my session went really well. It was entirely drilling, about 2.5 hours with a break for 20 minutes or so in the middle to juggle a soccer ball with my brother. going from that to footbag made my legs feel fast and energized. I reached one of my goals, I got 18 ducking clippers, which took a LONG TIME!!! I was stuck under 10 forever!!! but once I got over 10, it wasn't long.
I reached half of the other; I did frontside jani walker on one side, but the closest I could come on the flip was symple dada swirl, although I think that will lead to symp dada swirl set, which is gonna be kick ass... kinda like felix's symp barraging nuclear set, but with the dexes in a different order. 5 dex, here I come symp shooting swirling star... (comet?) some day, some day...
I DID, however, hit flip symposium flurry for the first time, and came really close to BSOS. I have not yet hit flip flurry. I should really work on that, I've been schooling barrages both sides, so it should come soon. symp barraging is easier... it's one motion, it just requires strength. the barrage for flurry feels so much like 2 motions to me.
anyway, it was a good long drill. i was pleased. hopefully, that flip symp jani will come tomorrow. Tomorrow will be much more shreddy, as I'm playing with others.
long time no post... this thread was totally buried until just recently. where did i leave off...?
Oh yeah. GRASS kicked off the summer, then it was straight into spikenshredin in NJ. It was a great time. I played lightly when I was there, but the real reason I went was to hang out with friends and watch the East Coast do its thing, as well as party like you can only do at a footbag event. Each of the 3 days and nights (nights THEN days, actually) rocked in its own unique way. I thought the Saturday night party was especially uberkickin with the dinner, band and dance floor. Too bad there wasn't much shred that night. People supposedly complained the music was too loud, which may have been true while we were eating dinner, but after that it was great to shred to. And the band kicked ass. There's lots more but I don't want to type it all right now. I suck at counting adds by the way. That shit is hard!
Back to geneseo. Weird pains in my left foot meant light shred all week, but productive. It's becoming increasingly clear that footbag is becoming an ever-growing part of my life. Circle kick a few years, get introduced to freestyle and get lavers, slack off for awhile but still stay in practice, kick it into high gear about 1.5 years ago, and on into the future. Plus, it's clear that the friends I've made through this sport also see footbag as a lifetime thing. It's great to know that all the people I've met and freestyle with are people that I'm going to know and kick with for years and years. Footbag is gonna influence lots of huge decisions from now on. For example, I have no idea what I'm doing once I graduate from college next year. I'll pretty much be able to move wherever I want. The only criteria in my mind now are good footbag scene and a fairly progressive society (that rules out most of the US, except for the northeast and west coast). Maybe graduate study at McGill in Montreal? Toronto's a nice city. CA is too hot, I like having seasons. Washington and Oregon seem really cool, I should visit there. Europe? Who knows. As far as liberal government and footbag goes, it doesnt get much better than those scandinavian socialist states. Finland! And then there's good old Rochester. No reason to go anywhere really. I dunno. I'll think about that kinda stuff later.
Enough ramble. Today I met Paul at Javas. What a nice rally point for footbag playing: fully equipped with icy water bottle refills, nearby alleys and rooftops for kicky ball, and a quaint hangout spot that is perfect for a good old fashioned post-shred sitdown. I felt pretty good today. We spent most of the time coming up with drills to challenge each other with. My best ones involved hitting stepping and nukes out of drifter, and I footed nuke torque and marius a couple of times each. I am getting better at aiming my gyro sets (without slurring!) so the bag is right where I want it to be when I've completed the spin. I can hit gyro mirage midstring with only mild difficulty now. Paul seemed on today as well. He is learning dyno, is stringing better, and his personal style is developing. I think that everyone's unique style starts to show through once they become confident in stringing the basics, so he's coming along really quickly now. Maybe he'll post and tell us what he thought his highlights were today. Sometimes I can't tell what's easy for him and what he finds noteworthy; he can be full of surprises.
