Muffinman

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 20 Feb 2008 12:22

Thanks for the comments guys

Yeah, the double spinning clipper > blurry rev whirl was probably for sure my favourite highlight of the session too.
As for the bag I sent Jim, that's really cool that you liked it Zeb! Maybe I will get a review in the near future from Jim. That would be super cool.

Here's another bag I just made last night when I couldn't sleep:

I kind of definitely lost my groove and have been having trouble making my ideal bags (though Jim's was close!) I think it's most likely that I have been stitching, like, twice a month or less lately. I mean to stitch more semi-frequently. I should probably lower my standards. Dat suggested that having such high expectations of myself really doesn't help stress and depression...

Anyway.
I just went and tried to shred, but my shins felt super weak and a little hurty after about a minute of kicking and 2 adds. That sucks, but I'm glad I have the self control to have stopped right-out. I hope I can play again soon. I guess I should probably not do anything fun like double spinning or mobiuses or anything with any more impact than, like, a spinning clipper. That sucks

I was seriously looking forward to this. Almost more than the fun of hack, I really wanted to be able to work out to kill some fatness. I weighed myself yesterday, and although the scale may be set different to what I usually weigh on, it looked like I've gained, like, 15 lbs. Not that I care so much about weight, but I'm definitely developing some port. And I don't have an exercise bike readily available here in Lethbridge. Marita is a lifeguard. Maybe I will see if I can go swim for free some time and get her to give me some lessons when it's not busy...

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 24 Feb 2008 23:57

Here's my most recent bag, #056:

And a few more videos from a session the other day that hurt a lot and was super sucky and makes me feel like I may not ever play footbag again. It's pretty sucky, my shins and knees hurt a ton and it hurts to sleep and I've had this throat infection for, like, almost 2 weeks that's this big thing that makes it hurt to swallow and eat and now it seems to be getting worse and I feel feverish and sick and weak and dizzy. My girlfriend says that I am being melodramatic. In her own words, "I'm so emo, wah wah wah."

Here are those clips from that painful session. Oh yeah! I also figured out a mental trick for flurry, one of my dream moves which I've never hit, and thought for sure I would be able to hit it within a few tries in this session, but it hurt both my shins and knees a ton. The trick is to think of it as a whirling muted same DLO. (I've always heard the tip, "think of it as a combination of a barrage and DLO, but that just kind of made it seem more complex. Maybe 'cause I don't do barrages because I the them...) I used to have blazing down pretty consistently when I could still whirl, like, 4 years ago, so I think it will work for me if I can ever test out the theory.

24-contact run with lots of diving
23-contact run
Ducking pickup drill by 3s
38-contact run of mostly ducking and spinning
Vortex BSOS

Whining
I feel like a has-been.
Well, more accurately I was laying in bed unable to sleep as usual and realized that I have been a has-been for 4 years. Worlds '07 was probably the peak of my game, 3.5 years into -- and amidst -- my raging battle (bloody massacre??) against chronic footbag-related injuries. I had this image in my head that that peak is as far as I am going to get, and that I should have let go while still ahead. That sounds kind of dumb, but it feels like that saying, "Beating a dead horse."

I've been meaning to rant about poseurism in footbag for a while. There is a lot of it. I'm definitely a poser and mostly always have been. I'm one of those lame players who posts cool stuff to get praise from others. Or makes videos to prove that I'm worth making comments about. It's so lame. That's probably how I got some ridiculously awesome reputation, by bragging through video and somehow coming off as humble? I enjoy the attention like crazy, which is why I never stopped posting highlights or whatever, but I'm really not even a great player. I can kind of understand the praise for making tutourial videos available online, but really I wasn't even performing the moves in those videos. I wonder if I would have quit footbag long ago if people (including so many awesome players!!) had never heralded me as a legend.

On a similar note, I never really put much thought to this until Ken made a post in his blog, but it frustrates and saddens me that I know I could have been an incredible player if I had practiced healthy living and training (or otherwise avoided injury...) from the start. If I had no pain, I can picture myself hitting cool stuff like double spinning whirl > blurry whirl > alpine whirlygig, or furious moves, or 69s, or blurry drifter > blurry torque and stuff. I would definitely be able to hit 10 fearless. So yeah. I feel like making this paragraph smaller, because it is silly. So I will.

I recently rewatched one of Eli's videos a bunch of times over. The one where he narrates overtop of himself a really poetic expression of what footbag is to him. Like that screenshot from Sergey Kozlov's "The Cage 2" video I posted a couple of pages back, it really struck me and reinforced the same feelings that I knew I felt up to that point but never really understood so clearly.
"I know it's just a game, but to me it's everything."

