Hi there!
It's really weird to show up at a tournament and have 3 guys tell you that they thought you were retired! That's what happened to me in Philadelphia on new year's eve.
My name is Yacine and I still play footbag.
I'd like to make this blog unique. I'll keep writing here until Helsinki '05. This will be my training diary. Because I really do TRAIN for the world championships and I also play for fun. Hopefully players who already are awesome shredders will be better competitors after I have shared my thoughts on this website. The sport is in dire need of kickers who actually prepare more than a few hours for competitions.
I'm sure I'll enjoy writing and I hope you'll enjoy reading.
-Yax
Fiendish Footblog
Early training sessions
Fall Training...
After taking time off in September and October I started kicking again. The first few sessions were hard because I was out of shape so I subscribed to the gym to improve my cardio without dropping the bag too often. I believe going to the gym helps. In 2003 I worked out at the gym about 5 times a week on top of my footbag sessions and it was my best year in competition. It is very boring compared to footbag but then again it has its upsides. 1-It doesn't hurt as much as a 2 hours footbag sessions. 2-Some people's facial expressions when working out are very similar to what you would look like when having an orgasm. Sometimes it's funny, and sometimes it's scary.
I try to work on new tricks in the Fall and Spring and then work on consistency in the Summer. After kicking for an hour or so by myself, trying new tricks and combos, I try to hit 120 consecutive tricks - bails are ok. That's very close to what a 2 minutes dropless routine would feel like.
This week's practice: I hit pretty much all the big blender moves bsos for the first time. fairy/pixie/atomic/quantum same/op blenders. My longest guiltless string was about 50 contacts which is not nearly good enough.
That's it for now. Tomorrow's topic: finding a routine song and setting goals. Have fun.
-Yax
After taking time off in September and October I started kicking again. The first few sessions were hard because I was out of shape so I subscribed to the gym to improve my cardio without dropping the bag too often. I believe going to the gym helps. In 2003 I worked out at the gym about 5 times a week on top of my footbag sessions and it was my best year in competition. It is very boring compared to footbag but then again it has its upsides. 1-It doesn't hurt as much as a 2 hours footbag sessions. 2-Some people's facial expressions when working out are very similar to what you would look like when having an orgasm. Sometimes it's funny, and sometimes it's scary.
I try to work on new tricks in the Fall and Spring and then work on consistency in the Summer. After kicking for an hour or so by myself, trying new tricks and combos, I try to hit 120 consecutive tricks - bails are ok. That's very close to what a 2 minutes dropless routine would feel like.
This week's practice: I hit pretty much all the big blender moves bsos for the first time. fairy/pixie/atomic/quantum same/op blenders. My longest guiltless string was about 50 contacts which is not nearly good enough.
That's it for now. Tomorrow's topic: finding a routine song and setting goals. Have fun.
-Yax
Song and goals
Yo!
I found my routine song for 2005 worlds in August. Finding a song is a lot of fun. Whenever I hear a song, I try to figure out if the beat is good to shred to and then I download the songs - I mean I buy the CDs - for the songs I liked the most. It's a long process but I learn about a lot of new bands this way.
I think I can win the World Championships this year. Some people - including Vasek - will disagree. But what am I going to do? Aim for second place? No way! If I don't win then I'll be disappointed but I'll know I tried. The only guys I have never beaten in routines are Ryan Mulroney and Vasek Klouda. So beating one of these guys has to be my goal if I want to propel my game forward.
And then the more specific goals:
-Add ration > 3.5
-Total adds >350
-Best choreography of the tournament
-Party a lot
If all the judges think I have the best choreography, then I only need 1 judge to think I have the best technical merit but that will be the hard part.
Today's session sucked ass. I must have some kind of virus because it took forever for my heartbeat to slow down after a long string. Hopefully it's nothing serious. I hit gravedigger bsos and that's new.
I found my routine song for 2005 worlds in August. Finding a song is a lot of fun. Whenever I hear a song, I try to figure out if the beat is good to shred to and then I download the songs - I mean I buy the CDs - for the songs I liked the most. It's a long process but I learn about a lot of new bands this way.
I think I can win the World Championships this year. Some people - including Vasek - will disagree. But what am I going to do? Aim for second place? No way! If I don't win then I'll be disappointed but I'll know I tried. The only guys I have never beaten in routines are Ryan Mulroney and Vasek Klouda. So beating one of these guys has to be my goal if I want to propel my game forward.
