g$

[gMoney]

Just finished my 3rd session today.... hah

highlights
-pdx double legover, bs
-748 consecutive kicks
-95 alternating inside stalls
-more confidence

And if I had to take any of them separately, I'd take the last one.

Weird how it takes a bad day to turn into a good day.

edit: just about time for another video, I think

[Benzilla]

A video would be sweet. Props on the new stuff.

[gMoney]

Thanks about time somebody else wrote in here. The blog's been quite lonely. Haha.

I didn't shred today due to a nagging neck/headache, but I decided to change the name of my blog, because that's how I've been feeling lately. It's not necessarily a bad thing.. well, I guess it is, but it could be worse, I guess. It's like a comedian joking about how much life used to suck when he/she was little. Or, it's not really like that at all, I don't know. Whatever.

Oh yeah, and osis doesn't suck as much anymore. It still sucks, but not as much. Too much focus on it has made me loose grip with my basics, and I need to drill those a bit harder next sesh.

[Benzilla]

i feel that way in my blog so much, but then im like...meh does it really matter..

Don't feel bad about having crap sessions. Its happening to me right now. i've just pushed my self a little and they seem to get better. I feel the same way about younger people completely schoolin me. I just say that all i have to teach me my tricks is me really. And the interaction with me and other shredders is limited. It kinda depends on where you are, and who you have to help you.

Its like the reason i only can hit a certain number of tricks, is because those are really the only tricks i know. If i knew more tricks, i might be able to hit a lot more. But meh, it is the way it is.

Try shredding outside, if you don't. It feels a lot different than a basement or garage, and may help you break through the walls holdin you back.

[gMoney]

Yeah, I notice some similarities in a couple blogs. One bad session I can live with, but when it's like 3 or 4 in a row I just get completely pissed off and get too angry to play. Kicking outside isn't an option yet. Snow's melting, but everything's real wet. Shredding outside is so much more refreshing though. I hate the basement, but I guess some sacrifices have to be made.

I want to possibly kick with the guys in the CIC one day on spring break, unless I'm going on a cruise, which is yet to be decided. Two rooms left and we still haven't gotten word back yet. I'm crossing my fingers. But I think that'd be cool, playing with a group of actual shredders. I'll have to find out if there will be any spring break plans then I'll pm one of them or something and see if anyone's available and try to find a time.

I finally recorded both a sick 1 and a sick 3. I think they're ok; I don't really like them, but I guess I couldn't do any better and even if I could it would take me like 50+ tries for each, so I'll just keep what I have.

Osis is getting decent! Now my butterflies suck, but whatever. I can actually hit them I'd say 3 times out of 10, as opposed to 1 out of 10. It's not good, but it's better. Speaking of butterflies, I can only get like 4 consecutives now. I don't know why. I used to get like 14, but I guess that was just a fluke. Oh well, back to the drawing board for that.

[Zac Miley]

But on the plus side, you're winning.

[gMoney]

lol

[gMoney]

I kicked tiltless in the ass today. I feel like thru all the 'big' tricks and BOPs I've been doing, I've been neglecting the basics. This also led to a different approach to my sessions. Now all my drills have set numbers, and they're usually pretty high, but not too high. I also started drilling downtime pixie and fairy. They're not that different from mirage and illusion, but I feel like my muscles are just too used to those two, and I feel like I need those two tricks. What I mean by my muscles being too used to mirage and illusion, is that whenever I tried pixie or fairy, my muscles pretty much locked up and tried doing another trick, and I want to break that habit. I probably won't even use them when I shred, but they'll be good to know. I'm also not magic hopping on legovers and pickups. I think that if I don't plant and get the bag lower during drills, the easier they'll be when I do strings. I also started doing muted clippers, which are hard but I think they'll be rewarding when I can link them together better. And that's all thats going on in my world of footbag.

[sniper4life]

Hey dude. Looks like you've been doin some great work since the last and only time I saw you play. I'm really impressed. It's starting to get warmer out . You know what that means! I can't say I've played once since we did last fall. Anywho, keep up the practice. Sounds like its paying off.

