crayonblog

Keep a diary of what you're hitting, what's frustrating you, and your goals.
boyle
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Re: crayonblog

Post by boyle » 23 Jul 2019 13:24

Yeah - US Open looks like a great time, glad to hear you get to go.

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Re: crayonblog

Post by randomcrayon » 23 Jul 2019 23:14

Thanks Erik!

That's partly what led me to working on it. Infinity/pdx mirage/ducking clipper are pretty much all I do out of osis.

Nice having some variety. And it looks so styly. Feels good too, like dancing. :lol:

Love Nick's game. Just perfect form for everything, like he's playing in slow motion. Big fan of Matthew Kemmer for the same reason.

Yes, but my flip spin needs work in general. So starting with gyro clipper/mirage type stuff seems like a good way to help get it caught up.

Definitely will film.
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Re: crayonblog

Post by Tjuggles » 27 Jul 2019 14:17

Yes; drill gyro clipper for sure. The Rory Dawson in my head is drilling toe-set gyro toe, so you could try that too? I guess clipper-set gyro toe is good too...
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Re: crayonblog

Post by randomcrayon » 21 Aug 2019 12:00

Been meaning to try toe-set gyro and finally got in a few attempts today. Wow that's tricky! I embarassingly was only able to do a spinning kick out of it, and even then barely sealed it.

Which unfortunately kind of represents how I performed in competition at US Open. I dropped on a lot of easy stuff. But I was still just overjoyed to be there. It's a rare day that I get to shred with other baggers, so I let my attitude of gratitude keep me in a good mood.

On a more positive note, I was happy with my sideline shred. Shared some sweet strings with Ryan Morris at the event site and hit my first janiwalker during the party.

Now I just had my first proper sesh back in San Diego and am feeling better than ever about my game. Had a 25ish contact run that started off with duck clip>duck clip>jani and included a variety of non-bops.

Love footbag and the wonderful community it's created. I'm so grateful to be a part of it! :)
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Re: crayonblog

Post by Cass » 21 Aug 2019 15:09

It was really nice meeting you!

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Re: crayonblog

Post by randomcrayon » 21 Aug 2019 17:16

Likewise!
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Re: crayonblog

Post by Muffinman » 27 Aug 2019 06:25

Props on the janiwalkers!

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Re: crayonblog

Post by randomcrayon » 01 Sep 2019 09:32

Thanks!

Got another one last night as I was waiting for an Uber. Footed high plains drifter a couple times as well. Would like to hit it cleaner than the one I got on video. Looks fine, but the footbag bumped my leg a bit during the dexes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1mAzKwgNn8/

I also had a nice little sesh earlier in the day where I managed a dream combo.

ripstein>mobius! :D

The mobius was pretty crazy as I actually stalled it on my lower leg, like right above the ankle. Will get a cleaner version on vid.

Also did reverse swirl>ducking clipper mid-sting after at least 15 contacts. This normally wouldn't be worth a mention, but I somehow kept dropping on that simple link during Request Comp at USO to bust in the 3rd round.
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Re: crayonblog

Post by randomcrayon » 05 Jan 2020 10:11

Last weekend was a fantastic few days of footbag. Aaron Clevenger drove from Arizona to San Diego so we could hack the sack together! Neither of us have the opportunity to play with other people much, so I'm grateful he went the distance to shred with me.

And to make things even better, we were able to meet up with the great Damon Mathews! He and I had a couple of sessions last year but hadn't met up since he moved. Damon said he hasn't footbagged at all after that but was still holding his own after his 1.5 year hiatus. Paradon rake master!

Going from solo shredding to playing in a legit circle was a refreshing change of pace. We had a dope vibe going between us, which was enhanced by the perfect weather. It's always a treat getting to footbag with others. The energy we cultivate together is something that's impossible to replicate by oneself.

And we played an informal game of HORSE! The only stipulation was that it had to be solely 3-adds. This got our creative juices flowing and resulted in me hitting my first refraction in God only knows how long. That's a trick that I feel self-conscious about in regards to cleanliness.

Speaking of doing clean moves, I hit a paradon swirl! I'd been trying it on and off recently, so I knew it was within reach. And I ended up getting it 1st or 2nd try! Damon and Aaron confirmed the dexes were there, which I would have been uncertain about by myself.

