Here is a video I made of solo shredding I did last week:
http://www.footbag.org/gallery/show/-13716
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9blSvLjp9I
My form used to be pretty bad, and I've been working on it. I know it still has a lot of room for improvement. Please, good players watch it and give me some feedback on what to work on. How do my clippers in general look? Rhythm? Form?
Some specific questions I have:
-My osii look really strange on video. I'm happy to be hitting them regularly but something looks wrong, they don't look like what people with good osii do. I don't feel like I'm scooping when I do them, but on video they look a little scoopy. Thoughts?
-Paradox hip pivots? Sometimes I feel like I am not turning enough and just sort of fudging the hip pivot for pdx mirage/illusion by setting it across my body. Am I pivoting enough?
-The flail felt and looked very clean to me, thoughts? Is it OK that I lean to one side during the "power up"? Should I set lower?
-landing the clipper coming out of ducking/diving/spinning clipper, I always feel off balance and have to bail to pickup or mirage. Am I doing something wrong? This feels like a huge hole in my game, please advise.
-spins (there were only a few), are they froggy at all?
Thank you in advance for your feedback. It means a great deal to me.
Feedback PLEASE: solo vid
-
Iron Clad Ben
- Superior Precision Bionics
- Posts: 2522
- Joined: 08 Jan 2006 19:11
- Location: La Habra, CA
- Contact:
-
Zeb Jackson
- Post Master General
- Posts: 2783
- Joined: 19 Dec 2005 12:57
- Location: Boise,Idaho, USA
Ben if you want ill try and give you some advice, but until then ill wait for a better player to help you out 
-Zeb Jackson
http://www.elitefootbag.com
http://www.elitefootbag.com
I'm by no means an awesome player, and you may get better advice, but I think my points may be helpful in any case:
-You arms are very flaily. Aside from this, in general, your style looks pretty controlled. You should learn to play "drunken" on your easiest moves. Aside from this, style generally looks quite good. I keep mentioning the arms and relaxing in later points. I started off with rough notes to myself.
-Attacking osis too much. seems like you should relax more, wait for it, and do most of the movement when you spot from your other shoulder (after the "blind turn").
-Pdx and flail look okay to me.
-If you're having trouble with control on spinning and ducking tricks ending on clipper it seems like it would help if you were to practice your clipper balance. To do this, you should try some exercises, like, repeating sameside clippers without planting the stall foot. How many of these can you do? Based on your runs, you should be able to, like, at least 10-20 each side. I might also recommend trying "plantless" far clippers repeating which takes inordinate control. (I'm not quite sure how to explain this without showing a video. It kind of feels like you are just walking forward slowly, but each step you take you clipper stall. Like, they aren't plantless, but you only step once, purposefully, with absolutely no sound, and no magic hop).
-On top of this, I would reiterate that you should relax. breathe. choose some of your easiest bail moves and practice doing runs of just those, and learn to breathe and relax while you play. It will help your form and style. Be able to get to the point where your own personal bails (not conventional bails!) are so easy for you that in the middle of a run you can actually bail to those tricks and be able to take some deep breaths WHILE still shredding.
-Learn to fall into infinities. You hop a little too much into them and that makes your clipper stall more difficult, since there is less cushion, and more bounce. Try to do your clippers like you do your toe stalls. You have more "pause" on your toes, and they look very controlled. (2:39 is an example of your bouncy clipper) The relaxing and clipper exercises will help with this.
-Try to relax your hands on easy stuff like your alternating inside kicks at the end. This will help your form and control and make it easier to relax on harder moves. I noticed after the last run, even after you dropped the bag, your arm was still tense. Try to loosen your arms. I can tell your whole body is tense while you shred, and loosening up will totally help everything. Drop your shoulders, relax your arms, breathe deeply.
-You arms are very flaily. Aside from this, in general, your style looks pretty controlled. You should learn to play "drunken" on your easiest moves. Aside from this, style generally looks quite good. I keep mentioning the arms and relaxing in later points. I started off with rough notes to myself.
-Attacking osis too much. seems like you should relax more, wait for it, and do most of the movement when you spot from your other shoulder (after the "blind turn").
-Pdx and flail look okay to me.
