Why isn't my Abshire working for me?

Shredfish · Post by **Shredfish** » 27 Mar 2005 18:10

Hey all,

I bought an abshire a while ago (december) and loved it. Mainly cause it was better than my sandmaster lol. Well now, I thought it was broken in. The material is softer and more flexible, and the panels expanded a bit. But recently I was wondering why I suck so much at footbag. I can't hit much of anything. Somethings not right. I pulled out my old Mr. Sandman and all of the sudden I felt it. It was glorious. It took me like 2 tries to hit a 5-trick guiltless combo which didn't happen much with the Ab.
So I was wondering if anyone would maybe post a picture of a truely broken in abshire (standard)so I can compare it with mine, and if there are pros that use sandmans.

thanks alot

Krafty · Post by **Krafty** » 27 Mar 2005 18:21

Just use whatever bag you're comfortable with. I'm not that crazy about 32 panels myself, although I do want to get a 32 to start playing with. I like my 14 panel big, floppy Sandmaster. There are many people out there who play with Sandmans, including pros, so don't worry about that.

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 27 Mar 2005 18:27

I can't shuffle as well with a floppy sandbag (or 32 for that matter) I find it easiest to move around a nice crisp 32.

A broken in 32 will stall well and hopefully set cleaner than a sandbag which can get too stitcky.

You may find that flowy smooth strings are easier to achieve with a dead sandbag but when it comes to tightening up technique a sharp 32 can't be beat.

Some pros play with sandbags but when it really comes down to it you should try to be able to play with almost anybag because then you can more easily fit into any circle.

Shredfish · Post by **Shredfish** » 27 Mar 2005 19:16

Doesn't Penske use a in that CSS6.Jon video? I love that video. Penske is high on my list of favorite players.

zachatree · Post by **zachatree** » 27 Mar 2005 20:03

Shredfish wrote:recently I was wondering why I suck so much at footbag. I can't hit much of anything. Somethings not right. I pulled out my old Mr. Sandman and all of the sudden I felt it. It was glorious. It took me like 2 tries to hit a 5-trick guiltless combot

really? i wouldnt think a bag would change someone from "suck at footbag" to guiltless comboing

Shredfish · Post by **Shredfish** » 27 Mar 2005 20:14

Well i'm not saying my bag gave me magical powers sent by the footbag gods. lol I'm just saying the skills are somewhat there but the Abshire would never stall easily so it prevented some....

I feel lame that i can't do the tricks with the pro level equipment but at least the sport maybe more fun for a while until i get the Ab broken in or something.

jon · Post by **jon** » 27 Mar 2005 20:53

Its my goal to eventually be able to play with any bag. Seeing people like johnny bust hard fearless with unbroken 32's has inspired me. If you can play with hard bags you can play with pretty much anything. Its about control and proper technique, then any bag should work. Except for a floppy sand bag :p they suck and stick to shoes on sets.

SlashC · Post by **SlashC** » 27 Mar 2005 23:01

I played with mr. sandbags for about 6 months and then bought a mini abshire. At first I found it really frustrating because the bag kept rolling. I washed it a couple times and I think that helped a bit. Mostly I think I just got used to the bag. I think my stalls with the mr. sandbag were lazy and I was getting some bad habits (not cranking my ankles enough). I found that with the abshire my stalls got much better and I learned to control the bag more and be more precise. I can now switch between a sandbag and abshire/32 without any difference in my delays (hooray). I find that 32's also set MUCH better (pixie, atomic, stepping)

My advice would be to stick with it and keep breaking it in (kicking/washing/working it with hands) and just use it as a warmup bag at first. Practise toe stalls and clippers with it then switch to your sandmaster. Eventually you might try doing a couple trial sessions with the abshire exclusively. Then if you STILL don't like the feel of it, just keep it as a warmup bag

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 27 Mar 2005 23:22

Shredfish,

Perhaps it's not a problem with the equipment but of improper form. I used to play with an almost empty sandbag but had problems when I played with facile 32's. The floppy sandbag was VERY forgiving on my clippers because it would just lay there and die on my foot no matter what angle it was. I practically had to relearn clippers making sure my foot was as close to parallel to the ground as I could get it.

It may just take a little bit more time for you to adjust to the 32 and tweaking your technique a little.

Shredfish · Post by **Shredfish** » 28 Mar 2005 13:19

I see what you mean about technique. That makes sense. But does technique have anything to do with the bag rolling off my foot?....ON TOE STALLS.

