Footbag Frustration

ericksonj · Post by **ericksonj** » 30 Oct 2004 14:19

Does anyone else get really frustrated with footbag?

I have been playing for about a year and a half, and I seem to rarely be really happy with the way I play. I usually only have a great day once a week or so, but I play with Nasty Nate who is 100 times better than me so it seems muffled.

I never want to quit because of the frustration, but it sucks when you do well one day and then aren't as good the next. Sometimes moves are there and sometimes they are not. It is also tough to impress your footbag partner when he can hit everything you can plus a whole lot more. So at the end of a freestyle session I never feel like I have really accomplished anything.

Anyone experience this or am I just being a whiney baby? If you have any tips to focus more while playing I would love to hear them. I guess I have been more stressed out lately since I work 40+ hours and go to school, but footbag is my release and I hate when I end up more frustrated then I was before.

Yikes what a 4 year old whine-a-thon...

BalinorNZ · Post by **BalinorNZ** » 30 Oct 2004 14:49

Hey man there must be something that nate cant/doesnt do, it could be much worse, he could be vasek.

Just pick a concept he cant do and learn that and that way u can go at ur own pace and have some diversity and he wont be able to school u on it.

Thats what my friend who is qutie a bit worse than me does, he does pixie sets because I dont like them and therefore dont do them.

Just call me hagesy · Post by **Just call me hagesy** » 30 Oct 2004 16:48

Yeah i get frustrated sometimes. Like the days you can't hit what you could do with ease yesterday. But the frustration goes when you hit a new move or you finally get a concept down in concrete. I find it helps me relax just to think of what ever you just did, like a run you just hit, what could have been done better in the run, what other tricks you could have linked etc.

ericksonj · Post by **ericksonj** » 30 Oct 2004 22:21

Yeah, I was just whining..... I was just wondering if anyone has tips on focusing when things don't seem to be flowing. Everyone has bad days, but maybe some have fewer bad days than others for various reasons. Its not as if I am horrible or can't hit lots of stuff, but when you have a bad day it can really get to you, and sometimes the bad days seem to go on for several sessions. My goal is not to show anyone up, but to get less discouraged when my day is going poorly and try to turn it around. Footbag should be fun, but it is also very serious when you want to progress... In many ways we are not 'playing' footbag, but 'training' footbag. I have always seen it this way and it can take the fun out of it on days when it doesn't go well.

sniikeri · Post by **sniikeri** » 31 Oct 2004 01:04

Well, I stopped competiting in x-country skiing cause I didn't enjoy it so much anymore. It started to be just goofying when the schedules were so tight and I should've drunk energy drinks just for a 5km race. It would've been ok if I was an adult but geez, I was like twelve.

So I started footbag and I'm doing it...alone. I don't know what it is when you're having someone to shred with. I got really frustrated with footbag several times last fall and my sessions were basically short.
Now I'm doing it only because I enjoy doing it.

You need these sessions when you just keep skooling 'em like hell and nothing new seems to be possible.
Train hard during the winter and have fun.
You'll be picking the fruits next summer.

BalinorNZ · Post by **BalinorNZ** » 31 Oct 2004 03:20

Lauri your signature is the funniest thing ive read all day!

hacksterbator · Post by **hacksterbator** » 31 Oct 2004 11:41

i don't think impressing your shred partener should be your number one goal here. shit, if i had spent alot of my time trying to impress derek i think i would have quit by now. shred for fun, and if it's not fun make it fun. i know what it's like when some days you are on and some days you are off, i still have those alot. i used to have them even more when i was first starting. maybe you're body is still in th relearning phase after coming off your injury. either way, shred for you, not for other people.

sniikeri · Post by **sniikeri** » 01 Nov 2004 08:07

OT: Thanks Nic! Yours is not bad either.

ericksonj · Post by **ericksonj** » 01 Nov 2004 12:45

hacksterbator wrote:i don't think impressing your shred partener should be your number one goal here.

