well, my excitement was unrewarded. Got home and wife was in a shitty mood from a tough day with the kids, so my mood was instantly brought down a bunch of notches. Then, Emily was crying her head off and the stress from work combined with all that to create a pretty shitty mood of my own. I went out and played anyways because I needed it. Worked spins again and stepping set. Basically just got a workout. Did work flyers on both sides too. And did some paradons on both sides at end. But overall, nothing noteworthy, and I just feel like drinking a beer. But, that's against my fucking diet. Damn it. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
edit: Clavens bag wasn't bad for first day out. It's really heavy. My first impression was "Not for kicking, only for stalling". But I can get away with some kicks here and there, and the weight makes it land nicely. Should reduce drops. I have to see how I adjust to it. Great craftsmanship, but I might ask Dave to lighten it a teense later.
edit 2: Btw, that bag review is meant to be a positive one, by my shitty mood makes it not read that way. Let me recap: well made bag, I love the size of it, very visible to play with, just a teense heavier than I'm used to.
west of philly - bob
hey,
It's amazing you think that bag is light, because its 55 grams, quite standard these days, and people pump out 60 grams as well sometimes.
I can of course lighten it for you, but you could do that just as easy yourself. Just stick a straw in.
You might find once the bag expands to full size that the weight is more evenly distributed, thus making the bag feel less dense. Let me know!
dc
It's amazing you think that bag is light, because its 55 grams, quite standard these days, and people pump out 60 grams as well sometimes.
I can of course lighten it for you, but you could do that just as easy yourself. Just stick a straw in.
You might find once the bag expands to full size that the weight is more evenly distributed, thus making the bag feel less dense. Let me know!
dc
david
Ahh, is that what I hear about when people say "bleed holes"? I'm guessing that's where the straw goes to remove some fill.
I haven't bought a new bag in literally 2 years, so I'm not used to this new wave of heavier bags. But, like you say, I want to give it some time before I make any changes because of bag stretch. I would also assume there's some break down of the filler inside, but that might be wrong.
It stalled very easily from the get go, so initial impressions are that I like the extra weight. Again, sorry if my last post seemed negative, it wasn't intended to >> I think you made a really nice bag, just will take some getting used to for me.
I haven't bought a new bag in literally 2 years, so I'm not used to this new wave of heavier bags. But, like you say, I want to give it some time before I make any changes because of bag stretch. I would also assume there's some break down of the filler inside, but that might be wrong.
It stalled very easily from the get go, so initial impressions are that I like the extra weight. Again, sorry if my last post seemed negative, it wasn't intended to >> I think you made a really nice bag, just will take some getting used to for me.
Bob R.
Bob!
Ethiopia is a no go. Something about 3 grand for 10 days just didn't seem to add up. What does add up though is that I'll probably be around Pgh for some Steel City/Cranberry shred around x-mas time! So we should definitely figure that out. Could we kick in your parents basement again? Those sugar cookies your mom made were dope.
yacob
p.s.
Did you see Ray in Bicycling Magazine? Haha classic! If not I'll bring the issue with me.
Ethiopia is a no go. Something about 3 grand for 10 days just didn't seem to add up. What does add up though is that I'll probably be around Pgh for some Steel City/Cranberry shred around x-mas time! So we should definitely figure that out. Could we kick in your parents basement again? Those sugar cookies your mom made were dope.
yacob
p.s.
Did you see Ray in Bicycling Magazine? Haha classic! If not I'll bring the issue with me.
Jake Milofsky
Steel City Freestyle [ex officio]
Steel City Freestyle [ex officio]
Hey Yacob,
I confirmed today with my folks that kicking at their house in Cranberry on he 23rd around 1 p.m. will work out. If you show up a little earlier, you can meet Keegan. Sound ok? Will some of your shred buddies be coming with you?
----------
Kicked today. That's right, on Thanksgiving. I even lifted weights this morning. Kicking was cool. Just working on components of some items. Did a lot of whirls. Toe whirls, regular whirl, attempts at pdx whirl (close), and footed a bunch of pixie whirls. Also worked a lot of atomic set. Footed atomic butterfly on both side many times, and hit strong side a bunch of times. If I dex higher on the thigh (keep set close and straight) it works pretty nicely. Looking forward to playing again tomorrow.
