RCS IN DA CLUB

Keep a diary of what you're hitting, what's frustrating you, and your goals.
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 26 Dec 2016 21:27

Didn't film today but continue to feel great about the progress I'm making. Spent most the session hitting flip flurry and flip barfly>barfly. I set out to hit 20 of each. My method today was I'd keep doing attempts until I hit the move or combo 3 times then rest, each 3rd round I'd keep going until I hit 4 to complete the set of 10 in 3 rounds. Hope that makes sense. I'm not sure how many times I hit either today, more than 30 of both I'm sure. I also tried beating my current barfly record of 5, figured should be doable today. While barfly feels much better than it did a month and a half ago I could not get more than 4. It's so close, but will still take hundreds more reps to get the proficiency over this final hurdle. Next session I set out to train these concepts I'm going to keep track of how many times I hit it per attempts so I have a benchmark to improve upon.

The few things I wanted to hit today I got rather easily:

barfly>dbl pickup>dbl down bs
blurriest>blurry drifter bs
blurriest>blurrier bs

Worked a little on fearless too. I'll start putting my both sided combos together. I attempted matador>blurriest rpt today which was close but after my first attempt I didn't want to put more matador attempts on my back at this time.

Edit: I guess I'm supposed to put art in this top post. That's a lot of pressure. Here's a painting from the Seattle Art Museum I really enjoy. I love patterns and uniformity, so this one speaks to me.

"Leaves" - Gloria Tamerr Petyarre

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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 27 Dec 2016 20:07

Played again tonight. I can't believe the stuff I'm hitting. Its been very satisfying lately.

Today I felt pretty tired and like I shouldn't attempt the stuff I had planned. My sessions lately have had a similar progression. I struggle for most the session and some moves feel adverse to my body, then I hit a combo and the flood gates open, I start hitting one thing after another. Played for 50 minutes today and only one combo felt good and like I could get there. I spent about 40 minutes dinking around with it and a few other things then in the last 10 minutes I hit it and each combo after in succession. Spent the last 5 minutes trying to get flip blurriest>flip flurry. It was so close. Then I ran out of time and the 7:30 class kicked me out.

Today I hit:

Pdx drifter>pdx dlo>paradon rpt
Flurry>parkier bs
Blurry drifter>blurriest bs
Rip warrior>rip warrior>blurriest>blurriest
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 30 Dec 2016 21:05

I got 7 barfly today!

Its been a long time since I was so happy with such a meager accomplishment. Mostly it was the way I hit them. I stayed on balance and the sets and delays were perfect. I could have done more but I sealed at 7. Very tired session today.

Spent most of the rest of the session trying to hit motion>barfly rpt but couldn't get it so I practiced hitting it both sides a lot.

Got a few other combos, but nothing worth mentioning.
Last edited by bustinjustin on 01 Jan 2017 12:17, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 01 Jan 2017 11:51

HUGE NEWS!

My girlfriend's work had a sale on all their old apple equipment. I got a Mac Pro Desktop. I've been sitting on all my footage from 2012/2013 when I was at my best. I released some footage here and there but saved all the good stuff. I haven't had the capability of producing the footage in 1080 due to it being .MOV files and I use a PC. Since this will be my legacy I didn't want to release it in poor quality. I got it all hooked up today along with my external hard drive and its going to work.

I have more visitor series with Chris Dean and Rory Dawson, tons of footbag club footage and what I planned on being my BAP consideration video. Can't wait to delve into making these videos.

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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by Tjuggles » 01 Jan 2017 13:56

That looks like a lot of material!
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by SlashC » 01 Jan 2017 20:58

Yay! Videos! Looking forward to them. :)
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 02 Jan 2017 04:03

Looks like you have a lot to get through! At least it looks pretty organised.

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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 03 Jan 2017 14:05

Had a productive session yesterday. My body feels tore up today, but nothing felt strenuous during the session. A reality of getting old I guess.

Featured:
dbl pickup>paradon rpt (opening combo to get the juices flowing)
sweep (open muted swirl)>barfly bs (both barfly were off balance, needs improvement)
toe motion>motion bs (happy I'm getting more turn on my flip side)
flurry>sweep bs
blurriest>locomotion bs

focus of the day: flip blurriest>flip flurry (hit twice but neither flurry was clean)
blurriest>flurry bs
blurriest>swifter good side only

Last on the vid are two mistakes. My muscle memory is conditioned to set to the outside of my opposite leg on blurry moves from so many food processors and blurry whirls. I was trying locomotions in both cases and my muscle memory took over. Took me several tries to convince my legs I wasn't trying to do a whirling motion.

Not featured (ran out of room to record): phoenix>fog>phoenix>rip warrior>blurry whirl (first try, still figuring out my fearless combinations). I like the first 4 moves for my fearless. I'm finding that flip side blurry whirl, while easy, is not lending itself to comboing out of.