And Aaron just nailed Atomic Symposium Double Down like it was nothing! Was dope finally shredding with him, as we never had an opportunity to do so at US Open in Vegas last year. That's the only time we've been together in person, but he didn't play at all then due to his tournament director responsibilities.

And as far as tournaments in Vegas go, Aaron proposed the idea of hosting one there later this year. I said that I'd be interested in helping with organizational duties, so expect updates as it develops.

By the way, I'm currently at New Years Jam! Flew in yesterday and been having a blast. Will write more later. Back to the shred!
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Re: crayonblog

Post by boyle » 08 Jan 2020 20:14

Great you got in a cool circle - everyone sounds they're doing some pretty big tricks. Even better you can go to NYJ. That seems like a whole lot of fun. I'd like to go some day.

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Re: crayonblog

Post by Tjuggles » 12 Jan 2020 16:15

I would love to make it to a NYJ in the D.
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Re: crayonblog

Post by randomcrayon » 13 Jan 2020 22:44

New Years Jam was amazing! So happy I was able to make it.

Despite getting my tickets a month in advance, I still almost didn't get up there.

Due to my nonsensical overconfidence in when my plane departed, I didn't even double check my e-mail the night before.

This resulted in me showing up at 8AM for what I thought was a 10:30 flight. But in reality, it turned out to be at 6:30. D'oh!

So I had to talk to a couple desk agents, make a few phone calls, and shell out much more money than originally planned. I got there a day and a half later than intended, missing whirly ball, but made it just in time for the footbag festivities. So it was all very well worth it!

Ryan Morris and his girlfriend Maria were kind enough to scoop me from the airport as the event was starting Saturday afternoon. It was a nice drive getting to know them and talking footbag got me that much more psyched to be there. We arrived just before competition began.

The warm welcomes from Anton, Cass, Derek, and Peter were very much appreciated. And it was good chatting with Jim Hogan and officially meeting Hacky Sack Jack. Plus just the general energy in the air reminded me why I do whatever I can to make it to these events. Because footbaggers are awesome!

This was the first tournament I've been to in a while where I felt like I could mainly focus on playing and hanging out. The past 3 US Opens were wonderful of course but not having a routine to perform here was a pleasant change of pace. The 1-shot challenge and request competition went perfectly with the casual shred atmosphere. Battle as well, although I didn't compete in that.

Highlights include but are not limited to:

-Seeing Derek Littlefield's toe mastery in person (and hearing him say that pixie diving dlo is one of his easy 5s!)

-Having a one-on-one sesh with Dante, who I now regard as a sensei. He really helped push me to churn out long strings and has truly inspired me to accelerate my progression.

-Johnny going for the dope combo of spinning ducking osis>paradox blender and finally nailing it with style.

-Playing with Kevin Hogan for the first time. Dude consistently cranks out lengthy, creative runs with ease. Gyro whirling swirl mid-string like it's nothing!

-Shredding with Josh Gayhart. Always enjoyable seeing him throw down sick combos and strings with textbook form.

-Adam Keith making his 35 contact 1-shot victory super legit with a blurrier halfway through.

And beyond the footbag, it was fantastic spending time with the crew doing whatever. Going to breakfast, hanging in the sauna, group yoga led by Nick Landes, chilling at Adam's watching shred vids. All of it was just one great moment after another.

Like going to Dave and Busters after the tournament! Adam and his wife Kelly generously provided us all with plenty of points to play the cool games offered. Nick is especially skilled at one called Speed of Light, which entails quickly touching lit up circles, located at heights above the head to at foot level. Every time you get the high score, there's a massive ticket bonus. So he would just continually set higher scores and rack up!

Lots of people, including myself, gave that a whirl. It's a satisfying balance of mental and physical exertion. Plus the lights are visually stimulating, so it was that much more fun rooting others on.

And another exciting activity that some of the group participated in was eating a super hot gummy bear! Adam and Kelly had ordered a chewy piece of candy from the internet that was over 4 times as hot as the hottest pepper in the world. And it was just sitting in a box on the counter. Naturally we wanted to see what it was like, so Kelly chopped some of it into little pieces for anyone to try.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. As did Adam, and I think Johnny as well. But it seemed like the overall sentiment was more than nay than yay. The taste itself wasn't particularly good or bad, but the after effect was powerful. It felt like a mini fireball was dancing around in my mouth for the next 10 minutes! But it was refreshing enough that I didn't feel the need to wash it down with a drink.

