Apoyando is a method of plucking used in both
classical guitar and
flamenco guitar known in English as 'rest stroke' (a direct translation of 'apoyando' would be "resting"). Rest stroke gets its name because after plucking the string, the finger rests on the adjacent string after it follows through, giving a slightly rounder, often punchier sound (contrasted with
tirando). The apoyando stroke is not intuitive so is rarely used by beginners. Most players will use the tirando or 'free-stroke' and will have difficulty in managing the apoyando.