[gMoney]

I was thinking that today on the way home from school. I wish it was a little drier and a little warmer, but that'll come soon enough.


Oh yeah, and I forgot to write in here that my Hollybag finally broke in. I was neglecting kicks and it didn't break in as fast as it should have. I should probably write Holly a review for it later. Right now I'm doing homework, kind of. I'll set the date for tomorrow, unless I have a lot more homework. I hate it when I keep putting things off.

[gMoney]

Just finished my first (I think) outdoor session of the year. It was freezing outside. I actually just opened the garage door and played in the garage, but I guess it can still be called outside. I videotaped a small portion it, and my form looks loads better. My god, I'm even starting to like my style which I never thought would happen.

So anyways, I was playing and all of a sudden my hip started hurting. I ignored it, but then later it just kind of locked up, so I stopped playing, which sucks because I was planning on playing for like 5 hours today and had to stop at like 45 minutes. It felt like I dislocated it. It hurt like this once before, when I first hit phoenix. Same leg too. I'll get it checked out if it bothers me too much.

I'll post the video on here once it uploads.

[Benzilla]

watch that hip...

[gMoney]

Well, after thread surfing, I've come to the conclusion that my hip injury is an overuse injury. I guess with how I've been practicing it was bound to happen. My guiltless is getting a lot stronger now, my osis is becoming more consistent, and my form has finally reached a good level. Actually, watching my newest youtube video, I'm seeing a resemblance between my style and Lon Smith's style. I'm not comparing me to him, I'm saying if my style looked like anyone's, it'd be his. I've heard people say here on modified he was on the taller side, (hah) so that may be why. I'll post the link at the bottom as a present for anyone who reads this regularly. So anyways, I hate to do it, but I have to rest for I'd say the next week and ice and heat and stretch. It's not something I want to do, but I guess I have to or it'll hold me back even more. I don't like not playing, it's like either I play or I don't, and there's nothing inbetween. I wish I could play more than I am already. So anyways, heres the video. It's nothing special, but I'm developing more of a style and developing better tricks. It's just a comparison of my last videos. My next one will be more "music video" oriented.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlhFpQYRHmg

[Benzilla]

don't be so hard on yourself for not nailing stuff. I do kinda see the resemblance with you and Lon..his and your ducking looked extremely close.

can't think of anything constructive to say.

[Zac Miley]

Yo. My hip has a recurring injury.

I started stretching it at NYJ and it hasn't hurt since. There are two ways to stretch it:

Standing straight, grab your knee and hug it up close, almost to your chest. Keep your back straight.

or...

Sitting down, bend one log and cross it over the straight leg (that is still on the ground) and hug the bent leg to your chest. Don't move your chest though.

I hope this works.

[gMoney]

I do the second stretch on a regular basis. But the first stretch seems like it would help the area that I'm having problems in. Thanks.

I don't think I'm being too hard on myself. I'm not trying to turn myself into a shred machine or anything, I just really enjoy footbag and want to reach my potential in it. Well, reaching one's potential isn't really possible, but you know what I mean. I want to be the best I can be, and I don't want to settle. If I'm not hard on myself occasionally, nobody else will be. This isn't track season where I'm being driven by the fear of failure and letting the team down. There was no self motivation there for me, which is why I'm not in track this year (along with wanting to shred more and play guitar more and generally have a life.) I'm not beating myself up over it, I'm just playing mental games and testing myself if that makes sense.

[Benzilla]

yeah, you're right.

But just try not to get to frustrated..stay in like the middle i guess. Have high expectations, and standars but don't over do it...i don't know how to say it. Sorry if im sounding like a jerk right now..

