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C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 14 Nov 2006 14:46

Cornell Footbag Jam: Before the Tourney

The days leading up the the tourney were a bit stressful. Thanks to tests and tourney preparation, I hadn't gotten in any serious shreds since about Monday, so I was a little concerned about my stamina and rust going into the tourney. There were also lots of last minute changes, like Clavens calling saying he was coming, waiting on prizes to arrive, and keeping track of tickets to be sold.

On Thursday night I went shopping with Pascal to take care of some more last minute tourney details. I bought a pack of DV tapes so we could film everything, and both Pascal and I picked up some new shred socks. In the week preceding, two pairs ofmy old shred socks broke, and I didn't want to deal with that during comp or during my performance. Once we got all our stuff, we got dinner at Friendlies. Halfway into my burger, these 3 cute little kids come up to our table and say: "excuse me, did you go to Cayuga Heights Elementary School last week and do hackey sack?"

It was so adorable! I told them yes, thanked them for being such a great audience, and invited them to the show. Definitely felt like a good omen.

Day 1: Friday

The plan was to finish up a problem set in the morning, and then get some rest to get ready for the tourney. Instead, the problem set took way longer than expected, so evening rolls around before I eat anything substantial. I'm really keyed up and excited about the tourney, so I walk home real fast, which combined with my lack of food, somehow tweaks one of my hip flexors.

Gah, right before my tourney! I resolve to mentally not get worked up over it, as I'm sure it's nothing and just my body spooking itself. I scarf down a quick dinner, then lay down on my bed clutching my cellphone to my chest, ready to be woken by the first people arriving.

Around 8pm I start getting calls, and I start coordinating people either to the frat or to the gym. Unfortunately, that night happened to be the Cornell-Harvard hockey game, which is the biggest sporting event of the year, and was taking place right by the gym we were using! D'oh! So that made parking tough, but we managed to take care of it.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 15 Nov 2006 09:09

Friday night continued

As people start getting in, circles form, but I resist my urge to jump in. I continue clutching my cellphone, and fielding calls. I go pick up Waylon, I shepherd cars to the open lot and walk people back to the gym, and start mentally tallying figures in my head (mostly for the number of competitors). The funniest moment was when Pete Bowler's car arrived. They got out of the car right by the hockey rink (remember, it was the Harvard-Cornell game that night) and Pete yells: "Boss-ton!" when he gets out.

I nearly tackled him, then I explained why he should tone down the Boston pride that weekend.

Eventually I see Ianek and Marc enter the gym, but no Mosher. I'm a bit puzzled by this, so I go welcome the Montreal crew, and then ask: "where's Mosher?" The second I see the puzzled look on Ianek's face, the gears in my head start whirring, and *BAM* I know Mosher isn't coming. I recall the last thing I saw Mosher write on modified, about not knowing Ianek's phone number, and then i don't even need to hear the whole story, cause I already know it.

Sucks.

Around 9:30 my phone has calmed down, and it looks like most people have already made it. Jorden is there, Rochester is there, Ohio is there, and 2 different Boston crews. Awesome. I finally get a chance to change, and hop in some circles. I mentally tell myself to go easy, cause Saturday promises to be tough, what with comp going down and then my show in the evening. Still, I end up playing pretty hard. I hit a few beta frenzies, which is cool cause I hadn't tried any in a few months. I also hit some beta frantic eclipses. I'll check my notes at home for other highlights, but the main point is that people shredded until midnight. Towards the very end, Nels lands badly on a trick and tweaks his ankle. Happily, I find ice in a hurry, and Chris Dean has an ankle brace (don't worry too bad, Paul was in playing shape by Sunday). I cross my fingers that Mosher's absence and Nels' ankle will be the only problems of the weekend, and happily that turns out to be the case.

