Wong's Footblog: A Chinese kid and his footbag

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 10 Mar 2006 14:34

Posting from the "Josh GayHart Lair"

Just had an awesome session with Josh

Drilled/skooled:
-butterflies (figured out it's easier to do them downtime)
-Pdx. mirage (footed)
-Pixie sets
-Plo

Messed around with:
-Osis (I hate this trick)

Hit:
-Pdx. Illusion
-and DIMWALK FIRST 4-ADD BABY!!!!!!!!
-(edit) Infinity (Both sides)

Well tomorrow's the Slap Hackers event. I may compete, dunno yet, I'm still kinda sick since weds.

-Wong-

jake · Post by **jake** » 10 Mar 2006 14:35

nice job on the first 4 add.

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 11 Mar 2006 19:17

I'm finally home! So, here's my entry of the...

SLAPHACKERS ANUAL FOOTBAG TOURNEMENT

The even was very laid-back and chill. There were ranges of players from beginners to pros like Flash Gordon (Scott Bevier). Lots of shred and lots of circles and community connection. Very friendly vibe. I had a blast!

here's some awesome people that I'd like to mention:

Matt Cross - This was the very first time for me to meet Matt and I must say he is one of the friendliest people I've ever met. Very kind, soft-spoken, and incredibly helpful when it comes to givin' tips on tricks. I definitely enjoyed kickin' with him there.

Paul (I forget his last name

) - I saw Paul with Matt and ended up kickin' with him. Real nice guy, uber cool to be in a circle with.

Caleb Abraham - It's been a couple years since I've last kicked with Caleb and it was damn good seein' him again. His shred is still sick (even sicker) from the previous times I've kicked with him. It was cool seein' him there!

Scott Bevier (Flash Gordon) - I've always liked Scott's style and seeing it in person was even more sweet! Cool guy, I only talked with him for a little bit.

Josh Benham - Last but definitely not least, Josh fuckin' Benham. I've talked to him countless of times on IM, so it was real exciting seeing and meeting him in person for the first time (not just for me, but for him too). He is definitely one of the most kick ass guys that I've talked to. Real chill, funny as hell, and just an all around awesome dude! Meetin' him was definitely a highlight of goin' to this event.

As for competition. I entered under intermediate. Competition was very chill like the event itself. I played in Shred 30 and Sick 1. My shred 30 was well...God damn shitty! hahaha I dropped the bag like 6 times. My sick 1 wasn't too bad, I landed PLO my first try. I tried Dimwalk and Smear, but it wasn't happenin'. Anyways, when the results were given out, I actually made 2nd! It was quite awesome, the prize was a "pro kicker" footbag and some Cell Art from Onimusha.

Some highlights of what I hit during shred:
-I either toed or hit Smear again (either one I can't remember)
-Pdx. mirage! (Finally!) Thanks to Matt Cross and his awesome tips I figured out how to hit Pdx. mirage the right way! Thanks Matt!

My strings during casual shred were really awesome too and I was real pleased with them.

So to sum it all up, I had a BLAST! This was definitely an awesome tournement. I'll definitely go to the next one!

I can't wait for another footbag event!!!!

-Wong-

Bander87 · Post by **Bander87** » 11 Mar 2006 19:31

Holy frick Wong! This is great! Your starting to get on fire! Props on second place and the 4 add. I thought I was catching up to you

Must have been wicked cool to meet those people. I can't wait to go to my first jammy.

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 14 Mar 2006 17:03

Just had a shitty session

My legs felt stiff and my movements were jerky and not smooth and flowing. Joints felt locked and my muscles tight.
I think it was because I didn't stretch or warm up thoroughly.

-Tried PLO back to back...came close a couple times
-Messed around with Pdx. mirage but legs were to stiff and awkward to even come close to it

Askin' Matt Cross 'bout it now (why my game sucked)...so I'm sure he'll give me some helpful advice

EDIT: After thinking about it and talking to Matt, I've come to a conclusion on why my previous session sucked. It was because I didn't allow myself to have enough time warming up and stretching preventing my joints to loosen up and my muscles to relax.

WARMING UP IS IMPORTANT!

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 16 Mar 2006 16:25

Just finished a pretty good solo-sesh.

Warmed-up and stretched thoroughly this time. I found this to really make my sessions more enjoyable and productive.

