RCS IN DA CLUB

Keep a diary of what you're hitting, what's frustrating you, and your goals.
Post Reply
User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

I suck

Post by bustinjustin » 25 Aug 2016 22:01

Footbag isn't going to be fun for a while. I'm down on my style and my ability to get better. Its very frustrating. There are aspects of footbag I've always been terrible at and I'm determined to stregthen those weaknesses, but I can already tell the amount of work it's going to take to improve a small margin is going to be tremendous. My barlfy for example, thanks to Anssi's advice I can tell when I'm doing them right now. The bag is catching on my sweet spot, I'm landing on my toes and I'm on balance. Making that change muscle memory is going to take a ton of work and reps. If I'm going to get better I've got to improve these weak aspects of my game. I'm determined to do it and have set new goals. I'm doing nothing in my solo sessions but working on these until I get them.

10 atom smashers
20 barfly
220 shred 30

Its going to be a grind and I'm going to have to try and play as often as possible to make the slightest gains.
I wrote out a 220 shred 30 but didnt have too much success. Still needs tweaking and figuring out what works. Played today, playing again tomorrow. Maybe I'll have some progress worth sharing.
Justin Dale
Videos

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 26 Aug 2016 14:27

I have been trying to improve my shred 30 too. I find it can be useful to have a couple of "rest" tricks midway through, that can help you reset and stay kind of balanced. They might lose you a couple of points with the adds, but if you can go through dropless it's going to be a higher score than dropping on a more dangerous trick.

How many barflies can you do at the moment? 20 sounds like quite a lot, you should be able to a lot if you start getting over 10 consistently.

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 26 Aug 2016 21:20

I'm trying to focus on finding my joy playing footbag knowing I'm working hard and giving my all and letting go of making progress.
Anssi is my inspiration right now, I've been spending time every day studying his videos, watching his form in slo-mo.
I spent the beginning of tonight's session air shredding and making sure my motions (dexes) look right. Barfly, atomic and whirr attempts without the bag watching myself in the mirror. I've never hit flip whirr and I think I can get it with a little work.
Annsi posted a long list of moves he planned on doing 3 times both sides each session. There were a couple combos I was interested in.
At the end of today's session I hit ripstein>whirr on my good side. I decided to abandon that until I get my flip whirr working and hit ripstein>dbl pickup 3 times each side.
More footbag work tomorrow.
Justin Dale
Videos

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 27 Aug 2016 13:05

My girlfriend and I had some errands and she wanted to finish with a 6 mile walk. I stayed at the park that starts rhe walk and kicked for 2+ hours.
I planned on working on the same stuff I have been but I've figured out I need to take steps back and regress from what I want to work on to the basic components. I thought i'll work on dbl orbit to clean up my dbl down dex. Still too difficult, not ready for that. So I spent a 1.5 hours today doing only orbit and air shredding dbl orbit. I then hit dbl orbit 3 times on flip, the set was straighter and dex was cleaner but will continue to need work. I finished by dabbling with more ripstein and spin clip>swirl drills.
New goal is 5 consecutive flip dbl orbit.
Im finding the air shredding very helpful.
Justin Dale
Videos

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 31 Aug 2016 21:46

Flip whirr!
I was getting ready to write another dejected post. I was working on an atomic combo and having a terrible time, then something clicked and the session turned out okay.
I did a few flip whirr attempts to start the day and felt they were encouraging. I kept at it and was able to hit it. I got it 3 times and will work on bsos next session.
I then went to work on blur>legbeater>blizzard>dimwalk rpt an Anssi drill I'd like to get a million contacts of but was not working. I managed to squeeze out once through and figured I'd work on rubberman, a drill I haven't been able to get since I've been trying to improve my atomics. Today I hit it, maybe the best ever for me, first try.
I then went to work on my atom smasher record. It's 8, but I havent been able to get past 4 my last several sessions. Today's attempts felt good. I'm getting a better first dex and starting to feel their rhythm. But I kept dropping on my left foot catch and couldn't get past 2. :cry: I put a few attempts in the video, criticism and tips welcome (wink wink Anssi).
I did a triple dex drill both sides. I should have gone back and done good side again, the paradon is the and I knew it. Hope to combine them soon.
Last bit of big news I ended the session with a 208 shred 30. I dropped my last 5, spin duck osis, or I would have had 218. I can definitely break 220. I bailed a couple times at the end.
104 adds
28 contacts
28 uniques
Justin Dale
Videos

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 03 Sep 2016 21:10

I dream in atomics, double downs, and shred 30's.
Justin Dale
Videos

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 04 Sep 2016 02:17

If you have a drop, you should have 29 contacts, 28 uniques. Drops count as a non unique contact (zero points). Breaking that 100 mark for total adds gives you the really good chance to get the 200+ scores, particularly if they are drop free. I've found your shred 30 posts very motivating, though I am not getting the same kind of scores as yet.