I confirmed today with my folks that kicking at their house in Cranberry on he 23rd around 1 p.m. will work out. If you show up a little earlier, you can meet Keegan. Sound ok? Will some of your shred buddies be coming with you?
----------
Kicked today. That's right, on Thanksgiving. I even lifted weights this morning. Kicking was cool. Just working on components of some items. Did a lot of whirls. Toe whirls, regular whirl, attempts at pdx whirl (close), and footed a bunch of pixie whirls. Also worked a lot of atomic set. Footed atomic butterfly on both side many times, and hit strong side a bunch of times. If I dex higher on the thigh (keep set close and straight) it works pretty nicely. Looking forward to playing again tomorrow.
Bob R.
Boy, what a day. I'm tired. Usually on weekends, my wife lets me sleep in a little because the work week and everything takes its toll on me. But, let's keep in mind that she's pretty damn busy too, so on longer weekends, and once in awhile during regular weekends, I take the morning shift and let her sleep in. That was today. Up early with Keegan making him breakfast etc. Then later on, we went out and got an X-mas tree. Then a day-late Thanksgiving dinner, then Meg had a mom's night out with some neighborhood ladies, so I was solo putting both kids to bed. I also fit in kicking today. I'm beat.
Kicking, nothing interesting. Just working on pixie today and some other stuff. Good night.
Kicking, nothing interesting. Just working on pixie today and some other stuff. Good night.
Bob R.
It's 11 am and so far today I have:
- Built a circular tree platform out of plywood. This consisted of marrying two pieces of plywood together width-ways (because the stupid train manufacturer makes the smallest track configuration 4'4" whereas a standard piece of plywood is 4'0"). Then, I cut the board into a circular shape so it would fit the track perfectly. Then, I applied red felt to the entire surface so it would look nice and Christmas-like. Then I drilled pilot holes in the track and tacked it to the platform (this way I only have to build the track once). Then, I screwed the tree stand to the platform. Then I brought the whole thing in. Then I trimmed the base of the tree and put up the tree. Watered it, and now my wife is decorating it. Keegan thinks all of this is too cool. Emily it eating her hands and drooling a lot.
- Then I got all the X-mas decorations out of the barn.
- Then I got the truck bed cover stretched out so the sun can warm it up so I can snap it down.
- Then I ate some cereal (and Keegan ate about 1/2 of it).
- Now I'm sitting here getting ready to go to the post office.
- Then Keegan's nap time.
- Then footbag. And damn I'm frigging sore from my last two practices.
- Built a circular tree platform out of plywood. This consisted of marrying two pieces of plywood together width-ways (because the stupid train manufacturer makes the smallest track configuration 4'4" whereas a standard piece of plywood is 4'0"). Then, I cut the board into a circular shape so it would fit the track perfectly. Then, I applied red felt to the entire surface so it would look nice and Christmas-like. Then I drilled pilot holes in the track and tacked it to the platform (this way I only have to build the track once). Then, I screwed the tree stand to the platform. Then I brought the whole thing in. Then I trimmed the base of the tree and put up the tree. Watered it, and now my wife is decorating it. Keegan thinks all of this is too cool. Emily it eating her hands and drooling a lot.
- Then I got all the X-mas decorations out of the barn.
- Then I got the truck bed cover stretched out so the sun can warm it up so I can snap it down.
- Then I ate some cereal (and Keegan ate about 1/2 of it).
- Now I'm sitting here getting ready to go to the post office.
- Then Keegan's nap time.
- Then footbag. And damn I'm frigging sore from my last two practices.
Bob R.
Good practice. I'm a big fan of my heat tent in my barn. It was about 37 degrees F when I went out to play, and after I was done playing, I could literally wring out my shirt (gross imagery, I know, but gives you an idea of the temperature inside my tent).
Anyhow, worked double dexes hard today. Paradons on both side are looking very nice. I woud say they look "easy" - nice and slow and controlled. Easy catch. I also worked the same trick but set from same foot that's doing the dex - I don't know what that's called. Anyhow, that's harder, but I hit it both sides (weakside 1st ever). Did a bunch of barrage practice too. Strong side is inconsistent. Sometimes deep, sometimes lame. But I can tell the difference, so it's ok. Weakside will be my strong side on that trick soon. Hit 1st ever on weak side. Also did a bunch of DATW practice. Not close on weakside, hit plenty on strong side. All in/out today.