Like a newb I forgot to wipe the camera lens before recording so the video's got a bit of glare.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK1NCZN ... e=youtu.be

I'm finding a good rhythm to my progress right now. Especially tricks I have trouble with. I'll struggle with a move but may come close. Hit it next session on video and see where it needs improvement, then lock it in next session. Feeling significant improvement with flip blurriest and flurry. Set is getting higher and I'm getting the dexes slower and more efficient, allowing for better form throughout the move.

My barfly, as typical, took a step back last session after taking two steps forward. Didn't feel comfortable and couldn't hit more than 3. I've also lost my flip nuclear set. Can't get it at all right now. Going to keep giving it a break even though I'm so close to hitting the repeat combos I have planned.
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 03 Jan 2017 22:30

5 years ago today I hit my first 10 fearless. An anniversary worth celebrating!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnUjuLMmFBM

There are 6 moves of the 10 that utilize a pdx whirl component. I'm trying to do this again without using any. Tall task not being able to use 6 moves of my previous fearless. Current record is 5 (with several different combos) and should break into 6 and 7 soon.
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 04 Jan 2017 08:26

That's a good one to celebrate. Seems you are doing quite a bit of motion stuff lately. ..something like motion sickness-motion-locomotion could be a good combo to put in the middle if the thing.

Did you pre plan that first 10, or was it just what came out at the time?

I am also on 5, but without the history behind me, though I feel higher numbers should come soon.

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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 21 Jan 2017 00:26

Hello blog, my old friend.

Lots to talk about.

First off, Ken made a FB post asking who were the top 5 US players.
Ken Somolinos wrote:5 best freestylers in the USA, ranked in order. Go.
I had many thoughts that I didn't feel comfortable sharing on FB. I agree with the general consensus that came out for the top 5, but I couldn't believe how few people had Jim #1. Most people had Evan #1 and only 2 people had Jim #1 and one of those was his brother. Many cited Evan's World Championship but are we sure he would have won if Jim was there? I digress that's not my main argument.

Evan is turning out some amazing combos right now. Very technical and very dense but all of a similar nature. Ripstein, double blender, blurriest, blurrier, blurry drifter, flurry, swifters and sweeps, along with reverse swirling variety tricks etc. While all those are amazing, there hasn't been anything he's done recently that I don't think Jim couldn't hit within a couple tries. On the other hand, I don't recall ever seeing Evan put 20 fearless on video, or be able to do a combo like stepping torque>blurry torque rpt, or go for 10 beastly, or put down a 200 contact guiltless string, or any of the insane sick tricks on the latest Boise video (open quantum double down rake-4 dex 7 add TOE to TOE move).

While Evan is playing at his best I think his proximity to Jim has pushed Jim to another level and deserves #1. My rank would be Jim, Evan, Lon/Nick (tie for third), Ken and Pipenberg to round out 5. Pipenberg is so good he deserves to be in the top 5. I'm not including Dave because he's no longer relevant. He could be number 1 with ease but he's disqualified due to inactivity.

Onto my next gripe. Some of the knuckleheads put Mark in their top 5. :roll: Nothing against Mark, he's a great player putting out great videos. But he's a one trick pony compared to the guys who deserve to be in the 6-10 spots. I would argue he doesn't crack the top 10. Mark is great at his swirl moves and the concepts he has mastered but he doesn't have the form or the consistency to be considered. I would put Bevier, Polini, Hogan and Bonslaver all above Mark. If those 5 were all to compete in circle against one another I don't think Mark could keep up with the consistency of the 40 contact strings those guys would be laying down every turn.

I don't know where I fit into all that, I don't think that's my place to say. But I do know I was in the top 10 knocking on the door of the top 5 by 2013. Between 2011 and 2013 I beat Jim, Nick, Lon, and Bevier in various competitions. I never could beat Ken (you jerk :lol: ), and in all those competitions I learned it really comes down to consistency. I may not have been better than those guys I beat, but on any given day, in order for them to beat me, they had to bring it. I was going to force them to lay down what they are capable of. They weren't always able and I was right there when they didn't rise to the challenge.

I'd like to think I could get back to a level that would put me in the top 10. I think I'm capable, but these days it's very hard to compare people from different eras.

On to my own footbag journey. My back has been taking a heavy toll the last few sessions and I'm not sure what that's about. I decided to take a week off after my last session. I didn't play again until Wed.

On Tuesday morning I woke up with the weirdest sensation, no back pain. I don't think I experience much pain per se but a constant mild discomfort, to the extent that it's always there but I don't notice it. Or I didn't notice until it was gone. I woke up like a fog had cleared, a heavy weight had been lifted, it was refreshing and liberating. While I enjoyed it, I also gained some perspective. The toll I pay to play footbag. It's the price I pay to play, but I think it's worth it and I appreciate it all the more.