And then the more specific goals:
-Add ration > 3.5
-Total adds >350
-Best choreography of the tournament
-Party a lot
If all the judges think I have the best choreography, then I only need 1 judge to think I have the best technical merit but that will be the hard part.
Today's session sucked ass. I must have some kind of virus because it took forever for my heartbeat to slow down after a long string. Hopefully it's nothing serious. I hit gravedigger bsos and that's new.
-
max
- Australofrenchbrityorkus
- Posts: 3751
- Joined: 24 Apr 2002 00:12
- Location: Bondi Beach, Australia
- Contact:
Salut Yacine!
Comment va?
First off let me tell you that I know a lot of people who think that you are a very talented choreographer, so I'm eager to see what you'll cook up for 2005!
Secondly, when you go to the gym, specificly what do you train and for how long? I'm just curious?
cheers, et bon entrainement!
Comment va?
First off let me tell you that I know a lot of people who think that you are a very talented choreographer, so I'm eager to see what you'll cook up for 2005!
Secondly, when you go to the gym, specificly what do you train and for how long? I'm just curious?
cheers, et bon entrainement!
Maxime Boucoiran
French ConneXion
BFC
French ConneXion
BFC
Yesss Yacine!!
Alors ça ça fait plaisir de te voir ici!!
J'en esperais pas tant!
It's so cool to think that we'll have news for you pretty often! well I hope so..
Good to see that you want to go Helsinky prepared like never! I'm eager to see how it's gonna be this sumer too!! even if I probably won't be there..
I believe in you man!!! Heh
K, so have good shredds and trainings Yacine, don't go too much at the gym...
Take care
bonjour!
Alors ça ça fait plaisir de te voir ici!!
J'en esperais pas tant! It's so cool to think that we'll have news for you pretty often! well I hope so..
Good to see that you want to go Helsinky prepared like never! I'm eager to see how it's gonna be this sumer too!! even if I probably won't be there..
I believe in you man!!! HehK, so have good shredds and trainings Yacine, don't go too much at the gym...
Take care
bonjour!
Charles Dupuy
La mairie,
75 Adds - Paris
La mairie,
75 Adds - Paris
Working out and dropless routines
Working out...
Dropless routines...
I was asking Eric Wulff last summer what his dropless routine ratio was in competition. About one out of three of his routines were dropless! He was a very good, very consistent shredder when he competed. But he was not that much better than the other guys who never hit a dropless routine. I don't know how he did it. I know I try to be psychologically ready. There's 4 things I have already started doing:
1-Get distracted. I try to be aware of everything around me. I try to be aware but not distracted. That way, if something weird happens during my routine at the World Championships finals I will not drop because I'm distracted. Having someone talk to you or having a fat lady stand right next to you when you kick is good practice.
2-Get psyched. I am the best in the world! Or at least I'm trying to convince myself I am. I sounds silly but it works. The wide receiver does it in the movie "Any Given Sunday". It takes a few weeks to really kick in but in July I'm so convinced I'm the best in the world that sometimes I must sound like a pompous prick.
3-Get tired. When I'm out of gas, I try to hit a dropless routine. You never know when you'll have a bad day. I know that in Helsinki if I feel weak or tired I'll still hit a dropless routine because I'll have done it in practice on bad shred days.
4-Get pumped. I practice the stage entrance, I imagine the crowd, the judges, I give the cue to the DJ. The DJ is not playing the right cd. It's crazy how you can get a rush very similar to the real thing just by thinking about it. I also need to practice my bows. In 2003 and 2004 I have looked stupid at the end of 3 different routines! Not a lot of people notice, thank god.
That's it for now. I have to go and spend more time on thinking I'm the best!
-Yax
I usually work out my back first and then I do balance and strength exercises. For example: one-legged squats are good for balance, ankle and calf weightlifting are great for improving quickness and bounce off your landings. I do mostly legs/abs and a little upper-body. The whole work-out lasts for about 45 minutes including the stretching and then I kick for as long as I can.max wrote:... when you go to the gym, specificly what do you train and for how long?...
Dropless routines...
I was asking Eric Wulff last summer what his dropless routine ratio was in competition. About one out of three of his routines were dropless! He was a very good, very consistent shredder when he competed. But he was not that much better than the other guys who never hit a dropless routine. I don't know how he did it. I know I try to be psychologically ready. There's 4 things I have already started doing:
1-Get distracted. I try to be aware of everything around me. I try to be aware but not distracted. That way, if something weird happens during my routine at the World Championships finals I will not drop because I'm distracted. Having someone talk to you or having a fat lady stand right next to you when you kick is good practice.
