Muffinman

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

Post by Muffinman » 23 Apr 2021 19:15

Thanks guys :)
Yeah, playing in public solo, not a fan of. Today's session was supposed to be tucked away a bit more out of the way, but it turns out that's where parents bring their kids to play. Still pretty out of the way for the giant park I was on the edge of. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. Look for a better, more private spot, or just deal with it. I'll probably get used to it over time, but it's hard to practice stuff I suck at when I know people are watching. Hacky already looks weird. I'm also too self-conscious :p

Yeah, actually, after playing today I noticed that my current Climas are just totally torn up -- there is almost no sole, literally, under my toes on one foot. So that pink spongey surface may help with shoe longevity. Something to think about. Hmmm.



TOP POST PAINTING
Image



2021 RETURN SESSION #8
1) I've gained, like, 30-40 pounds since I was last actively able to play footbag. I'm super self-conscious about the inner tube I've developed, but I'm hoping that footbag will help with shedding that! Most of my clothes don't fit anymore and I'm going to need to buy a whole new wardrobe whenever we return to office post-pandemic, since I dress formal at my job. I've gotta say rolling out of bed into work in my pajamas has been amazing!
2) I need to figure out how to frame my shot better. I keep aiming my phone just a bit too low so my head is cut off. Better than feet cut off, I guess, but something to improve.
3) My stamina suuuccks. Holy. Playing solo really emphasizes that! I try a run and fail and then huff and puff, resting on my knees for a minute before trying again. And then every handful of attempts I have to sit down. Really looking forward to jamming with Alex when it's safe. That break is so needed!
4) I pushed too hard again, but only feeling soreness. Will need yoga before I sleep tonight. Also, I know the double downs aren't all clean, but some double downs is better than no double downs at all! I'll work on it as the muscle memory comes back to me

I had all these grand plans to hit things today but I should probably take a step back to basics and work up more slowly. It's just too fun to hit the harder stuff though!

Last edited by Muffinman on 28 Apr 2021 10:02, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Muffinman

Post by Muffinman » 28 Apr 2021 10:01

RETURN SESSION #9
I feel like some things I'm picking back up pretty quickly, and others very slowly. Barflies felt almost impossible, while spinning whips seem back to normal. It can be frustrating when some really basic stuff feels so difficult.

Oh, it also didn't help that this session was with a fresh pair of shoes since my last pair wore straight through the sole in the toe. If you look in the previous videos you can see my feet at a pretty stark angle when I land. I modded the toe of the new pair just before the session and didn't have time to mod the insides, so I was struggling with osis and basic clippers too to boot. Gotta cut off that plastic before next session. Oh, another pain point is that I cut the toes unevenly so one shoe has a bigger toe box than the other and it's bothering me sooo much D:

Another thing. In a previous post I mentioned that I was struggling to frame the video high enough. Well, of course, this time I framed it slightly too high. It's tough when I have to guess almost blindly based just on the environment.

Random thought, but I noticed in Jim and Lon's latest YouTube video, Daryl was wearing a shirt that just said in big letters, "COVID1984", which I can only interpret as a statement that Covid is a government conspiracy. I don't know Daryl that well, and I've always super respected him, so I hope this isn't what it looks like...



It felt so good to hit gyro DLOs again. I think that's one of my favourite tricks. Spinning mirage is another favourite trick -- such a great feel with that twist in momentum!



EDIT: I’ve never really had a favourite athlete. My favourite footbagger has changed many times, and the only one I really had outside footbag was Rodney Mullen, but I don’t know anything about skateboarding so it doesn’t really count. I just learned about Jan Ove Waldner the other day, one of the greatest table tennis players ever and I’m completely hooked on watching his videos and imitating his style. He’s so far above the skill of any other player I’ve seen, it’s amazing to watch! I think this is the first video I saw:

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Re: Muffinman

Post by Asmus » 12 May 2021 00:20

Good to see you coming back around and feeling good.

Have you checked out pongfinity on YouTube? Some of the videos are pretty fun and the Finnish accents make it feel very footbagish hehe.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcILXX ... KAQLAIUaFQ

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Re: Muffinman

Post by boyle » 12 May 2021 17:07

Just watched some of the table tennis video. I love how he basically just stands at the table, barely moves, and keeps the other players running here and there, thne occasionally he'll belt the ball really hard (still barely moves from his place at the "T".) Great stuff.