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 10 Oct 2016 22:27

The blog is overdue for an update.

I had a mozzarella ball size cyst removed from the top of my head. Nothing serious but it had been bothering me for a long time. I had to take 10 days off until I could get the stitches out.

I got a new pair of shred shorts, I'm affectionately calling 'dick huggers.' They are a bit tight but the material and size are perfect for shred. Pretty exciting for me. I haven't gotten a new pair of shorts since 2008. The Adidas shorts I wear most are from when I was 16 or 17 and are over 15 years old. I'm very picky and have been looking for a new pair for a long time. I played in the new shorts tonight for the first time and they were great.

I tried to record a clip for Jakub's compilation video, but it was a resounding failure. I made 2 attempts to record a session at a nice location but was not able to hit anything remotely competent. Then the weather turned bad rather quickly and I lost my opportunity.

I've taken a step back from working on barfly's and have been focusing on atomics. My confidence and ability is growing. I'm no longer dropping as much on the dex but my left-foot catch is giving me problems when going for consecutives. I've had attempts where everything has felt locked in which has been very encouraging I can feel 10 atom smashers is on the horizon.

Some of the things I hit and wrote down:

Dbl pickup>symp mirage>mixer>dimwalk rpt
34 ripwalks (going for 50)
30 drifters
4 atom smashers (footed 5)
atomic switch>smudge>plo rpt
dimwalk>nuclear (edited) tap rpt
atomic switch>shut switch rpt
front side step ss switch>symp open>parkwalk rpt
frontside dlo>symp open>dimwalk rpt
15 unique toes (going for 20)
flurry bsos
shooting tap>dimwalk rpt
shooting down>blur>legbeater>ripwalk rpt

I'll record a little something next session.

Since I don't have a "ladder" I've been practicing footwork and foot speed using the techniques from this video:

https://www.facebook.com/MensHealth/vid ... 747610207/

I can't seem to find a non-facebook link.
Last edited by bustinjustin on 11 Oct 2016 15:42, edited 2 times in total.
Justin Dale
Videos

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 11 Oct 2016 02:44

What do you mean by dimwalk>atomic tap? Is that a mistake? That doesn't seem to match up.
Can you do shooting star?
I have been on the lookout for a new pair of shred shorts, I have had most of mine a fair while and think a new pair would be beneficial.
How's the shred 30 practice going? Do you keep training with the same formula of tricks, or do you keep changing it up?

User avatar
C-Fan
Rekordy Polski
Posts: 11366
Joined: 23 Jan 2003 23:51
Location: Denver
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by C-Fan » 11 Oct 2016 08:32

Feel you SO much on the shorts thing. It drives me crazy how hard it is to find basic equipment for our sport (shorts that fit adult hips but don't go to your knees, shoes, etc.) when you can walk into any mall in america and get gear for soccer/basketball/tennis you name it. I definitely have some shred gear that I've been using for around 10 years, with no luck replacing.

I like your goal of 20 unique toe tricks in a row. I recently had a "mostly toes" session and it was a great mental and physical exercise that highlighted how weak some of my flip toe stuff is. I'm going to shoot for 20 toes on video too.

Are you going to compete at Worlds next year?

User avatar
Tjuggles
Flower Child
Posts: 1746
Joined: 27 Mar 2005 20:03
Location: Wellington, NZ
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by Tjuggles » 11 Oct 2016 14:25

I also feel the shorts thing; I have like 2 pairs that I always play in, and one of those only in emergencies, like when I forget my main ones at my office.

I was motivated to sett smarter footbag goals for myself recently, and when I read your post just now, that motivation increased. I think that is a sign I want to set consecutives goals for myself, maybe one per session...thanks for that!
TJ Boutorwick

