Possible to get good on your own?

[t1337dude]

Is it possible to nearly get excellent from self-teaching yourself Footbag? With the help of the internet of course. A lot of guides and such say it's much better (as if it is a requirement) to have more skilled players teach you. Well, meeting someone in real life off the internet just doesn't feel realistic to me.

[Isaac Noyes]

You could... it would probably take a little longer. There are a lot of online footbag resources, but nothing is lik learning from another person who can actually do the move.

If you are feeling weird about meeting people from the internet, don’t. Everybody on here is super chill and its just like meeting another person who happens to be on the same web forum as you. Especially on this forum its cool... think of it as a worldwide community that you can trust. Its just a whole lot of people with a common interest coming together to talk.

[augustin]

For my opinion, it's better working with other footbaggers. The advices from someone seing you doing mooves is great because he can tell you whats wrong and what you have to modify for what you attempt to acheive. And also for the motivation, looking more advance players will give you inspiration and motivation. Being only by yourself is way much harder, but not impossible. Look foward to see if there is any club near your area and give a try, this will be the best answer i can give. Hope that helped.

[slapdash21]

its pretty much what i've done. i have played 90% of my sessions by myself (or with hacky slacking friends)
one thing i will say is it helps to develop an original style, because you dont get someone else influencing what moves you work on.

[Mchaz]

I will say it helps working with another person for a little bit of friendly competition and 1-upmanship. It keeps you motivated. If you can't find someone who already plays well, find somebody that would be interested in getting into shred along with you. That's what I did.

[brinard]

you totally have to learn from other people, and from resources (modified, hackrifice), in order to keep getting better. the more you do so, the better you get. plus, i dont think its much fun playing alone...

[forgetmenot220]

I just had my first experience working with a more experienced kicker and I have to say it's so much better. I learned more in that one short session that I thought possible. I'm still a newb, and to work with someone who could look at what I was doing and in one sentence tell me exactly what I had to do to fix it was amazing. It was also really great to have someone there to cheer me on, congratulating me when I did well and helping me along when I didn't.

[SandWraith]

My friend and I essentially had no help in getting good (not that we really are). It will take longer-- seems like a lot longer, in fact-- but don't worry about not being good. If you just play to have fun, it won't really matter if you aren't "good." i.e. just try to have fun

[shredzilla]

Yeah, well you have to drill to get good at footbag. And you have to do that on your own, because no one is gonna sit there and watch you drill for an hour. But I do believe playing with others helps too because you get feedback, interaction, and in the case of circle shred, you can really show off your longer strings and bsos combos which helps with consistancy.

[sniikeri]

Trust me, it'll take MUCH longer on your own - there are concepts you can surely learn fairly quickly on your own too but if you do something wrong there's no-one to tell you it was wrong. = frustrating when you'll then someday find out that you could have spent the last 6 months to improve your skills to x² with some other components too.
This is if you play solo, it'll help a lot if you've got even someone to shred with, however his/her skills are. Of course, if he/she's good it'll help more.

But if you ever get the chance to shred with other people, don't hesitate to use it. I'd say improving fast at footbag is 1/3 training, 1/3 good equipment and 1/3 playing with others.

[Larson]

[one thing i will say is it helps to develop an original style, because you dont get someone else influencing what moves you work on.]

I agree, although you might not learn a move as fast without a teacher, you learn it your own special way which is unique from other players. It's easier to develop your own style of play. I also spend 90% of my shred time by myself, and I still love it.[/quote]

[Troyson]

i learned how to do every trick i know by myself...ive never shredded with anyone who actually knows what they are doing, and i taught myself all of what i know...i cant wait to actually shred with someone who doesnt think clippers and mirages are impossible

[crazylegs32]

Alot of great players learned by watching videos and practicing lots. That shows alot of dedication which is part of why they are so good.
Most of us arent as dedicated to improving so it makes it much more fun to shred with others.

[Uranos]

Phil Morrison (will make BAP for sure this year) played on his own...and he is just totally INSANE. Blurry whirl > food rpt like nothing..

[funklovesfootbag]

From my own experience, I know for a fact I would not be as good if I didn't play with the people I do. Having people better than you around constantly reinforces good concepts and it's helpful because they can give you pointers, and also suggest stuff that's just beyond your level.

Also I think it's a lot more fun to play with other people. Hitting the sweetest sick 3 you've ever hit is going to feel a lot better if you can yell and receive props from people who can actually appreciate the difficulty and technicality of what you're doing.

That said, solo play has to be a part of your training if you want to be as good as possible. And, obviously, it is possible to get good on your own.. I think it adds some time to the process though.

[Senor Grommet]

I got good on my own. Everything I learned about footbag was basically self-taught. I shredded mostly alone for the first 4 years I played footbag.

[brinard]

i guess i play alone. too bad.
i only saw two other freestylers once, at mtsu. they were bad ass.
but i think im good. not great, but progressing faster than normal.

[Lackey82]

[one thing i will say is it helps to develop an original style, because you dont get someone else influencing what moves you work on.]

I totally agree with this! Just look at the entries in the monthly competitions. One guy was all symp, another the lap ducking and shit. I wonder how many of these guys are learning by playing with solid guiltless players.

[The Rhino]

I've never met anyone who footbags ever. I've been playing for about 3 years seriously. check my stuff out to see how far/not far I have got all by my own lonesome if you want.

http://www.modified.in/footbag/viewtopi ... 350#221350

[mc]

Is it possible to nearly get excellent from self-teaching yourself Footbag? With the help of the internet of course.

hmm, I'm not sure... ask Jorden Moir...

also, you said it's not realistic to meet someone in real life that you met on the internet...

I don't believe I agree with you there... People who post on the internet are just as real as your friend that you hang out with or the people you pass on the street. I've met some of my best friends on the internet before I met them in real life. Meeting people on the internet and then meeting up in real life is basically a key element of footbag at this point in the sport. Don't be afraid to meet in a public place to kick with someone you met online, just make sure you take all the usual precautions, and make sure you meet PUBLICLY, just like with any other person you meet online.

so, yeah, definitely possible to get good on your own. I've never lived around a player that's better than me (except in the past year or so, as Aric and Chris have blown up) and I can hit some cool tricks. Granted, I'd be a lot better with the influence of better players, but you can still do awesome stuff on your own.