Kankeri Japan

[C-Fan]

"Floating" by Henrik Uldalen. Feel like it captures some of the lonely surreality of the current moment.

With 2 weeks before routine qualifiers are due that gives me six sessions...enough to put something together.

Yeah, 6 sessions is plenty, especially for a first round routine. There's still a few days left for registration, so it's possible a ton of good routine players register between now and then. But if things stay the same as they are now, I think most people will make the cut to finals provided their entry is dropless, has a few decent cues, and isn't overly boring. You could burn 2 sessions just banking safety routines and still have a ton of time to put something really good together. Then hopefully you have 2 more weeks for a finals routine to really gel.

[Tjuggles]

"Floating" by Henrik Uldalen. Feel like it captures some of the lonely surreality of the current moment.

Cool painting. I agree; it captures various elements of the current state of things. The Adam Art Gallery (Te Pātaka Toi) has a new exhibition which is really cool. I will capture some of it the next time I go there.

You could burn 2 sessions just banking safety routines and still have a ton of time to put something really good together. Then hopefully you have 2 more weeks for a finals routine to really gel.

This is essentially what I did yesterday. I warmed up slightly and then went through possible routine elements. I am pretty much set on a song, but not confirmed, so that is the first thing to take care of. As you mentioned Ken, depending on who ends up registering (and there are plenty of reasons why everyone should register in my opinion), making the cut should be doable.

I was thinking about writing this progress down in modified, and if it could affect placement at Worlds. I mean, if a judge who frequents Modified read our blogs, they would know the degree of effort put into a routine, whether it was 'just a safety routine', and other possible things. Surely it shouldn't have any effect, and the routine itself should be the entirety on which to base a score. That being said though I think it is difficult to split the two, that is, what you watch from what you know. For example, surely we have all seen shredder X perform a routine and despite it being great, it is not what we expected from them and so on a personal level were, um, not disappointed per se but something similar to that. Or, maybe not, who knows. Anyway I thought of this at my last session.

Goal by/for next two sessions:

1. Have a song ready and get a safety routine taped.

[boyle]

This is a big thing on Vasek. Particularly in these previous years where maybe he hasn't been at full health. I think at times he gets marked on that "well that's a pretty good Vasek routine but not his best", whereas the judging should be only comparing the routines in front of them (same point with semis/finals etc)

I don't think the judges will be looking at the progress, they'll just look at the videos submitted. Great to hear you're making some progress. I've finally got a few things into gear too.

[Muffinman]

I was thinking about writing this progress down in modified, and if it could affect placement at Worlds. I mean, if a judge who frequents Modified read our blogs, they would know the degree of effort put into a routine, whether it was 'just a safety routine', and other possible things.

Honestly, I had the same thoughts when reading Ken's thorough Modified posts about his strategy. Don't compromise your edge by sharing about it publicly :p

[C-Fan]

I was thinking about writing this progress down in modified, and if it could affect placement at Worlds. I mean, if a judge who frequents Modified read our blogs,

I don't think the judges will be looking at the progress, they'll just look at the videos submitted

Let's actually assume worst case scenario here. There are 4 events run at Worlds, but Shred30 isn't actually judged. It's calculated mathematically, so no concerns there about subjectivity, and it doesn't matter what you write in your blog about it.

Shred Off is judged, and is very subjective. But I don't know that most competitors are going to put in enough thought to their strategy for it to matter.

Sick 3 is subjectively judged. I guess you could hurt yourself by writing that the links or tricks were easy for you or a safety. At the end of the day though I suspect most judges are just going to go with their initial "wow" factor, and their personal understanding of how hard the links are.

Which leaves us with routines, which I suspect is the event we're probably really discussing here. The rules page actually gives a lot of insight about the mechanics of the judging: https://footbag.online/player-info/rules/

Specifically:
All entries will be judged by a panel of 5 experienced judges from different countries.
Judging panels will vary in members between rounds and events.

The way I read this, is that for routines the maximum number of different judges possible over the span of the tournament is 10 people. That would assume all 5 judges in the first round are different than finals. The minimum number of people judging you could be 5, assuming no changeover from qualifiers to finals. Either way, the number of people in the World judging your routine is somewhere between 5 and 10. Think about the number of people who frequent modified, and now remove the people who are competing (Dan, TJ, Mathieu, me). That doesn't leave a lot of potential judges who would be reading. On the high end, let's assume there are like 3 judges who are reading your strategy posts. Will your posts affect their judgment? Probably somewhat. But enough to change an outcome? Doubtful.

So to recap: in the unlikely event a judge does read your modified blog, it's probably going to be between 10-20% of the total judging pool for you, and unlikely they will be swayed enough by your blog that it'd affect your results.

[acxel22]

In regards of judging for routines, I'm in charge of the routine part of the tournament, and my goal is to have basicly the same judging panel for the whole event. There could be changes if someone bails, or has a last minute issue, but I have backups as well.