[gMoney]

nah, I know what you mean. When I first started playing I got pissed all the time for not hitting stuff. I threw my bag across the room many times and started, like, violently yelling and swearing when I first started playing and things weren't going my way, which explains why it now weighs about 20g less than it used to weigh, and why I ended up quitting for 6 months. I'm far from that now

[gMoney]

God, it's so nice outside. I wish I could go outside and kick, but I've got homework and then at 5:30 I've got an ACT class. It's like 50 degrees outside and there isn't a scary amount of wind. I should be doing my homework, but I just wanted to write in here for awhile.

I got Smash Bros yesterday, and that game seriously kicks ass. It's soooo awesome. I want to play it all the time now. The Pokemon Trainer is awesome. I was suprised when I found that out, I just thought he would suck. I haven't played it much so not everything's unlocked, but I can't wait to use Sonic and all the other unlockable characters. The characters really evened out too. Just thinking about the game is extremely exciting.

I talked to David Clavens online yesterday. It was pretty cool, he just went on windows messanger and said "hi" to me and we started talking. I was thinking to myself "this guy's the fourth best player in the world, and he's instant messaging me!" the entire time. He said I needed to work on form more, then the rest of the time we just chatted about footbag and stuff. I agree, my form is still pretty bad, but it did get a lot better. It's really my upper back that's my weak point, but I need to keep my arms down more. I've watched and rewatched my videos seriously hundreds of times. I think that just by concentrating on my back and arms I'll improve, but I really need to weight lift more.

My hip should be better by now, I'll try playing tomorrow after school. OUTSIDE

I can't wait for spring break. I think I'm really going to improve because I'll have loads of free time to play. I should find a day I'll be without restriction and see about going up to Chicago to play with the CIC. Idk yet, but when I do know I'll email/pm one of them.

Well, I should probably do my homework now.

[gMoney]

Well, last time I kicked was yesterday, and that went kind of well. I mostly just freestyled with little to no drills, but I was worried about my hip, which somewhat got better. It started popping, so I kind of stopped early, but the good news is there was no pain.

But I didn't decide to write in here to talk about that. I figure that the only way to improve mentally and physically is to fix my problems. But what are my problems? I'd like to take the next part of this post to complain about myself.

-My posture and form suck. They've gotten better, but are still bad. I don't pay attention to my back at all. Before, I played hunched over because 1)I was using Tricks of the Trade as my mentor, and Kenny Schultz always said "stay over the bag," and 2)I didn't have a camera or anybody to watch me, so I didn't know any better. Now that I know better and my form is better, I'm not pushing it any further. And my posture overall sucks. Right now as I'm typing this I'm hunched over the keyboard. Whenever I sit in school I slouch. This needs to stop. I also never weightlift. I really need to start lifting more and pay attention to my back, chest, and arms. Not only is this dangerous for footbag, but I could grow up with chronic backpain or something.
-I don't stay hydrated enough. I definately need to drink more water.
-My eating habits suck. Not enough fruits and vegetables. I should start drinking a glass of v8 every day. My diet isn't balanced, I just eat a lot of shit food that an athlete shouldn't eat.
-I need to focus more in my sessions. I feel like I need to work my feet to the bone from time to time. A lot of times I just do strings all the way through. While this stringing is good, I need to drill a lot more. My tiltless is starting to suffer and it's because I just forget about it.
-I need to stretch more. Sometimes I'll end a session without stretching, which is a bad thing. A lot of times I won't stretch for the right amount of time.
-I don't get enough sleep! Even now, it's friggen midnight and I'm writing in here! What the hell do I do every night online that makes me stay up 3+ hours more than I need to? And that brings me to my next point:
-Too much internet. Not enough shred. The internet isn't that cool, but it is very addictive. If I went back and replaced all the time I was on the internet with time I was footbagging, I could be the next Vasek. Or the next Arnie Shankman, depending on how you look at it. Which brings me to my next point...
-Shred longer, shred everyday. Right now I have a stupid hip injury that I don't want to anger, but when it gets better I have to play more. I can't just put off playing. Thru good times and bad, I have to keep playing.

I think that's about it, if I think of anything else I'll edit this post and put it in here. G'night.