2-Get psyched. I am the best in the world! Or at least I'm trying to convince myself I am. I sounds silly but it works. The wide receiver does it in the movie "Any Given Sunday". It takes a few weeks to really kick in but in July I'm so convinced I'm the best in the world that sometimes I must sound like a pompous prick.
3-Get tired. When I'm out of gas, I try to hit a dropless routine. You never know when you'll have a bad day. I know that in Helsinki if I feel weak or tired I'll still hit a dropless routine because I'll have done it in practice on bad shred days.
4-Get pumped. I practice the stage entrance, I imagine the crowd, the judges, I give the cue to the DJ. The DJ is not playing the right cd. It's crazy how you can get a rush very similar to the real thing just by thinking about it. I also need to practice my bows. In 2003 and 2004 I have looked stupid at the end of 3 different routines! Not a lot of people notice, thank god.
That's it for now. I have to go and spend more time on thinking I'm the best!
-Yax
The pain...
The pain...
About 2 weeks ago, I had an appointment with a physiotherapist. She basically told me that I had to see a specialist a few times a week to get fixed up or I should stop playing.
My shins hurt when I hop or run, my hip's been bothering me and my back is so bad sometimes it takes me 1 or 2 minutes just to put my socks on!
I need to take a few days off...
Yesterday's session was good though. I kicked with a round bag. That makes it harder to be consistent. I still had 60ish contacts strings. When I'll shred with a great footbag next session I'll really kick ass.
So long...
About 2 weeks ago, I had an appointment with a physiotherapist. She basically told me that I had to see a specialist a few times a week to get fixed up or I should stop playing.
My shins hurt when I hop or run, my hip's been bothering me and my back is so bad sometimes it takes me 1 or 2 minutes just to put my socks on!
I need to take a few days off...
Yesterday's session was good though. I kicked with a round bag. That makes it harder to be consistent. I still had 60ish contacts strings. When I'll shred with a great footbag next session I'll really kick ass.
So long...
-
Posi-Cole
- Atomsmashasaurus Dex
- Posts: 992
- Joined: 13 Jan 2004 22:39
- Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Contact:
This blog is sweet Yax.
I would love to see you win Worlds, that would be fantastic!
You will forever be one of my favorite footbag players for letting me and the rest of the guys from Nova Scotia crash in your apartment the night we got to Montreal. You're a class act for sure...
Take care and shred hard.
I would love to see you win Worlds, that would be fantastic!
You will forever be one of my favorite footbag players for letting me and the rest of the guys from Nova Scotia crash in your apartment the night we got to Montreal. You're a class act for sure...
Take care and shred hard.
Cole Hobson
Big day...
Motivation...
I was watching Friday Night Lights tonight and it got me so pumped up I cannot sleep. I've always had drastic mood swings like this. The good thing is I can usually trigger the good mood if I want to - most of the time by watching the movie Rocky (really!). I must have watched it 50 times.
That being said... since coming back from Philly I've been studying at home instead of going to class so I can work out and shred whenever I feel like it. Now is probably the right time to push the enveloppe a little and see how my body reacts. Tomorrow will be my first 2-work-outs day of the year.
Choreography...
After trying a lot of stuff while practicing my routine I have the first 40 moves down pretty good. I find it very important to practice the same moves in the same order all the time. That way, when I execute my routine I know exactly out of which moves I have a tendency to get a bad set. Doing this helps me know when I should go for the next move as planned or just bail.
Well... I really need to go to sleep. Tomorrow's topics: Four square and One-add moves.
I was watching Friday Night Lights tonight and it got me so pumped up I cannot sleep. I've always had drastic mood swings like this. The good thing is I can usually trigger the good mood if I want to - most of the time by watching the movie Rocky (really!). I must have watched it 50 times.
That being said... since coming back from Philly I've been studying at home instead of going to class so I can work out and shred whenever I feel like it. Now is probably the right time to push the enveloppe a little and see how my body reacts. Tomorrow will be my first 2-work-outs day of the year.
Choreography...
After trying a lot of stuff while practicing my routine I have the first 40 moves down pretty good. I find it very important to practice the same moves in the same order all the time. That way, when I execute my routine I know exactly out of which moves I have a tendency to get a bad set. Doing this helps me know when I should go for the next move as planned or just bail.
Well... I really need to go to sleep. Tomorrow's topics: Four square and One-add moves.
-
Just call me hagesy
- Atomsmashasaurus Dex
- Posts: 913
- Joined: 15 Oct 2004 21:43
- Location: Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Procrastinating...