I would not mind posting progress personally, because I never try to think what judges would think if I worked hard or not, when I perform I mostly want to show myself the best I can do, safety or not, as long as what I wanted to show is performed I am happy, and results will vary depending what others did. I won an east coast with a safety routine once, I must say it was a small turnout and I was coming back from injury, but still, I could have went bigger but why? I rather do something that felt easy and in control. Even USO last summer, nothing to discredit Taishi, but people like Kemmer, Bonslaver and myself pushed as hard as they could, and in the end Taishi shows up with an easy routine (for him) and takes the cake.

I say don't be shy to use a safety if that's the best you got / can get / can do / whatever

I'm injured here, doubt I will make recovery in time, but I think I will film a super easy routine to at least say I did something that looks in control instead of simply scratching

[Tjuggles]

So to recap: in the unlikely event a judge does read your modified blog, it's probably going to be between 10-20% of the total judging pool for you, and unlikely they will be swayed enough by your blog that it'd affect your results.

Good thinking, Ken. I agree that, realistically, posting in here will have little weight on outcomes in terms of placing. That being said, it was interesting to think about, and hear your opinion and Daniel's opinion.

I say don't be shy to use a safety if that's the best you got / can get / can do / whatever

I'm injured here, doubt I will make recovery in time, but I think I will film a super easy routine to at least say I did something that looks in control instead of simply scratching

Interesting point. I think, personally, as this year unfolded as it did, I am just happy to be able to participate in worlds.

On to some progress. Last time I said:

Goal by/for next two sessions:

1. Have a song ready and get a safety routine taped.

I have locked in a song and started thinking about cues. I will be kicking today and will try to get through 2 minutes of a safety routine. I suppose I still have plenty of time, so even if I don't get anything recorded today, I still can get it done by the end of the week and feel ok. That being said, I seem to have misplaced my second phone which I was using for music! I will need to find some workaround or else I won't be able to listen to my routine song and record at the same time.

Also in terms of progress, I got some stuff recorded for shred off.

[Tjuggles]

Three sessions ago, I said this

Goal by/for next two sessions:

1. Have a song ready and get a safety routine taped.

Since then I have locked in a song and recorded some shred-off stuff. Yesterday I spent the entire session thinking about routines. Choreographing routines is a lot of fun, a feeling I forget about. It reminds me of reading research, and the plethora of ideas that get sparked as a result. I wrote down notes on cues, combos, and things to include. On Friday if things feel right I will go through once and record a safety, just to have something. That being said I may have to bring my laptop so that I can play music and record on my phone; still can't find my phone. Ah, I have an old ipad which I could use actually...

Thinking of submission deadlines, 6:30 pm on Saturday 27 June NZT is 11:30pm Friday 26 June PT. That may be cutting it too close, and I will likely upload before that, e.g., Saturday morning, but it is still good to know that I have the early part of the weekend to upload my shred-off stuff. That means tomorrow I can have another go at one or two more shred-off entries.

[Tjuggles]

Shred-off vid submitted! Phew, a few hiccups but got something out. The next goal is to get that routine filmed.

It is great to see such a big turnout this year! I think even registering and getting something out really helps the game as a whole. Looking forward to seeing how things progress. I reckon once things get moving the next month or so is going to be busy for those who progress through the ranks.

[Tjuggles]

So Routine Pools have been released. I am in Pool A, seeded third. The top two advance. Seed first and second are Pawel and Dominik. I think realistically I don't have much of a chance. That being said, I am grateful to even be in the line-up, and while there was a brief 'well fuck' when I saw the pools, I don't really care that much. Furthermore, my intent wasn't to win. In fact, my goals have been somewhat fluid as I have spent more time creating content for this year's Worlds. What remains for me to do in terms of goals, for routines, is to get a routine recorded that showcases some ideas I have for choreography. In fact, I think having the opportunity to contribute to Worlds has motivated me to continue with developing routines. I would love to have a series of routines displaying my ideas for the relationship between song and shred.

Wiktor posted a video recently, hopefully the first in a series, about the IFPA. It was really interesting to listen to and has given me some more ideas to help the sport. Here is the video:

[acxel22]

You never know, it takes one player not having good sessions or a scratch and one pool completely opens up. Also if I was to choose my pool, the one I got would be my last pick haha, I would have taken E or A hands down. But that is how it goes

[Tjuggles]

You never know, it takes one player not having good sessions or a scratch and one pool completely opens up.

So true; that is essentially what happened at Worlds 2017. A strange series of events helped me getting into routine finals. In addition to a decent routine on my part, Landes was dehydrated and flopped, and Penske had a lot of drops.

