Bad form causes pain

PoisonTaffy · Post by **PoisonTaffy** » 25 Dec 2007 02:52

When drilling pdx mirage flipside,I'm flinging my arm and I think it builds tension on the deltoid muscle. Last night after practice I couldn't lean on that arm for too long because of the tension.

I know I should let the muscle rest, but I also need/want to drill this so I can get a relaxed, healthy motion, like I have on my strong side.

How would you address this? When, how often and how far apart should I be practicing a problematic trick so that my affected muscles can rest but also get my form to improve?

Benzilla · Post by **Benzilla** » 25 Dec 2007 12:39

If i were you i'd air shred a few flip pdx mirages until you can get it so that the problems from your bad form are worked out then try with a bag. Or just try with a bag but be cautious of your form.

When i get injured i stretch out what's hurting and then slowly move that body part and get it back into playing condition gradually. But if the pain is bad enough that you can't play without the pain becoming a problem take a few days off. This way you'll miss just a few days rather than playing a lot of bad, pain shortened days.

Post by **Zac Miley** » 25 Dec 2007 17:42

Arm flailing is usually caused (from my experience) by lack of practice in some building block tricks. I guess that's what you were saying though?

Practice mirage a lot and you'll probably stop doing it on pdx mirage. Or maybe it's your clipper?

PoisonTaffy · Post by **PoisonTaffy** » 25 Dec 2007 23:43

Isilwar wrote:Practice mirage a lot and you'll probably stop doing it on pdx mirage. Or maybe it's your clipper?

Maybe both! I often feel like everything I do seems like it could use more practice

The thing is that in flip pdx mirage the dexing leg is the one of the strong side mirage, and I think that's one trick I've got down solid. And I do all sorts of things out of flip clipper so I doubt that's it. I guess my pdx building blocks are the ones to blame.

The air shredding idea is good, I do that sometimes when learning new movements, but didn't occur to me to air shred to improve tricks I already hit, thanks!

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 26 Dec 2007 00:20

When I notice particular instances of bad form in moves I start by practising the move with the correct form but without the bag. I usually find it easy to do the action I think I should be doing correctly. Of course the next step is to put the bag in, and I usually find this makes things considerably harder. The first step with the bag is to set the bag and then try to do the action you think is correct without worrying where the bag ends up at all. Don't try to hit the move, just try to set the bag and then do the action, whatever happens. Then, when you fell like you have your head around the actions of the move enough to control your actions, try with the bag. If you're hitting a move with bad form, and you can't fix that form, even though you know what the problem is; that's definitely a mental problem with your approach to the move. You don't need to train your physical abilities, you need to train your mind. Of course it's possible that you're lacking physical abilities as well. Problems with footbag moves aren't black and white; it could well be a combination of problems. If you still struggle after trying to address the mental problem, you may need to address physical problems as well (as in practising easier components).

PoisonTaffy · Post by **PoisonTaffy** » 26 Dec 2007 01:03

Sounds like a solid advice to approaching footbag in general, Jeremy, thanks.
But you're right to point out the mental aspect, the fact that I can hit the move makes it harder for me to perfect it, since I'm fixed on just repeating what I already do that works without trying to approach the problem from other angles. Next session I'll try to adopt a beginner's mind with this one.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 27 Dec 2007 12:34

I imagine keeping my arms and shoulders very, very relaxed. I also imagine the tips of either my index and middle fingers, or index and thumb, holding potato chips. By doing this, I spend a lot less time worrying about my arms flailing, tensing, and cranking into awkward positions while playing so that all of my concentration is focused on my legs.

I think Clavens mentioned something about shifting your shoulders in accordance to clipper form, as you're descending and ascending with your support leg, so that you can ready yourself comfortably with setting the bag off clipper. I don't have much details concerning this.