calling the

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 20 Oct 2005 01:22

I know this has been raised before but recently I called a number of moves "the" or thin and the people in question seemed to be either offended or didn't agree.

Personally I'd much prefer people call every move of mine that is close to the - rather than not knowing about it.

Now I ain't saying that I'm perfect because I'm not and I ain't gonna never be, none of us are, but we have won every single game we have played til now so this team is perfect!

er. I mean - just because I "the" moves it doesn't stop me from calling them and if somebody else calls me on a move - even if I personally don't think it is, then I'm still going to work to make it better because the fact that people are calling it means it's not as deep or clean as it could be. If somebody doesn't want to be called on "the" that's fine and I won't call them - but at the same time, I won't have as high a view of their game and I'll talk shit about their mum's behind their back. Er. I mean you shouldn't play for what other people think of your game but at the same time if you resist calls of "the" it probably means that some people won't have much respect for your game.

That's just how I feel about it. Of course if you plan on competing in footbag I feel confident that there is going to be a move towards penalising "the" tricks more in both shred 30 and routines (and of course sick3) and this could significantly effect your chances at big tournaments in the future.

BalinorNZ · Post by **BalinorNZ** » 20 Oct 2005 01:36

Jeremy wrote: Of course if you plan on competing in footbag I feel confident that there is going to be a move towards penalising "the" tricks more in both shred 30 and routines (and of course sick3) and this could significantly effect your chances at big tournaments in the future.

That is very interesting, guess I better start cleaning up my concepts before Aussie nats!

krawallier · Post by **krawallier** » 20 Oct 2005 03:56

i think calling 'the's is something one shouldn't just do out of nowhere... if you never talked to somebody before... .don't know the person at all, i think you should watch out. it just feels offensive. it implies something negative if you don't have anything else to say (e.g. your post at the kickass vid was plain rude IMO) it often implies something like "i see more than others" or " i am the authority who decides". don't get me wrong - call me on the. always. i call people on the's. but it always comes off as criticising. if you don't package it right.

also i think it is personal decision. if ppl say they don't give a fuck about the's, then i respect that. no reason to talk bad about them. even if i don't like seeing it...

no question in competition. the's play a role

BalinorNZ · Post by **BalinorNZ** » 20 Oct 2005 04:24

You know, I think Max hit it right on the head.

If someone you don't even know is dancing at the club and u can clearly see that his dancing is really bad, you don't walk up to him and say "Yo! Your dancing SUCKS man!". He doesn't wana hear that, he is having a good time, let him think his dancing is good because he ain't hurtin anyone!

Lot's of people that suck at dancing go out to the club and try to dance all night long, i'm not gonna hold anything against them for that, that's their choice.

Ofcourse when it comes to a dance off, you can't be nice to the guy and say "yeah, your danceing was really 'origional' have first place!", someone has gotta let him know he sucks and that he just got last.

Yeah... I just rewrote Max's post with the word dancing instead of footbag

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 20 Oct 2005 04:27

The thing people need to keep in mind, is that calling "the" is about trying to help your friends play at their best. That said, I only feel comfortable calling my close friends on "the," or people who ask me specifically to look out for it.

Since I've been in Australia, I feel like people haven't called me on all my "the," despite the fact that I specifically ask to be called on "the."

Another problem with calling "the," is it can be hard to read people's reactions. Sometimes, when people call me on "the," I look really disgusted. But I look disgusted because I am disappointed with myself that I hit the trick "the," but I could see people misinterpreting my expression and thinking I was pissed at them for calling "the." oftentimes I make a conscious effort to thank people when they call me on "the."

Oh yeah, one more problem with calling "the," is it can be hard to know when to say it. Sometimes you can tell that the player knew it was "the," in which case I refrain from saying anything, because I know they knew it was unclean. Othertimes, its not so clear, and you don't want to come off as somebody who points out "thes" when the player already knows about it.

BalinorNZ · Post by **BalinorNZ** » 20 Oct 2005 04:40

I think if your shreding with your buddies like you do every week, the best way to go about it is not to say, everytime you see a slight ankly whirl or too high set duck scream "THE!!! THE!! OMG!! THE!".

I think if your friend hit something big or new and it was clearly the but they obviously don't know it, let them know.

Also if your friend is consistantly doing a certain concept or move sloppy like consistnatly theing whirls or setting too high on ducks, then let him know at some convenient time "Hey your ducks have been a bit high lately, you might wana school those", I think it is unnessisary and can be annoying to be told every time u the a move, it is enough if your concious that you have a weekness with whatever concept so you can work on it in your own time.

Yeah... it's really late... I still stand by my dancing post.

ptaku · Post by **ptaku** » 20 Oct 2005 05:39

Hm...

I hate when people call the when I shred.

When they say that my dives, or something else, are sometimes thin. It's fine, when they said this once. But it pisses me off when they're calling the on every single thed trick. I don't need to hear that my dives are sometimes thed, or that I miss the dex on flail, one hundred times...
Inform about it once, and that's all what needs to be done.

