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bdams19 · Post by **bdams19** » 31 Jul 2007 06:35

Damn ken 10 years and still big pimpin

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 31 Jul 2007 11:39

I'm starting to get more excited for Worlds. Less than 2 weeks from now I get on a plane already! I re-read parts of my 2004 blog, and that got me a bit more pumped. I'm also really looking forward to seeing Takumi and Yuko Abe. Can't wait to play with them.

2 months ago I asked to take a break from being a moderator due to my internship. My internship ends on Friday, but now I'm leaning towards resigning my mod-ship altogether. I feel like I put in a pretty good run as a mod, but I'd like more time for myself now.

On a happier note, I'm gonna try and get in a session today. I need to start getting back in shape.

bdams19 · Post by **bdams19** » 31 Jul 2007 12:09

off topic but astronaut jones and brian fellows? YES!

THAT'S THE BIGGEST DOG I'VE EVER SEEN, WHATS WRONG WITH THAT DOG. I WANNA SEE THAT DOG CATCH A FRISBEE.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 31 Jul 2007 12:34

I think you've posted about this before, which made me realize that I've been playing the same length of time (ish). But how the heck were you as good as I am now when I started, if we started at the same time? :p I remember a video of you from Montreal where you were doing, like, consistent 30-some contact runs...

Anyway, props all the same

Now we can celebrate 10 years together at Worlds!

Matt K · Post by **Matt K** » 31 Jul 2007 16:15

I read most of your Worlds 04 re-cap, and man, how can you remember so much? I'm amazed that you could fill multiple pages with that.

Will you be doing an extensive write up of this years event as well?

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 01 Aug 2007 08:35

I also did extensive write-ups of Worlds 2005 and Worlds 2008 (fictional), as well as a recap of Worlds 99 somewhere in the blog.

As for how I can remember all the stuff, the answer is that I keep a regular journal too. I've been keeping a paper journal for almost 5 years now!

I don't know if I will do an extensive write-up of this year's worlds, just because I go back to grad school the day after worlds, and I may not have time to do a good write-up. I'm sure I'll write something, it just might not be as super-detailed as past wrap ups.

In good news, I got in a 1 hour session yesterday. My ankles felt 100% fine, and I didn't feel like I lost much coordination during my week off. My stamina was a bit low, but that should be fixable. The only thing that worried me at all, was my right knee felt kinda funny. Pretty sure it's nothing, but I'm gonna lay off furious/blenders/symp on that leg just in case.

No real highlights to speak of from the session. I did a run-through of my shred30, which felt alright. I really don't care about Shred30 this year. I also practiced parts of my routine, and it's looking OK.

I'm hoping to get in a light session today, and then get in a real session on Thursday night in the city. My god, in exactly 2 weeks I'll be on stage competing!

I'm actually pretty excited about it. I feel much more prepared for routines than I was in years past.

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 01 Aug 2007 12:50

Speaking of remembering things in detail, I just (for what unknown reason) got a flood of details in my head about the Philly SMURF at my place back in the day. That was Kenny's (Shultz) coming out of retirement event, and his first of many in the PA area. I remember being in a baking hot parking lot, and you (Ken Som. not Shultz) were just killing it. You schooled the hell out of Shultz. Secretly, I think it pissed him off. The event and that whupping got him playing a ton again and he hit some really great stuff over the next few years before moving over to concentrate on net again. At that same SMURF JP (Penny) pissed me off by bitching about the heat - like I can control the weather. Random. We made a spaghetti dinner I think. A bunch of people camped in the yard and we had a camp fire. Am I remembering this all correctly? The cool part of the story is about getting Kenny back into the game.

Matt K · Post by **Matt K** » 01 Aug 2007 15:41

I went back and read the Worlds 05 recap, and you had a paragraph about a Jorden-Honza circle; I just got done watching a sweet video with a lof of footage from that very circle, and it was cool seeing all that stuff hit after reading about it.

There was also a clip of you talking about stealing a basketball from a baby. I don't know what that was about....

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 03 Aug 2007 09:40

Erik Chan wrote:how the heck were you as good as I am now when I started, if we started at the same time?

I've read and re-read that sentence many times, and I still don't really understand it. Must be some kind of Canadian English grammar.

In any case, I'm flattered, and I also look forward to playing with you at Worlds. It's weird that we've both been in the scene so long and never met. I'm also really excited to see Andrew Grant again. I hope both of you stay healthy enough to play with me.

Worlds is like 8 or 9 days away. Craziness. This summer is just flying. It's been really fun so far. I love NYC and NYFA, and it meant a lot to me to spend so much time in the city shredding with friends.

The big, great news is that I had my first serious session since the injury (about ten days ago), and my body held up fine. I didn't even really feel rusty. My ankle and my knee both felt perfectly healthy, and I was able to play as if nothing had happened before. In even more promising news, my legs feel fine today. I'm glad I took my time stretching after the shred.