Drilled/Skooled:
-Butterflies
-Osis
-Pixie set
-Pdx. mirage (toed it like almost every time)

-Hit PLO b2b
-Noticed my osis were really controlled today! I set them like straight up. Hand catched about everyone.

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 18 Mar 2006 16:02

Kicked today but it was real casual.
I was too distracted by Scary Movie 2

Anyways...I think tonight I'm going to make a Clipper diagram involving the full form.

I'll post it once it's done

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 18 Mar 2006 21:53

Made this in MS Paint...
EDIT:Posted in another topic HERE!

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 21 Mar 2006 17:22

Solo session...

More of a "gettin' in (footbag) shape" kinda vibe to it; lots of drilling and skoolin' previous stuff.

Approached this session with a different warm-up routine: more stretching, cardio warmups, etc. I found this helped my session a bit.

My consec. clippers have gone down the drain again - time to get out the plunger and...get them back? Oh you know what I mean...drill 'em.

edit:

Me to Ben on AIM wrote:you know you love footbag when you have a shitty session yet you feel great

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 26 Mar 2006 15:33

Just kicked with Greg after not kickin' almost after a week.

Warmed up thoroughly and my legs felt real loose and flow. Kicked outside where there was a lot of room (usually during the winter I kick inside, but I feel really restricted and cramped).

Strong side consec. clippers: 10
Flip-side consec. clippers: 9

Not bad after not playin' for almost a week.

I think warm ups should be real loose and easy. But I guess that's why they call it "warm ups". Get the juices flowin' and such.

Worked a little with:
-butterflies
-Infinities

also played 2-square with Greg (I let him win

)

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 28 Mar 2006 15:52

kicked today with Dan today. It was a light session.

The reason I didn't shred hard is because during gym class we played soccer. What happened was this girl (beastly woman) was gonna kick the ball but I kicked her foot away and I bent my foot back a little to far (hyper-extended). So my ankle is hurtin' a bit when I walk - icin' it now.

anyways I hit 10 (consec.) clippers strongside
and 7 flipside (which honestly is kinda low).

I also noticed today that I slam my foot down (stalling) when I finish a single clipper stall then go for the next. This is on my flipside that I do this, but my strongside I don't. I hypothesize that maybe I should put more of my weight on my supporting leg and balance on it more?

if you have any advice 'bout this, let me know

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 29 Mar 2006 18:05

Me to Matt Cross on AIM wrote: wongster90: this is from my blog:
I also noticed today that I slam my foot down (stalling) when I finish a single clipper stall then go for the next. This is on my flipside that I do this, but my strongside I don't. I hypothesize that maybe I should put more of my weight on my supporting leg and balance on it more?

MatthewL329: what do you mean, slam your foot down?
MatthewL329: slam it down during the delay?
MatthewL329: or after the delay has been set back up, you do a big slam?
wongster90: like...when I go to plant it, it like slams down
wongster90: like after you do the delay, the bag is in the air, you plant, and then get ready for the next delay
wongster90: but my plant feels like a slam
MatthewL329: hmm, try keeping your weight mostly on your support leg, but touching your catch foot to the ground for balance
wongster90: as in I'm not jus planting it, but more rather, putting some balance/weight on it
MatthewL329: can you do repeating clippers on your strong side?
wongster90: yep
wongster90: and on the strong side I merely plant my foot
wongster90: not slam
MatthewL329: if I was you, I would analyze your style on your strong side, and make it work the same on your weak side
wongster90: (the problem lies with my flipside)
MatthewL329: in what way?
MatthewL329: i mean, unless you're injured or something, or you've got some kind of vision problem, flipside is all about putting those hours in
wongster90: I think it's a balance issue
MatthewL329: then you just need ot do about a billion more tries
wongster90: 'cause on my strongside it's definitely easier to balance when I do consec. than flipside
wongster90: I can do it flipside, but it's just more wobbly
MatthewL329: seems to me that the answer is practice
MatthewL329: just keep training it
wongster90: of course practice is always the answer:-P
wongster90: I was just wonderin' on my technique
MatthewL329: well, sometimes it's technique
MatthewL329: but, it sounds like you just havent built up the muscles and familiarity
MatthewL329: so, yeah, study your strong side and make your flipside do the same
wongster90: I think what I need to do is just balance more on that supporting leg
wongster90: and keep my weight over it
MatthewL329: let me know how it goes, I'm sure you'll get it soon
wongster90: even when I switch legs - plant between clippers
wongster90: but yeah
wongster90: thanks for your imput

talkin' to Matt about it helped me out:
-study strongside and copy it onto flip
-practice
-specifically: balance more on the support leg