I guess I've come to a point where I can imagine that the end is near for me in footbag. I suppose I feel simiarly as I did back in the spring of 2004 when I first had to stop for an indeterminate length of time for the first time due to injury. I had to accept the fact that I may never be able to play again, but to hope that one day I may.

I'm frustrated because it seems likely that I will miss a chance to shred with one of my first footbag friends, Rob Fuller, to celebrate his return to the game after so many years gone. His was the second tournament I ever attended (outside of my city), and the first where I was generously put up and provided for. It was my first first-hand experience with the acceptance that is so inherent in our community, and it was the first time that I experienced that sense that you get in footbag where you become instant best friends with someone upon first meeting. I think I attended every single Shred Zero tournament.
I feel ridiculously sick and physically inept, and I don't even want to leave Lethbridge until I am better.

So in conclusion, I don't think that I will be playing footbag for some time to come. I read some of "Starting Strength" that Colin sent me. It is very flowery and superfluous. It seems like squats would be awesome, but I tried some without weights and couldn't get anywhere near the full squat position. I will continue to read more. I also got a book on yoga stretching. I also can't wait to cycle and bathe regularly when I get home. That should help get me in shape again, and maybe strengthen my legs? I also got a prescription from my orthopedic surgeon for some 100%-covered rehab stuffs, like acupuncture for my shins. I wasn't sure what to pursue to fix my legs, but I am going to definitely look into this when I get back.

I'm going to try to check Modified less too.
Like slowly ween myself off of it.
It's pathetic, really

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 25 Feb 2008 05:40

I don't know what to say.. This isn't the post I was hoping for when I came into your blog today, but then again I think I can understand how you must feel.

My only pointer:
You have to do what feels right. I mean physically and psychologically. Physically, obviously play healthy. Pyschologically, if the pull to footbag is that strong, you will find a way to have it around (even if that means it's around in a different way that you envisioned).

I hope it all works out. We've only ever chatted online, but you're a cool guy that I hope to bump into at an event someday.

hacksterbator · Post by **hacksterbator** » 25 Feb 2008 10:57

Erik Chan wrote:I read some of "Starting Strength" that Colin sent me. It is very flowery and superfluous. It seems like squats would be awesome, but I tried some without weights and couldn't get anywhere near the full squat position.

the 2 reasons why i don't recomend this book. they even advertise that there are 38 pages (or what ever) on squats, a whole 14 pages more than the last edition of the book, but the only difference is alot of extra words with no extra content. Secondly, full squats are NOT for every one. scratch that. full squats are not for MOST people. Yeah, they say "well look at olympic lifters! they are fine with them," which is (for the most part, i know 2 former olympic lifters with bum knees and bad lowerbacks) true, but i can guarantee you they didn't start with full squats off the hop! arrgh, the book made me cringe, which is why i never finished reading it.

Erik, i'm sorry you are starting to feel old and decrepit. i really don't want to see my mentor quit the game, but if that's what you decide, i hope it works out for the best. While i'm sure you will scoff at me for suggesting it: what about net? softer playing surface, better shoes, lower volume of impact. I'm sure scott and joel could use a good motivator like you! Something to think about i guess...

SlashC · Post by **SlashC** » 25 Feb 2008 11:47

I like watching you play footbag in videos and I really like watching you play in person.

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 25 Feb 2008 14:06

SlashC wrote:I like watching you play footbag in videos and I really like watching you play in person.

Me too.

I read/watched this a few days ago and thought it was kind of appropriate here. You should watch this.
http://lifecoachesblog.com/2008/02/20/n ... interview/

I saw this today, kind of in the same vein, it's cool
http://lifecoachesblog.com/2008/02/22/n ... nary-life/

I'm really digging your YT video diary series no matter what you say. You are not a poseur just because you make videos of yourself and want positive feedback. All humans want positive feedback and support. A poseur is someone who talks about concepts they can't do, and can't hit stuff in person or on video to back themselves up. I hope to be able to hit intense runs of spins and ducks like you do some day. I think my record is 3 dexless (spin>duck>spin).

Maybe all that should have been in a PM, but I thought the Tony Robbins videos were helpful and very uplifting, so sharing with all.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 25 Feb 2008 21:46

A whole slew of things went through my mind when I read your last post.

1. . Here's a song to set the mood of this post.

2. I wouldn't be offended being compared to Kenyon Martin. You achieved a high level of play, got a lot of enjoyment out of footbag, and ran into some bad luck. Have you seen or read Field of Dreams? In some ways you remind me a lot of the character Moonlight Graham. You should check out that movie.