Yesterday's session was one of the best of the summer. It just felt like lots of things were going right, and at the right time. More than anything, it was just a big relief for me to find that I had recovered fully from my injury, and that my body is in good shape for worlds. Twisting my ankle 10 days ago (3 weeks before worlds) really scared the crap out of me. Beyond the relief of finding myself healthy, it also just felt good to play again. Footbag is fun, and I missed playing. Finally, there was good synergy amongst the footbaggers who showed, as well as between the footbaggers and the crowds. The whole time the circle was between 3-5 players, and there wasn't too much self-serving. This meant we kept the crowd's attention well, and I got a lot of touches. There was also a bucket-drumming group right next to us, which provided us with good music and also helped keep the crowd. Really was one of the best crowds of the summer.

Not too much in the way of highlights. You could say the biggest highlight was being able to play again, and play hard. I managed to hit 13 contacts of rubberman, which may be a new record for me? I've noticed that this summer spins on one side have become pretty reliable, which is exciting, but looks a bit one sided. Before, my spins were equally weak. I've started doing a lot of peeking osii on the weak side, which I think makes me look a bit less one-sided with spins. I'm excited about this.

After the shred I stretched a lot, then got dinner (some tofu and okra curry). Gonna try and alternate easy training sessions with NYFA shreds up until worlds, and hope for the best.

Oh, and one final cool thing: I'm getting Bruce to pimp out the sides of my g-units with a laser cutter. I hope it turns out well.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 05 Aug 2007 07:05

Really nice session yesterday. What constitutes a good pre-Worlds session? Mostly just not getting injured, and building stamina. The best part of the session was doing 3 run-throughs of my routine. I'll be performing it in like 8 days, so doing trial run-throughs to music at this point is pretty key to my confidence.

Highlights:

*flurry-fusion
*a run with predator, pixie ss dlo, and fog all ending on weak dlo.
*flurry-leg bsos
*random-ass midstring scorpion's tail. I never do that trick.
*lots of spinning both sides.
*1 drop routine
*1 drop routine
*2 drop routine

I've practiced more for this year's Worlds routine than I have for every other routine in my life combined. I'm feeling pretty good about it; I'm getting progressively more excited for Worlds as it gets closer.

shreddaily · Post by **shreddaily** » 05 Aug 2007 07:17

You were as good as he is now, when you first started, which is the same time he started... and u're in grad skool???

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 07 Aug 2007 19:48

Life's been a whirlwind lately. Monday I had my last day of work, and I also moved out of my apartment in Newark. Living in Newark was an eye-opening experience, and I'm glad I went through it, but I'm also really happy to be moving out of there. I feel like I can finally stop looking over my shoulder, and I can exhale again.

Hung with my sister last night. We went shopping and I bought new shred socks specifically for competition at Worlds. Don't laugh; there's value in knowing that your toe wont break through your sock in the middle of your routine.

Had a good shred today on a wood surface, and to music. I was a little tired, but I played well because I was just so happy to play again and be done with Newark and my internship. The most important and gratifying part of the session was doing run-throughs of my routine to music. I think that's very important.

My first run through started badly. I missed my very first cue, and overall I didn't feel I was on my choreo. I had 2 drops in the first 40 seconds or so, but finished strong. 2 drops total. I'm guessing good enough to make semis, but not finals.

My 2nd run through was better, but I still had 2 drops. Cues were better, and again I finished the last 80-90 seconds strong. Still, 2 drops probably wont cut it if I get a tough pool at worlds.

My 3rd routine run through was likely the best routine of my life. I hit the first 1:57 dropless, and I NAILED all my cues. When I dropped the last trick, everybody groaned. Still, this experience really gives me confidence that I can hit a good dropless routine.

My 4th routine I was pretty tired, but I forced myself to do it, because I need to be diligent before worlds. I'm glad I did. I wasn't on my cues as tight as the previous time, but again I managed to go dropless until the final trick, which I again missed. This worries me a touch, because I don't want to be worried about whether or not I choke when I'm close to achieving my goal. I don't think it's really an issue.

The rest of the session was pretty laid back. The only shred highlight was that I figured out a better way to hit fury; I used to think of it like symp whirling pdx mirage, but now I just think whirling pdx mirage, and I can hit it a lot more controlled. Cool.

I'm hoping to get maybe one more session of routine practice before worlds, but even if I don't, I feel pretty good about my chances. Wish me luck!

PS: I never watch baseball, but I happened to be watching just now when Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run, setting the MLB HR record. Kinda cool that I tuned in randomly for the historic moment. Fuck steroids though. That's lame.

CIC flurry · Post by **CIC flurry** » 07 Aug 2007 21:53

Good Luck.