Hits...
I ended up practicing only once today because of my homework. I had a good session though. I hit pretty much all the stuff I tried including dynos - new for me - and beautiful dada-curves. Also, a 40 years-old woman was hitting on me. That's always good on the ego.
Talking about my ego... The Chilly Philly was rough! For the first time in a long while I introduced myself to a shredder and he had no idea who I was and had never heard my name. I'm getting old! But I don't think it was as bad as someone telling me I had quit playing!
FourSquare...
That game is dope when nobody takes it too seriously. It's fun but it's also good for concentration and focus. On a sidenote: Steve Goldberg told me that he thinks Ryan Mulroney is the best player in the world and I believe it is Sebastien Duchesne. We should have Four Square world championsips in Helsinki.
One-Add moves...
I hit a new one-add move last week. Practicing and hoping I can incorporate it in my routine. It's called tic-toc. Windsor showed me the move. One-add moves are great in a routine but nobody practices them. They used to be the bomb in the schoolyard and some of them are still really cool. We had a friendly 1-add trick competition in SF in 2002 and Eric Windsor, Allan Hagget and Sebastien had the best 1-add arsenal in the world. It was a lot of fun. Of course everything is fun when you're drunk in SF at 4am.
That's it for today. I feel like I'm just rambling about nothing. Did I even talk about my shred day?
I ended up practicing only once today because of my homework. I had a good session though. I hit pretty much all the stuff I tried including dynos - new for me - and beautiful dada-curves. Also, a 40 years-old woman was hitting on me. That's always good on the ego.
Talking about my ego... The Chilly Philly was rough! For the first time in a long while I introduced myself to a shredder and he had no idea who I was and had never heard my name. I'm getting old! But I don't think it was as bad as someone telling me I had quit playing!
FourSquare...
That game is dope when nobody takes it too seriously. It's fun but it's also good for concentration and focus. On a sidenote: Steve Goldberg told me that he thinks Ryan Mulroney is the best player in the world and I believe it is Sebastien Duchesne. We should have Four Square world championsips in Helsinki.
One-Add moves...
I hit a new one-add move last week. Practicing and hoping I can incorporate it in my routine. It's called tic-toc. Windsor showed me the move. One-add moves are great in a routine but nobody practices them. They used to be the bomb in the schoolyard and some of them are still really cool. We had a friendly 1-add trick competition in SF in 2002 and Eric Windsor, Allan Hagget and Sebastien had the best 1-add arsenal in the world. It was a lot of fun. Of course everything is fun when you're drunk in SF at 4am.
That's it for today. I feel like I'm just rambling about nothing. Did I even talk about my shred day?
You really only mentioned the dada's and dynos, but its cool.
I like your blog too. I liked playing with you at CP even better though. i think you have really good ps whirls, but i only saw like 2 at CP. if they dont hurt you, you should do more. You had some good grifter stuff too, you should do some cool fairy grifter tricks or something.
Good blog, ill keep reading.
-David Clavens
I like your blog too. I liked playing with you at CP even better though. i think you have really good ps whirls, but i only saw like 2 at CP. if they dont hurt you, you should do more. You had some good grifter stuff too, you should do some cool fairy grifter tricks or something.
Good blog, ill keep reading.
-David Clavens
david
Groin!
Yo!
Thank you David for the praise. I'll try to do more of that stuff. P.S.Whirls are my bread and butter. I don't really need to practice them that much so sometimes I forget about them.
Injuries...
Today's session was very good. I weighed myself before and after the work-out. I lost 5 pounds in 2h30m!!! I work out at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal on the indoors running track which is right next to the pool so it's really humid and I sweat a lot. I like sweating a lot when I shred. It makes me feel like I'm really pushing myself. I was trying to go 3 minutes without stopping. So if I dropped the bag I picked it up right away and kept shredding - mostly low energy moves and 2 or 3 adds moves. I almost went the whole 3 minutes once. There also was a very cute girl running today. It made for a great session. No new moves today though.
I had to stop because my groin muscle felt funny. Funny in a bad way. We'll see tomorrow how it feels.
Tonight is Friday night! What does that mean? Homework (really)! But at least on Friday I can drink a few beers while I work.
Over and out.
Thanks...david wrote:I liked playing with you at CP even better though. i think you have really good ps whirls, but i only saw like 2 at CP.
Thank you David for the praise. I'll try to do more of that stuff. P.S.Whirls are my bread and butter. I don't really need to practice them that much so sometimes I forget about them.
Injuries...