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 02 Apr 2006 15:50

Saturday
Kicked casually with Dan. Didn't do any hardcore shred 'cause my ankle was still a bit sore. Practiced clippers and re-configured some things:

-keep your weight over your support leg and balance it. Even when you tap the clipper foot between delays, you still wanna have control and support on the...supporting leg

-set the bag up along your side/close to you so you're not moving around so much to catch the bag (when you move around a lot, you lose your balance)

Shred>Think>Drill

Sunday
went to the park and brought a footbag with me. Met up with a couple friends and Rob. We both kicked and played frisbee. Later on, me and this girl were sneakin' around, hiding from Rob and my friend Cassie.
fun day

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 04 Apr 2006 15:44

Since I didn't footbag today, I decided to go for a little jog. Jogged about a mile. I forgot how refreshing (and tiring) jogging can be

Pros:
-I feel a lot better (less lazy)
-Got some excersize

Cons:
-I wore the wrong shoes: ankles started hurting
(Should've worn my NB CT520s)

From now on, days that I don't footbag, I'll run. Next time I'm going to try out the trendmil we have downstairs. See if I like it better than runnin' outside.

yay cross-training

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 06 Apr 2006 15:55

Man has it been a while since I've had a really good sesh...

First kicked with Dan for about an hour or so. Real nice session, mostly effortless play.

Then Josh came and I started shreddin' a bit harder.

Hit:
-Infinity (very clean and controlled)
-Pdx. mirage (FLIPSIDE!!! YEAH YEAH!!!)

My clippers have been really awesome. My posture, balance, flow, everything seems to be great!

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I <3 footbag

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 09 Apr 2006 14:50

Kicked with Greg

Drilled:
-butterflies (got rusty at them again)
-osis
-pixie set & plo

Hit:
-pdx. mirage (both sides)
-pdx. illusion

legs again felt real loose, posture was good, balance was great, and the flow was there

Greg even got a 15-second clip of me shreddin' on his phone

(I went the whole 15 seconds and more)

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 11 Apr 2006 14:29

FOOTBAG ^_^

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 11 Apr 2006 14:29

Just had a great solo session

Worked on...
-butterflies
-Pixie sets

Messed around with Osis.

Did a lot of strings which were all very fluid.

Pixie set configuration: I never really took the chance to write down how the motion of the pixie set, so I think I will for my bennefit and understanding. Pixie set should be straight up and dex at the same exact time. So you combine the straight-up pull with the in>out dex.

So in a sense it'd be

^
ll^
ll//
ll/
ll
*set*

It ends up being ONE fluid motion comprised of TWO concepts: Straight-up & in>out dex. After the dex is completed you then want to snap/slam your foot down.

On another note: I drilled some alt. toe flicks - I'm getting good at them

Footbag: THINK & DRILL

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 12 Apr 2006 16:59

Okay well...SVFC is kinda goin' down the drain, but my shred-spirit has not faded

In the beginning, we had like 15-20 kids. Then it went down to 10-8, now it's become 3-5. I guess it's because of the time of year; spring is when lax starts, track season, etc.

Anyways so today we kicked after school near the track and football field up by the bleechers and concession stand. It was Rob, Rob's little brother Justin, and I. Rob left a little later 'cause he had to go to track. So me and Justin ended up kicking and got a couple people to stare and watch what we were doing.

Highlights:
-I hit Pdx. mirage on spot - Rob yelled "Pdx. mirage!" and then I was like "BAM!"
-Hit a lot of good strings - I had my milleniums on too, so it was different than my orginial lavers

All in all, it was a good day

Justin and I may start kicking after school everyday or so, which would be pretty sweet.

EDIT: I forgot to mention....TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY

-Wong-

JFootbagger · Post by **JFootbagger** » 14 Apr 2006 13:22

Garage solo-sesh:

Lots of drilling/skooling:
-hit 10 consec. clippers on bothsides
-Worked on Osis
-Worked on Butterfly (notice that you wanna try and keep the support leg and stalling leg from touching or resting on eachother)

hit infinity on Bothsides
and PLO midstring (I need to really start linkin' that trick into my strings)

-Wong-