Arms Video

Jorden · Post by **Jorden** » 16 May 2008 15:23

Here's a video for those of you who intend on making/posting videos, competing in routines or performing in the future:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RaJwhyuLrD0

Something to think about.

JM

JeffRichards · Post by **JeffRichards** » 16 May 2008 16:13

Nice! I thought it was really funny while it was informative. The guns, gnarled fingers and scarecrow made me laugh

I think you should combine scarecrow with gnarled fingers to make the ugliest style yet...Gnarled Scarecrow!

acxel22 · Post by **acxel22** » 16 May 2008 16:25

pretty insctructive, thanks

gatapia · Post by **gatapia** » 16 May 2008 16:36

The dancers were absolutely beutifull

Edit: Breathtakingly beutifull

bdams19 · Post by **bdams19** » 16 May 2008 17:01

cool stuff jorden! love the outside the box shinanegins and how you're always looking to improve the experience from the spectator's point of view

TheLast · Post by **TheLast** » 16 May 2008 17:04

The Guns FTW

!!!

Max Power · Post by **Max Power** » 16 May 2008 17:28

This is more about hands then arms not to be too technical or anything. The only stuff about arms had to do with the ugly things. This is informative and interesting but i don't think that many spectators will be able to see the difference between dance hands and normal. In regards to arms i think that it is very important to keep them under control, try not to let them fly around too much, that is very distracting to a spectator. I haven't put enough thought into this yet but i will come up with some ideas on what not to do with your arms. As of right now i think the more stationary, yet loose, your arms are the better.

Jorden · Post by **Jorden** » 16 May 2008 18:20

Max Power wrote:I haven't put enough thought into this yet but i will come up with some ideas on what not to do with your arms.

Great!

HippieTom · Post by **HippieTom** » 16 May 2008 19:32

cool video very informative, nice to know what not to do so early in my game so haha thanks
i also really like the way that chad d. and blitz position their arms in their flipsider demo videos i think that is another aesthetically pleasing arm position but thats just me

g00d33 · Post by **g00d33** » 16 May 2008 20:16

This is extremely helpful, i've been wondering how to properly hold my hands for the past 7 months

calemccoy · Post by **calemccoy** » 16 May 2008 22:24

i really liked guns... but apparently im a natural dancer... thats how i hold my hands already. cool!

thanks jorden!

Asmus · Post by **Asmus** » 17 May 2008 03:34

I think one thing you should have mentioned is uniformity.
You should really try to think about holding your hands the same way.
And also think about holding your hands the same way when doing various tricks.
For example am I currently trying to stop clenching my right hand into a fist everytime I do a trick that needs strenght (DOD, Quantum etc).

Really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing.

footjam_heger · Post by **footjam_heger** » 17 May 2008 05:25

http://footbag.ch/viewer.php?type=photos&id=4138
haha, now that's difficult! what would you call mine? the cranky-style?! haha this looks kinda weird..never thought about it. anyways, thanks for this idea.

Benzilla · Post by **Benzilla** » 17 May 2008 05:43

i do think that the bad ways to hold your hands were a bit exaggerated, but this video does get me thinking of how i hold and place my own arms and hands mid-string.

Jazzkid · Post by **Jazzkid** » 17 May 2008 07:20

Thanks for the video. I am glad that you are calling attention to the appearance of the hands. All gnarled hands need to be fixed.

james · Post by **james** » 20 May 2008 14:12

Even better is using the guns to point to the bag.

But I've got an even better one, start with the 'bear' and as you play repeatedly go from that to super spread out hands. Like fireworks.
Matter a fact I think I'ma go see how that feels....

And you could also combine the scarecrow with super hunched over play if you really want to gross the audience out.

In my earlier years of playing I caught myself doing wierd things with one of my hands and forced myself to adopt something similar to 'the dancer' as you call it. I'm a stickler for style and finger position happens to be a part of that.
Also I found it interesting to note that Lowrider Laroche's hand position looks quite similar to the 'stop' one.

One last thing, i'm not a big fan of any of the closed fist styles. I think it looks bad (but not when you do it, you're my hero

)

EoghanMcDowell · Post by **EoghanMcDowell** » 20 May 2008 15:12

Thanks for making this vid. I now realize that I have been playing with a mild scarecrow, and thats no good. I really like guns and the dancer. I think the fist is intense as well. I thought stop looked kinda funny IMO. Gnarled fingers are disgusting!

gMoney · Post by **gMoney** » 20 May 2008 15:39

The crane one is the most comfortable for me. I noticed that I kind of bring my arms up to my chest when I play sometimes (mostly clipper-type moves), so I plan on fixing that.

One last thing, i'm not a big fan of any of the closed fist styles. I think it looks bad (but not when you do it, you're my hero )

I kind of agree that it looks bad, and I also think it causes unnecessary tension. But I think that if you are playing really shredding aggressively, a closed fist is a lot better than flailing hands or whatever kind of habit somebody develops.

BuckRuckus · Post by **BuckRuckus** » 20 May 2008 19:38

Another thing I noticed about my hands and those of some other intermediates is the 'claw'. When cranking my flip foot hard for osis or butterfly my one hand cranks as well. This obviously looks retarded and should be fixed.

It would be cool if your video (or the next one) focussed on proper arm form for clipper. I remember playing with you and you made me stop mid-clip and positioned my arms for me. My consistency and balance were forever improved.

Are there other moves that require specific arm motions? Is it worth explaining or do our arms just move as required for counter-balance?

BTW: dancer is my favorite. Way to get us thinking about something other than feet for a change!

Pancake Flogger · Post by **Pancake Flogger** » 20 May 2008 19:46

Both the Scarecrow and Gnarled Fingers made me laugh my ass off.

I was experimenting with these earlier today and it was pretty tricky to stay conscious of my hands while shredding, but I'm workin' on it and it definitely feels better. Props to you for doing it so easily; especially the "Hands in Front of Face" example. lmao