3. Poseurism in footbag is an interesting question. I think some of the best players in footbag today are poseurs. There are lots of intermediate players who definitely are not. I think the truest measure of whether or not you are a poseur lies in the answer to the question: who do you play footbag for? If you play for other people, then you are a poseur. Only you can answer this question for sure, but I get the impression from you that you are not a poseur.

4. Everybody likes recognition, but that does not automatically make one a poseur. That said, I think that your main motivation for hitting highlights, and then posting them, should be primarily for yourself, and then for sharing with others. I'm sometimes guilty of not doing this myself, and I think most of us are like that, but what matters is your primary motivation. Don't feel guilty if somewhere mixed in there is a need for validation from the community. I think that's human.

5. I thought a lot about what you said of having passed the "peak of your game." I often wonder myself if I've passed my peak. But being able to see the decline or the end of your footbag career on the horizon is only a bad thing if you let it be a bad thing. For me, knowing that I may be on the downslope of my career actually makes me appreciate each session that much more. It also takes some pressure of me, since anything good that I hit is like a bonus. I guess a lot of it depends on your motivation for playing. If you were motivated to be amongst the worlds best, to do well at worlds, then maybe it is time to quit. If your goal is to be your best, and you really think you are past your prime, then maybe it is a good idea to quit. But think to when you first started playing, when you first got lavers, when you first hit flip clipper. Was being the best in the world your goal (for some people, it is)? If not, then maybe you shouldn't hang up your climas just yet. I've come to terms with knowing I won't win worlds, and I'll probably never do as well as I did in 05. I'm still not sure if I've maxed my potential as an individual player. But what I do know for sure, is that I still have fun playing, and that should keep me going even after I know I'm on the downslope of my individual potential.

B_Man · Post by **B_Man** » 26 Feb 2008 09:59

Well spoken Ken.

Erik, you've always been the man for me. I've looked up to you as a hero when I started kicking, and I still do. You guys from Winnipeg have had such a large impact on me, and I consider you guys to be some of my closest friends I've met in footbag. I know life seems tough at the moment, but you can't keep looking at it through the darkness. It's just my own opinion, but I think you keep looking at all the negativity that's happening within yourself which is only bringing you down. Instead, you have to look at the lighter side of things. Sometimes it may seem impossible to do that, but if you never try you'll never find it, you know?

I'm going through some hard stuff in my life as we speak, where someone who I cared so much for told me she hated me and can't love me. It cut me to pieces. Now we're on a break which will probably end in a mutual break-up. It got me so down. But you know what? Now I have all the time I need to do other things I want to do, like footbag more or read or weight lift (or play WoW

).

My point is, you have to keep that chin up. Life is a rollarcoaster, you have to ride it expecting the twists, the ups and downs, because before you know it you'll be at the end and think "that was quick".

And I don't know but if you think you're a poser then I'm the biggest poser of them all. If I post highlights I almost crave somebody to recognize them. I don't see it as being a poser though, because in the end, like Ken said, I play for myself and my own personal gain and I don't post those highlights for the sole reason of letting everybody congratulate me on them. Still, though, the props feels good

.

And your bag is so choice. I like it. I love it and I want some more of it!

Zac Jackson · Post by **Zac Jackson** » 26 Feb 2008 11:03

Ive never met you but youve still be a huge influence on my game, one of the very first videos Ive ever even seen that got me into footbag was of you! your such an amazing player. I agree with what byrin said, just keep lookin up and maybe things will turn around yeh?

PS your bag that you made Jim is AMAZING

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 09 Mar 2008 17:23

I appreciate all of the comments and encouragement. <3

Marita shred session: 080309
Marita and I played a bit today. She's been playing a little bit a few minutes here and there lately, and it's really fun and cute. Today she had her first real session ever, probably; she wore my Climas, even though they're about 6 sizes too big. I think we played for probably 1.5-2 hours. We wanted to record all of the new moves and stuff she hit, so here goes:
-inside stall [both sides]
-clipper [just one side]
-inside kick [both sides]
-toe kick [both sides]
-6 inside kicks
-8 toe stalls

It was really productive, and we're excited to play more and get even better! Toe stalls seemed really on and like she could do as many as she wanted. I filmed her doing her 8, I think. If she keeps at it we want to get her a pair of Lavers, but we'll wait and see if she sticks with it, especially when I'm not here any more.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 10 Mar 2008 17:33

Marita shred session: 080210
Marita seems to be really stoked on hack. After yesterday's awesome session she said that it made her happy and it was really fun. This is basically the most exciting thing in the world after playing myself. Today we left early for her work because she wanted to play before work! We played about half an hour, and she had some sweet highlights again:
-pixie [both sides] (first try on good side)
-pixie x2
-10 toe stalls

She was also really close to legover both sides, but we ran out of time. She also had 3 pixies roll off. She's hit them before actually, but it was, like, 3 years ago or something, and she more played then to please me, but I think now she is actually having fun. We're going to play again in a few hours when she gets back from work if her feet feel okay. She says she can do way more toe stalls, and I'm excited for her to get legovers, and I will get her to try mirages too.