After all that I did stepping set practice. Stepping mirage (weak 1st time ever), step butterfly (weak among 1st ever, maybe 1st ever), and ripwalk (hit back to back starting on both sides). Also did a ton of practice just setting. On the weakside, I "leave my box" during the set - temporarily puts me out of balance and makes the window smaller. When I figured that out, the set got better but I was too tired to capitalize on it.
See you (all 5 of you reading) tomorrow
Anyhow, worked double dexes hard today. Paradons on both side are looking very nice. I woud say they look "easy" - nice and slow and controlled. Easy catch. I also worked the same trick but set from same foot that's doing the dex - I don't know what that's called. Anyhow, that's harder, but I hit it both sides (weakside 1st ever). Did a bunch of barrage practice too. Strong side is inconsistent. Sometimes deep, sometimes lame. But I can tell the difference, so it's ok. Weakside will be my strong side on that trick soon. Hit 1st ever on weak side. Also did a bunch of DATW practice. Not close on weakside, hit plenty on strong side. All in/out today.
After all that I did stepping set practice. Stepping mirage (weak 1st time ever), step butterfly (weak among 1st ever, maybe 1st ever), and ripwalk (hit back to back starting on both sides). Also did a ton of practice just setting. On the weakside, I "leave my box" during the set - temporarily puts me out of balance and makes the window smaller. When I figured that out, the set got better but I was too tired to capitalize on it.
See you (all 5 of you reading) tomorrow
Bob R.
I like reading your blog.
Your life sounds so jam-packed, but also so comfortable. I like reading the non-footbag stuff and footbag stuff alike. It's really inspiring reading about your accomplishments and your progress, being an older generation player who's come back to the game.
Will we be treated to video in the near future?
I'm interested in this heat tent you're talking about
Also, I'm a video whore.
I know you were asking before for critique on your game from before, and I don't specifically remember, like, your game in depth, but I do know I have videos of you from yeeaaars ago somewhere, if you're interested. Lots of stuff with... was it, like, the OLDSCHOOL Penn State crew? Like Kenny, Bevier, Outsider, etc... Anyway, yeah.
I'm enjoying the blog
It's so great that you can get relief from the "stressful everyday".
Footbag's the best!
Oh yeah, I was going to say something about the footbag weight too, 'cause being from an older generation I know you're probably more familiar with footbags weighing almost HALF of what the standard is now. I stitch now, and I was weighing some older bags on my scale a while back and found that what we used to play with many years ago were, like, 24g, whereas the standard is between 50-60g now! Wow! (Not as much trouble playing in the wind these days...) I read that someone's preferred weight is 80g!!!! That's close to 4 times heavier!!
Anyway, that was long.
Your life sounds so jam-packed, but also so comfortable. I like reading the non-footbag stuff and footbag stuff alike. It's really inspiring reading about your accomplishments and your progress, being an older generation player who's come back to the game.
Will we be treated to video in the near future?
I'm interested in this heat tent you're talking about
Also, I'm a video whore.
I know you were asking before for critique on your game from before, and I don't specifically remember, like, your game in depth, but I do know I have videos of you from yeeaaars ago somewhere, if you're interested. Lots of stuff with... was it, like, the OLDSCHOOL Penn State crew? Like Kenny, Bevier, Outsider, etc... Anyway, yeah.
I'm enjoying the blog
It's so great that you can get relief from the "stressful everyday".
Footbag's the best!
Oh yeah, I was going to say something about the footbag weight too, 'cause being from an older generation I know you're probably more familiar with footbags weighing almost HALF of what the standard is now. I stitch now, and I was weighing some older bags on my scale a while back and found that what we used to play with many years ago were, like, 24g, whereas the standard is between 50-60g now! Wow! (Not as much trouble playing in the wind these days...) I read that someone's preferred weight is 80g!!!! That's close to 4 times heavier!!
Anyway, that was long.
-
slapdash21
- Futureless
- Posts: 4681
- Joined: 29 Sep 2004 14:50
- Location: Beantown, kidd
Hey Peter - That's great that you got to play with Brian. He's pretty darn good. I think I'll kick with him next weekend hopefully. I haven't played anything but solo in awhile so that should be fun.