"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 11 Oct 2016 15:21

boyle wrote:What do you mean by dimwalk>atomic tap? Is that a mistake?
Yep, meant nuclear. Boyle you are so good at catching mistakes, which I appreciate.
boyle wrote:How's the shred 30 practice going? Do you keep training with the same formula of tricks, or do you keep changing it up?
Good, my main set of ~18 contacts is locked in. I have been playing a lot with the other 10 contacts, trying to find better combinations and fitting in harder tricks for higher scores. I can hit my basic shred 30 that give me a score ~200 pretty easy. I have not been able to get through my combo that scores 220 yet. It would be much easier to get a higher score if I could count on executing 32 tricks instead of 28, but I'll take a 220 in 28 moves. I'll see if I can get a good shred 30 attempt on tonight's filming.
boyle wrote:Can you do shooting star?
Easily, it was my first 4 dex.
C-Fan wrote:I like your goal of 20 unique toe tricks in a row.
Very much inspired by your video and a challenge from Derek a while ago. I could easily do pixie everything and fit in 4 more moves but I'm trying to make it more diverse even though 12 moves are pixie.
C-Fan wrote:Are you going to compete at Worlds next year?
I would like to compete, and I'm training as though I plan to. I will be the tournament director though which will complicate things. I figure as long as I don't do well I can compete in some early pools. Not sure if I have to scratch in the off chance I make a semi-finals or finals due to running the competition.
Tjuggles wrote:I was motivated to set smarter footbag goals for myself recently, and when I read your post just now, that motivation increased.
My thinking is training 30 contacts of ripwalk is an easy way to make my shred 30 easier because it takes the same amount of exertion. That's always the minimum I am going for. It's also a great way to track my conditioning and progress. When I started a few months ago I was having a lot of trouble breaking 20 drifter, last night I did 30 easily. If I can get to 50 ripwalks and beyond, I am pushing my conditioning, strength, footwork, form and all around increasing my ability and confidence to do long dense strings. Pushing consecutives of swirl, drifter, atom smashers etc. helps me hone those moves to perfection and each move has a particular element that helps my game. Swirl for clipper control, strength and balance, atom smashers for hip speed and posture. I also have been doing double pickup>ss clipper rpt x10+ to train dex speed and conditioning.

I'm currently feeling light (weight is under 183) and fast, my shred feels ready to bump up a notch.
Justin Dale
Videos

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by boyle » 11 Oct 2016 18:10

I don't think it's a problem to be tournament director and to compete. Unless you "arrange" for yourself to win, then there will be some eyebrows raised.

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 11 Oct 2016 20:29

Tuesdays I squeez in a session between 2 classes at the gym. Today was rushed and I didn't accomplish much of anything. Spent most of the time working on a new 20 unique toe drill that I wrote-out but couldn't get past 12 contacts.

Wasn't a very good day for atomics but I managed to break my latest best, hitting 5, which continues to show improvement.

Video, mostly to show off my new shorts.
Justin Dale
Videos

User avatar
C-Fan
Rekordy Polski
Posts: 11366
Joined: 23 Jan 2003 23:51
Location: Denver
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by C-Fan » 12 Oct 2016 06:42

Nice shorts! Now we just gotta get you a shirt without holes in the armpits... :wink:

As far as running a tournament and competing in it, I see no conflict of interest provided:

1. You don't judge any pools that affect who you will face later in competition. In other words, if you get eliminated in semis there's no problem with you judging finals, but if you're in Pool A of semis, you shouldn't judge Pool B of semis, since then you'd have a role in picking who you compete against in finals. Easiest way to avoid an issue here is to simply not judge at all until you are eliminated, after which you can judge everything.

2. You play no role in pool seeding. Similar to #1, where you just want to avoid the appearance that you either placed yourself into an easy pool, or pitted your competitors against each other in a pool of death. If somebody else does the pool seeding, there should be no issue with you competing.

There have been multiple occasions where the freestyle director has competed in their own tournament, and none that I can remember where it was controversial. I can think of at least two examples where the Freestyle Director at Worlds also competed (Yacine in 2004, and Dexter in 2008), neither with any problems. I myself have also competed in tournaments where I have been director or co-director, and to be honest it was more of a handicap than an advantage (as a player). The time you'd normally spend warming up and getting into a good competitive mindset is instead spent doing stuff like announcing yourself and making sure the event runs on time. If you've got a good staff, you should be fine though.

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 13 Oct 2016 22:00

My shred room at the gym was decorated for Halloween.

I hit a 21 unique guiltless toe combo. I thought it was feeling pretty good and should turn the camera on, I tried the combo 1 more time and hit 21 off camera. Spent the next half hour trying to get 20 on video. Which I did.

Shut switch>shut switch>open ss pickup>plo>magellan>symp mirage>plo>magellan>open ss mirage>smear>smudge>open ss mirage>smear>open pickup>open ss pickup>open pickup>mixer>symp open>mixer>symp open>ss mixer

I also got an easier variation of my shred 30.