man today was pretty nuts as chris outlined in his post. today was the first day since spike that my left leg didnt sear with pain after each string so i was feeling really good, but instead of going for long strings or anything particularly hard, i felt it important to work my endurance up slowly by drilling.
i really like dyno a lot, im working hard on whirl>dyno, i footed it a couple of times today but i can see that as being a staple in my strings, it just feels really natural to me and i want to be able to hit whirl>dyno>repeat on cue. i got reverse whirl today, that felt good, and my strong pixie was definately on today.
im sooooo close do downtime drifters it makes me sick, i bet tomorrow ill hit one. lets see, i know there was something i hit bsos today that ive hit once, maybe. oh yeah! clean dadas i hit clean dada bsos today.
lets see, i hit another atomsmasher today, a couple of legbeaters, ripwalk b2b 3 or 4 times sidewalk>ripwalk once, and i footed sidewalk>infinity>rpt about 4 times, ive hit it before, but i want to do it again, tomorrow perhaps
the highlight of today was watching chris shred. his style is so smooth and he was like a machine today, i dont think there was a drill that i asked him to hit that he didnt do, most first try too. and that was including pdx drifter>torque>rpt, and pdx drifter>ripwalk>rpt right after he said he couldnt step out of drifters.
mobius was awesome to see him hit, and i finally saw 69 in person. we were talking to these two guys that basically watched our entire session and kicked a bunch too. we were talking about concepts and funny trick names and 69 naturally came up, and i said, "he can hit it, try it chris" and he laid it down first try.
i cant think of anything else, but ive decided that im going to bring a notebook to each of my sessions from now on because its impossible to remember everything, even a half a day later.
im going to bed now because i have court at 8:30 in the morning and its 3 am now.
ROC city represent!
~NEL~
P.S. happy page 23 RFA and happy 200 posts Chris, you're now officially a multidex master (like you werent before haha)
I can't do it this time. No money... I NEED A JOB more than anything this summer. I'd better start looking places besides this empty town because I'd rather die than work and mcdonalds or wal-mart.
Up until They cancelled my credit card (fuckers!), EC was a must... I even told Pete I'd be there. Well, there's still TOFU & Funtastiks for sure, and maybe the WV Jam.
Leaving Syracuse on July 10th, arriving in Wraclaw, PL on the 11th. Leaving Wraclaw on July 18th, arriving in Copenhagen, DK on the 18th.
Leaving Copenhagen on July 22nd, arriving in Helsinki, FI on the 22nd.
Leaving Helsinki on August 2, arriving in Syracuse on the 2nd.
I worked an 8 hour day on my feet, a lot of it spent behind a lawn mower, then had a session afterwards with this local kid named Jerrod... LOTS of speed, lots of potential. I will mold him... yesssss...
We started too early, and it was way too hot, almost impossible to play, I felt I would pass out. After an hour or so, we took a break for 20 minutes or so to consult the coach, and when we came back the temperature had gone down enough, and we were feeling energized enough to bust again!
I hit some big things for me, it felt great... I hit superfly both sides within a few tries, close to BSOS, Symp Barrage came both sides really fast, and I hit Jani Walker a few times BSOS today, which I'd only done once or twice before. Barraging sets were feeling on today. Shred wasn't too hot, but I had a few good runs, hit flip motion for what might have been the first time. Jerrod also hit motion for the first time. It was pretty sweet. We are playing again tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait, I'm going to invite yoobin jin...
well i havent played the last 4 days or so because ive had work at 6:00 am and then 5:00 am for the last 2 days but now that my body is getting used to getting up at 3:45 am, i should be playing again soon. the hardest part about my job is that it is at a golf course, so its manual labor for 8 to 10 hours a day in the sun but its getting better progressively. the worst thing though is that i work 12 days on 2 days off, every day at 6!
i fully intend to play tomorrow after work, but ill see how i feel
i also have taken off for TOFU jam, (ill still be working that friday from 6 till noon though) so i will be there!
Hey guys! Just checkin' in with the RFA.