Suffice to say, this event was amazing in every which way. Now I know why New Years Jam gets such a good rap. Because the Michigan crew rocks!
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Re: crayonblog

Post by Tjuggles » 18 Jan 2020 14:19

Great write-up. It seems like quite the tourney...
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Re: crayonblog

Post by boyle » 24 Jan 2020 03:31

I'll just repeat my last post from in here, really would love to go to NYJ some time. Glad to hear you had such a great time!

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Re: crayonblog

Post by Muffinman » 31 Jan 2020 21:13

Sounds like a blast! Too bad you missed the whirlyball -- that game's a blast!! Did you say that you've been to past NYJs?

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Re: crayonblog

Post by randomcrayon » 16 Feb 2020 14:26

Tjuggles wrote:
18 Jan 2020 14:19
Great write-up. It seems like quite the tourney...
boyle wrote:
24 Jan 2020 03:31
I'll just repeat my last post from in here, really would love to go to NYJ some time. Glad to hear you had such a great time!
Thanks bros!
Muffinman wrote:
31 Jan 2020 21:13
Sounds like a blast! Too bad you missed the whirlyball -- that game's a blast!! Did you say that you've been to past NYJs?
It really was! Indeed, hopefully will get to play next year. This was my first.
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Re: crayonblog

Post by Cass » 10 Mar 2020 15:10

Glad you were able to make it to NYJ despite the flight hiccup! It’s always a blast. Detroit know how to get down. I hope they pull off worlds one of these years!!

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Re: crayonblog

Post by randomcrayon » 28 Mar 2020 23:48

Cass wrote:
10 Mar 2020 15:10
Glad you were able to make it to NYJ despite the flight hiccup! It’s always a blast. Detroit know how to get down. I hope they pull off worlds one of these years!!
Word, that'd be dope!


Been meaning to update for a minute but have been bogged down with poker tournaments ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Since everyone is staying indoors these days, there's been a significant increase in people playing online poker. Which means that my bosses want me playing more than usual because the games are better than ever.

And that combined with the fact that I lost my freestyle bag means I haven't shredded in too long. However, I bought some duct tape today and am hoping that it will be sufficient to repair my Brian Bear bag. It's the one he used to win routines with at USO 2018!

Before I left my Haniabag in an Uber, I managed to have some solid sessions. Nothing out of this world but have gotten to a point where I can consistently crank out a 20+ contact string with at least half of it genuine.

I had more combo highlights but the only thing that comes to mind is fog>phoenix. Can do smog>phoenix easily so it's not that big of a deal, but I just have an effortful time setting the step high enough to do the dlo. I find leading into it with parkwalk is a helpful way to get the bounce required.

I also had a fun Twitch stream where Travis requested some moves while I was playing poker. He got me to hit dlo>pixie whirl for the 1st time!

And I was able to pull off this fun drill 12 hours in!

https://clips.twitch.tv/VenomousCurious ... 5mhFVHcNH4

I was going for 24 hours but had to stop after 15 when the streaming software malfunctioned.

Playing footbag during my long poker sessions really helps me stay focused and keeps my energy levels up.

Speaking of which, I was recently blessed with a roommate who kicked. Conor and I would hack on most of our hourly 5 minute breaks and both agree that it improved our performance at the poker tables.

He has a circle kicking background and picked up all the basic stalls with ease. By the time he moved back to Minnesota, he was already doing wrap>reverse walkover and was getting close to around the world!

He ordered a couple stitch biscuits from WorldFootbag and seems keen on progressing his game. So hopefully we'll see him at NYJ 2021.

In other news, I'd really like to submit an entry into the online competition that Mark is hosting in the Facebook group. It's 23 ADDs minimum, which will be a challenge within itself. Plus I'll be working with a duct taped bag that already lost some filler. But I'm excited to give it my best shot!
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Re: crayonblog

Post by C-Fan » 29 Mar 2020 06:49

Glad to hear you are doing well, and that the Coronavirus pandemic has at least had some positive impact on some people I know.

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Re: crayonblog

Post by Muffinman » 04 Apr 2020 17:30

Nice drill! The only times I've ever hit that were also with pauses like that :lol:

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