After the shred, we all head back to Luis' fraternity house. Big big ups to Luis for setting that up, and to the brothers for their hospitality. The house turned out to be a perfect spot for us: pool table, foosball table, ample shred space, and comfy couches. Perfect tourney hangout spot.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 15 Nov 2006 09:58

boss-ton!

out of curiosity, d'you know who won that game?

so far, awesome write-up.

Pascal · Post by **Pascal** » 15 Nov 2006 10:46

Cornell! 3-2. One of the most exciting games I've been to... two goals in the last 5 minutes for the win.

Edit: Good write up, keep it coming.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 15 Nov 2006 14:25

Friday night continued

You never know what to expect the first night of shred. On one hand, everybody kinda wants to show off in front of people they haven't seen for a while. On the other hand, people don't want to overdo it, since comp is the next day. That said, I was impressed with the level people played at even the first night. Matt Cross hit the hardest 2 add trick I've ever seen: reverse swirling far toe stall. 2 adds. Ridiculous. Pat Tallon was looking real good too. Whirr looks like nothing, and he even showed me a half-decent look at triple whirl. It definitely looks do-able. I was most impressed by Willie Digges though. Blurriest swirl! Triple ATW! A good attempt at pdx whirr!

(he actually hit it, but it was "the." Still.). He also hit one of the hardest rewinds I've ever seen: High stepping mirage-kiwi.I was also real happy abot the vibe I got off him. I'd only met Willie once before, at last year's Rawchestah New Year's Jam, and he was so quiet then that I had trouble reading him. This time around though, I had a real positive vibe in circles with him, which was really nice.

We coordinated rides to the fraternity house real easily, and some of us went to buy beer and pick up food. We got wings from my favorite place, and brought them back to the house, where other people had also ordered pizza. I was real glad the food situation worked out so well, it had been something I was a touch worried about before the tourney (past tournies I've organized have been in more central locations, like big cities, so I was concerned about feeding people on an isolated campus).

The scene at the fraternity house was really good. Shredding, pong, billiards, foosball, juggling and just generally good hanging out, all with good music in the background. I played some pool with Ianek before getting down to work and figuring out pools for the next day's circle comp. We ended up with pretty balanced pools. In the first round, we had Jorden, Dave, Willie, and myself all in different pools, and had it set up so the top 2 from each pool advanced to semis, and then the top 2 from each semis pool would make it to the 4 man finals.

Around 3:30 am I gathered everybody around, and announced the schedule for the next day. By 4 am, I was back home and in bed, satisfied with the first day, and stoked for Saturday. I was real happy that I only had one drink all night, so I felt like I would be in good shape for the next day.

brian relly · Post by **brian relly** » 15 Nov 2006 15:32

C-Fan wrote:showed me a half-decent look at triple whirl. It definitely looks do-able.

Felix.

(says hi.)

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 15 Nov 2006 17:09

unsubstantiated reports are that norek has hit triple whirl as well.

although ken might just be saying it looked do-able for pat. dunno.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 15 Nov 2006 19:18

Non-Cornell Footbag Jam post.

I have heard that Felix has hit triple whirl, but I've never seen video of one. All I was saying is that after watching Pat and Willie try for it, I definitely see it as a trick that could possibly be hit cleanly. There's a big biiiig difference in hearing about a trick, and actually seeing it for yourself in person.

My body has been feeling pretty crap since the tournament. I've had lots of stomachaches and just low energy overall. I think part of it was that my body wasn't used to playing that much footbag in such a short period, and also there's that release of stress when your tournament finally ends, and people go home. I'm cool with paying this price now, cause I thought the tourney went real well and I played well throughout.

Tonight Luis and I captured and edited a good chunk of footage. Sick One is completely edited, we just need to overlay a song and upload it. Rippin' Run semis and finals are edited and just need music too. Haven't touched circle comps yet.

Haven't had a chance to watch Marc G's vid yet, cause its in QT. I wonder if my fog-vortex combo is on there, or ewalk-jani? I'll try and watch it soon, but the main priority is releasing our vids in a timely fashion too.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 17 Nov 2006 11:47

CFJ Saturday

I wake up early, and can't get back to sleep. I'm anxious and excited about competition, and the fact that it's my tourney doesn't help any. I slide out of bed and stretch my legs to check that they're 100%. I feel good I didn't play too hard the day before, and that I'd only had one beer.