-If you're having trouble with control on spinning and ducking tricks ending on clipper it seems like it would help if you were to practice your clipper balance. To do this, you should try some exercises, like, repeating sameside clippers without planting the stall foot. How many of these can you do? Based on your runs, you should be able to, like, at least 10-20 each side. I might also recommend trying "plantless" far clippers repeating which takes inordinate control. (I'm not quite sure how to explain this without showing a video. It kind of feels like you are just walking forward slowly, but each step you take you clipper stall. Like, they aren't plantless, but you only step once, purposefully, with absolutely no sound, and no magic hop).
-On top of this, I would reiterate that you should relax. breathe. choose some of your easiest bail moves and practice doing runs of just those, and learn to breathe and relax while you play. It will help your form and style. Be able to get to the point where your own personal bails (not conventional bails!) are so easy for you that in the middle of a run you can actually bail to those tricks and be able to take some deep breaths WHILE still shredding.
-Learn to fall into infinities. You hop a little too much into them and that makes your clipper stall more difficult, since there is less cushion, and more bounce. Try to do your clippers like you do your toe stalls. You have more "pause" on your toes, and they look very controlled. (2:39 is an example of your bouncy clipper) The relaxing and clipper exercises will help with this.
-Try to relax your hands on easy stuff like your alternating inside kicks at the end. This will help your form and control and make it easier to relax on harder moves. I noticed after the last run, even after you dropped the bag, your arm was still tense. Try to loosen your arms. I can tell your whole body is tense while you shred, and loosening up will totally help everything. Drop your shoulders, relax your arms, breathe deeply.
yo dude,
I think your form problem has a lot to do with your set height. You had moves like far legover, far butterfly, pdx mirage, etc all set up to the middle of your chest, but they really don't have to be set higher than your waist.
You set really big, so you have to do these huge dexes that are harder to prepare for and harder to recover from. not only that, but the higher you set, the faster the bag is moving when you have to stall it. Faster moving bags are harder to stall. not only that, but it takes more effort to set the bag higher in the first place, so you're robbing yourself of energy.
if you RELAX, keep your hands and elbows below your shoulders at all times, and drill one or two moves at a time back and forth only setting to the waist (infinities with no plants and super loose style, legovers, butter > pdx mirage rpt), you will gain a lot more control over your downtime stuff. Then, you can start adding more sets to spice up your game, and lengthen your strings.
good luck, pal.
ps: it's not like you look terrible, I just think these things might help you advance some.
I think your form problem has a lot to do with your set height. You had moves like far legover, far butterfly, pdx mirage, etc all set up to the middle of your chest, but they really don't have to be set higher than your waist.
You set really big, so you have to do these huge dexes that are harder to prepare for and harder to recover from. not only that, but the higher you set, the faster the bag is moving when you have to stall it. Faster moving bags are harder to stall. not only that, but it takes more effort to set the bag higher in the first place, so you're robbing yourself of energy.
if you RELAX, keep your hands and elbows below your shoulders at all times, and drill one or two moves at a time back and forth only setting to the waist (infinities with no plants and super loose style, legovers, butter > pdx mirage rpt), you will gain a lot more control over your downtime stuff. Then, you can start adding more sets to spice up your game, and lengthen your strings.
good luck, pal.
ps: it's not like you look terrible, I just think these things might help you advance some.
BRICK!
rfa::never give up::
nyfa
rfa::never give up::
nyfa
I'm not sure what counts as being a "good player" but I'm always prepared to put forward opinions anyway;
First great shred; good and solid basics and good string length.
There are 2 main parts of your game I think you should work on.
1. Your arms. Try to relax your shoulders when you play, and keep control of your arms.
2. Use your support leg with your clippers. You cushion too much, which probably means you're really good playing with random objects, but for harder footbag moves it takes up too much time. Instead try to cushion only a little, but time your jumps so that you're landing with the footbag (you tend to land before the footbag) and bend your support knee a little to also cushion the impact.
Nice work with the video, and I hope my advice helps
First great shred; good and solid basics and good string length.
There are 2 main parts of your game I think you should work on.