I'm going to Siena in the fall. Bad news bears, I'm afraid. And I missed the NJ comp. . . I thought it was later and that was the weekend I turned a new age so I was busy with Tully's dinners and pineapple eating and the like. But rest assure that when it came to for my parents to be like, "Sweety? What would you like for your birthday?" I said "40 bucks for new lavers and about two hours alone time to shred." BAM! done. A wonderful birthday.
So yes. I'll be bringing along some skills to the greater Albany area. Is there a big scene there? I can't find anyone. Nothin'. Oh well. Maybe I can establish an Empire State Footbag League or something like that. I like the sound.
I'm hoping I can be very close to guiltless by the time Funtastics rolls in and I can shred with everyone again. Just returning back to my solo lonesome shred days - with the knowledge that I've gained from the two competitions and the many hours spent watching and learning. Should be good. And, more importantly, should be fun.
Apparently there's a Paul in Syracuse who is a guiltless player. Never met him. Hopefully I'll get a chance. Greg Pestillo is back at it and he and I along with another Paul and a guy named Garrett make up a faction. I'm going to give my old lavers to Gerrett I think. He plays with sandals and these crazy cleet-type things.
I've rambled on too long to say congrats to all those hitting new things amd posting but there will be another time for that.
Pat Thomsen
Syracuse, New York - The connecting point to footbaggers in the NE and Canada. We make pancakes and air conditioners.
just finished up my 9 hour day at the zoo. it wasn't grueling or anything, though, so I should be all set to shred in a little while.
Yoobin Jin is coming over, he hasn't played in a few years, but I'm hoping all his natural talents are still there. We'll see in a little bit.
East Coasts was a good time. Willie and I buzzed down to Maryland in about 7 hours and got the hotel shred started. Pete was on hand with all my favorite supplies, and we all kicked and hung out for a few hours. Then, Will and I crashed in the Major's room instead of Pete's house for some partying, jamming, and ... and that's all. That's all we did. it was awesome. The Major is getting pretty good at that drum, and we rocked out some good tunes and jams.
The next day, it was UNBEARABLY hot, pretty impossible for shred, so we all just hung out, watched net, and went for brief walks in the woods while we waited for the freestyle room to open up... and when it did...
it was awesome! in past years, it's been hot and muggy, but the folks upstairs at the aquatic center added the shred room on to the big building next to which it lies, and set it up with some sweet air conditioning! it was nice and dry and cool in there, better for shredder... I played like shat (as I did all weekend), but I saw some cool stuff go down... Symp whirling tootsie roll by JS on request from me during competition was a major highlight. So were gordon's big tricks, blurry symp eggbeater and fairy same symp double over down.
The party at Pete's was pretty rockin. Pete and I did a little 3ball and guitar jam, but we had both been partying for a few hours at that point, so it was less than successful at points. one of these days, me and the man himself will have a good jam in front of a lot of people again, and it will rule. Speaking of Pete, he invited me to stay at his house with him and Nasty Nate after Funtastik!!!! daaaaaaaay-um!!!!! That's HUGE!!! i remember how envious I was of Nate last year when he told me he was staying with Pete, and now I get to stay with BOTH of them! woooo! super psyched!!!
I have so much footbag stuff to be excited about, it's like I don't have enough excitement to go around!
Back to east coasts, although i don't think I've got that much to say... the second day was a repeat of the first for me... I played like shit, saw all my friends, had a great time hanging out, and hit the road mid afternoon. The ride home was shorter, as I believe I was driving faster and stopping less... only 5.5 hours from Laurel to Rome.
Yoobin just IMed me, he's coming over. I hope to hit flip symp flurry again today, and... what else. long shreds. to make up for this weekend. and, vertigo again would be cool.
sitting in the chair that spun under me as a crying second grader staring up at the ceiling not understanding the bully on the bus, in the room where I discovered porn, typing on the computer that shouldered most of the conversations of the most ridiculous relationship I've ever had... having a beer. trying to design a logo... lots of heavy memories in the room....
yoobin is INSANE!!!!! it's crazy. first time *kicking* in almost 2 years, and he was hitting 10 string contacts of bothsided guiltless and tiltless strings, toe barrage both sides (first try in 2 years on one side!! *first try*), pixie legovers b2b easily, atomic set both sides, atomsmasher from flip toe, DATW both sides, and his clippers were WAY better than before, infinities and butterflies back to back and both sides mid string and what have you! it was great! We're playing again on sunday. He was getting psyched about footbag again. He also said that I looked better, that made me happy. nothing special to report from me.