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 08 Aug 2007 11:12

I hope everything goes well in the events Ken. I know you have it in you.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 08 Aug 2007 12:50

On July 7th there was a big YouTube convention held in Washington Square Park. Some people wanted to make a video where they stole some guys shoes (Nalts, who is supposedly a YouTube star of some sort...) and got a bunch of people do stuff in them. When they saw NYFA playing footbag, they naturally got us to try footbag in them. I was elected to the task, and hit some stuff. It was kinda scary and challenging, because I normally wear a size 7/7.5 shoe, and this was a size 12. My foot was bouncing around in the shoe, but I still managed to hit DATW, smear, and some other tricks. Unfortunately, those tricks didn't make the final video. But a few easier things did. Here's the video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WaiUTxIPQe8

I'm only in it for like 5 seconds, but it was fun to do. Random.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 08 Aug 2007 22:44

I had a session today, sort of as an experiment. I was happy to check the Worlds schedule and find that routines are no longer 3 consecutive days. But the first two rounds are still on consec days. So while I've been encouraged by my recent routine progress, I was a little worried that I might not be able to do good routines two days in a row. So today I practiced routines to see how my body would hold up. Initially my quads were a little tight, but 20 minutes of warm up got me back up to speed. I only did 2 routine run-throughs, because I didn't want to push too hard.

First run-through was OK. I made it through 1:50 without a drop, and then chased a flyer and dropped. I hit the final trick, but was still frustrated at how close I came. Still, 1 drop is good.

My second run-through was much more solid. I messed up a few small things, but I knew when to be conservative and bail in order to avoid dropping. I made it to the final trick... and hit it!

My first dropless routine EVER! Granted, it was in practice, and only in front of 2 people, but its still a big confidence boost. Now I KNOW that I can do a dropless routine. I just need to step up and do it at Worlds.

I'm gonna take off a couple days to let the body rest up.

Asmus · Post by **Asmus** » 08 Aug 2007 23:48

Fuck Yeah Ken!!! That is big step!
Going dropless in routine is definitely a thing I dream about doing one day..
Can't wait to see the video of your routine..
Are you going to compete in other competitions?

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 10 Aug 2007 20:39

Been busy preparing for Worlds lately. Today I cut my hair and packed my bags. I can't believe I get on a plane in less than 3 days, and I'll be on stage soon after that. I got an email from Steve saying something to the effect of: "cuts from prelims to semis will be harsh, likely only the top 2 will advance" and that "finals may be 8 people." Both of these developments scare me a bit, but then, all I can do is try my best in competition. While I would love to make finals this year, I think my biggest goal is to do a dropless routine. I was hoping for 2 guaranteed chances to try (prelims and semis), but now it looks like I will have to work for the chance to make semis. Breathe deeply Ken. I just need to keep reminding myself that I've trained really hard, and that I shouldn't worry about things that are beyond my control.

Tomorrow will be my last shred in NYC this summer. I'm definitely a little sad about this, but I have Worlds to look forward to immediately afterwards, so that sweetens things a little bit. I also feel lucky that the weather promises to be perfect. I'm hoping for a light shred, where I avoid injury and practice elements of my routine. I don't think I'll get a chance to practice it to music, but I know my song well enough that I could conceivably simulate a "dry" run through pretty well. The main goal though is to just have fun, enjoy the day, and relish my time with NYFA.

bdams19 · Post by **bdams19** » 10 Aug 2007 21:51

woooo gl ken! see you tomorrow

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 12 Aug 2007 21:12

Fun, exhausting, and surreal weekend. I leave for Worlds in 15 hours, which only adds to the excitement and strangeness.

For a change, I'm just gonna go about this scattered.

*Had my last "game night" of the summer, which is a NYFA tradition for me. Pretty much consists of playing video games and drinking all night. It was cool to have Luis join the fun. I bowled a 228 in Wii bowling, a new record.

*flurry-fusion again, but the dod was toe-y. I'd like to get this clean on video sometime. Flurry-dimwalk swirl was also fun, albeit way easier.

*Sang some Karaoke in the city with my sister at a birthday party. I ran into people there I hadn't seen in 6 years. Sang Ziggy Stardust and Buddy Holly (the weezer song). My throat is totally shredded now.

*10 contacts of rubberman.

*Some older woman tried to pick me up in the subway. Flattering, but also really surreal and strange. I helped her out, assuming she was actually lost.

*ps whirl-superfly to kick off a string felt fun.

*Woke up to a call from Lon Smith and Penske, and right before bed I got a message from Kool Cyzk. It's like a preview of worlds.

*Was denied entrance to a summerstage concert, so I killed time at the Bandshell in NYC. To my surprise, I found 3 people hacking. I joined them (in skate shoes), and one of them told me that he lives in the city and is looking for people to play with (!). That never happens! I told him about .org and about the yahoo list for NYFA, so hopefully thats enough to get him in touch with the club.

*pixie ss drifter bsos.

*Randomly ran into an old high school friend who used to hack, and she still hacks! Hadn't seen her in over 7 years... weirdness.

*a run with pdx torque bsos, a darkwalk, another pdx torque, and ended on ps whirl-mobius.

*I'm printing out Team Japan waivers now. All told, I am checking in 8 Japanese people and one American in addition to myself. Oy.

My bag is packed for worlds. Tomorrow morning I will go over my checklist a final time, then head out. I've got some butterflies in my stomach, cause I have high hopes for comp, and I don't know what to expect. All I can do now is make sure I don't forget anything, and just enjoy the ride.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon. I probably won't blog from Worlds, but I hope to write something up when I get back. Wish me luck!