KronoKicker · Post by **KronoKicker** » 28 Mar 2005 17:47

technique has everything to do with roll off, granted a rolly bag is more likely to roll off...

If you're not doing toe stalls correctly, a crisp 32 will roll off where as a floppy sandman will stick to your foot. Technique involves making sure the bag land in the middle of your toe box, cranking your ankle back slightly, and "following" the bag down. Don't do any of those 3 correctly and the bag will most likely roll off, or go flying out of control after you set the bag back up.

zachatree · Post by **zachatree** » 28 Mar 2005 19:29

ya, usaly what i do is use a nice floppy sandbag an a new sandbag for when im just trying different tricks the floppy one for ones that it needs to stick and the new one for doing things that i need to learn how to stall really well, bc if i can stall the rolly one i can really do the trick. i usaly keep my 32s aside bc the 32s i have are reallly beat so i only string with them to increase there life as much as i can but i think with this new bag im geting im gonna do the same thing with it just string with it once its broke in. 32s in my opinion help your style alot an should be used for when you can string. theres noting wrong in not tho its a good bag an will help your style probley even more if you use it from the start. So fuck all your sandbags an stiffen up to stall your 32.

Atom · Post by **Atom** » 30 Mar 2005 06:10

YES technique has to do with a bag rolling off of toe stalls. i have always been better with my toe stalling tricks than my clipper ones. and then i took some time off this winter and when I got back to playing it was the opposite. i've tried some different concepts to improve my toe stalls, and i got some advice from Jorden Moir. now i have a crisp new 32 and it stalls almost as well as my EXTREMELY broken-in abshire. and the new 32 is really full and rolly.

IMO a sandbag is the king of stalls, and the master of lazy technique.

habitat · Post by **habitat** » 30 Mar 2005 07:49

Atomic_FootOrgasm wrote:IMO a sandbag is the king of stalls, and the master of lazy technique.

yes, penske was using a freedom footbag in the CSS6.Jon' video, and his technique is soo lazy

Jdigges · Post by **Jdigges** » 01 Apr 2005 08:50

Just use what bag seems more comfortbale for you. different bags play different for certain people because of their style. i personl love a nice 32. i use a Mr. sandbag occasionally cause my little brother likes them alot, and i got a new 32 because my old one busted and its still breaking in. i find that 32s have alot nice sets, for me anyways. i like the way they fall, and it feels nicer dexing them and such opposed to a Mr. sandbag

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 01 Apr 2005 12:24

habitat wrote:yes, penske was using a freedom footbag in the CSS6.Jon' video, and his technique is soo lazy

Lon too, no?

Shredfish · Post by **Shredfish** » 01 Apr 2005 19:55

yea it sure looked like it...and man those FLAWLESS fairy sets of his seem to work out fine

..then again he is Lon Smith.

Blue_turnip · Post by **Blue_turnip** » 02 Apr 2005 22:59

I hate sandbags. They have ruined me. My technique is like that of a 3 year old catching with his hands. Especially those f*cking auroras. When I first shredded with jons abshire i loved it. They are so precise. And guess what! Im getting an FT mini - apparently the most precise bag around. I cant wait. All I use at the moment is a Kirra - which is a sandbag but probly the best around for technique. I will recover

itsanother · Post by **itsanother** » 03 Apr 2005 17:26

this also happened to me.. i bought an abshire i and i sucked (not that i ever didnt) so i switched back to a sandbag and a sandmaster after that i just decided i wanted to have" the world biggest footbag collection" so i started buying (im not rich btw) i ggot a footfigheter first and after that i didnt get anything else (so far) the footfighter was an amazing bag.. i got it in my hands i and i was like" hmm ill prob suck with this too but just outta curiotsity i just kicked it a couple times... damn damn and damn... so shredfish i think u just have a bag that ur feet dont like.. if u wanna play with a 32 like all the other "great" player well try a different kind.....

Shredfish · Post by **Shredfish** » 03 Apr 2005 19:10

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice. I think the problem was that it wasn't broken in enough. I rolled it in my hands alot after I posted this it got looser. All it needed was just a little bit more. And now...footbag is my friend again. And they lived happily ever after...

Thanks again.

modified

Why isn't my Abshire working for me?

Why isn't my Abshire working for me?

Re: Why isn't my Abshire working for me?

my redundant post about being redundant