Today's session was very good. I weighed myself before and after the work-out. I lost 5 pounds in 2h30m!!! I work out at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal on the indoors running track which is right next to the pool so it's really humid and I sweat a lot. I like sweating a lot when I shred. It makes me feel like I'm really pushing myself. I was trying to go 3 minutes without stopping. So if I dropped the bag I picked it up right away and kept shredding - mostly low energy moves and 2 or 3 adds moves. I almost went the whole 3 minutes once. There also was a very cute girl running today. It made for a great session. No new moves today though.
I had to stop because my groin muscle felt funny. Funny in a bad way. We'll see tomorrow how it feels.
Tonight is Friday night! What does that mean? Homework (really)! But at least on Friday I can drink a few beers while I work.
Over and out.
The real thing...
My actual level of play...
I have a tendency to think that my abilities are determined by my best ever string. That is so not true. My level of play is my average string. It hit me really hard today. I couldn't do shit so I went back to the basics and still couldn't do anything!
I did impress another old woman though!
Anyway... I keep dropping easy moves. That means that I'm either not in great shape or not focused - probably the latter. I'll see tomorrow. I was still kicking with a round bag but if I'm technically sound I'm supposed to be able to hit all the tricks with a tennis ball. I'm pissed right now so I don't want to think about footbag too much.
Having a bad usually means that the next day will be better. Keep kicking y'all.
I have a tendency to think that my abilities are determined by my best ever string. That is so not true. My level of play is my average string. It hit me really hard today. I couldn't do shit so I went back to the basics and still couldn't do anything!
I did impress another old woman though!
Anyway... I keep dropping easy moves. That means that I'm either not in great shape or not focused - probably the latter. I'll see tomorrow. I was still kicking with a round bag but if I'm technically sound I'm supposed to be able to hit all the tricks with a tennis ball. I'm pissed right now so I don't want to think about footbag too much.
Having a bad usually means that the next day will be better. Keep kicking y'all.
I've recently started working out as well. It suddenly hit me that the best athletes in the world aren't only good because they play their sport all the time. There's a whole lot that goes on off the ice, or field, or diamond, slopes. I'd always had it in my head that "Footbag helps build leg muscles," but then realised that it only makes sense that, "Building leg muscles helps footbag."
My string length is pretty abysmal, average maybe 8...mainly because I run out of breath or my muscles give up on me. I'm tired of it, and I hope working out will do something for me.
Yacine, have you noticed improvement on your average string length since you began working your cardio? When you do cardio stuff, do yuo just go for 45 minutes, or do you do interval training?
I enjoy what you're writing here, I'll keep coming back. Thanks.
My string length is pretty abysmal, average maybe 8...mainly because I run out of breath or my muscles give up on me. I'm tired of it, and I hope working out will do something for me.
Yacine, have you noticed improvement on your average string length since you began working your cardio? When you do cardio stuff, do yuo just go for 45 minutes, or do you do interval training?
I enjoy what you're writing here, I'll keep coming back. Thanks.
- Kevin R.
F = G*((m1*m2)/r^2)
Know thy enemy.
F = G*((m1*m2)/r^2)
Know thy enemy.
Training...
Hello!
[quote="qphox"]have you noticed improvement on your average string length since you began working your cardio? When you do cardio stuff, do yuo just go for 45 minutes, or do you do interval training?
If you shred as often as you normally would and then work-out on top of that, I would say that your string length should increase. The question is: do you drop because you're tired? I'd say a majority of players rarely drop because they're tired. They drop because of technical flaws or lack of focus.
I climb steps to improve my endurance. Actual steps. Not the stepmaster. I go all out for 3 minutes, then I take 1 minute off and repeat. I'm usually out of gas after 5 or 6.
Today's session will be good I can feel it. I'm PUMPED! I'm so PUMPED! I'll kick ass and I'll write again later.
[quote="qphox"]have you noticed improvement on your average string length since you began working your cardio? When you do cardio stuff, do yuo just go for 45 minutes, or do you do interval training?
If you shred as often as you normally would and then work-out on top of that, I would say that your string length should increase. The question is: do you drop because you're tired? I'd say a majority of players rarely drop because they're tired. They drop because of technical flaws or lack of focus.
I climb steps to improve my endurance. Actual steps. Not the stepmaster. I go all out for 3 minutes, then I take 1 minute off and repeat. I'm usually out of gas after 5 or 6.
Today's session will be good I can feel it. I'm PUMPED! I'm so PUMPED! I'll kick ass and I'll write again later.