1. Your arms. Try to relax your shoulders when you play, and keep control of your arms.
2. Use your support leg with your clippers. You cushion too much, which probably means you're really good playing with random objects, but for harder footbag moves it takes up too much time. Instead try to cushion only a little, but time your jumps so that you're landing with the footbag (you tend to land before the footbag) and bend your support knee a little to also cushion the impact.
Nice work with the video, and I hope my advice helps
hey man. so overall, the shred looked pretty good. PROPS on the flail, it looked clean to me =) the pardox illusion looked sort of the to me, but it might just be that one.
tips i have ( im at about the same level of play as you, so i think my advice might have some insight to your situatioon)
- as everyone has said, relax. try doing evrything with your arms at your sides, and lax. at some points in time, your arms are over your head. that cantbe good for balnace. i place my arms sort of angled down and slightly out to throw weight for pdx dexes and such.
- i think my advice is somewhat similar to jeremy's, but ill word mine differnetly. on your moves like butterfly and clipper, this is your chain of events.
bag moving down > hop > support leg lands and cushions, stops> catch leg catches and cushions > set
your support leg and catch leg should move downwards at the same time... otherwise the support cushion does nothing for the bag, just your body. the timing is just slightly off. it should be
bag moving down > hop > support leg and catch leg cushions and catches > set
this movement also preps your legs to spring out of the stall instead of your leg having to move wice with avery catch... understand? also, i second matt's avice... set much lower. it might seem like youll have to dex fster, but mostly its quite the opposite. keep going man, it looks really good. i hope we can meet sometime at an event in person. oh, and blur bsos looked very good. later man, i hope i helped.
tips i have ( im at about the same level of play as you, so i think my advice might have some insight to your situatioon)
- as everyone has said, relax. try doing evrything with your arms at your sides, and lax. at some points in time, your arms are over your head. that cantbe good for balnace. i place my arms sort of angled down and slightly out to throw weight for pdx dexes and such.
- i think my advice is somewhat similar to jeremy's, but ill word mine differnetly. on your moves like butterfly and clipper, this is your chain of events.
bag moving down > hop > support leg lands and cushions, stops> catch leg catches and cushions > set
your support leg and catch leg should move downwards at the same time... otherwise the support cushion does nothing for the bag, just your body. the timing is just slightly off. it should be
bag moving down > hop > support leg and catch leg cushions and catches > set
this movement also preps your legs to spring out of the stall instead of your leg having to move wice with avery catch... understand? also, i second matt's avice... set much lower. it might seem like youll have to dex fster, but mostly its quite the opposite. keep going man, it looks really good. i hope we can meet sometime at an event in person. oh, and blur bsos looked very good. later man, i hope i helped.
Hi, few things I noticed
- mmm, big dexes we have here. You're setting too high, so you need to put more energy to make it bigger, and then need to wait till it gets lower... that's bad timing. You should set lower, and prepare for the dexing quicker keeping in mind, that you can do much more when the bag reaches its peak.
- control your arms. it's not just style, it takes less effort. I had this problem not so long ago, and it felt like it locks your body, doesn't allow some moves to happen.
- ok, I see what's wrong with your arms
you are moving too much horizontaly, I mean your upper bodu should be on the same level while you're playing
- and that is because you don't use support leg enought - try to bend your knee more and see how it works (it may be exhausting at the beginning)
- for Clippers I noticed the delay comes from a hop (which takes time and energy, that's bad) - bag lands on your foot when you land on the ground, try to work with your support/delaying leg rather than the whole body
- ok, last one, often after landing on toe (good), you moved back on your heel (bad!). That happens when the canter of gravity goes backwards, solution would be bending knees I guess
hope it will help, good luck!
- mmm, big dexes we have here. You're setting too high, so you need to put more energy to make it bigger, and then need to wait till it gets lower... that's bad timing. You should set lower, and prepare for the dexing quicker keeping in mind, that you can do much more when the bag reaches its peak.
- control your arms. it's not just style, it takes less effort. I had this problem not so long ago, and it felt like it locks your body, doesn't allow some moves to happen.