Everyone else, thanks for nice comments and for reading. It's fun to write just for myself, but it's nice to be a part of the community, and since you're reading, that helps me in that way.
Erik, no vid anytime soon I don't think. I'm not worthy yet. But maybe if Yacob has a camera when I play with him over x-mas?
Today's practice was mostly on spins. I hit my first 10 tries at spin butterfly strong side, and hit at least that many (with misses in between) on weakside. Otherwise, it was one of those "even though I'm missing, I'm getting better" types of practices. You'll have those
Everyone else, thanks for nice comments and for reading. It's fun to write just for myself, but it's nice to be a part of the community, and since you're reading, that helps me in that way.
Erik, no vid anytime soon I don't think. I'm not worthy yet. But maybe if Yacob has a camera when I play with him over x-mas?
Today's practice was mostly on spins. I hit my first 10 tries at spin butterfly strong side, and hit at least that many (with misses in between) on weakside. Otherwise, it was one of those "even though I'm missing, I'm getting better" types of practices. You'll have those
Bob R.
Sooooo..
I've been reading a lot of posts lately about players that are trying to "figure life out" in one way or another. That's been something I've thought about SO MUCH over the years. I even got a second degree in Philosophy during undegrad just because it opened up more thought patterns on this subject. I mean, what's the point of it all? What are we supposed to be and do? All good questions, but they can really rip you apart too.
Materialism vs. spiritualism vs. economics vs. physical self (and deterioration of self with age) vs. family vs. career vs. etc. etc. etc.
Yikes, that shit will eat you alive!
But, what I've decided is that right now is the happiest time in my life, and damn it, I'm going to enjoy it. I have healthy amazing kids, a beautiful/kind/smart/funny wife, a little place to call home (complete with spot to footbag), a couple of friends that I'd trust with a secret, a good education that I worked my ass off for, which led to a good enough career that I worked my ass off for, a better sense of self (understanding my flaws, working on flaws I care to correct, ignoring flaws I consider impossible to fix ha ha, enjoying the things that are good about me). Blah blah blah blah.
The funny thing is, that once any time is past, I think you could consider that time one of the best times in your life. During those times, there are hard things going on for sure (that's just the way it is), but except for some horrible moments (death, natural disaster, divorce, whatever) I think when you look back, most times make you smile.
So, the good thing is, that this time, I actually recognized that things are good (not without bad or stress though! but again, that's just the way it is) right now. I like the current path I'm on and the people that are around me. I want to remember that and make the best of it.
edit: And what's cool about this post is that although I'd consider footbag a big part of my current approach to healthy self, it didn't even occur to me to write about it. That's the fucking point! Play! Who cares? Yesterday, I had a shitty practice and literally thought "well, it wasn't good today, but the work I did will help me tomorrow or the next day" and then I had a beer. And it was all good.
I've been reading a lot of posts lately about players that are trying to "figure life out" in one way or another. That's been something I've thought about SO MUCH over the years. I even got a second degree in Philosophy during undegrad just because it opened up more thought patterns on this subject. I mean, what's the point of it all? What are we supposed to be and do? All good questions, but they can really rip you apart too.
Materialism vs. spiritualism vs. economics vs. physical self (and deterioration of self with age) vs. family vs. career vs. etc. etc. etc.
Yikes, that shit will eat you alive!
But, what I've decided is that right now is the happiest time in my life, and damn it, I'm going to enjoy it. I have healthy amazing kids, a beautiful/kind/smart/funny wife, a little place to call home (complete with spot to footbag), a couple of friends that I'd trust with a secret, a good education that I worked my ass off for, which led to a good enough career that I worked my ass off for, a better sense of self (understanding my flaws, working on flaws I care to correct, ignoring flaws I consider impossible to fix ha ha, enjoying the things that are good about me). Blah blah blah blah.
The funny thing is, that once any time is past, I think you could consider that time one of the best times in your life. During those times, there are hard things going on for sure (that's just the way it is), but except for some horrible moments (death, natural disaster, divorce, whatever) I think when you look back, most times make you smile.
So, the good thing is, that this time, I actually recognized that things are good (not without bad or stress though! but again, that's just the way it is) right now. I like the current path I'm on and the people that are around me. I want to remember that and make the best of it.
edit: And what's cool about this post is that although I'd consider footbag a big part of my current approach to healthy self, it didn't even occur to me to write about it. That's the fucking point! Play! Who cares? Yesterday, I had a shitty practice and literally thought "well, it wasn't good today, but the work I did will help me tomorrow or the next day" and then I had a beer. And it was all good.