[acxel22]

Guess what, Dominik wrote on discord that he still does not have a routine filmed and he has some health issues right now, the door might be Open for you yet again I wish him a speedy recovery, but I would also like to see you go through!

[Tjuggles]

Guess what, Dominik wrote on discord that he still does not have a routine filmed and he has some health issues right now, the door might be Open for you yet again I wish him a speedy recovery, but I would also like to see you go through!

Haha, wow, crazy. I hope he is ok! At any rate, I hope we all get some decent routines recorded!

[acxel22]

He just got moved to hospital, it sucks so close to deadline

[C-Fan]

He just got moved to hospital, it sucks so close to deadline

Yikes, I hope he's OK. This was on my mind throughout the registration process; the hope that people weren't registering due to interest, and not due to health or pandemic-related circumstances. Fingers crossed.

On the topic of this routines pool, it stood out to me as a tough pool because while it may not have as scary/dominant a top seed as a Vasek or a Honza, it's top 4 feels like they all have a higher basement than any other pool's top 4. Based on Rory's submitted routine to Mathieu's contest, I wouldn't sleep on him either.

[Tjuggles]

He just got moved to hospital, it sucks so close to deadline

... Fingers crossed.

Oh no! I hope he is ok. It does suck that it happened so close to the deadline, but it also sucks in general too. Hoping for the best.

On the topic of this routines pool, it stood out to me as a tough pool because while it may not have as scary/dominant a top seed as a Vasek or a Honza, it's top 4 feels like they all have a higher basement than any other pool's top 4. Based on Rory's submitted routine to Mathieu's contest, I wouldn't sleep on him either.

Rory is a force to be reckoned with for sure. Actually, at this stage it is pretty uncertain in my view who will advance. I would like to see Rory or Daniel advance for sure. I would also like to see Ryan Morris get through, perhaps more than anyone else. This is because he represents the younger generation of MI footbaggers. The last time I went back to the states and kicked with him and the others, it was emotional knowing that I was kicking with, myself included, three generations of footbaggers.

That all being said, they won't get through without a fight.

[Tjuggles]

I had a great session today. Got a decent routine on film so at the very least I can submit that and if I don't make it through then I don't make it through. At least I have SOMETHING to submit. That is a great feeling.

I also got some good footage today for shred-off. Combined with the sick three that I have, I feel relieved to have been able to keep up with events, despite not planning on attending in-person Worlds this year.

I still have one or two more sessions where I could try for a better routine. I may take advantage of that. I also need to keep in mind shred 30...

Ken mentioned that he is looking forward to seeing a ton of more footage when Shred-off vids get released. I agree! I think the committee nailed it with this event:
1. The rules are essentially non-existent meaning anyone can enter without the 'oh shit I need to do x,y and z' feeling that comes with an event like shred30 or routines,
2. The nature of the competition will likely mean higher quality of the footage in subsequent rounds,
3. As a community, we are promoting the sport by publishing new media.

Happy to be a part of this historic event.

[C-Fan]

Got a decent routine on film so at the very least I can submit that and if I don't make it through then I don't make it through. At least I have SOMETHING to submit. That is a great feeling.

Props on banking a routine. I feel the same way about the results. Like, regardless of whether we make finals or how we place if we get there, just banking a routine is something to be proud of.

I still have one or two more sessions where I could try for a better routine. I may take advantage of that.

You should. I did that today even though I wasn't feeling it, because otherwise it's like leaving money on the table. Even if there's a very small chance you improve your routine, you gotta take it. In my case I wasn't able to improve my routine, but at least I tried and at least I got more routine practice in.

Ken mentioned that he is looking forward to seeing a ton of more footage when Shred-off vids get released. I agree! I think the committee nailed it with this event:

Agreed. One minor issue has been the inconsistent timing of releases. I think the Worlds team did their best to make it clear what time to schedule releases for, but I still see them coming out at varied times. I can't imagine it'll impact things much though, since it's not like seeing your competition's video is going to make you run out and film new stuff in the next hour to change your submission.

As an example though, I'm making this post on July 3rd at 1 PM PST. Submissions should go live in 11 hours, but already I've seen Mathieu's:



...and Simku's:

[Tjuggles]

I still have one or two more sessions where I could try for a better routine. I may take advantage of that.

You should. I did that today even though I wasn't feeling it, because otherwise it's like leaving money on the table. Even if there's a very small chance you improve your routine, you gotta take it. In my case I wasn't able to improve my routine, but at least I tried and at least I got more routine practice in.

Yes good point. Not sure if I will have time today, so likely will do so tomorrow morning.

One minor issue has been the inconsistent timing of releases.

I am guilty of putting my vid up and releasing before the deadline. I agree that it won't likely be a big deal. In fact, your post made me go back and try to set the release time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to; despite saving the scheduled time it still was viewable. At least I tried!

EDIT: Ah, maybe it was private upon further inspection...oh well.