Agreed, but what I am really trying to get at are tips for turning a bad day around, or ways of creating better days and focusing. It is certainly understandable that people will have different amounts of skill based on time put in / natural ability. I'm not worried about that as much as ways of focusing and getting the most out of a shred session.

Footbag to me is the most fun and most frustrating thing I have ever done. The frustration in the end is what keeps me coming back for more day after day, and the fun is the reward.

Zerbalicious · Post by **Zerbalicious** » 01 Nov 2004 14:35

Hey James,

You don't give yourself enough credit. You are a great player. I could be very wrong, but I think what is frustrating you is the fact that you're trying to push you game forward as quickly as possible. I've been freestyling for almost ten years now and have gone through many different attitudes towards footbag. I recently had a serious knee problem and thought I'd never be able to play again. The problem eventually went away and now I'm so thankful just to be able to do the easiest of moves that I have a really good time trying variations of 2 adds.

-Instead of trying to max out your difficulty you might try doing styley variations of easy moves.
-Put on different music if you get frustrated
-try playing to the beat of the music. It's really fun for me to try to move with the music and not worry about linking 4s or hitting phoneix bsos
-Try doing strings where you focus on your arms or your breathing - harder than it sounds
-Have several different goals throughout your session. Not necessarily hitting particular tricks but trying to hit stirings with a pass at the end. Or incorporating themed runs, or coming up with an easy trick that you've never tried before, like ducking outside stall or spinning double whammy. Create a goal that you know you can accomplish and that'll be fun for you

In a time where countless players can play tripless or genuine I am much more interested by a player that has a smooth style and aproaches the game like an artist as opposed to a player who just tries to crank out as much diffculty as possible. If I want to see difficult stuff, I'll just watch Vasek.

You might try looking for inspiration from a particular player other than Nate. I am a huge fan of Allan and he's been an enormus influence and inspiration for my approach to the game. Even though I can't hit the big stuff like him I try to look at how he moves and controls the bag and use that for inspiration for my style.

You won't be able to push the difficulty of your game forever. There will come a time where you will have to be happy with the your level of play. That time has yet to come, but it will come. Enjoy footbag for what it is in the moment, not for the trick you may have dialed in next month.

Sorry for the diatribe, hope it helps

ericksonj · Post by **ericksonj** » 01 Nov 2004 14:50

Thanks Alex. That was a very well thought out response. I'm really glad to hear your point of view, since you have been in the game a long time. Perhaps I should just keep it fun and let skill come as it tends to do. If you take anything too seriously, it can take the fun out of the whole thing. I think I have been doing too much of that lately, and I should get back to having fun... I think I came back with too much of a 'get down to business' attitude after my injury let up. Thanks for your enlightening words.

I'll see you in seattle. This jam is going to be awesome!

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 01 Nov 2004 14:52

That's some excellent advice from Zerbe!

I find myself getting frustrated lots - although I've pretty much given up caffine and it doesn't happen as much as it used to. Another thing that really helps me is just going back to basics. Generally whatever move I drop last - I'll just go back and drill that - If it's a multi composite move - say blurry drifter - I'll just drill the part I dropped - probably the drifter.

I don't worry about adds or things like that when I'm drilling - I like to start with something really easy - that I can all the time and then slowly work my way up - for example I drilled flipside whirls yesterday like this:

whirl>ss clip repeat (all one side)
consec whirls (all one side)
whirl>infinity repeat
Pdx whirl>infinity repeat (all one side)
infinity>pdx mirage>dimwalk>pdx whirl repeat
consec pdx whirls

Had I started the first drill and not been able to hit it at all (I doubt that would happen) - I would have gone down a level and drilled clippers or pickups. Basically the only time when I would feel like I can't hit anything would mean I'm dropping toe stalls.

My method doesn't always work because as some of you know - I'm pretty driven when I play and if there is something I really want to hit - I'll keep trying to hit it for hours - and I'll get more and more frustrated. But the obvious and only solution I can think of to this is to try something else and in those instances I don't want to do that!