Over the last week and a half not playing and in light of the FB post asking who the top 5 US player are, I've been thinking a lot about my current slow mo project. I think phase 1 is ready to wrap but I'd like to get 2 last combos before I put together a best of. On Wednesday I kept it light and played mostly so I don't regress. I wanted to hit flip blurriest>flip swifter and flip blurriest>flip flurry to finish the video.

I got the 1st combo relatively easily and I was hitting the second combo with more consistency than ever but it was never clean. Every barrage dex out of the blurriest was the. I want it undeniably clean. Hope to get it next time and need to continue to work on cleaning up my flip flurry. The video has some good tries I can learn from and improve upon.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qaSdvhFsE

If you've read this, thanks. Here's another "Greta bad at catching food" video as your consolation prize.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvahe7wYdjw
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 21 Jan 2017 22:39

I don't think I ended up posting a 6-10 but you were definitely in my calculations.

For me, Jim's performance at Worlds was really underwhelming. He was shredding hard, hitting crazy stuff on the sidelines early on, but the competition performances just weren't there.

It's hard to make a judgement on creating a top 10, but my main thought was competition results with reasonably recent videos. ...say last 3 years or so.

I think you are right though, I am surprised more people didn't rate Jim on top.

Is Pipenberg playing much? That might see him go the same way as Clavens.

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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 12 Feb 2017 22:26

Played today. Been a while. I was sick since last Wed. I don't get sick often but I've been around sick people at work and at home and it got me.

The weekend before last I went to Portland and kicked with Gordon, Chris and Jake. I only have solo sessions these days so I figured I need some exposure kicking in a circle. Also Chris is deep into planning Worlds and I wanted to talk to him about the event since I will be helping.

I was very excited to play but it was a major let down for me. I wish I could take that weekend of shred back and do it over again. I played terribly! I had a lot of fun the first day, and ended the day working on eclipse combos so it wasn't a complete waste. Talking to Gordon was a lot of fun too. I asked him lot's of questions trying to get insight into his unique style.

I'm very used to playing by myself and getting lots of attempts to hit something or start a string right. Getting 1 try and passing the bag was very frustrating and I was not able to start any strings. I think I had maybe 3 strings that broke 20 contacts, maybe even 10 contacts in over 2 hours of playing over 2 days. It was awful. I couldn't even do a phoenix on the second day. Maybe it was too much partying the night before but it was a real shit show. Embarrassing quite frankly. Chris didn't play particularly well either. He has some good starts that ended quickly.

I have 2 hours of footage, I planned on making a video. I went through the first day but none of us played exceptionally well, and only Gordon played amazing the second day. The video would be mostly Gordon, which hey, isn't bad. Who doesn't want to watch tons of Gordon footage, but my heart just isn't in cutting a second rate video.

Overall the experience was beneficial. I know I need to train differently if I want to play well in circles come time for Worlds. I'll make another trip soon.

First session back today was rough after not playing for 2 weeks. Hit a few things:

dlb pickup>eclipse>whirl>dlo>rake
dyno>ripwalk rpt x3
dyno>torque rpt x 2
drifter>torque rpt
smog>plo rpt
flip whirr twice
barfly> whirl rpt
plastic man
rip warrior>ripstein bs (footed bsos)
flip flurry>rake
flip flurry>open paradon

Focused on doing a competent string first try throughout the session. Wasn't great, but a lot better than while I was in Portland.

Hey Boyle, thanks for posting in my blog. I'm sorry I'm not better at answering the questions you've asked in the past. Inconsiderate of me to ignore your messages.
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 12 Feb 2017 23:22

No worries on the lack of communication - I like reading your blogs and sometimes you feel you just need to give some boost to keep people posting on here (it's awfully quiet at times).

I know how you feel about going from solo sessions into group shred, this happens to me quite often (actually not so often, because I'm not regularly playing with others).

ripped warrior>ripstein is a pretty awesome combo. I like that one.

