November is flying by. I feel like just yesterday was election day, and tomorrow is already Thanksgiving. I haven't played much footbag at all this month, but I've still snuck in some good stuff. Over the last 3 weeks I hit two dream moves of mine. Hopefully I can get them both on the video Age is making of me.
The big news is that I played footbag this weekend! I went to Pittsburgh with Age to see Girl Talk in concert and to hang out with Ian. The plan was to get there on Saturday, get in a light shred before the concert, and then dance all night. The drive to Pittsburgh took us through Maryland and Pennsylvania, and was very pretty. While it's gotten chilly enough in DC to warrant a hat, there was snow on the ground in Pennsylvania and we even drove through some flurries. I felt like I was visiting winter.
Given that I hadn't played footbag in 10 days, and the fact that I planned on dancing all night, I was hoping for a laid-back shred. Because of that, I left my G-Units at home and busted out my Q3s for the first time. I figured the Q3s would require some adjusting to, which would force me to play less hard. Sure enough, the Q3s took some getting used to. When I started the session I didn't even have them laced for freestyle and I struggled. Once I laced them properly things got better, but I felt like every trick required more concentration. If after a few sessions I still don't adjust comfortably to them I think the Q3s will still have value as a shoe I use to skool my basics in. I'm reading Boychuk's blog to see how his transition goes, and I noticed that he complained that the Q3s are lighter than G6s. I also noticed that they were lighter and it takes some adjustment, but I actually think this is a good thing. I also find that Q3s are less chunky than G6s, which I think makes certain dexterities easier. There are a few tricks in particular that I think I would have an easier time hitting in Q3s than G6s. I'll let you know how this turns out.
There was a good turnout for shred. Ian, Josh Gayheart, Matt Beall, Age and myself. I'm pretty sure I played the worst out of all of us, but at least I found my suckage to be humorous. Ian had some good swirl stuff, and Josh had some stylish links (revup bsos), but Matt stole the show for me. He's obviously been skooling, and was way better than the last time I saw him. Alpine atom and bladerunner impressed me the most. Age played alright, and I played badly, but had fun. I did manage to hit one new trick and one new combo. The combo was PSDLO-symp DLO and had a spinning swirl in the seal. The new trick came straight up off of my foot, but I somehow missed sealing it with a butterfly because I let myself get psyched out by a chair. I didn't mind that too much though because I feel very confident I will be able to hit the trick again. It wasn't like one of those tricks where you hit it and it feels like a fluke. I think I understand this trick well enough that I should be able to get it next session if I use the Q3s again. I'll try to get it on Age's camera.
The show itself was a lot of fun. Pittsburgh seems like a cool town. Inexpensive, and with a young creative energy about it. After the show we snacked, watched YouTube, and lauged a lot. Sunday morning we got off to a late start, so I was unable to sneak in a shred as I had hoped. I did give Ian some pointers on tricks, which was fun. I thought about Mirken's post about how most players from 6-9 years ago have dropped out of the sport, and it made me feel happy to see that Ian still shares the same fire for freestyle that we did 11+ years ago. I feel lucky that my body has held up over time, but even luckier that my passion for the game has continued to burn strong.
I'm going to try and get in a shred with Age and maybe Vince on Thanksgiving. On Saturday I'll be in NYC for my High School 10 year re-union, which means I will get in a shred at Dick Shea's around 3 pm. Hope to see some NYFA there.
Fanzine
Hacky Thanksgiving everybody!
I got out of work 3 hours early yesterday which was pretty awesome. There was an email in my inbox from the Secretary of the Interior, I opened it and *bam* early start to Thanksgiving. Because of the extra time I was able to make it to Maryland early enough to use the UMD gym where Age works.
This was my second session ever in Q3s, and it went about as badly as my last one.
My only goals for the session were to put adds on the Qs (and just get used to them), and to get that one trick from last session sealed and on video.
Happily, I was able to get this goal accomplished without much trouble. I checked it when I got home and it was clean, which I was stoked about. Even if it turns out I can't adjust to playing in Quantums, it was worth getting them just so I could hit that one trick.
I like the toes on the Quantums a lot, but I'm still not used to the clippers. Osis is the concept that I notice is most different from G6s, but clipper tricks also feel harder too. Like Boychuk, I think I'm also still adjusting to the difference in weight. One thing I would like to skool in Qs are my fairy sets.
I was hoping to play footbag today and this weekend, but my hip flexor feels weird after my last session. Hopefully it will be OK by Saturday, but even then I don't know if I'll be able to make the session due to schedule issues.