Clavens calls, saying he's almost there, and then I call Luis to see how everybody is doing. I make some instant ramen (I only use a third of the seasoning packet, I put in sesame seeds and coldcuts, and I mix in some sizzling chinese black pepper sauce), get my gear, and then get a ride to the site from Luis. On the way he tells me that people went grocery shopping the night before, and that morning Paul made a big, awesome breakfast for everybody. Cool.

At the site I greet Clavens with a hug, and meet Alex from Penn State. We get everybody warming up quickly, and start Circle Comp pretty quick. I'd never competed in or judged Circle before, so it was comforting that we had Ianek there to help us. Big ups to Nels for judging so much for us. I judged a couple rounds of intermediate, and a couple rounds of open before having to get up and warm up for my own round. Circle is an interesting vibe for sure. It's kinda like a normal circle, but people react to the pressure differently. Some of them play more conservatively, some of them choke, and others don't seem that different. Of the prelim rounds that I judged, there usually was one person who clearly would advance (Jorden in one pool, Clavens in the other), so everybody else was fighting for 2nd place. Matt Cross and Aric impressed me with their performances.

My pool had Ianek, Josh Lewis, and Pete Bowler (I think). It's hard for me to recall, because I was very focussed on how I played, and tried not to worry about what other people were doing. We all warmed up together which was good, because we got to decide on a bag and get used to it before competing. That took some pressure off.

The actual experience of competing in circle for my first time wasn't that bad. I missed a couple one-shot tricks, but I mostly did decent-length runs which felt good. I had some flair too, doing things like making eye-contact with the judges in midstring, and playing directly off a pass with clipper-fog. I tried not to play too hard, since I knew semis would likely be hard (I'd probably end up in a pool with either Willie, Clavens, or Moir).

When the round ended I shook hands, and immediately put on a long-sleeve shirt to keep myself warm. It's a good technique I picked up by watching lots of NBA games. Happily, semis started real soon. Competition rolled along at a very good pace all weekend, which I was very happy about. Nothing worse than competing and having cool-downs and warm-ups all day.

In semis I ended up with Clavens, and again, I tried only to focus on my own play. I think Pat Tallon and Aric rounded us out. I tried not to think of it as a battle for second-place, and that helped. I just tried to play as well as I could, and that attitude helped me lay down a couple strong strings.

We had a few minutes to warm up for finals, which worked for me since I was feeling good and warmed up. When we made the initial pools, we put the top 4 seeds in different pools, and sure enough, all 4 made it to finals: Clavens, Moir, Willie D, and me. It was definitely a fun circle. I still haven't rewatched any of the circle footage, but my impression (from having been in the circle) was that we put on a good show. When we all shook hands I wasn't sure who would win between Dave and Jorden, but I felt good cause I didn't choke, and I liked my chances of taking third.

Once Circle was over, I felt like 90% of the pressure was off me, both as a competitor and as one of the tourney directors. Marquee event was over, and it went well. We started setting up 4square courts and organizing pools, and soon enough games were up and running.

More later.

james_dean · Post by **james_dean** » 17 Nov 2006 15:27

Sounds awesome. Thanks for the write ups!

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 21 Nov 2006 09:13

The semester is wrapping up, which means I'm under a ton of academic stress. Checking out modified, which used to be a stress-reliever/timewaster is now also somewhat stressful. I really don't understand why people waste the time and energy to make modified shitty: if you really hate modified, then stop visiting it! How hard is that? I don't have the time or motivation to even finish blogging about my own tourney, which is pretty sad. If anybody was interested in reading it, all I can say is blame the morons for taking up all my modified time (it actually takes mods time and effort to move/identify/edit/discuss problem topics on this site).