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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 13 Mar 2017 14:10

Been a while since I posted.
My back wasn't feeling right after my last session. I thought it was due to playing footbag but it wasn't getting better, even after 3 weeks.
I'm currently on vacation and after the first night not sleeping in my own bed my back felt normal. I'm not sure it's the bed, but maybe the way I'm sleeping at home. Kelly and the dog take up most the bed and I try to sleep as compact as possible. I'm going to experiment a bit when I get home.
As I mentioned I'm on vacation, but it's also an elopement/wedding and honeymoon. Kelly (my wife now) and I are in Moorea, Tahiti. We are here for 7 nights and then we go to Bora Bora for 5 nights.
The trip has been amazing so far. Everything is beautiful and our wedding went without a hitch. In Bora Bora we'll stay in an over water bungalo which I've always wanted to do. It will have glass floors in places where we can watch and feed the fish at night. We have a garden room here in Moorea with our own private pool.
The weather is hot but I'm glad I brought my footbag stuff. Kicking here has been fun although sessions are short due to overheating. It's so nice to be kicking again and my back feeling good after a month.
Made a video of a few different places I've kicked around the hotel property. I hope to make a few more while on the trip.
I got a string over 40 contacts. It's nothing special but I was happy to hit it in almost 90 degree weather (real feel 109)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=inVBcXAJO8E

Lastly I wanted to mention I'm overdue for a bit of a mia culpa. I learned a good lesson recently about what I post in my blog. While I take liberty to write whatever I want, I realize my words can effect others that I care about in this community and I need to be more careful not to disparage others. We are all so passionate about this sport, the extent to which I try to make a point may be the extent to which I offend/hurt someone. While I don't think I've done anything wrong posting my thoughts in my blog I also feel I should have better awareness and compassion for my fellow shredders. I certainly never write with the intention to hurt anyone. I feel so strongly about this sport that I love having a place to get on my soapbox and spout my opinions.
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 13 Mar 2017 22:22

Great scenery, and congrats on the marriage, that's pretty exciting. You had some really long runs in there, that's great in the heat. I was working up in the north of Australia some years back and was playing a lot in similar kind of weather, but you really can't play for long.

It's interesting with any sort of "analysis" of footbag games - because the community is quite close - if you look at some other sports - rugby, soccer, whatever, you are going to be really calling out players - this guy can't catch, this guy dives all the time etc, but if you're doing that in footbag that's going to be to someone who is quite close to you in "the scene".

That sounds like an awesome trip, you can to flights to Chile that go via Tahiti and Easter Island, I think we're going to try and do that next time we go over to Chile.

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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by C-Fan » 14 Mar 2017 06:54

:arrow: First and foremost, congratulations on getting married! I know the hardest part is finding the right person, but the actual logistics and pressure of getting married is nothing to sneeze at either. I know what a relief it can be to have that in the rear view mirror. Your trip looks like an amazing way to *officially* start your journey together.

:arrow: Holy shit those backgrounds. 8O It's like your playing in a postcard or something. While I get that the heat is probably killer, at least you remembered your equipment and got to document yourself playing on your honeymoon. I went through a lot of trouble to find shoes for my honeymoon that I could hike in, walk in, and shred in so I could pack light. It wasn't until we arrived on our honeymoon that I realized I forgot to pack a footbag. :oops:

:arrow: I agree with Danny that the size of the footbag scene makes it a bit awkward to be candid with our opinions, which I think is unfortunate. It's natural for us to admire somebody's style in any sport, and nobody frowns on us when we share our opinion that Suderman has beautiful nukes, or Giannis has an unreal Eurostep. But it's equally natural for us to dislike, or simply have constructive criticism with somebody's style/game as well. But due to the intimacy of the freestyle community, that kind of critique tends to go underground to Facebook private messaging, etc. I don't know how healthy that is either. I personally think it'd be great if we all had thicker skin and just understood that not everybody is going to like everything about us. I know from my own experience in footbag that I've had detractors, and I always either ignored them or used them as motivation. And I think in the case of Mark, he was less upset and more looking to get himself motivated for Worlds (much like Michael Jordan used even perceived slights to pump himself up).

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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 14 Mar 2017 23:51

We've finished up our stay here in Moorea, the good news is we're off to Bora Bora for 5 more days. This trip is flying by but I'm glad there's more.
Got a few more shred locations in today. Fighting for space on my phone has been difficult as we're taking lots of pictures and videos of our trip. I've only been able to film about 10-15 minutes before my phone says it's full. The shred isn't great but I'm glad I captured footage footbagging in these beautiful places.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O1By6FegN7Y

Today I saw dolphins, swam with sharks and pet sting rays.

More footage to come in Bora Bora :D
Last edited by bustinjustin on 16 Mar 2017 17:13, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 16 Mar 2017 17:13

First day trying to get footage in Bora Bora. So many fun locations to try. Started out having a great session too. Then disaster struck:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cjr4Vma9vXQ

I lost my bag between the cracks of the bridge. Super unlucky because it's impossible to get to without removing the boards. I had to do some serious soul searching on whether I should ask the hotel to retrieve it. I decided to ask them, it was very embarrasing to have to try to explain to a french concierge that I lost a ball under their decking. They might try to retrieve it late tonight after everyone goes to bed.

May be the last video of this series. :(
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Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 16 Mar 2017 17:56

Image

Apparently I don't know how to put an image in this post from my phone :?

It's a miracle. They got my footbag back.
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