is to be one with your lance (index finger). When harmony is present, and your yin is balanced with your yang, your jousting will be in a plane similar to nirvana. This is the finger jousting equivalent of being "in the zone."

Point - A score obtained by achieving a legal lance or by a penalty.

Point Play - A style of match, played either in leisure, spoils, or in a tournament, wherein the legs and latent arm count as one point, the chest, back, and neck count as two points, and the head counts as three points. These are commonly played tournament style.

Pseudo History - An alleged history of finger jousting that dates finger jousting back thousands of years and includes many references to the Book of Phalanges and major historical events.

Quadrants of Finger Jousting - Quickness, strength, technique, and tradition. In the past these were religiously taught as the fundamental truths of our sport. Recently they are slowly being replaced with the modern elements of victory. We support both lists, but still feverously uphold the quadrants for their historical significance from the Book of Phalanges.

Quick Play - A style of match only played in leisure or spoils wherein all legal lances count as one point.

Recet - The individual jouster’s resting area in between matches in the corner of an arena. Players stay there for one minute in between rounds.

Recet Time - The minute in between rounds when competitors may rest and receive help from the entourage.

Referee - An official who usually monitors a single jouster in a match.

Referee Team - A one person referee team (1RT) has a single referee who watches both finger jousters and the lances. A two person referee team (2RT) has two referees who watch a single jouster each, and both watch the lances. A three person referee team (3RT) has two referees, who watch a single jouster each, and a marshal who watches the lances. The marshal may be overruled by a joint decision of the two referees.

Round - A segment of activity in a finger jousting match. A new round is started when two minutes transpire. There are three rounds in a match and two overtime rounds (consisting of one minute and thirty seconds) if a tie occurs.

Rotate Lancing - A lance that is performed by rotating one's arm at the shoulder. An example of a rotating move is the majigger.

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S-T

Sabaton - A finger jouster's footwear such as a shoe.

Sanctioned - Hosted and organized by the WFJF.

Sanctioned Tournament - A tournament hosted and organized by the WFJF with certified referees.

Sheathing - A penalty called when a competitor lowers their lance (index finger) back on to their hand instead of leaving it extended and pointed.

Spoils - A prize one receives from winning a spoils match or a match in a tournament. To the victor, goes the spoils.

Spoils Match - A match played unofficially for a prize (spoils). Matches such as these are often played between people to see who will carry out a chore or who gets a physical prize (such as the last cupcake). It is best to have a mediator present to either hold the material possession, make sure that the pre-arranged agreement is carried out, and/or help decide the winner.

Spoils Miranda Warning - "You have the right to finger joust. Anyone you joust will and shall pay spoils in a pre-arranged agreement. You have the right to a mediator. If you cannot afford a mediator, one should be appointed so your opponent does not take your spoils." It is the basic principle behind doing spoils matches. You should always have a mediator so that there is not a disagreement after the match regarding the spoils or on who won or lost. Also the agreement must be made before hand. If a person does not go through and carry out the agreed upon task, then he loses all of his respect and honor as a finger jouster and as a person. As a final note, do not agree on something in a spoils match that infringes upon your moral or religious beliefs (especially if it is illegal or impossible).

Sponsor - The group, organization, or person who funds an official tournament or other event. A representative of the title sponsor group usually gives a foreword and awards the trophies at the tournament.

Straight Lancing - A lance that is performed in a straight line from point A to point B. An example of a straight lancing move is the bobbo lance.

Stallion - Another name for a finger jouster's lancing arm specifically the bicep muscle.

Super Heavyweight - A division of jousters in a tournament that weigh at or more than 190 pounds.

Team - A team can refer to a referee team or to a group of associated finger jousters at a tournament that may or may not be in an endorsed club.

Tournament Style - A point play match done to exact tournament specifications.

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U-Z

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