Wasabi: M(s)+J = BLAST

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 15 Jun 2008 14:32

I don't think I played well this past weekend. The humidity made me really sweat a ton, and my t-shirt (Kolo Sport) put a lot of uncomfortable weight and restriction on my body. I had to play shirtless, and I wasn't really comfortable with the idea of doing that. I also kept repeating strings as though I wanted to prove something to myself, but it really didn't promote any creativity on my part on Saturday.

Also, towards the end of the session, there was a massive rainstorm. I didn't bring an umbrella, and I was literally soaked from head to toe walking back home. The two 32s I had on me that were steel-filled instantly rusted from the rain water (and partially from my sweat). They were a Dada Peng bag I got from the last Cornell Jam and an Elemental Shred Freestyler that I refilled (two of the bags that I use more often in footbag sessions). I refilled the Peng bag today and replaced most of the steel with lead and poly, and left whatever of the special fill mix that was in there intact. I think it feels super choice.

I think I'm going to invest on a ton of lead and devote myself to making bags filled with lead. I can make steel bags for everybody that requests for it, as I still have a lot of steel at my disposal, but that's about it. I doubt I'll be using steel-filled bags in outdoor sessions anymore. If I have tungsten, all the better. Working with steel is a great challenge to make them great for freestyle, but I think I'm past the point of experimenting with fillers. I need something that's consistent and workable.

I'm also thinking of going back to basics for stitching. Expect some bags from me soon.

Oh yeah, Stan came out to play in this recent NYFA session, which is a rarity. He's really hardcore, and I admire his style. I really want to reach and rival his consistency. His tapdowns, flurries, whirling swirls, barroques and scorpion tails are freakin' awesome. I feel partly ashamed to be in a circle with him, since I always seem to overthink my strings too much that I mess up and whatever, but I think it's a real joy to see him play. I guess the mental image of his consistency is a great way to push and motivate myself in getting better in footbag, for myself.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 16 Jun 2008 03:03

I want to be just as good as Henmo.

edit: Saw a lot of footage from Ken in 2003 and Takumi from last year. I could just watch these videos all day long, and adapt everything I'm watching into my sessions. Takumi's form is just literally amazing...

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 20 Jun 2008 11:21

I've been challenged into a Hack Off by Andrew Kownirk-Dunford (Eskimo Joe)! Seriously wicked. Rules: 3 strings, one shot Stephen Barnes style.

Maybe there should be handicap like dropping from the first trick? I don't know, but I'm excited for this.

I have to ask somebody in NYFA to bring a camera to shred. Barrett's out of the question, so maybe Drew? E-mailing NYFA, NOW!!!

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 21 Jun 2008 13:07

Bad weekend session today. We had to play on a different part of Washington Square Park, and I wasn't used to the rigid surface. Actually, you know what, I shouldn't blame on the change of terrain or change of mood. I just plain suck, and small things get to me sometimes. A lot of things you shouldn't do in terms of footbaggin' etiquette happened today, mostly on my part, and I just didn't like it. It really affected my mentality.

I should be surpassing these boundaries, though. Today just wasn't a good day for me, even though I was psyched to play. I doubt I'll have the same energy for footbag tomorrow due to my performance today. Plus, the weather report for tomorrow doesn't seem too good for footbag either. I doubt I'll get any footage recorded this weekend for my Hack Off submission.

I'm just going to stitch footbags right now, and vent my frustration through that. I'm really, REALLY dissatisfied today.

Please don't reply with "I'm sorry... etc." because part of my frustration involves pedestrians saying just that.

/vent.

I'll play better next session, and I'll be in a better mood. So, I'll record whatever highlights then.

PS: Just to set the mood of this post into a better light, I finally found my niche in footbag stitching, and found out why I was so dissatisfied with the aesthetics of my craft a few months ago (maybe this past year). It involves the corners of the pentagons in general. I've been sewing too close into them, so much that the stitches are very adjacent to one another, and that was what threw me off before. Now, I'm not doing that anymore, so I'm pretty excited to actually be making awesome 32s now, again.

Also, I'm sewing my bags 1.5 times faster than usual. I guess my arms are feeling better from my break. I'll probably put away my rib-stitch cord, because I think that thread doesn't bode well with my usual knots on my needle for single threading, and it usually gets in the way for sewing. I'm thinking of switching to nylon upholstery or button thread. Floss is out of the question.