On Euros I played with guy from Poland, who was calling on every single thed trick WHILE I WAS STILL DOING MY RUN. And I knew that I'm not doing well, because I was very weak and I just sucked during whole event. And when shreding with him I had to listen "it was the", "the" and other shit... I wanted to kick his ass, smash his head to the ground and what not... Fortunately I hold back myself, and stoped shreding with him.

dyalander · Post by **dyalander** » 20 Oct 2005 06:02

Firstly, Ken, you're totally paraniod about "the" but that said I've probably missed a few I should have called but I hope I'm getting better. Secondly I think calling "the" is important not only to help the person's game, but also as a reflection of the fact that you're paying attention to whats going on in the circle. Until recently I never really bothered to pay close enough attention unless specifically asked to. This was lazyness on my part. Now I need to make concerted effort to concentrate not only when i have the bag but also when others have it too - its about courtesy.
Also we should all look more closely for "the" because a lot slips through the cracks and its important that this stops. The more ppl that train their eyes as well as their legs the better for the sport.
As for calling during a run, in some situations its necessary to call a "the" because its like a drop or a bail and means the bag should be passed on - of course if its clear that thats not the issue then its silly to call constantly during someones run - like many things in our sport we should rely on comunication rather than some sort of concrete system. But keep in mind if your "theing" a trick and you know it fix it, try and fix it, or dont bother with it till another time. I think its better to treat "the" like a drop and end your run and pass it on.

setman · Post by **setman** » 20 Oct 2005 06:25

ptaku wrote: On Euros I played with guy from Poland, who was calling on every single thed trick WHILE I WAS STILL DOING MY RUN. And I knew that I'm not doing well, because I was very weak and I just sucked during whole event. And when shreding with him I had to listen "it was the", "the" and other shit... I wanted to kick his ass, smash his head to the ground and what not... Fortunately I hold back myself, and stoped shreding with him.

that was me ?

mc · Post by mc » 20 Oct 2005 07:26

in my tournament experience, calling The's, especially with people you're not familiar with, doesn't really benefit most people. Most freestylers are turned off by it. So, at tournaments, I wait for someone to ask me to judge their cleanliness before I say something.

in my video-watching experience, calling The's is usually most accepted when you buffer your criticism with something positive about the person's style or editing, because it shows that you're not picking at them, you're just observing the video as a whole.

Here in Rochester, among our posse, it's expected that you let someone know if something was unclean, because we all want to improve around here. However, you do it after the string has completed, directly, and respectfully. I think my club would agree that this has been a benefit to our respective games. I think it's the familiarity we have with each other as club members that allows us to do this so frequently without anyone getting offended.

So, it's all about how you surround your critique, the vibrations with which you buffer your critique, familiarity with the The'er in question, and whether or not the person actually wants to hear it. If they don't want to hear it, it's pointless (often a truism about life in general).

FlexThis · Post by **FlexThis** » 20 Oct 2005 09:04

[Haven't read above]

'The' is something I call on myself, like I'll turn to the group and ask if that was clean, or after I drop I'll say this and that was 'the'.

I feel more legit about my strings if I catch myself.

Usually it is understood that something is clearly 'the', and questionable ones are usually called by the person commiting the 'the'. In our group at least.

[/Haven't read above]

~peace
Damon

Bander87 · Post by **Bander87** » 20 Oct 2005 09:53

BalinorNZ wrote: Also if your friend is consistantly doing a certain concept or move sloppy like consistnatly theing whirls or setting too high on ducks, then let him know at some convenient time "Hey your ducks have been a bit high lately, you might wana school those", I think it is unnessisary and can be annoying to be told every time u the a move, it is enough if your concious that you have a weekness with whatever concept so you can work on it in your own time.

This is exactly what I had in mind before reading this reply. I think it would be fine after the shred to tell them that a certain tricks was 'the'. It can be a real downer for some people knowing that a certain trick is always 'the'. I certianly would like to be told this because bad habbits just arn't good.

footjoe · Post by **footjoe** » 20 Oct 2005 10:44

I think its really good when people call like my moves "the". For example I send Dave some of my tricks to have his view on cleanlyness and if he says dex's were thin or whatnot makes me more modivated to shred harder and not have "the" tricks. I think another word to use instead of the would be thin. "the" just sounds like you missed all the dex's and you suck. Thin is the more courtious was of saying the and think it should be widly expeted withot circles.

jon · Post by **jon** » 20 Oct 2005 11:06

I agree that there should be a nicer way of saying 'the' but I think thin means something entirely different then 'the'. "The" is a missed dex, while thin means (to me at least) a dex that was there but in no way deep, ie dexed with your shoe or something.

cd · Post by cd » 20 Oct 2005 11:09

If I'm playing with someone and they THE a trick but keep shredding, I usually just snatch the bag from them midstring and pass it to the next person. I think everyone should do the same.

mc · Post by mc » 20 Oct 2005 11:25

oh man.... hahahahahaha.... let's try that at our next session...

how about, if you The, you get tackled. hahahahaha...

Do you wanna fight? I'm serious.

FootbagGuru · Post by **FootbagGuru** » 20 Oct 2005 11:33

Matt Cross wrote:in my tournament experience, calling The's, especially with people you're not familiar with, doesn't really benefit most people. Most freestylers are turned off by it. So, at tournaments, I wait for someone to ask me to judge their cleanliness before I say something.

agreed.

bigdirtyfoot · Post by **bigdirtyfoot** » 20 Oct 2005 11:45

I like how Matt put it. I don't like people talking about my shitty game.

cd · Post by cd » 20 Oct 2005 12:03

The most appropriate time to call THE on someone, in my opinion, is during their routine. Just make sure you shout it loud enough so they hear you, or else it isn't helpful at all.

Jorden · Post by **Jorden** » 20 Oct 2005 12:47

I consider it a very poor practise when someone closely watches another player to solely find flaws or imperfections in their style. It's much better to take in everything the player is doing, good or bad, and make your judgment at the end of the run. If the run was solid overall, give props. If something was a little off, politely let the person know. Calling 'the' doesn't have to be insulting. Stay positive.

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