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Post by Muffinman » 25 May 2021 05:50

Asmus wrote:
12 May 2021 00:20
Have you checked out pongfinity on YouTube?
Yes! They are one of my favourite channels on YouTube! There are like 3-4 channels whose videos I will watch as soon as I see them come up in my feed, and Pongfinity is one of them! They are so incredibly wholesome and fun! I get compliments on my backhand a lot and I think I learned it from watching Otto's!
boyle wrote:
12 May 2021 17:07
I love how he basically just stands at the table, barely moves, and keeps the other players running here and there
I love it!



Just had my first session with the crew yesterday. We'd been in stay-at-home since the beginning of May? Or April? Time is so weird now. So this was the first weekend where we were actually able to see people. We're really far behind the USA in terms of vaccine rollout. I finally have my first shot though. It was me, Alex, and Mark. We played about 1.5 hours. It was also my first cycle of the season, and I really messed up my neck on that, but felt good to exercise so much in one day!

Highlights were some long-ish runs, which I never do in solo sessions. I had a 30, a 40, I think, and a 70, which was just 40 butterflies to 30 ducking clippers. I was shocked by how winded that made me! I also did 20 ripwalks and... 30 or 40 osii? I didn't bother to film because I was feeling quite sore and didn't want to push myself too hard. Nothing else really to report. Here are my latest solo session videos from most recent to oldest:






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Re: Muffinman

Post by Muffinman » 02 Jun 2021 19:22

20x20 SESSION #70
Had a second session with Alex and Mark yesterday. I was really sore after that last one so I decided to focus on easy long runs, thinking of it more as a workout than cool combos. I managed to get my first 20x20 in a few years! Last one was May 24, 2019 — almost exactly 2 years ago! It felt nice that this was the first time I’d tried since then too, I think. Wasn’t sure I’d make it.

Highlights:
-10 spinning clippers bs (first try bs too I think)
-double spinning clipper bs

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Re: Muffinman

Post by mtoolan » 03 Jun 2021 04:37

From context, my guess is that 20 x 20 means you've hit 20 strings of at least 20 contacts each in one session. Am I close?
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Re: Muffinman

Post by boyle » 04 Jun 2021 15:06

Great stuff, haven't done one of those 20x20 sessions in a long while. Haven't really had long enough sessions to do so lately. Something to think of for next time.

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Post by Muffinman » 20 Jun 2021 14:23

Lol, yup, 20 runs of at least 20 contacts.

I tried to do 20x20 today but I didn't have the energy and have been pretty sore from doing a workout program with Mark Monistere. I got to 5 and decided to just focus on fun stuff instead. It was my first session in a couple weeks since I was sick and then still recovering. Potentially Covid, but I didn't get tested because the government self-assessment said to just quarantine for 14 days and just not go anywhere. Anyway, today's highlights were okay:

-18 spinning clippers bs, first try
-blurriest and stepping whip both BSOS
-bedwetter out of a pass
-blurrier and blurriest both BSOS

Also, I hit diving symp whip BS, not sure if I've ever hit that before. Will have to consult my tricks spreadsheet

Dylan Fry was recently spotlighted on a major TMS YouTube channel (the guy who runs the podcast that got me into TMS and helped cure my back pain). He threw in a couple footbag runs too! One's about halfway through (13:44) and the other at the end (or maybe it was a few at the end?)

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Re: Muffinman

Post by Muffinman » 07 Jul 2021 00:04

Played for about 20 minutes on Thursday with Alex and Mark, but then hurt myself trying blurry reaper out of nowhere and I've been pretty badly hurt since, so no hack for at least another week probably. Maybe longer? Bleh.

The session before that (June 24) was pretty good, though, with Mark and Adam, and I had these highlights:
-pixie paradon + blurriest both bsos (first and only attempt at pixie paradon all session); dropped footing scorpion’s tail
-40 osii > 40 butterflies
-food processor bs
-nice run with rev whip war 2 midstring, unplanned, ending on mobius bsos
-bedwetter out of a pass again
-bedwetter bs
-ducking ps mirage bsos, dropped on stepping whip bsos

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Re: Muffinman

Post by boyle » 07 Jul 2021 00:47

Too bad to hear about another injury, hopefully it's not going to put you out for a long time - sounds like you're getting back into some bigger tricks - especially judging by this list!

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Re: Muffinman

Post by cammel » 07 Jul 2021 11:45

Arggg sorry to hear about the injury too! Fingers crossed its only another week. Really great highlights in there. Bedwetter out of a pass is awesome! 18 spinning clippers is nuts, I don't understand how you aren't too dizzy to stand up after 5, haha.