PSS: Actually, a good reply to my blog would be suggestions on where I should move in the USA & Canada. I need a change of scenery badly. A good footbag scene without the hussle and bustle like NYC.

Post by **Zac Miley** » 21 Jun 2008 13:20

Move to Kansas, Waylon.

It's really flat. Good for footbag.

ncbagger · Post by **ncbagger** » 21 Jun 2008 13:37

Charlotte, North carolina.
Doooooooooooooo itttttttttttttt
You know you want to

ncbagger · Post by **ncbagger** » 21 Jun 2008 13:37

Charlotte, North carolina.
Doooooooooooooo itttttttttttttt
You know you want to

Spontaneous Spaz · Post by **Spontaneous Spaz** » 21 Jun 2008 15:15

rochester would be a good choice, up there you got matt cross and the whole RFA

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 21 Jun 2008 15:38

Good call Bryce. Rochester, Buffalo and Geneseo are some fine choices. It makes traveling to Canada less burdensome, and I LOVE going to Canada.

I still have fond memories from Kickass 2.

Also, the best sushi place ever is in Rochester. "California Rollin'" is a treat that I always want to partake on whenever I attend GRASS or any other Rochester Jam. There's never a bad time for $9.50 bowls and plum beers.

Spontaneous Spaz · Post by **Spontaneous Spaz** » 21 Jun 2008 15:57

plus i'll be up there at geneseo during the school year (college), so we could shred w/ chris dean

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 21 Jun 2008 16:20

I think this is a good idea. I love kicking with the RFA, and they get me real riled up for footbag sessions whenever I play with them at tournaments.

Definitely a good call, Bryce.

Spontaneous Spaz · Post by **Spontaneous Spaz** » 21 Jun 2008 16:25

thanks

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 23 Jun 2008 02:13

Booked a Super Saver flight for this year's Hackrifice.

It'll fill the empty void I have for USO, and fulfill my longing to step on Canadian soil since late 2006. Winnipeg baby!

People better confirm and represent in this jam. I will not excuse any people not showing their faces for Hackrifice! It's going to be freakin' big!!!

I better train and stitch a ton of bags for this jam.

Also, I got to buy my bus tickets for EC Jampionships this weekend. I keep forgetting, but I will not excuse myself from attending a jam made by Bevier. It's going to be wicked.

So far, I'll be super busy with schoolwork this week, as I'll be part of a discussion concerning Cahan's Yekl for American Prose 1871-1914. It's going to take up a lot of research and time on my part. I don't know if I'll be able to sew any bags for Bevier's jam. I'm still freakin' excited however.

Footbag!

edit: For the past two weeks or so I've been cranking and stretching really hard on both of my ankles so that I can mimic Vasek's form just a bit. I have a faint memory from Worlds last year when Denton Louis helped me to understand the specialty in Vasek's crank. Back then, I remember it hurting a lot and he nearly gave me a charlie horse. But now I've been doing wraps with extra extra rolly bags and adjusting my clipper posture just a bit, as well as bending in a variety of ways to getting a nicely straight and controlled set. So far, I got four clipper freezes on my strong and two on my flip.

Hopefully I can make use out of this routine of mine. It has made my legs feel more limber, so I guess there is some progress. The downside is that I get a momentary soreness in both legs as I walk, just from all of the stress of readjusting my form.

I know this exercise isn't exactly necessary, but it'll help me to keep calm and focused beforehand so that I don't waste a weekend with NYFA due to my shitty clippers.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 25 Jun 2008 19:09

Had a small hack session with Brian Damato and Ken David this evening. My time with them lasted about an hour or so. I wore regular casual-everyday clothing, so I was ill-equipped to play. Like, my shorts felt like they were the inspiration to the "poofiness" of the Kingdom Hearts videogame clothing line, and I wore my Duncan shirt that I got from Kulczyk awhile. The shirt wasn't very breathable. Anyway, I had my Quantuims on, and I tried to play well today. Unfortunately, I was blind as a bat, wearing my glasses to the session and taking them off for play, but I suppose that's a stupid excuse to not be able to spot the bag.

Anyway, strings were short, and I was told that I put way too much effort into my shred. Okay, whatever.