Footbagwise, things are going alright. I bought my first footbag in something like 6 years. Its a 32 panel Clavens bag with pretty colors. I used to buy 32s, but got frustrated at the lack of consistency of stitching back then, and how long they took to break in. The last 5 or 6 years I've gotten the majority of my bags by either winning them, or getting them as gifts from friends who made them. So far I've just been using the Clavens to warm up by kicking it, to break it in. I'm pretty happy with my collection of bags right now.

The last couple sessions with the club, we've all been trying to set new personal consec records for tricks. We're making a club records list, which has the top 3 records for every trick (that way I don't dominate the list). The only rules are: 1. you need at least three contacts to qualify for a record, and 2. the record has to have been set at Cornell, since the inception of the list.

I've found the whole process kind of liberating. Without the list, there are some records I wouldn't try to break, cause I don't think I can (38 ducking butterflies comes to mind). But since only records hit at Cornell count, it gives me incentive to try and set new records. Luis has the list, so hopefully I'll post it here soon, and update it as I set new ones.

Footbag is the only thing keeping me sane these days, but then again, that's not really a new situation for me.

EDIT:

Minor session highlights:

*crispy toe dlo bsos. Easy but fun.
*pixie ss dlo bsos.
*pdx whirling swirl.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 21 Nov 2006 13:36

Quick Cornell highlights:

*Getting really good prizes from Kolo Sport. Kolo is the man, and people should really support him, cause he's in it for love. Merci Kolo. You da man.

*Chill atmosphere. People just got along well. The party space was good for people who wanted to party, and also good for people who just wanted to chill on the couch.

*My last circle of the tourney. It was with Chris Dean and Clavens, and later with Nels. Just felt good getting to play without pressure, knowing the tourney had gone well, and my performance was done and also went well. Some highlights from that circle:

-Clavens hit jani-jani-blurry whirling swirl, immaculate.
-Clavens also hit alpine fog bsos in a siiiick run. It's on Marc's vid.
-I sealed toe vortex twice, which is a pretty rare move.
-fog-toe vortex
-beta e-walk to fog
-beta frenzy
-ewalk-janiwalker
-symp whirling pdx mirage bsos.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 24 Nov 2006 14:40

Life has been pretty challenging lately. Footbag helps.

Light session with Luis and Pascal 2 days ago helped me out mentally. Can't recall too much of it, other than PS whirl-tomahawk bsos, a real good fury, and my best yet jani-ripwalk. I'm toying with a new way of doing furious, but what else is new.

I literally cannot wait until December 12th, when all my school obligations will be done. While I'm glad grad school challenges me, it doesn't mean it's always fun. Thank God for footbag.

zeroman13 · Post by **zeroman13** » 24 Nov 2006 14:51

Hey Ken,

Can't wait to kick with ya again! You'll be back here soon, so it's not that far away now.

I'm glad that footbag's there to be stress reliever for ya. It does the same for me.

See ya in under a month!

Josh

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 25 Nov 2006 11:03

Did I even mention in here that I won an iPod nano at a talent show like, over a month ago? Well I did. So thank you footbag. The relevance of this? I traded the nano to Luis in exchange for a flashdrive and money, and yesterday I got the flashdrive. I'm real excited about it, cause my laptop is literally too fragile to drag back and forth from campus (last time I tried, it broke for a couple weeks), but now that I have a flashdrive, I can download vids at school and then put them on my computer at home! I've already done this with a few vids, notably the Mulroney Special from Eutopia, my Cornell Vid, the Takumi vid with Cheese Processor, and Claven's new Fearless joint.

Last night I got together with Pascal and Luis and we played footbag. The gyms were still closed due to it being Thanksgiving break, so we played at Luis's fraternity house. I hadn't been there since the Cornell Jam, so it brought back some good memories, and I got to thinking about hosting another jam in the spring. I really see no reason not to: we have a really ideal gym here (one of the best I've played on at any tourney), and a perfect party/crash space at the fraternity. We're also real conveniently close to a bunch of other scenes. I think it would be rad to have tournies at Rochester AND Cornell in the spring. Something to work on later.