5-4 20
4-17 68
3-6 18

106 adds
27 contacts
27 uniques

Score: 212

This is my best shred 30 so far.
Justin Dale
Videos

User avatar
C-Fan
Rekordy Polski
Posts: 11366
Joined: 23 Jan 2003 23:51
Location: Denver
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by C-Fan » 14 Oct 2016 08:06

1. The Halloween decorations are awesome! I literally laughed out loud when I saw them. Nice to add a seasonal touch to the video.
2. Props on the 20 guiltless unique toes. I liked how both sided it was, and also that it had as much variety as it did.
3. Shred30 looked great. I didn't time it, but if you clocked in at 27 contacts, could you maybe add osisx2 to the end? It's low energy so it shouldn't be hard, but it'd add 12 points to your score and probably get you in right at the time limit. I need to remember that myself actually...I usually peter out at 28 contacts and forget that unique guiltless bails still add points.

What is your best Shred30 score in competition?

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 14 Oct 2016 09:23

C-Fan wrote:I didn't time it, but if you clocked in at 27 contacts, could you maybe add osisx2 to the end?
This combo of 27 contacts took all 30 (maybe 29 if we're being generous) seconds. A bit disconcerting. The combo I'd like to get will replace the pdx mirage with a pdx mixer, the spin osis (2nd to last move) should have had a duck on it and I have a shooting down to squeeze in early. That's 8 more adds in 28 moves which will give me 228.

I'm going to start working on your Shred30 beginning tripless combo but I don't have much confidence getting legbeaters in my shred 30.
C-Fan wrote:What is your best Shred30 score in competition?
The last time I competed Shred30 was probaby CSS 5 in 2003? I don't think I ever scored above 170. This wasn't due to ability either. I love shuffle and was consistent enough to do it, but I can't do it fast, my game would go to crap trying to cram shuffle into 30 seconds. I thought the event was such bullsh*t, it was unfair and frustrating for me and I resolved never to do it again. I'm enjoying it as a practice tool currently but I still don't think I'll ever compete in the event.
Justin Dale
Videos

User avatar
SlashC
Egyptian Footgod
Posts: 1402
Joined: 24 Jan 2004 16:58
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by SlashC » 15 Oct 2016 01:49

Extremely spooky stuff! I am stoked to find that you are playing regularly again and am looking forward to kicking with you next year at worlds!

One thing I figured out with atomics to make them easier (especially when alternating sides) is to set a little diagonally towards the midline of your body rather than straight up. I don't mean set it at 45 degrees though. Just a little bit diagonal -- like 5-10 degrees from perpendicular to the ground. I used to always set straight up and it takes way more effort and was way less consistent especially further into strings when I was fatigued. I don't really consider this slurry or unclean since my leg is still dexing the bag. I think unclean atomics are more when the setting foot starts under or behind the dexing leg almost like from xbd toe position. Anyways -- food for thought.

A bit late to the party, but I wanted to chime in on the shorts issue. I wore the same damn shorts for years that were basically my basketball shorts from junior high. They were super long when I first got them, but as I grew taller they turned into short shorts. I wore those shorts to death even as the rubber in the waste bands dried out and they turned into floppy bunchy messes. Last year I finally bit the bullet and went to the mall to find some new ones. I walked around the mall for hours and couldn't find anything reasonable. I finally found some shorts at lulu lemon, but they were like $75. Luckily, I found a small defect in the fabric and got them to mark them down to $45, but still really expensive. I am hoping they will last a while.
Rory "Tophat" Dawson

---

"You can ask a stranger, my legs is fast and danger!"

User avatar
bustinjustin
Fearless
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Dec 2003 09:39
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: RCS IN DA CLUB

Post by bustinjustin » 18 Oct 2016 22:31

It's Tuesday, time for another update.

I did a leg work out yesterday and had low expectations coming into today.

Yesterdays leg work out:

Squat: 4 sets of 12
Deadlift: 3 sets of 10
Between each set of squat and deadlift 1 version for 1 minute: https://www.facebook.com/MensHealth/vid ... 747610207/
(focus on foot speed and leg work)
Leg curl: 3 sets of 12
Between first set: Double leg jump on/off platform 1 minute
Between second set: Single leg jump on/off platform 30 seconds each leg (symposium conditioning)
Leg extension: 3 sets of 12
Between each set: 1 minute box jumps
Leg Press: 4 sets of 12
Between each set: 1 minute step ups driving knee up with jump at top

This workout is footbag focused, combining strength and power moves with speed and conditioning to build lean muscle. The squats and leg presses are done with power in mind, accelerating through the lift. The only rest periods were when switching the rack between squat and deadlift and 30-45 seconds after the box jumps between leg extension sets (box jumps got tiring quickly at that point).

Todays Shred:

New triples combo (I stole from Ken's shred 30):
dimwalk>sidewalk>blur>legbeater>blizzard>parkwalk>pdx mixer rpt
fear>shut switch rpt
symp whirling swirl>ripstein bs
phoenix>fog rpt
Justin Dale
Videos

Post Reply