Highlights:
-Footed toe blur three times, no hand seal, mirage felt rakey/kicky.
-Hit my first eggbeater after about 3-5 tries. I was surprised. Brian helped me confirm that it was legit.

However, I want to try working on them more so that my first dex isn't so ankly.
-Hit paradon after 3rd attempt at it. I thought that it wasn't very clean, but Brian thinks otherwise. I'll need confirmation on it this weekend.

Paradon isn't unique for me, as I have hit it in my strong side since last year, but I was trying to be careful that I wouldn't hurt myself in doing this trick. I'm kind of at odds and ends at it. My first eggbeater is a pretty cool achievement. I kicked myself twice in the thigh in my quantum set for toe blur. The injury is nothing serious (if there is any), but I think I scraped myself just a bit with my dexing blade.

I think I'll start wearing some really short shorts for shred. Hopefully people won't notice my junk. I'd like to see my dexterities and delays not get in the way due to my shorts.

In other news... I'm lamenting over a small paper I have to due on Yekl by Abraham Cahan. I'm not motivated enough to work on it, and it was supposed to be due last night. I didn't do any preparations today to work on it. Tonight and the rest of tomorrow are times in which I can put in the effort in working on it. I'm jst a bit bummed that I'm taking a summer class when I can spend my time with footbag.

bdams19 · Post by **bdams19** » 25 Jun 2008 20:55

shoewy but it was still legit! about an hour after you left, ken and I were finishing the session when a group of like 20 or 30 15 year old kids from connecticut came up and started saying how our footbagging was the coolest thing ever. They kept taking video of us and we probably got at least three or four hooked on footbag. Huzzah! Spread love its the brooklyn way

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 26 Jun 2008 12:51

Dude, that is so cool Brian! Wow!!!

Footbag is a religion. Anyone who says otherwise are douches.

Currently packing up for my trip to State college. It's going to be a blast.

I think I'll need to retire my Quantums within 3 months or so. The grey variety are freakin' hot, and it'll suck to see them die. I have a pretty gaping hole on the right shoe's "swirl spot" and there a lot of bits of the sole missing from underneath my sole. Some of the mesh is stretching a bit, but not to the point of ripping apart. Well, do have a reserve pair of the white/grey, and I'll be getting black Quantum03s this summer.

Also, I think I'm going to revert back to Lavers soon, just for personal reasons.

That's all I really have to write about.

edit: (Fri. June 27, 2008 1:03am) I'll just post this little snippet here so that I don't have to make an independent post over something that is completely irrelevent to footbag. I'm taking a summer class in the morning based on late 19th - early 20th century American Prose, and I have literally no motivation. Maybe it's summer and all I want to think about is footbag. Maybe I just don't have the deep-rooted interest for literature of this era (though most of the assigned readings I've absorbed in this course have been very rich in their context). Maybe the course is just too condensed for me to follow along (monday through thursday every morning; the semester lasts about a month and a half).

I mean, I really do enjoy the class. I think our discussions are very intense and well-cited. I just don't have the interest to keep up, assignment-wise. I'm already two days late on a paper supposedly due Tuesday night, and I have yet to start on it (the assignment asks for 2+ pages, but the research is somewhat too condensed to do all in one night). I work well under pressure, but I'm really poor at pacing myself properly, and I end up either messing up my essay or not doing it at all.

Yeah, this is a poor excuse, and I have a firm belief that any excuse is not a good excuse at all. So, I'm solely responsible for all of my actions, and I take the bad rap wholeheartedly for all of the poor actions I undertake. It's just disheartening for me to have this trait in me.

And yeah, this is a poor rant. Please excuse this edit; I just wanted to vent a little.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 30 Jun 2008 05:20

I had a lot of fun at Flash's jam this weekend. I think the funnest part was when me, Jay Boychuck, Jon Haber and Nathan Pipenberg just traveled around downtown State College on Saturday to go sightseeing. We just did a lot of random things, and we talked a bunch. We also ate a lot of sweet treats, which were a good replacement for beer.

Highlights:
-Blur
-Toe Blur
-Quantum ss butter
-Paradon
-Footed Tripwalk
-I think I hit eggbeater again. Can't remember.