BuckRuckus · Post by **BuckRuckus** » 10 Mar 2008 19:42

YAAHH! GO MARITA!!!!

Sporatical_Distractions · Post by **Sporatical_Distractions** » 10 Mar 2008 19:50

SlashC wrote:I like watching you play footbag in videos and I really like watching you play in person.

Same. I'm glad you've stuck with footbag, otherwise we would have never met and you would not have influenced all of these people to the degree that you have.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 05 Apr 2008 19:18

Wow, pushed to page 3 in less than a month.
I had a session with Manna today. I just played tiltless mostly, and even that felt a bit too much, but Manna was kinda off the hook. Here's some stuff that he hit:

-Phoenix [BSOS] (twice, starting on opposite sides!)
-Cower (alpine fear)
-Locomotion (first 6 add!!!)
-Pixie same DLO
-Smog (these were his first three triple dexes ever today!)

Manna's been playing for less than a year...
Yeah. I got these highlights on my digital camera, so, I'm about to slap together a little something!!!

EDIT: My computer is dumb and I can't put the clips together, so it will have to wait a few days

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 15 Apr 2008 22:19

On footbag injuries
So I'm the head librarian at a highschool.
It's basically completely, 100% awesome.
So I was bored at work today with nothing to do. I was cleaning up some books that were out of place and stumbled on some books on running, including one that was about sports injuries, I believe, and then one called, "Lore of Running". The first one was lame. Completely useless. It talked about shin splints a bit, but it gave nothing worthwhile. The Lore of Running, however... appears to be the runner's bible!!! It is hardcore!

The book is, like, 1000 pages, or something. Maybe more? It's huge. A third of it is devoted to running injuries. So I read all about... all sorts of stuff that I felt that I could relate to footbag. It was good. Basically, what I took from the book, from a brief scan and read is that between 70% - 90+% of running injuries have been completely healed with the use of, like... I forget the proper term. Little thingies you put in your shoes, or proper footwear in general. It talked about remedying cause instead of symptoms, and how every body is different and so you need to isolate your body's compatibility with certain shoes, or whatever. It had solutions for flatfeet, bowleggedness, short-leg-syndrome (or whatever -- where one leg is shorter than the other), etc. It also gave tips on how to self-diagnose, and what to keep in mind when seeing a specialist. The thing that struck me most was that it's basically useless to talk to a doctor unless they have first-hand experience with the sport (this must be exceptionally true of footbag, on account of its obscurity). Whatever, blah blah blah.

I also got some neat facts, like, how if you're only going to stretch either before or after, you should stretch before, because the muscles stay stretchy for 3 hours, but the workout only keeps you limber for stretching for 30 minutes. I don't know how accurate this is, but it seemed just... so right. It had a big section about expensive running shoes and if they are just a ploy to get your money, and the correlations between injury and runners with fancy shoes. Something about how comfortable, soft shoes fool your body into thinking you're landing on soft ground, when you're not. Etc.

Optimistic
So I am feeling optimistic. I feel like if I just get the right insoles or switch shoes or something, then all of my problems may be solved!!! I want to try those insoles that Ken was always talking about. I think you put them just under your toes? Metatarsal insoles? It makes sense that your toes would be higher, to stretch your calf and put less strain on the shin muscles... Anyway. So, I feel really lucky that Andrew is studying to be an athletic therapist and is also awesome at footbag. I want to ask him opinion of what I read. Maybe if he is reading he can give some feedback. Or maybe I can bring the book to show him. What do you think ANDREW GRANT?

More optimism
So yeah.
Thinking about the possibility of fixing my problems completely, once and for all has me really, really happy. I can't even imagine how amazing it would be to be able to actually just play footbag and not worry about anything, and be able to play every single day. I couldn't ask for more.

On a similarly related positive note, I may be getting Derek Vandall back into footbag!:twisted:I got him to come to the last jam, though it was a lame jam, and he was really rusty... And then I went and played Rockband for the first time at his house for like 3 hours!

Oh, and we, like, hung out outside of footbag all day before the session too. It was nice. That's not something I've ever really experienced in Winnipeg footbag before. Well, except maybe with Taras, who never even really played so much as he did coach me (kind of like how Jim explained Ales to Vasek in his Todexon write-up). In Toronto the hanging out was way more natural, and my shred buddy was my best friend in the whole city.

