Matt Christopher - Confessions of a Shredder in London, UK

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 04 Oct 2005 14:11

Comments welcome.

What a wonderful idea, this'll turn out to be very useful, I'm sure. Shine your shoes, guv'na?

INFO

- Born in 1983, south-east London, United Kingdom.
- Discovered footbag in March 2005 holidaying in Prague, Czech Republic. [evidence]
- Circle kicked for 5 months. [evidence] [evidence] [evidence]
- Began earnest freestyle training late September 2005.

THE SITUATION

London isn't the greatest place in the world to be a beginner at this game. Sure, plenty of people drift by once in a while, but there's no established footbag scene whatsoever. Nevertheless, I've managed to contact other Europeans who either live here or are passing through, so not all is lost.

THE KIT

- A charming Mr. Sandbag.
- Some hilariously cheap trainers made by Mercury. Nice flat sides, and perfectly moddable. I'll get Lavers when I'm not a student anymore.

THE ARMOURY

- I've taken great pains to train both sides at everything.
- Clippers are shaping up nicely, working on chaining them together.
- Need to work on hopovers/wraps.
- ATWs are getting more fluid.
- Legovers are getting nicer.

I'm drawing great satisfaction from the daily improvements I observe in my game. It's also fun to feel my legs strengthen in ways they've never done before.

HooD · Post by **HooD** » 04 Oct 2005 14:25

Matt Christopher wrote:there's no established footbag scene whatsoever

Well, everything starts somewhere, so look at it like you can be part of the ground level to establish some serious scene in England

Seems like you're starting quite well, both sides, and you're enjoying your progress. Keep motivated and have fun, hopefully you can find some friends to join you, always makes it that much better when you have someone you can kick with. I prolly wouldn't be anywhere near I am without kicking with my good buddy's Brad and Bob here in the states.

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 04 Oct 2005 18:26

I can tell your attitude will take you very far.

Have fun on this insane journey.

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 08 Oct 2005 13:55

This afternoon I met Max Boucoiran and Nico Stephan in Hyde Park for a jam and a beer. Both excellent guys.

On my way with mirages, pixies and fairies now. Freestyled with some 32-panels for the first time too - one of those is definitely on the wish list. Tried on some Lavers as well, so now I know what the fuss is about.

Weather held until we left the pub and it was time for me to cycle home... then it rained.

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 13 Oct 2005 12:59

I made a footbag!

I need to weight it with something good... I wish I had some lead pellets.

Went to a juggling club last night to shred with a friend. Starting to chain some clippers together now. Have a jam organised for this weekend and discovered a couple of other London players.

The scene is building.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 13 Oct 2005 13:07

Nice work man. It was clear from your introductory post over at .org that you had a little more commitment and maturity than most people trying at building a scene. Good to see that you're making some progress.

Nice bag, too - what's it made of?

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 13 Oct 2005 13:15

Cheers! The bag's made out of a pair of old shorts... not ideal, but it was just a test-run. I really didn't expect it to end up spherical.

max · Post by **max** » 14 Oct 2005 00:32

Hey Matt!
nice bag indeed! So how are you getting along with those mirage pixies and illusions ?
It was cool shredding with you in London,

cheers,
Max

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 14 Oct 2005 02:35

The motions are becoming much less laboured now, but I haven't been drilling them as much as I would like since my hips are demanding recovery time.

Where did you get the lead to fill your bag with? I think I'd like to weight mine down a bit more. Looking forward to when you're next in London!

max · Post by **max** » 14 Oct 2005 02:59

Matt you can buy lead (or order it online I guess) at any fishing supply store. These stores usually carry vast amounts of different kinds of lead pellets. you don't one some that are too small (will come out through the seams) not too big. Lead pellets the size of BBs is what you're looking for.
As for bag material yuo should look into super-suede (I think). It's the material of choice for footbags; Oh, and you can alsways try to wash your bag in some fabric softener and pop into a tumnle dryer for a bit. that should break it in quickly.

I'll keep you posted for my next visit to London.

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 16 Oct 2005 12:20

Met my main shred partner Tamas and the new arrival Jon for a session this afternoon in my town. I'd found a decent concreted area at the entrance of a college the day before, which had some useful fencing that eliminated the gusty winds we would've had to deal with in a more open space.

Starting to feel the motion for the osis more now, and even stuck a couple of them. Clippers are firming up - reckon I'll have the hopover next time. Steady progress I feel, and I think my legs appreciate going at this pace.

max · Post by **max** » 16 Oct 2005 23:57

Good stuff Matt! Glad to hear that you also have new member in the UK!
Couple of drills you may want to try to get clippers down:

- consecutive clippers same side (aim for 10, but start low at say 3 in a row)
- alternating clippers (same thing, aim for 10 but start with just 2)

and try and get that little "hop" thing when you do clippers it is the very basis of a good clipper.

Good luck!

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 18 Oct 2005 07:23

My legs have toughened up significantly and I no longer have to deal with any aches or pains, which means I've been practising daily without any punishment.

Consecutive clippers are coming along agonisingly slowly. I can get two (count them) on both sides no trouble, but I'm still so off balance, so any more than that is quite a problem.

I'm noticing this on my weak (left) clipper particularly... I'm just not launching the bag accurately and my weight isn't where it should be to prepare for the next clipper.

Nothing to do but to keep trying.

max · Post by **max** » 18 Oct 2005 07:29

Matt, here's a tip worth its lot of gold for consecutive clippers:

1) do not forget to plant your clipper foot between clippers
2) once you have planted your setting foot, use it to do a very small timed hop into your next clipper stall.

Any experienced footbag player will tell you how hard it is to do consecutive clippers without ever planting the clipper foot between them. Doing that is an exercice in balance.

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 18 Oct 2005 08:00

Shit, that was an accurate diagnosis. I wasn't trying to plant my clipper foot at all! I'm sure that'll advice will pay off big time in my next session. Cheers.

sNale · Post by **sNale** » 18 Oct 2005 08:30

Hi Matt,

try to get in touch with Daniel Schludes

Daniel Christopher Schuldes
Walter Christie House, Wychfield Site, Trinity Hall, Huntingdon Rd
Cambridge CB3 0DZ
UK

Mobile(UK) 07760483655

He's from Munich but now works in the UK. I'm sure he'll be glad to shred again!

And keep up the drilling!

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 18 Oct 2005 09:19

I actually have an e-mail from Daniel in my inbox, some other guy in London was looking for a hand-made bag and it turned into a chain mail of sorts.

I may have been misinformed, but I heard that Daniel had injured his knee and wasn't playing at the moment. Still, I've sent an e-mail so hopefully I'll hear back from him. Cheers.

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 19 Oct 2005 05:45

Went back to my 'usual spot' under the bridge to recommence drilling this afternoon. It was a pretty windy day, so that didn't help, but it's essential that I leave the house to be able to focus properly.

More frustration with the clippers. For about two minutes I peaked and was hitting 5 consecutive strong sides and 3 consecutive weak sides, but then my legs slowed down. Still, I've been training pretty hard for five days, so I think I'll take a rest day or two now.

max · Post by **max** » 19 Oct 2005 06:37

Hey Matt, 5 (and 3) consecutive clippers is GREAT! Well done. Have you tried alternating them (the footwork is a little tricky at first)?

Matt Christopher · Post by **Matt Christopher** » 20 Oct 2005 04:39

Cheers! I haven't made much of an effort to alternate them yet, as I'm still having difficulty setting the bag straight up and to a good height. It's on my to-do list.