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Re: Muffinman

Post by Muffinman » 29 Mar 2023 10:39

BACK TREATMENT
I was just visiting Modified for the first time in forever to reminisce in my own blog lol, thought I would drop an update. I still haven't played footbag since that fateful day, but I've been doing physio for a few months now with the goal to be able to play again... some day. After trying a lot of new approaches to the chronic pain, I also started adding psychotherapy to the mix, which was recommended by my physiotherapist. It's really difficult to try to address physical pain this way, but I think we've made some breakthroughs on both the physio and psycho ends, so that's been a bit encouraging. Walking is basically all I can do consistently and the weirdest things will mess me up hard like ironing clothes... And I had to regress down to lower level physio exercises because of a flare-up that put me back months of work. I do exercises daily and see my physiotherapist about once every 2-3 weeks. Very slow progress. I do still hit ATW bs every single day though. Every year I switch directions, though I don't remember if I did for 2023 or not. Feels like I've been on in-to-out for a while... Also drawing every single day.

HOBBIES
Not much otherwise to report, just drawing and playing video games for the most part. Ever since I got my Steam Deck about a year ago I've barely played on any other platform -- it's an absolute game changer and I'm now predominantly a PC gamer, finally getting through my Steam backlog! The other advantage aside from playing AAA new releases in handheld is that I can technically play any Xbox game as well, being a Playstation gamer. It's rare that any Xbox exclusives interest me, but it's neat to have all consoles accessible to me even though I've never had an Xbox. I have a Switch, PS4 (no PS5 yet -- not much really to play still...), Quest 2, gaming lappy (mostly used for PCVR), and Steam Deck. But I've also dusted off my 3DS since the eshop for that just closed on Monday -- bought a bunch of games before then and use it when I'm out and about or on lunch at work. Pretty insane that we got this glassesless 3D console like a decade ago and haven't seen anything similar since -- it's such a crazy technology!

CURRENTLY PLAYING
-Elden Ring (for like the 5th time?)(Steam Deck)
-Dark Souls (for like the 150th time)(Steam Deck)
-Spider-Man (2nd time)(PS4)
-Bravely Default (3DS)
-Walking Dead Saints and Sinners (PCVR)
-Lego Star Wars the Skywalker Saga (with the wife)(PC)
-probably a bunch of other stuff because I can't sit still

TV
We watched The Last of Us show -- it was really good! Supplemented the games very, very well! Though we did have the same complaint as everyone else -- not enough zombos! The first really character-development-heavy episode was so killer! We're on Mandalorian season 3. We think all of these new live-action Star Wars shows are very bad, except for Andor of course, which was incredible! It's so confusing because the producer, Dave Filoni, is the one who created all of the animated series, which are hands down the best Star Wars media in existence! Having said that, Bad Batch is also kinda meh, with a few good episodes so far. We also finished 1899 finally -- we took a big break in the middle, but we loved Dark so much, and the ending for this was really good, though sucky that the show was cancelled on a cliffhanger. It had at least one recurring actor from Dark, but also a couple from a Danish show, The Rain, that we also liked from not too long ago! What else. Oh I picked up Punisher again after hearing that the actor will be joining the MCU in the same role like Daredevil. I liked the first season, but this show is reeaallly slow, and makes me better appreciate how concise The Last of Us was in 9 episodes! We have a bunch of other shows that we've only half watched, but The Foundation is probably the one that we'll get back into again next.

MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANTS
Oh wait, I was also going to mention that we started trying out nice restaurants since Canada was just added to the Michelin Guide last year, all so far located in my city (Toronto) -- 13 of them out of nowhere (12 1-star and 1 2-star)! As expected, it's like a 3-month wait to get into these places, so what we did on our staycation last week was check out some of the Bib Gourmand places, which are given a "just-as-esteemed rating that recognizes friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices." So like $60 per person instead of $220... And also with the ability to usually make reservation in that same week. We tried 3 of these and while we weren't super impressed with 2 of them (Mexican and Chinese), the third (Italian) was some of the best food I've ever eaten. Can't wait to go back, but also to try more -- there's around 15 or so Bib Gourmand places in Toronto as well. Next on my list to try is a BBQ place on the waterfront. Yom! We're going to book some Michelin Star places for the future too. Exciting!

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Re: Muffinman

Post by boyle » 07 Apr 2023 12:48

Great to hear from you, though I hope you can play again some time. Looks like you're doing everything possible to get the pain under control. The restaurant thing sounds like a good way to explore your own city.

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Re: Muffinman

Post by Tjuggles » 10 Apr 2023 17:47

Boo to the back pain. I really hope it goes away soon. Do you think you push too hard when you kick, and that messes things up? I notice that it is easier to hurt myself in recent years from pushing too hard, compared to when I was younger...at any rate, heal the fuck up already. :)
TJ Boutorwick

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Post by Muffinman » 23 May 2023 06:01

Wow, 2 years have passed in the span of a single page of this blog. But I actually have footbag news for once. My physio homework was to play 10 min of low-level footbag this week. It went really well and I'm in very minimal pain the next day. It felt sooo good even though I did basically nothing. I felt so alive -- I can't believe I've barely played since Jan 1, 2019. I really hope I can come back some day. Even just BOPs would be amazing. Here's what I did:
-far clipper > osis > far clipper > far osis [repeat]
-far legover > far clipper > near legover > far clipper [repeat]
-mirage > far clipper > pdx mirage > far clipper [repeat] (pdx mirage was stupidly difficult...)
-9 butterflies first try (dropped 10 because my yoga mat crinkled up on me)
-spinning clipper > ducking clipper [repeat]
-spinning clipper > gyro clipper [repeat]
-ducking clipper > diving clipper [repeat]
-sidewalk > ripwalk [repeat]

I don't see my physiotherapist for another couple weeks, but he said I only get to play this once until I see him next to reassess. Really looking forward to that and hoping he says that I should try playing a bit more. Maybe 10 min per week? One footbag-related exercise that I do weekly is lateral one-legged hops and then also vertical one-legged hops onto a step-stool; these are supposed to help recondition me to footbag movement/impact, though I don't think my physiotherapist understands how footbag works -- he asked me one day to play with a stress ball in bare feet, not understanding that every trick is a stall. He also occasionally asks me to air-shred, but I get awkward and do it badly... I'm also bad at explaining how it works.

Oh, I've been playing Tears of the Kingdom. Dang! It's so good.

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Re: Muffinman

Post by boyle » 23 May 2023 14:29

Exciting to hear that you're playing, even if it's just low impact - it would be exciting for you to go from NOT being able to kick at all to being able to do SOMETHING.

Do you think just kicking (consecutive kicks etc) would be helpful to you? It may be less impactful than the "bouncy" sort of style of freestyle. Maybe getting a mix of both together could work well.

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Post by Tjuggles » 23 May 2023 17:03

Yay footbag for Erik!

Something I have noticed with your shred, and following your posts here, is that once you start to be able to kick again, you try for perhaps tricks that are too hard and end up hurting yourself again. My advice would be to stop yourself before you do those. Like you mentioned, stick with maybe guiltless until you are DAMN SURE you won't hurt yourself.
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Re: Muffinman

Post by Asmus » 25 May 2023 03:36

Yeeeaah! Exciting. I would be very happy with those highlights after a real full session haha.

I actually recently thought to myself that Zelda seems like something invented for you.

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Post by Muffinman » 09 Jun 2023 04:51

boyle wrote:
23 May 2023 14:29
Exciting to hear that you're playing, even if it's just low impact - it would be exciting for you to go from NOT being able to kick at all to being able to do SOMETHING.

Do you think just kicking (consecutive kicks etc) would be helpful to you? It may be less impactful than the "bouncy" sort of style of freestyle. Maybe getting a mix of both together could work well.
Oh yeah, I forgot, I warmed up with inside and toe kicks. Thanks Daniel!
Tjuggles wrote:
23 May 2023 17:03
Yay footbag for Erik!

Something I have noticed with your shred, and following your posts here, is that once you start to be able to kick again, you try for perhaps tricks that are too hard and end up hurting yourself again. My advice would be to stop yourself before you do those. Like you mentioned, stick with maybe guiltless until you are DAMN SURE you won't hurt yourself.
Yeah, good call. It's really hard to do that, but I'll make a better effort. It's been so long that I'm sure I physically can't do most of my tricks anymore anyway. Thanks TJ!
Asmus wrote:
25 May 2023 03:36
Yeeeaah! Exciting. I would be very happy with those highlights after a real full session haha.

I actually recently thought to myself that Zelda seems like something invented for you.
Thanks Asmus! Are you playing Zelda? I'm not creative enough to do great things with ultrahand, but I still love it! It's so fun!


I had physio on Wednesday. My physiotherapist added a bunch of stretches to my existing regiment, but also has added footbag back in for 10 min 1x per week! After 2 weeks if I have little to no pain, I'll increase that to 15 min for another 2 weeks, and so on until I hit 30 min 1x per week, at which point I'll see him again. I'm so excited. I had my weekly session yesterday and basically just did most of what I did in that last session, minus any spinning or ducking. I can't wait to play again!

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