Fanzine
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hacksterbator
- Washed-Up Child Star
- Posts: 4141
- Joined: 12 Jul 2003 18:33
- Location: Winterpeg, Manisnowba
- Contact:
Have a great time at Worlds Ken. 
Waylon Lew - maker of Wasabi bags
NYFA represent.
"Footbag can be pretty frustrating when it's supposed to be fun. I was partly driven by this forum - practice, practice, practice... As that is true, I think someone can be too focused on progressing and training that they miss the fun aspect of it." - Bander87
NYFA represent.
"Footbag can be pretty frustrating when it's supposed to be fun. I was partly driven by this forum - practice, practice, practice... As that is true, I think someone can be too focused on progressing and training that they miss the fun aspect of it." - Bander87
I don't really understand why people care about taking the top post of a page. Personally, I like it when people post in my blog, and I don't really care where that post comes. So if it were a choice between having Mosher post a quick hello, or keeping the top post of the page for myself, that's a no-brainer: I'd much rather hear from Mosher. I hope nobody restrains themselves from posting here because of the "top post" etiquette.
Ian: I'm not sure where I'll be that weekend. My govt job starts the day after Worlds (Aug 18th), and while it is based in DC, it involves a lot of travel. I'll let you know if I'll be in town then, though it may be a few weeks before I know for sure.
Worlds. I guess I never blogged about the big news last week, which was getting tickets to go. I was having a lot of trouble finding tickets to go, and was resigned to the fact that I'd have to pay a ton to go. That said, prices were so high that I wasn't sure I'd be able to work things out. In my desperation, I started a thread on modified asking for help. My hope was that some older footbaggers with jobs would offer to help me out, but instead I mostly got offers from young footbaggers who earn less than I do. I was touched by their support, but there was no way I was going to take their money. Happily, Steve Goldberg got wind of my dilemna, and sponsored me enough to tip my mental economic scales enough to buy tickets and go. I'm still going to take a financial bath on this trip, but Steve's sponsorship makes a difference. Steve's support, and the support of everybody who offered to help me out, also felt like a psychological boost. I felt like there are a bunch of people out there who think I can do well at Worlds, and who had my back. That felt good.
While it was exciting to finally nail down tickets and decide to go to Worlds, I got a bit nervous right afterwards, since I worried about my preparedness. After NYFA's tourney last weekend, I took a few days off to recover physically. Then I was real busy trying to nail down Worlds plans, and before I knew it it was Saturday. That meant that I hadn't played footbag in a full week!
Not exactly something you want to do a week before Worlds. This weekend I managed to get in 2 sessions though, and I felt very strong in both. I think that if I get in some light practices during this week, I'll be in fine shape for Worlds.
Saturday: Played with Vince and Age in Maryland. I warmed up real slowly, and made a point to play for fun before I tried my routine. Shredwise the only highlight I remember was setting a new personal record for pixie ss mirage, though I wasn't counting. Felt like mid teens? I ended up doing 2 run throughs of my routine, and was excited to get them both dropless. That was a big confidence booster. I warmed down carefully and made a point to eat well and get lots of sleep so I'd recover well.
Sunday: Two-person shred with Age at UMD. We found a really good shred spot which we should use again in the future. Indoor, AC, carpeted, and secluded. Legs felt surprisingly good, considering I played decently hard the day before and was out of practice. Shredwise the only thing that stood out was hitting both mobiuses midstring first try. That trick still makes me happy and excited when I get it. Routine practice also went well: two run throughs, both dropless. Feeling very confident about my routine.
Last night I even dreamt I went dropless at Worlds. I think there's a good chance I can do it too. My legs feel good today, but I'm probably going to rest them. The important thing is that my body responded well to this weekend's sessions, despite having taken off the week before.
Ian: I'm not sure where I'll be that weekend. My govt job starts the day after Worlds (Aug 18th), and while it is based in DC, it involves a lot of travel. I'll let you know if I'll be in town then, though it may be a few weeks before I know for sure.
Worlds. I guess I never blogged about the big news last week, which was getting tickets to go. I was having a lot of trouble finding tickets to go, and was resigned to the fact that I'd have to pay a ton to go. That said, prices were so high that I wasn't sure I'd be able to work things out. In my desperation, I started a thread on modified asking for help. My hope was that some older footbaggers with jobs would offer to help me out, but instead I mostly got offers from young footbaggers who earn less than I do. I was touched by their support, but there was no way I was going to take their money. Happily, Steve Goldberg got wind of my dilemna, and sponsored me enough to tip my mental economic scales enough to buy tickets and go. I'm still going to take a financial bath on this trip, but Steve's sponsorship makes a difference. Steve's support, and the support of everybody who offered to help me out, also felt like a psychological boost. I felt like there are a bunch of people out there who think I can do well at Worlds, and who had my back. That felt good.
While it was exciting to finally nail down tickets and decide to go to Worlds, I got a bit nervous right afterwards, since I worried about my preparedness. After NYFA's tourney last weekend, I took a few days off to recover physically. Then I was real busy trying to nail down Worlds plans, and before I knew it it was Saturday. That meant that I hadn't played footbag in a full week!
Not exactly something you want to do a week before Worlds. This weekend I managed to get in 2 sessions though, and I felt very strong in both. I think that if I get in some light practices during this week, I'll be in fine shape for Worlds. Saturday: Played with Vince and Age in Maryland. I warmed up real slowly, and made a point to play for fun before I tried my routine. Shredwise the only highlight I remember was setting a new personal record for pixie ss mirage, though I wasn't counting. Felt like mid teens? I ended up doing 2 run throughs of my routine, and was excited to get them both dropless. That was a big confidence booster. I warmed down carefully and made a point to eat well and get lots of sleep so I'd recover well.
Sunday: Two-person shred with Age at UMD. We found a really good shred spot which we should use again in the future. Indoor, AC, carpeted, and secluded. Legs felt surprisingly good, considering I played decently hard the day before and was out of practice. Shredwise the only thing that stood out was hitting both mobiuses midstring first try. That trick still makes me happy and excited when I get it. Routine practice also went well: two run throughs, both dropless. Feeling very confident about my routine.
Last night I even dreamt I went dropless at Worlds. I think there's a good chance I can do it too. My legs feel good today, but I'm probably going to rest them. The important thing is that my body responded well to this weekend's sessions, despite having taken off the week before.
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PoisonTaffy
- Egyptian Footgod
- Posts: 1003
- Joined: 23 Jun 2007 15:42
- Location: Israel, center
- Contact:
I'm flattered. I wonder who the other four are, especially considering that Dave C, Jorden, and Penske are not going. In good news, I learned this week that Takumi is going to Worlds for sure. Unfortunately, it sounds like only two Japanese players will make it this year. On the other hand, the relative paucity of US and Japanese players will likely free me up to make new friends with the European players.
Got in a light solo practice session yesterday. I found a TV room in my building where I can play. It's less than ideal, but I was able to break a sweat and keep the footbag muscles limber. I'm going to need to find a better place for the long run. I'm hoping there may be a gym at work with enough space for me to play.
Oh yeah, one highlight from Sunday that I forgot to mention was: reverse swirl-far symple swirl bsos. I should try to hit the drill version.
Today I paid my registration for Worlds, and tonight I think I will actually start packing up. I'm getting increasingly excited as the date draws nearer.
Got in a light solo practice session yesterday. I found a TV room in my building where I can play. It's less than ideal, but I was able to break a sweat and keep the footbag muscles limber. I'm going to need to find a better place for the long run. I'm hoping there may be a gym at work with enough space for me to play.
Oh yeah, one highlight from Sunday that I forgot to mention was: reverse swirl-far symple swirl bsos. I should try to hit the drill version.
Today I paid my registration for Worlds, and tonight I think I will actually start packing up. I'm getting increasingly excited as the date draws nearer.
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PoisonTaffy
- Egyptian Footgod
- Posts: 1003
- Joined: 23 Jun 2007 15:42
- Location: Israel, center
- Contact:
How was I not aware of that?? I should spend less time working and more time lurking on modified, obviously. You were right on the money, though, and the fifth cylon is, unsurprisingly, Vasek Yeah I was hoping Taishi would make it too, but Takumi is awesome and I'm glad to get to see him again.
Well, I hope I'll get to watch you shred in a few days!
"Childhood is short, immaturity is forever"
Roy Klein
Roy Klein
Got in an outdoor shred yesterday after work. I found a spot on the campus of George Washington's med school, which is right by home and has good pedestrian traffic. Played with Age for an hour or so, and then Vince joined us for another 30-40 minutes. I mostly played just to keep my footbag muscles limber, but I also got in some routine practice which went well. My first run-through was dropless, and I got applause from a small group of passersby that stopped to watch. My second run-through was a bit later, around dusk, and I dropped like 3 times in the first minute because I had trouble seeing the bag, or concentrating on it with the weird light. I stopped, collected my mental game, and gave it another shot, which had 1 drop. I was happy with that, given the poor light conditions. Overall I feel very strong with my routine. Last night I dreamt again that I went dropless at Worlds. I think that's a sign of high self-efficacy.
Shredwise I don't recall too much. Age hit her best pixie sets yet. One textbook parkwalk, smear off the foot, and a good plo. I hit infinity swirl b2b first try, but other than that I mostly just focused on hitting long strings. Some old Chinese guy watched us for a long time, and told us that he played a similar game 80 years ago in China. I asked him if it was Jianzi, and when he realized what I was mispronouncing, he got pretty excited.
Gonna try and play again after work tonight. Tomorrow night I have a farewell party at work, and Saturday I head to Jersey to visit my sister. This means that I need to do laundry and pack my bags tonight. I can't believe I'll be in Prague on Monday afternoon. Exciting times.
Shredwise I don't recall too much. Age hit her best pixie sets yet. One textbook parkwalk, smear off the foot, and a good plo. I hit infinity swirl b2b first try, but other than that I mostly just focused on hitting long strings. Some old Chinese guy watched us for a long time, and told us that he played a similar game 80 years ago in China. I asked him if it was Jianzi, and when he realized what I was mispronouncing, he got pretty excited.
Gonna try and play again after work tonight. Tomorrow night I have a farewell party at work, and Saturday I head to Jersey to visit my sister. This means that I need to do laundry and pack my bags tonight. I can't believe I'll be in Prague on Monday afternoon. Exciting times.
Good outdoor session last night with Adrienne. We didn't have speakers today, so I only did one run-through of my routine, and I did it without music. In some ways that can be a good test, because it tests how well you remember your choreography. Got it dropless.
Most of the session though was just dedicated to playing. I made a point not to do anything too strenuous, but I still managed to surprise myself with a few highlights:
*Parkwalk-flurry repeat
*DATW (o-i)- DSO repeat. I was really geeked on this one.
*Paradon swirl bsos, with mobius and spinning whirl in the seal.
*Far swirl x3. Probably a record, but it seems beatable.
And I remembered that in the previous session I hit all four DATWs in one string, which may be new. I'm guessing that one of my flip DATWs was "the," but I was still stoked.
Packed my bags for Prague last night. I still half can't believe I'm going. Today is my last day at work, next week is worlds, and the week after that I start my new job. I feel like there's no time to catch my breath, but that's a small price to pay for having a chance to compete at Worlds. I think the fact that the Olympics are going on at the same time is making me look at competition differently. Like, it's reminding me what a privilege it is to compete at the highest level in the thing (sport/event) you love best.
Most of the session though was just dedicated to playing. I made a point not to do anything too strenuous, but I still managed to surprise myself with a few highlights:
*Parkwalk-flurry repeat
*DATW (o-i)- DSO repeat. I was really geeked on this one.
*Paradon swirl bsos, with mobius and spinning whirl in the seal.
*Far swirl x3. Probably a record, but it seems beatable.
And I remembered that in the previous session I hit all four DATWs in one string, which may be new. I'm guessing that one of my flip DATWs was "the," but I was still stoked.
Packed my bags for Prague last night. I still half can't believe I'm going. Today is my last day at work, next week is worlds, and the week after that I start my new job. I feel like there's no time to catch my breath, but that's a small price to pay for having a chance to compete at Worlds. I think the fact that the Olympics are going on at the same time is making me look at competition differently. Like, it's reminding me what a privilege it is to compete at the highest level in the thing (sport/event) you love best.
Wow Ken, you're flippin awesome! I hope you have a BLAST at Worlds!
I'm only *sorta* bitter about the Montreal thing not working out.
But I'm just so happy for you!
Plus it looks like I might still be going that weekend.
Hit up Toronto one of these days! And keep on bein so rad.
I'm only *sorta* bitter about the Montreal thing not working out.
But I'm just so happy for you!Plus it looks like I might still be going that weekend.
Hit up Toronto one of these days!
And keep on bein so rad.Camille Surovy
The Footbag Association of Toronto (F.A.T.)
The Footbag Association of Toronto (F.A.T.)
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colefieldhouse22
- BSOS Beast
- Posts: 358
- Joined: 01 Jan 2006 17:55
- Location: Silver Spring, MD
Back later...
Last edited by colefieldhouse22 on 09 Aug 2008 20:27, edited 1 time in total.
Adrienne Craver
Friday was my last day at my old job, so that's in the rearview mirror now, and Worlds is almost upon me. I feel like I'm in a transition period, and it's pretty exciting. I've never felt more prepared for Worlds, but beyond that I'm just looking forward to hanging out with friends and getting a breather before my next job.
On that note, I came up to Jersey yesterday to visit with my sister. She's 8 months pregnant, which meant our hanging out was pretty low key. That suits me fine, especially right before a tournament. I made an exception to my recent veggie streak and ate miso-katsu at a Japanese restaurant, to honor an old tradition of eating katsu before a tournament. "Katsu" is a breaded pork (or chicken, or whatever) cutlet, and the word is actually a Japanese bastardization of the word "cutlet." The word "katsu" in Japanese is also the verb "to win," so it's good luck to eat katsu before you compete.
I got in a solo shred at my sister's place. I did my routine to music three times. The first two tries were strong single drops, and the last run-through I did in front of my sister, brother-in-law, and their friend. Having an audience helped, as I went dropless. I'd really like to go dropless at Worlds, and I think it's a do-able goal. I've put in the work, so why not?
Shredwise I hit a few nice highlights:
*hippy legbeater-flurry repeat, first try! I was real surprised to hit it so easily, after trying it for so many years.
*Two-bag paradox torque.
*Blw-blurriest-psw-psw both sides
*Midstring spinning pdx whirl-pdx torque. Nice surprise.
Tonight I fly to Prague, I'll probably play a bit on Monday, take Tuesday off, compete Wednesday, probably Thursday, and if all goes well, hopefully Saturday.
Worlds!
On that note, I came up to Jersey yesterday to visit with my sister. She's 8 months pregnant, which meant our hanging out was pretty low key. That suits me fine, especially right before a tournament. I made an exception to my recent veggie streak and ate miso-katsu at a Japanese restaurant, to honor an old tradition of eating katsu before a tournament. "Katsu" is a breaded pork (or chicken, or whatever) cutlet, and the word is actually a Japanese bastardization of the word "cutlet." The word "katsu" in Japanese is also the verb "to win," so it's good luck to eat katsu before you compete.
I got in a solo shred at my sister's place. I did my routine to music three times. The first two tries were strong single drops, and the last run-through I did in front of my sister, brother-in-law, and their friend. Having an audience helped, as I went dropless. I'd really like to go dropless at Worlds, and I think it's a do-able goal. I've put in the work, so why not?
Shredwise I hit a few nice highlights:
*hippy legbeater-flurry repeat, first try! I was real surprised to hit it so easily, after trying it for so many years.
*Two-bag paradox torque.
*Blw-blurriest-psw-psw both sides
*Midstring spinning pdx whirl-pdx torque. Nice surprise.
Tonight I fly to Prague, I'll probably play a bit on Monday, take Tuesday off, compete Wednesday, probably Thursday, and if all goes well, hopefully Saturday.
Worlds!
This has been one of the most insane weeks of my life. I could write a book about it. I'm still processing some of the events. While I didn't achieve my goal of dropless or finals at Worlds, after some of the stuff that happened this week, it seems really minor. I'll go into detail later when I have more time. Overall, I just feel really lucky.
Since you posted above that last day of old job was just before worlds, you must have just started the new job right? Just wondering how that's going. Also, of course, very curious to hear your worlds write up. You always do a nice job of detailing events - plus it sounds like there was some crazy happenings.
Bob R.