Bob R.
lifted and kicked yesterday. I was so sore from playing a lot on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I wanted to practice atomic, but my hamstrings were soooo sore that it was tough. But I hit a few atomic tricks both sides anyways so that was sort of good. I basically just effed around for awhile.
Tonight, I'm just going to work on non-strenuous stuff like ducks/dives/double dexes etc. Then tomorrow I take a day off and hopefully will heal in time to play on Thursday night.
Last night, Keegan had "night terrors" which are like night mares mixed with sleep awakening (like sleep walking). Poor little guy was really upset a couple times during the night. It's the 2nd time it's happened, and hopefully it will not happen a lot. You can't really calm him down when it happens because he's not even really aware that he's awake and causing a ruckus.
Anyhow, that caused me to not get good sleep. And then I had to lead a 2-3 hour presentation to the executive team first thing this morning. I kicked serious ass in the presentation. Good timing since bonus/year end raises are right around the corner.
Then I got Duncan footbags in the mail at work (see why a few posts up). They're really horrible. Really horrible. Really really horrible. And the video they give you isn't that good either, but then again the video has some worth and is much better than the bags. I emailed the guy at Duncan to give him some feedback on how the bags could suck less (i.e. easiest would be for them to buy "juice" 32 panels and just market those under the Duncan name.. of course, they'd have to reach an agreement with the guys at flying clipper if I remember the manufacturer right, but selling what they're selling now isn't even worth it... And Jorden.. if you're going to demo for them, make sure they make better bags for you FIRST. these are horrible)
Tonight, I'm just going to work on non-strenuous stuff like ducks/dives/double dexes etc. Then tomorrow I take a day off and hopefully will heal in time to play on Thursday night.
Last night, Keegan had "night terrors" which are like night mares mixed with sleep awakening (like sleep walking). Poor little guy was really upset a couple times during the night. It's the 2nd time it's happened, and hopefully it will not happen a lot. You can't really calm him down when it happens because he's not even really aware that he's awake and causing a ruckus.
Anyhow, that caused me to not get good sleep. And then I had to lead a 2-3 hour presentation to the executive team first thing this morning. I kicked serious ass in the presentation. Good timing since bonus/year end raises are right around the corner.
Then I got Duncan footbags in the mail at work (see why a few posts up). They're really horrible. Really horrible. Really really horrible. And the video they give you isn't that good either, but then again the video has some worth and is much better than the bags. I emailed the guy at Duncan to give him some feedback on how the bags could suck less (i.e. easiest would be for them to buy "juice" 32 panels and just market those under the Duncan name.. of course, they'd have to reach an agreement with the guys at flying clipper if I remember the manufacturer right, but selling what they're selling now isn't even worth it... And Jorden.. if you're going to demo for them, make sure they make better bags for you FIRST. these are horrible)
Bob R.
Well tonight was that letdown night after too many hard practices type of night. The type of night that makes you yell and throw the footbag on the ground like a little kid (yes, that happened). "Any practice is better than no practice" I told myself. But I'm looking forward to taking tomorrow night off so I can try to be more productive on Thursday.
Bob R.
I haven't showed off my family for awhile (since page 5 I think) so here you go. I don't have a good one of Meg since she got her hair cut (from really long, to really short) but I'll get one soon. I also want to show you the shred tent in the barn because it's hilarious that I actually exercise in there.
Ain't she pretty? (her name is Emily)
Here's Keegs. He loves this big bucket of hats and scarfs. On this day, he decided that people in hats like this one say "Hee haw". I have no idea where he got that from, but we say hee haw at the house a lot right now.
I'm not sure if you can tell, but my face is a lot thinner here due to all the weight loss (I would expect I've lost about 20-25 pounds so far):
Ain't she pretty? (her name is Emily)
Here's Keegs. He loves this big bucket of hats and scarfs. On this day, he decided that people in hats like this one say "Hee haw". I have no idea where he got that from, but we say hee haw at the house a lot right now.
I'm not sure if you can tell, but my face is a lot thinner here due to all the weight loss (I would expect I've lost about 20-25 pounds so far):
Bob R.