The floor at the frat was hella slippery, which made things a bit challenging for me. I play in G-Units, so normally slippage isn't a factor, but my current pair are really wearing down a lot. I've had them for... 11 months now? They've gotten a lot of burn, so I don't feel bad they are on their way out. We all still managed a good session. Luis in particular played really really well. Butterfly x3, close tries at DLO, and overall very flipsided tiltless combos.

My highlights:

*my best whirr ever, sealed with whirling swirl bsos. I hit a few whirrs all session, and they are feeling much better, but they are still likely shoe-y on dex #2. Hopefully I can watch them on vid sometime and fiddle with them.
*Hit my first double blender ever. No chasing after it, no footing, but hit. I would guess it was as clean as most people's double blenders.
*Janiwalker bsos!

I hadn't hit flip janiwalker in over 2.5 years, so I was real surprised to hit a few. I did some of them midtimey, but at least 2 legit ones as well. Pretty exciting. Again, another move I'd like to see on vid so I can tweak my technique.

Footbag has definitely helped me hold things together mentally lately. Feel lucky to have such a powerful lifeline.

max · Post by **max** » 27 Nov 2006 01:56

props on double blender Ken!

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 27 Nov 2006 07:23

Got in a nice 2-man session with Luis yesterday. We took out a camera and spent most of the time trying to hit tricks/combos for the online modified comps. I hit a few good tricks, usually two or three different times apiece just in case any of them weren't clean. It's always good to have options to choose from.

Trying to hit stuff for the online comps made me realize how far footbag has come, and how far I've come as well. Yesterday in a one hour session I hit all these crazy tricks which just a few years ago would have been newsworthy, but now (some) are pretty commonplace. Amongst other things, I hit:

-A triple dex 6 add trick, probably cleanly, twice.
-A 6 add quad dex, hopefully clean at least once.
-A cute 6 add one dex, 2 or 3 times
-A 7 add triple dex at least twice.

Really, back in 2004 if I had hit ANY single one of those tricks even ONCE, I would have been thrilled, but the way footbag (and I) have advanced, it wasn't even that big a deal to hit all of them multiple times in a quick session.

Towards the end of the session I decided to try out some of my new stuff like whirr and flip jani, just so I can watch it on video later and analyze my technique. Flip janis felt better this session than last time, and I managed to hit it bsos on camera a couple times. Flip jani still feels kinda midtimey sometimes, but hey, its coming along.

Oh, and I've recently discovered the joy of Taco Bell's Chalupas.

zeroman13 · Post by **zeroman13** » 27 Nov 2006 08:04

C-Fan wrote:Oh, and I've recently discovered the joy of Taco Bell's Chalupas.

Chalupas rule!!!

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 29 Nov 2006 15:40

These last few days have just been a total blur of work. I dream that I write papers, then I wake up and I work on papers. Sometimes I take final exams to mix things up, or hand in problem sets. But yeah, life has just been schoolwork 24/8. Yes, I do do school work 8 days a week.

Recent lack of footbag probably means I'm mentally cracking, but I've tried to counter this trend by listening to 3 songs non-stop to keep me going:

1. Feel Good Inc, by Gorillaz
2. Everlong by Foo Fighters
3. Dirty harry by Gorillaz.

That and I watch the Mulroney Special Video repeatedly.

If all goes well, I may kick the old beanbag as early as 4 pm tomorrow! Wish me luck duckies.

dyalander · Post by **dyalander** » 29 Nov 2006 15:50

I'm picturing a darkened room with the same songs playing over and over. SOme light comes from a laptop in the corner, which plays the same vid over and over. And Ken is hunched over a desk furiously writing, surrounded by piles of paper. As you peer over his shoulder it is revealed that all along he's been writing: "All school and no footbag makes Ken a dull boy."