And on another neato note, I was inspired to work on my KICKASS video (from 1.5 years ago), and my computer is cooperating with me so far!!! I am very excited! Here is a YouTube link to what I've done so far:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg-4xHrUyE8[/youtube]
It won't be stretched, and I will fix some other little things, and also, it will be much longer. Please gimme some feedback. I'm very excited about the song. I've been listening to it a lot lately, and it hit me suddenly tonight that I HAD to work on a footbag video to it. And I kind of felt that Scott's style would go well with it

Girls
Oh, I keep thinking of great footbag news.
My best friend (I drew a picture of her in markers a few pages back) is all excited to get into footbag! We were going to play today, but she was feeling sick. (I played by myself and hit vortex > rev swirl both sides). Also, my super cute friend messaged me out of the blue a while back saying that she is excited to learn footbag with me over the summer and order Lavers! She was at Hackrifice, so I mentioned her in my write-up of that, back in September. Also, Marita was all excited to order Lavers too! She hasn't played since she moved to Germany, but she was progressing really steadily, and I was really proud, and having soooo much fun teaching her!

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 17 Apr 2008 21:03

I still use the metatarsals, and they've been great to me.

Paul Agostinelli · Post by **Paul Agostinelli** » 17 Apr 2008 21:30

i recently started reading blogs again and yours was one of the first i went to, after reading some of the posts earlier on the page i was very relieved when you posted that last one. im very happy that you are optomistic about footbag and i am beside myself that you are putting out more video from kickass 2, ive been hoping for that ever since the second one came out.

i really hope your injuries improve and i look forward to kicking with you in canada soon, you are definitely one of my favorite people to kick with.

Max Power · Post by **Max Power** » 18 Apr 2008 15:14

That video looks so sweet. I'm so excited to see the final product.

I don't think I have ever posted in a blog before. Yay, first blog post.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 19 Apr 2008 19:19

Thanks for the replies guys. Paul, that was a really sweet thing to say

Session 080419:
Pretty fun session today
Manna was playing significantly better: smoother, longer runs, harder tricks. He's starting to seriously own certain concepts. Swirls and reverse swirls. He's BSOSed reverse twirl and he's BSOSed reverse revup. He had a sick run today. I forget which tricks... but it was something like twirl and revup both BSOS and lots of shuffle and stuff. He was also playing around with Matt Cross' reverse hat rim tricks. He caught on REALLY fast and was doing butterflies out of it BSOS and all sorts of stuff. He had flip cower off his foot, but only tried, like, the once.

Andrew was playing really well. He is so smooth and controlled. He'll bust a haze mid shuffle and you will barely notice that it's a triple dex because of how effortless he makes tricks. He had a few really hardcore runs. I can never remember Andrew's highlights though.

I was playing virtually pain-free, and playing quite a bit harder than I probably should have been, but I only had a few twinges of discomfort here and there. I'm gonna do toe-taps now so that it doesn't all of a sudden hurt like crazy later... Umm, I had some rad highlights that I impressed myself with. I remember one run that was 39 contacts of just spinning and ducking and not a single bail. I did 4 rotations of spinning clipper > gyro clipper [repeat] (so 16 contacts or so). I guess I don't do that one that much. Runs of just spinning are kinda way harder than just ducking. Umm. Lots of long runs.
spinning ducking mirage > pixie ducking clipper [BSOS]
I had vortex > void roll off one side, and then picked up and just missed the other side, like first try for both. I had the exact same for vortex > mobius happen earlier too. Wow. I wanna do these tricks way more

Vortex > void must feel sooooo good. I also had alpine mobius off my foot again. I didn't try that one too many times.
Yeah I guess that's all.
Oh, I was also soooo close to flurry with that trick I thought of while in Lethbridge.

I talked to Andrew about metatarsals a bit. He didn't seem to know much about them, but we agreed that I should go to Diamond Athletic to ask them. Diamond is, like, the leading "sports medicine" sorta place in Canada... like I dunno the right terminlogy... "athletic medical supplies"? So I should be lucky that they are in my city!! That's where I got my knee braces. Man I hope metatarsals aren't super pricey. Maybe I will try Running Room too. We talked a bit about that.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 19 Apr 2008 19:23

My metatarsal insoles are gel, so they last a long time. I can't recommend them enough. When you get them you might be able to keep them in place by just sticking them under your regular insoles. For me, I found that sticking a single thumbtack in them, and then putting the normal insole over it did the trick the best.

Please don't play too hard Erik. Have fun, but keep your future in mind.