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 01 Nov 2004 15:12

This may sound corny, but I believe it....

The journey to figuring out how to best enjoy this game is pretty spiritual or cool or challenging... errr.. or something. Most of us don't just pick up the bag and become awesome - so we all go through major frustration. I've actually learned a lot about myself by how I've handled the frustration over time. And in the end, I actually truly enjoy playing.

That doesn't help I guess, but I just wanted to share.

Btw.. I know you're not fishing for a compliment, but I think your game is really cool. Fun to watch and nice and smooth.

shreddaily · Post by **shreddaily** » 01 Nov 2004 21:44

I guess telling James hes a failure every day and PMing him on the hour that he will never equal me doesn't help the situation

haha, I mean

Zerbalicious wrote: You don't give yourself enough credit. You are a great player.

B_Man · Post by **B_Man** » 01 Nov 2004 22:26

Something that I was told was to really focus on the positive aspects of what you are doing instead of the negatives. Compliment yourself when you do good things and when things don't go your way, ask yourself why and then try again.

I hope it helps

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 01 Nov 2004 22:43

I think what Alex said about being inspired by players is very, very useful advice. When I get frustrated, I usually end up watching footage of players I'm currently inspired by and try and mimic and aspect of their game I really enjoy. For example, recently I was very frustrated with my game and downloaded the Brisbane Sick 3 and thought that Dan Ednie had a style very similar to Jere Vainikka. I ended up watching a lot of Jere footage and realized that I really like his arm movements and move selection. When I went back to schooling I worked on making sure I stood with great posture and used my arms for balance like Jere does. It changed my style of play a lot, and led me to find ducking a lot easier, as well as whirls. Footage of other players is definitely the biggest help for me in relaxing and giving my game direction.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 01 Nov 2004 23:54

hacksterbator wrote: either way, shred for you, not for other people.

Unless they`re BAP, in which case you should totally try and impress them.

Juana · Post by **Juana** » 02 Nov 2004 14:57

I'm the queen of getting frustrated by footbag. I feel your pain. It wasn't until recently that I've learned to not let my frustration ruin an entire shred session - though sometimes I still let it

I do many of the things Alex suggested. Now, when an aspect of my game is off I just kind of say to myself..."oh, today's not a spinning day for me" and then I focus on another aspect of my game rather than get pissed that my spins(or something else) aren't sticking every time i try it -- usually by the next session, it's back on and better than before. You really have to make a conscious effort to change your attitude when you find yourself getting frustrated. It's difficult to control and sometimes not what you want to do -- i still struggle with it, but if it's between lightening up on myself and allowing myself an off day versus getting very angry with myself and the bag, I'd rather lighten up -- it's not worth my time and energy otherwise.

It's also easier for me right now because I'm in a phase with footbag where I don't really care if I'm playing every day or not. I can think of many others things I'd rather do. Because of that, I'm not taking it seriously and don't get as frustrated. I'm still playing a couple of times a week, just not seriously...it's fun again, i don't feel competitive, my injuries have healed and I'm not so hard on myself. ahhhhhh.....

Alex's post is good, ironically, sometimes he is the source of my footbag frustration

ericksonj · Post by **ericksonj** » 02 Nov 2004 15:54

Juana wrote:Alex's post is good, ironically, sometimes he is the source of my footbag frustration

mc · Post by mc » 02 Nov 2004 18:57

yo j,

Nate rules, you're pretty lucky to have him. Those of us (including nate) who started all alone can tell you, it's way better to have another player, and a true blessing to have one better than you.

bad days come and go. they're part of the process. I've learned lately to just shrug them off. Roll with it; stretch out after shredding, have a beer, relax. You've obviously made a lot of progress in the past, you'll make it again, right? We're all too worn out or under the weather or just not into it some days. but that next good session is right around the corner, so no sweat.

send more eugene vids, please.

m