My clippers suck balls. Like, sweaty gorilla testicles. I will never ever get a good grasp of clippers if I don't land softly and that the bag doesn't make little to any sound. Crank has little to do with it, but maybe I overcrank on my flipside. Matt called me out on it. Deja vu.

I'm going to switch back to Lavers. My Qunatums have a massive hole on one side, and the hole keeps getting bigger and bigger. Laver mesh is much stronger.

I missed my bus on Sunday afternoon. i read my bus ticket incorrectly, and I felt like a douche. I spent three hours just walking around downtown State College after Drew and Aidan drove me to the bus stop. I was too embarassed to give them a call again (gas prices are expensive, and I don't want to burden people because I'm a fuckin' irresponsible idiot). So, during my wandering, for maybe the remaining 2 hours from my walk downtown, I read a bunch of research material I brought along with me at a nearby Starbucks. It was swell, though i didn't do the paperwork I intended to do whence I came back (it was 2:30 in the morning). I also bumped in Scott and Aidan as my bus was about to arrive; i was embarassed at the coincidence. Oh well.

Also, Nathan's mom is a wonderful cook. Pancakes? Spaghetti and Kielbasa/sausage? Weis brand products (cereal, milk, lemonade, etc.)? It was awesome.

Grisabell is a sweetie-pie. She was all over my sweet & zesty jerky (literally; not intended as an innuendo). Flash and Aidan are extremely hospitable. I felt a great deal of Xenia from their care.

PS: Had my first blizzard at a Dairy Queen. Now I feel like hitting blizzard. Thank you Jay, Jon, for the pleasure.

edit: Found out that my lavers are a size 8 US. That really sucks, because I was expecting them to be a size 7 or something. They are a size 6.5 UK, so I guess I had a small misconception back then when I got them in a trade. Anyway, i feel like departing them for a smaller pair, but I still want blue Lavers. If anyone has a pair of size 7 Blue Lavers and want a slightly larger size, let me know.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 03 Jul 2008 07:17

Sounds like you had a bunch of fun at the Jampionships. I am super sad I couldn't go.

Yes, let's challenge each other. Your turn to make the challenge...

Tim · Post by **Tim** » 04 Jul 2008 14:01

bdams19 wrote:shoewy but it was still legit! about an hour after you left, ken and I were finishing the session when a group of like 20 or 30 15 year old kids from connecticut came up and started saying how our footbagging was the coolest thing ever. They kept taking video of us and we probably got at least three or four hooked on footbag. Huzzah! Spread love its the brooklyn way

Where the hell were those kids from in CT! haha. Good to see you guys spreading the joy of footbag my way. Trying hard to get some steady players in Connecticut like you have in NYC. If you see those kids again by some crazy chance, or encounter anyone from Connecticut please let them know about me or myspace.com/ctfootbag. I'd really appreciate it! See you guys at the tourny!

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 06 Jul 2008 17:51

July 4th shred. It was okay. I had an anger fit when I couldn't get into a good rhythm for clipper training (yelling "FUCK!!!!!" out loud in a park filled with children is a good example). Towards the end of the session, Drew and Pascal led me toward the right path. My flipside clipper felt weird yet more controlled - I guess it makes a whole lot of difference to turn your body/shoulders facing over your clipper foot.

Hit 2-3 clean eggbeaters in that session. I've been hitting them somewhat mid-timey. Drew tells me that if I want to add an uptime dex before eggbeater, I have to start hitting eggbeater a little more downtime. I've been working on that a bit, and it's proving a little more difficult. It's just timing on my dexterities, I think.

I've trained offhand on unmodded Lavers to get a feel of what I'll be dealing with if I transition to Lavers after killing my Quantums (my current pair and maybe back-up). I feel more comfortable in playing in Lavers, I have to say. I guess it has something to do with the stronger mesh material and the lack of a Brocka mod. I guess I was just messing around my current pair just to see if it could be done; the people at GRASS were commenting on how clean my Brocka was on my Quantums. I didn't expect that doing a Brocka mod would have dire consequences on my form. I guess with my crank, it's not necessary, since I feel I have the tendency to overcrank.

In any case, words of wisdom from Matt Cross via pm:

Matt Cross wrote:
10 consecutive clippers on each side while jumping into the catches and hopping out of the sets.

20 alternating clippers with this style for the catches.

then the same with butterflies.

then 20 alternating legovers

20 sameside mirages.