Did my routine yesterday. Kicking was pretty productive without me actually hitting many tricks. Funny how that is sometimes. I focused on pixie and stepping yesterday.
The improvement on pixie was that I was getting the sets nice and straight and moving myself around the ball rather than trying to set to a spot based on the trick. Makes me miss some tricks that I can hit right now, but will ultimately make the set more flexible/repeatable. I also was able to "stay in my box" during the set - meaning when I plant my setting foot, it's coming down right where I would put it if I was just standing normally. I think this is key too >> previously, I was finding the set foot planted behind me (presumably for balance because my set was wild?) which was sometihng I could muscle through on easy pixie tricks, but something that I think held me back on harder pixie tricks in the past.
With those nice developments, I focused on applying the same concepts to stepping set. "Leaving my box" was really really really pronounced on stepping set I found. My setting foot was planting a good 12-14 inches behind me to propel me into the next part of the trick. Try that a few times and you'll see how hard it is to stay balanced and to get a nice straight set that allows you to pick what component you want to do next. It's going to take some more practice to make staying in my box during the stepping set more natural, but I could see immediate improvements in set placement and balance. Hit a bunch of weakside blurs which I think is a trick that requires good form to do well, so that was a good sign.
I've been in a pattern of practicing a few concepts per practice, and mixing it up in the next practice >> so everything I'm working on is sort of crawling forward together. But I think I'm so close on pixie and stepping that I'll spend my weekend sessions on those concepts again. Pixie "shuffle" is attainable soon, and I'm hopeful that back to back stepping concepts will soon be comfortable and non-sapping of my energy.
The improvement on pixie was that I was getting the sets nice and straight and moving myself around the ball rather than trying to set to a spot based on the trick. Makes me miss some tricks that I can hit right now, but will ultimately make the set more flexible/repeatable. I also was able to "stay in my box" during the set - meaning when I plant my setting foot, it's coming down right where I would put it if I was just standing normally. I think this is key too >> previously, I was finding the set foot planted behind me (presumably for balance because my set was wild?) which was sometihng I could muscle through on easy pixie tricks, but something that I think held me back on harder pixie tricks in the past.
With those nice developments, I focused on applying the same concepts to stepping set. "Leaving my box" was really really really pronounced on stepping set I found. My setting foot was planting a good 12-14 inches behind me to propel me into the next part of the trick. Try that a few times and you'll see how hard it is to stay balanced and to get a nice straight set that allows you to pick what component you want to do next. It's going to take some more practice to make staying in my box during the stepping set more natural, but I could see immediate improvements in set placement and balance. Hit a bunch of weakside blurs which I think is a trick that requires good form to do well, so that was a good sign.
I've been in a pattern of practicing a few concepts per practice, and mixing it up in the next practice >> so everything I'm working on is sort of crawling forward together. But I think I'm so close on pixie and stepping that I'll spend my weekend sessions on those concepts again. Pixie "shuffle" is attainable soon, and I'm hopeful that back to back stepping concepts will soon be comfortable and non-sapping of my energy.
Bob R.
Pixie and stepping yesterday as planned.
Also warmed up with whirl practice. Hit a LOT of whirls. Clipper set and toe set. I'd read a bunch about whirl in the "trick tips" section and had good success. Basically started the dex sooner and concentrated on tight fast dex. It worked, I was hitting them nicely, cleanly, well balanced.
Pixie was good too. Lots less effort, staying in my box, high knees. During one stretch, I hit all the basic pixie moves on both sides in one 'run' (tricks were separated by kicks, so it wasn't a true run, but I was still pleased with the consistency). Also did a lot of pixie to pixie and pdx mirage to pixie and legover (or simple legover) to pixie. Pixie shuffle soon.
Stepping was the last part of my practice so I was running out of steam, but still had some positives. Today, I'll do stepping first so I have lots of energy. Anyways, I hit rip > rip > rip starting on my strong ripwalk. Couldn't repeat it starting on my weakside. I'm going to go read stepping tutorials to see if I can do better today. I think if I can hit 5 back to back at will, ripwalk can be considered dialed. Lots of weakside blurs. Funny thing is that my strong blur (which is opposite all my other strong stepping tricks) is now my weak blur I think. Hopefully tutorials will help.