- ok, I see what's wrong with your arms
you are moving too much horizontaly, I mean your upper bodu should be on the same level while you're playing- and that is because you don't use support leg enought - try to bend your knee more and see how it works (it may be exhausting at the beginning)
- for Clippers I noticed the delay comes from a hop (which takes time and energy, that's bad) - bag lands on your foot when you land on the ground, try to work with your support/delaying leg rather than the whole body
- ok, last one, often after landing on toe (good), you moved back on your heel (bad!). That happens when the canter of gravity goes backwards, solution would be bending knees I guess
hope it will help, good luck!
Olaf Piwowar, My Footblog
Same thing everyone has been saying with set height and dexes.
I think the biggest thing you need to do is chillax. Relax a little when you play. Everything doesn't have to be huge or robotic like. Smoothness is key.
Make sure your weight is on your toes as much as possible.
I think the biggest thing you need to do is chillax. Relax a little when you play. Everything doesn't have to be huge or robotic like. Smoothness is key.
Make sure your weight is on your toes as much as possible.
Ben Skaggs
Amateurs practice until they can get it right.
Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.
No, I don't play soccer. Yes, there are competitions. 4 years. Lots of practice.
Amateurs practice until they can get it right.
Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.
No, I don't play soccer. Yes, there are competitions. 4 years. Lots of practice.
I don't say too much on modified, but if you ask me, I saw three things that if I did, I would try to fix.
First, as everyone has been saying, your arms. It seems like you are concentrating too much on 'good' posture, and as a consequence, it is debilitating you.
Second, relating to the first comment, it seemed like you were trying too hard to have a smooth style. I understand (from experience) that people tend to play differently when in front of a camera, so I'm not sure how representative this video is of your actual abillity.
The third thing, and maybe the most important, is regarding tricks. Under your youtube comments, the first one says something like "Great stuff! I really liked the blur BSOS...blah blah blah" , finishing with something resembling "...but those glaring 2 adds in there" sort of telling you to omit them. That bothers me. It bothers me for two reasons. One, I say do whatever the hell you like. I don't like (I hope this doesn't start a big discussion) how the majority of the players on here are always telling people to hit more tricks, but at the same time are saying to not hit tricks, specifically small-add 'easier' tricks. Blah blah blah, finally getting to my point, of the few 2 adds that you did throw in, they were sloppy. Even if they were bails, you should have enough control to make them look very controlled, because they should be very controlled. That is how you get better. You practice the basics. If your two add tricks are sloppy, practice those before you start implementing advise on more advanced tricks; those advanced tricks are mostly easier trick components layered on top of each other. Look at for reference all of the advanced players, they have excellent control of the bag; good timing, posture, set hieght, and that comes from practicing those isolated components, which is almost directly connected with 1, 2 add tricks, simply because there are fewer components to worry about, and focus can be honed it on those concepts.
I hope all of this makes sense, and I don't mean to be rude or knock on your style at all.
TJ
First, as everyone has been saying, your arms. It seems like you are concentrating too much on 'good' posture, and as a consequence, it is debilitating you.
Second, relating to the first comment, it seemed like you were trying too hard to have a smooth style. I understand (from experience) that people tend to play differently when in front of a camera, so I'm not sure how representative this video is of your actual abillity.
The third thing, and maybe the most important, is regarding tricks. Under your youtube comments, the first one says something like "Great stuff! I really liked the blur BSOS...blah blah blah" , finishing with something resembling "...but those glaring 2 adds in there" sort of telling you to omit them. That bothers me. It bothers me for two reasons. One, I say do whatever the hell you like. I don't like (I hope this doesn't start a big discussion) how the majority of the players on here are always telling people to hit more tricks, but at the same time are saying to not hit tricks, specifically small-add 'easier' tricks. Blah blah blah, finally getting to my point, of the few 2 adds that you did throw in, they were sloppy. Even if they were bails, you should have enough control to make them look very controlled, because they should be very controlled. That is how you get better. You practice the basics. If your two add tricks are sloppy, practice those before you start implementing advise on more advanced tricks; those advanced tricks are mostly easier trick components layered on top of each other. Look at for reference all of the advanced players, they have excellent control of the bag; good timing, posture, set hieght, and that comes from practicing those isolated components, which is almost directly connected with 1, 2 add tricks, simply because there are fewer components to worry about, and focus can be honed it on those concepts.
I hope all of this makes sense, and I don't mean to be rude or knock on your style at all.
TJ
TJ Boutorwick
"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson
"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson