Jack: Coming back in time for summer?

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 16 Jul 2008 19:58

got a little session (bout a hour) today after work. nothing super special to note, drilled everything i've been learning atws, mirages, legovers, clippers. drilled flip mirage probally a little longer then everything else. it's still giving me trouble but it IS feeling a little better. i was able to catch and set to a hand catch more often then i have been, though more often then not i hit the bag while dexing, or i make a clean dex but it just feels way out of control (in comparison to my strong side). anyways just some highlights for my own tracking

strong side mirage x3

legover x5

strong ss clipper x5

flip ss clipper x4

didn't hit any clipper > op clipper which made me a little sad. i noticed though that for some reason, after i set from a clipper, i plant the setting foot but i dont' re-plant my support foot. so like i would set from a clipper, plant set foot, then sort of hop and swing my hips so i could try and catch in op clipper. that feels fun and cool to me, but i know i shouldn't be doing this when i'm learning it as it'll just make everything else harder on me down the road. too bad i didnt realize this until i decided it was too dark out side to play any more but at least i did notice it so i can work on it next time.

i might get to go to chicago the weekend of august 8th. i hope i get to, i'd really like to kick with the chicago people again. or just anyone else who's into freestyle /sigh.

hackrifice! i requested the work off last week, so 99% sure i'll be free to go. only reason i might not is money issue / transportation. really hope i get to go, been reading all these write ups of recent/old tourneys, watching vids looking at pictures and i REALLY want to go to one of these.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 18 Jul 2008 07:23

you ever have one of those days when you wake up, you just know something, don't know what or when, but something today is going to go your way? well i woke up yesterday and had that feeling and sure enough when i got home from work there was a little package sitting on the counter from poland. my Hanna Mickiewicz bag arrived

it's the one in mah avatar. my first 32. kinda felt like christmas

so after just sort of looking at / inspecting it i quickly put it to use. drill drill drill, nothing new to write down, didn't break any personal records but things felt a little more in control then other days. can't wait to get off work today to put it to some more serious use.

so last night was also my friend's 21st birthday yesterday. yay! i got to play sober cab though, which was kinda of nice since i don't really have money sitting around to go blow at the bar right now. but that sure didn't stop me from buying my friend a couple drinks

was a fun night, ran into another friend that we hadn't seen in a while at the bar we were at. so that was fun, except when said birthday boy cleaned out his stomach by the usual drunken means, while sitting in the car, while driving down the highway. can't be angry at him though, i've been in that position myself.

so after 2.5 hours of sleep, a thorough cleaning of the car, here i sit typing this up. but now i am off to work. thank god i only work 'til 4, i already feel the need for a nap.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 23 Jul 2008 05:02

well 10,000 lakes music festival starts... in about a hour or two, just after i finish packing my crap up

haven't played much the past 5 days since my last post. me and liam are trying to coordinate this trip between us and 3 other people which is turning out to be a challenge since when the two of us get together we're the most indecisive pair of people i've ever known.

i can't freaking wait to get up there, i hope we have sweet neighbors again this year.

catch ya'll on the flipside

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 28 Jul 2008 20:22

sooooo 10,000 lakes music festival 2008

woooooooooooooooooooooow was it fun. everything i remembered from last year and more. i'm so glad we got some of our other friends to come up with us. didnt kick at all while i was up there since i was too busy being a dirty hippy all weekend, but i did see some hack circles which made me smile, just wasn't ever in a sober enough state of mind to join the circle and kick.

got to see the flaming lips, and it was aparently their last show in the US before they go over seas, and holy christ was it a amazing show.

try and get back into things after work tomorrow.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 30 Jul 2008 14:35

short little session today, only about a half hour

drilled same as before, stalls, atws, mirages, legovers and clippers. that week or so off was kind of nice, felt good to get back into it. my flip mirage seems to be working more smoothely now, go go gadget muscle memory

clippers felt off, didn't hit very many of them, but it was at the tail end of the session which got cut short cause i had to go pick up my brother.

oh yeah, almost almost hit a illusion today, strong side only though. i can make the dex, but i'm still too slow in hopping off the catching foot, by the time i was ready to catch the bag had just passed my foot and hit the ground. kind of frustrating but at least i can get the dex with out hitting the bag every time now.

got my hands on a camcorder too! hopefully going to film myself for a while next time so i can watch what the hell i'm doing.

stay tuned for a video next post!

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 31 Jul 2008 19:26

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlaA5XmqjUk[/youtube]

felt pretty good about it. knocked out my first challenge at the end which left me feeling super awesome.

any comments or what have you on my form would be immensely appreciated

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 04 Aug 2008 18:19

new footbag showed up today. i ordered a footfighter, its got red hexes and white pents... you know what that is right.... red wings colors!!!

anyways, didnt play much at all yesterday but i played a good bit today. same old stuff, after i kicked my footfighter around for a good half hour to get it broken in, will probally wash it tomorrow, along with my hanna bag as its kinda dirty now.

i drilled the only challenge i've completed(its at the end of my video) which is atw > rev atw. though after that i'd go to op toe and do the drill on that side

atw > rev atw > op toe > rpt for 6 repetitions before i dropped.

i think i've got atw down alright now. so i think i'll spend a less time on atws and go straight into mirages which still seem to be giving me trouble a little bit. well not really trouble, its just not consistent like my atw is and its kinda frustrating me. legovers are about the same level as my mirages. and pickups, i only hit a few times today and a few sessions before, but at least i've hit it

clippers are still kinda hard for me. handsetting they are semi consistent, but i can't seem to land more then 3 in a row on either side before i set terribly or i get way off balance. toe set clippers are even less reliable.

so i guess i missed a months rent earlier this summer which is really really stupid on my part, because now its going to bite me in the ass hard. i might not be able to make it to Hackrifice now which really really makes me sad. first i can't get the car for the weekend, which means i have to bus it. that isn't terrible but i wouldn't get into winnipeg until 7-8pm friday night and then i'd leave sunday morning around 8 or so, which just seems like so little time, if i was driving i could leave thursday night, stop over in north dakota(friend goes to UND) and then drive up friday and get there early in the afternoon. then throw ontop of that another months rent i have to pay, and the fact i'm trying to move out in a month or two and need money for the deposit and first months rent.... ugh. i just really wanna go footbag with other people who are into it

i'm determined to make it work. i WILL make it to hackrifice one way or another.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 05 Aug 2008 13:22

short little half hour session today before i go out for my friends 21st.

drill drill drill. went light on the atws and drilled mirage pretty heavy and they're starting to feel a little better. did some legovers then hit

mirage > legover handcatch both sides which was one of my challenges.

did some light drilling on pickups, hit a few both sides but i think im going to really focus on mirages and legovers for the next week or so, get those nailed down before trying to home in on new tricks.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 08 Aug 2008 12:40

played for a hour or so yesterday, working exclusively on clippers. decided that i really want to get my clippers somewhat decent before hackrifice which leaves me like a month to do it. anyways, i filmed, shazam:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZIkrHn58Hk[/youtube]

just going through and editing the footage i got i already noticed that when i do left foot clippers i'm not balanced right, i'm leaning farther back then i probally should be.

something to work on when i next play, which will probally be tomorrow as i didnt get ANY sleep last night and then had to work today.

so with that, i'm going to laydown and probally sleep until tomorrow.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 10 Aug 2008 08:18

short session just now, mebe like 15 minutes, i hit

flip mirage > ss mirage > mirage > ss mirage

then i dropped, then i couldn't hit anything, which was making me super frustrated so i stopped before i threw my bag in anger.

maybe i'll play again later.

OH YEAH, so that new footfighter i got right. well while i was filming myself drilling clippers my little brother peter was playing with it. which was cool cause i'd already kicked it around some and its not broken in yet so i was using my hania bag(which is quite broken in now, its all soft and squishy). anyways, he musta left at some point with it, cause now its gone. its not anywhere. and recently peter has been taking things, and throwing them in the toilet, and then flushing the toilet.

so its been 2 days of me tearing the house apart, and no bag has turned up. so i'm just going to accept the probability that my brother washed my new, unbroken in bag down the toilet.

i just wish i coulda gotten it broken in and used it before it left

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 12 Aug 2008 19:08

play a couple times today, no more then a half hour each. drilled everything i been drilling, with emphasis on clippers.

handsetting clippers is getting consistent now, so i've been starting to work on toe > ss clipper both sides and toe > op clipper both sides to get used to hitting clipper out of a toe set instead of my hand

havent really tried doing any clip > op clip since i really want to get my sets out of clipper down before i try alternating like that.

kinda fallen out of habit of playing at least a little every day, i need to get back into that. also need to pick up my bass again, and actually work at it.

and oh yeah, phelps, what in the HELL man. he must be aquaman's son or grandson or something.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 12 Aug 2008 19:08

edit: double post, feel kinda like this right now

Frank_Sinatra · Post by **Frank_Sinatra** » 13 Aug 2008 05:54

Hey man, sorry to hear about your bag.

I watched your video, looks like you're building a really good foundation. Your ankles look quite flexible. I was surprised by your consecutive mirages & legovers. You're really starting out on the right foot.

One pointer - it looks like you're on your heels when you do toe stalls. It might not seem necessary, but keeping your weight distributed to the balls of your feet, and slightly hopping into each delay (even when you're just doing toe stall> toe stall) is such an important habit to get into. Otherwise, your form looked really solid throughout. I even noticed at one point you started leaning forward and like pushed your torso back.

Ok, two pointers - I'm guessing the videos are intended more for your own reference, but anyway, six minutes is a lot to watch.

Nice job all around and it was cool to see how much you've improved since you came down to Chicago.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 13 Aug 2008 18:16

thanks nathan

yeah i've noticed that. its definitely something i'm going to work on right away. the videos in the blog are mostly just for my own reference, since i edit the footage on a different computer and i'm not on that computer inless i'm editing. but yeah, i'm going to start making them shorter.

haven't got much of a chance to play. me and liam just found a SWEET place for us to live at. its the top floor in this duplex, 2 beds 1 bath, rockin' layout. was kind of funny we were being shown the place with like 5 other people and then we liked it so much we asked if we could sign the lease and the lady was all 'oh well really its first come first serve, so whoever gives me the deposit gets it', which was solid since we brought more then enough money for the deposit, it was just in the car(we had planned on signing A lease today, just hadn't picked where yet). so we got the place.

felt kinda bad just shanghai-ing the place like that infront of the other people, since they kinda looked as excited about the place as we did. /shrug, i rack it up to good karma

move in sept 1st. super stoked

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 15 Aug 2008 10:35

so i got off work early today, around noon when i usually get off at 3 (sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

) at first i was like "aww man what the hell am i supposed to do with myself for 3 WHOLE. HOURS?!?!?!" cause me and whitey are signing the lease at 4 or something.

and then i realized i still had my lavers and my hanna bag and was all pumped cause i had all this time to footbag. so i just got done playing for about a half hour(olympics is on so i got distracted by water polo).

made a concious effort to bounce more on toe stalls. akshully it makes toe stalls a hell of a lot more fun. i also made a effort to start things on my flip side instead of my strong. anyways, some tokable notables:

atw > rev atw > op toe > rpt for 5 or so repititions

flip start went mirage > ss mirage > rpt for about 3 or so contacts before i did a triple front flip during a wicked stylish floor stall.

legover > legover for about 4-5 repititions

anyways. olympics is distracting me again. think i might play some COD4 for some downtime, then maybe get in another session to work on clippers before i go sign this piece of paper.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 17 Aug 2008 13:21

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC8_Ps16QSo[/youtube]

shrug, felt pretty good about today. i drilled some pickups but i only hit 1 out of say 15 tries so i didnt feel like including them in with everything else.

Post by **Zac Miley** » 18 Aug 2008 08:21

Cool, you're getting better.

Try and set lower. Tiltless tricks don't require a chest-high set. Probably a little above waist at most.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 19 Aug 2008 14:56

yeah, i know i've been setting a little higher then i probally should, but i just wanted to make sure while i was learning them(at first) that they were all downtime. now that i can hit them pretty consistently i've been setting lower, which does seem to make things somewhat easier?

played today for a half hour or so again. mostly worked on the atw > rev atw drill. got up to 7 completions before a drop, which was the highest for the day.

worked on mirages pretty much exclusively after that. i really wanted to hit my mirage > ss mirage bs challenge. came close a few times, actually should have hit it once but after the ss mirage i kinda froze while the bag was in the air and didn't hit the mirage. well at least i know i CAN hit it, i just have to not be so suprised when i hit things

think next session will be short atw drill, short mirage drill, then really drill legovers and clippers. well, i think it'll probally just be legovers and clippers only. trying to play every day and since i am playing everyday i think drilling a few things one day then others a next might work best for me. guess i'll find out.

in other news. i can't WAIT for sept 1st to roll around, or september in general. I get to move into my new place on the 1st, hackrifice, and birthday. pretty sweet month.

so now that i'm moving into a pet friendly area, i really got all excited because owning a pair of ferrets has been like a dream of mine sinnnnnnnce oh about 7th grade? a friend of mine back then had one and i LOVED playing with it. ferrets are sooooo much fun to watch and play with. only problem is the lady who was there when we signed the lease said the owner might not be so big on me getting ferrets. so of course yesterday all i did was research about buying/owning ferrets and the like so i actually know something of what i'm trying to propose to the owner.

i hope so much that she'll allow it. liam is planning on getting a kitten when we move in. a kitten and 2 ferrets, i don't think i'd ever get bored, it'd just be rediculous pet antics all day long.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 20 Aug 2008 14:33

little session today, felt good. drilled legovers and clippers, well, more so legovers then clippers, ran out of time before i gatta go do stuff that isn't footbag. oh yeah did some mirages. anyways highlights:

strong mirage x11 flip mirage x4

legover > legover > rpt 3 times (Challenge!)

more consistent clippers from toe sets

i got the challenge on film so i'll edit that and put it up when i get time to do it. tomorrow probally.

skittles.

Jack Stutler · Post by **Jack Stutler** » 22 Aug 2008 12:30

so my new bag showed up today, gangsta bag, radiation style, each radiation design is a different color. i really like it, can't wait for it to break in and get to play with it.

which i WOULD be doing right now, except i broke my toe wednesday night while i was rather intoxicated. i guess i was doing that drunken side step walk while i was trying to go uphill, so i was sort of zig-zagging up it, and i guess i ran right into a tree, hard.

bummer. going to have to give up footbag til it heals, whenever that is.