Also warmed up with whirl practice. Hit a LOT of whirls. Clipper set and toe set. I'd read a bunch about whirl in the "trick tips" section and had good success. Basically started the dex sooner and concentrated on tight fast dex. It worked, I was hitting them nicely, cleanly, well balanced.
Pixie was good too. Lots less effort, staying in my box, high knees. During one stretch, I hit all the basic pixie moves on both sides in one 'run' (tricks were separated by kicks, so it wasn't a true run, but I was still pleased with the consistency). Also did a lot of pixie to pixie and pdx mirage to pixie and legover (or simple legover) to pixie. Pixie shuffle soon.
Stepping was the last part of my practice so I was running out of steam, but still had some positives. Today, I'll do stepping first so I have lots of energy. Anyways, I hit rip > rip > rip starting on my strong ripwalk. Couldn't repeat it starting on my weakside. I'm going to go read stepping tutorials to see if I can do better today. I think if I can hit 5 back to back at will, ripwalk can be considered dialed. Lots of weakside blurs. Funny thing is that my strong blur (which is opposite all my other strong stepping tricks) is now my weak blur I think. Hopefully tutorials will help.
Bob R.
Good day today.
Whirls and stepping, never made it to pixie
Lots of whirls again. Maybe 30 minutes worth. Hit multiple pdx whirls on both sides. Considering I've hi that trick strong side maybe 5 times ever, this was a big deal for me. Very happy about that. Very.
Rip > rip > rip multiple times but still not starting from the weak one, but I'll get that next practice. I'm sure of it. Had the 4th back to back ripwalk off my foot a bunch of times.
Lots of blurs both sides. Also hit weak blur > weak paradon a bunch of times. The paradon was controlled enough in each instance to do a run, but I just stopped because I wasn't working on runs today.
Oh yeah, I cheated a teense and tried some blurry paradons. Had it off my foot on my better side about 5 times. I can hit that trick.
Whirls and stepping, never made it to pixie
Lots of whirls again. Maybe 30 minutes worth. Hit multiple pdx whirls on both sides. Considering I've hi that trick strong side maybe 5 times ever, this was a big deal for me. Very happy about that. Very.
Rip > rip > rip multiple times but still not starting from the weak one, but I'll get that next practice. I'm sure of it. Had the 4th back to back ripwalk off my foot a bunch of times.
Lots of blurs both sides. Also hit weak blur > weak paradon a bunch of times. The paradon was controlled enough in each instance to do a run, but I just stopped because I wasn't working on runs today.
Oh yeah, I cheated a teense and tried some blurry paradons. Had it off my foot on my better side about 5 times. I can hit that trick.
Bob R.
Uh oh, possible set back this morning. Send me good luck if you have some to spare.
A few years ago while building my porch, I effed up my neck (pinched nerve, extreme spasm of the muscles etc.) from repetitive hammering and just generally working too hard. It was so bad at the time that we had to go to the emergency room (for example, I couldn't even take in a deep breath without shooting numbing pain to ever part of my body). Since then, every once in awhile I aggravate the issue (but so far, thankfully, to a much lesser state) and I'm in pain again for a couple weeks.
This morning after lifting, I was brushing my teeth and out of nowhere, the problem returned. I must have slept in a weird position or something. I took advil immediately (sometimes this helps me ward off a full blown attack) but my range of motion for turning my head while driving into work was about 20 degrees in either direction. Getting some shooting pain during some motions.
I really really really want to play tonight, so I'm going to do whatever I can today to loosen up and feel better. Urgh. Stupid neck.
A few years ago while building my porch, I effed up my neck (pinched nerve, extreme spasm of the muscles etc.) from repetitive hammering and just generally working too hard. It was so bad at the time that we had to go to the emergency room (for example, I couldn't even take in a deep breath without shooting numbing pain to ever part of my body). Since then, every once in awhile I aggravate the issue (but so far, thankfully, to a much lesser state) and I'm in pain again for a couple weeks.
This morning after lifting, I was brushing my teeth and out of nowhere, the problem returned. I must have slept in a weird position or something. I took advil immediately (sometimes this helps me ward off a full blown attack) but my range of motion for turning my head while driving into work was about 20 degrees in either direction. Getting some shooting pain during some motions.
I really really really want to play tonight, so I'm going to do whatever I can today to loosen up and feel better. Urgh. Stupid neck.
Bob R.