I just drew an awesome club logo for the ministry of silly walks... hmmm... I'm going to try and upload it.
hope that works... maybe someone who can really draw can do it right... the dots in the yin yangs are footbags.[/code]
fun session outside... I hit 5 smears on my strong side and 6 on my flip.
I made some SERIOUS progress on gyro today. I hit one vortex on each side, which was totally new to me, and SO satisfying, and mobius both sides with more control than I'd had before, including my first flip one, I think. I'd hit it once on the flip with a bad set a year ago or so, but that doesn't count. I also hit gyro mirage BSOS a few times with more control than before.
my method was to pigeon toe my support leg a LOT, and do the clipper a little farther behind me than before, so that after the straight set, my upper body would resolve with my support leg, and give me the proper momentum and placement to carry into a torque and drifter (like Big Add). hopefully, I can stick with this method in the future to hold on to these moves, because lack of gyro has created a huge hole in my game that i'd like to caulk up with some delicious backspinning moves both sides... I guess i'm on my way.
Tomorrow, yoobin, collin, and jerrod are coming over at about 6. Sweet!!!!! Big session!!!
psh... oh yeah... the best thing. I hit really good tootsie rolls both sides. I did them from xbd cloud instead of the inside of the shin surface like Jedi Jon, and I did it to dragon a few times on my strong side. close on the flip to the one ending on dragon.
two days ago, I had a bad session at my house, but that's what I get for drinking before I play...
yesterday, i went to the syracuse Jazz fest to hear Bela Fleck, Jean Luc Ponte, and Stanley Clarke play (for free!!) and they were nuts. I kinda wish I hadn't been so entirely focused on playing footbag so I could have listened... but there was a part during Stanley Clarke's solo that I was playing right to the beat, so I guess my head was in it at that point. Greg Pestillo was there! we had an impromptu shred session. I felt pretty good about my runs, tried to mix things up and be bothsided and play to the music when I could. I think I represented footbag pretty well... This one guy was really into it and watched for 15 minutes with his little daughters, they were enthralled. He said it was the only time they shut up the whole night. He also said I should go on Letterman and get a contract to play footbag.
When the sun went down and we couldn't play with the shadows, we stopped and stretched by the big raised speakers. We got done stretching, and we both just kind of absentmindedly paced around in a small circle for a second looking at our feet and feeling lost, and we both came around our circles face to face, and at the same moment, we both suggested a visit to the coach. it was like the natural evolution of the moment.
Maybe I'll play again today. my legs feel strong and energetic and good, and I ahven't even been drinking coffee today.
another impromptu session! Paul Agostinelli called me to say that he was coming by this afternoon for a show at a local bar, and I met up with him around 5:45 for an outdoor session by the bar. We both played well, and busted good strings for the bar patrons and passersby. I had brought one of my albums to the bar for review by the owner a few days before, and when he came out and watched footbag, we got to talking about this and that, and he said I could do a show on some wednesday. He was really impressed with the footbag, and he was glad we were hanging out as his bar, and gave us props from the stage after the bands played.
Then, Paul's friend Kyle from the band Giant Killer Robots got us in for free, and got us free beers all night. It was a battle of the bands, and his band went last. They rocked! it was steady, melodic rock and roll with lots of tempo changes. Very high energy. Kyle liked footbag, too. I tried talking to a cute indian chica, but no luck :/ I don't do my best at bars.
Paul is upstairs sleeping. We're going to play again tomorrow. I am going to sleep now.
symp shooting swirling star... (comet?) some day, some day... 
Nice job!!