I got out of work 3 hours early yesterday which was pretty awesome. There was an email in my inbox from the Secretary of the Interior, I opened it and *bam* early start to Thanksgiving. Because of the extra time I was able to make it to Maryland early enough to use the UMD gym where Age works.
This was my second session ever in Q3s, and it went about as badly as my last one.
My only goals for the session were to put adds on the Qs (and just get used to them), and to get that one trick from last session sealed and on video.C-Fan wrote: I think I understand this trick well enough that I should be able to get it next session if I use the Q3s again. I'll try to get it on Age's camera.
Happily, I was able to get this goal accomplished without much trouble. I checked it when I got home and it was clean, which I was stoked about. Even if it turns out I can't adjust to playing in Quantums, it was worth getting them just so I could hit that one trick.
I like the toes on the Quantums a lot, but I'm still not used to the clippers. Osis is the concept that I notice is most different from G6s, but clipper tricks also feel harder too. Like Boychuk, I think I'm also still adjusting to the difference in weight. One thing I would like to skool in Qs are my fairy sets.
I was hoping to play footbag today and this weekend, but my hip flexor feels weird after my last session. Hopefully it will be OK by Saturday, but even then I don't know if I'll be able to make the session due to schedule issues.
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mosher
- brutal footbag cronie
- Posts: 6177
- Joined: 22 Jan 2004 23:30
- Location: Toronto, Ontario
- Contact:
Hey Ken,
Just wanted to pop in and say that I still enjoy reading your blog and I appreciate that you take the time to do such a good job of it.
Also, it's great to hear that after 11 years you're still loving it, I started 5 years ago and I still plan on playing a LOT more, knowing people like the Enlightener really gives me hope for the future of my shred life!
Anyways, keep up the good work at life and footabg and all that, I look forward to continuing to read about it all!
Just wanted to pop in and say that I still enjoy reading your blog and I appreciate that you take the time to do such a good job of it.
Also, it's great to hear that after 11 years you're still loving it, I started 5 years ago and I still plan on playing a LOT more, knowing people like the Enlightener really gives me hope for the future of my shred life!
Anyways, keep up the good work at life and footabg and all that, I look forward to continuing to read about it all!
Tom Mosher
hate is a waste of passion!
hate is a waste of passion!
Thanks for the nice note Tom!
Can't believe it's December already. 2008 has been an incredibly eventful year. I think at the end of the year I'll make a post re-capping some of the more notable events that I experienced. Overall, this was one of my best years ever, both footbagwise and in general.
I haven't played footbag since injuring myself last Wednesday, but my legs are feeling a lot better now. I'm very optimistic about my recovery. I blame my last injury on 2 things, both which I can prevent in the future:
1. I didn't warm up enough. I'm going to do a rigorous tiltless warmup followed by a BOP warmup every session from now on. No more rushing into playing.
2. I spent too much time trying a new, strenuous trick over and over. My body wasn't used to it, and wasn't prepared for it, so I shouldn't be surprised that I hurt myself. The fact that I managed to hit it cleanly on video a few times makes me feel alot better about the injury though. Like, I feel it was worth it.
I went to the NY/NJ this weekend to see my 2 month old niece, and to go to my 10 year high school reunion. I got to hang out a little with NYFA too, which was a lot of fun. I went to a session on Saturday night, and joked around while everybody played. Jon Schneider showed up, which was a nice surprise. Pascal hit ripped warrior, and other than that I don't remember too much. I had a good time just hanging out, but it definitely was a little frustrating watching people shred, and not being able to play with them.
It's weird to me that there's no YouTube vids on this page of the blog yet. Here's an old run that I found on my camera. I'm assuming I never posted it online:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O174VLm-jc[/youtube]
Can't believe it's December already. 2008 has been an incredibly eventful year. I think at the end of the year I'll make a post re-capping some of the more notable events that I experienced. Overall, this was one of my best years ever, both footbagwise and in general.
I haven't played footbag since injuring myself last Wednesday, but my legs are feeling a lot better now. I'm very optimistic about my recovery. I blame my last injury on 2 things, both which I can prevent in the future:
1. I didn't warm up enough. I'm going to do a rigorous tiltless warmup followed by a BOP warmup every session from now on. No more rushing into playing.
2. I spent too much time trying a new, strenuous trick over and over. My body wasn't used to it, and wasn't prepared for it, so I shouldn't be surprised that I hurt myself. The fact that I managed to hit it cleanly on video a few times makes me feel alot better about the injury though. Like, I feel it was worth it.
I went to the NY/NJ this weekend to see my 2 month old niece, and to go to my 10 year high school reunion. I got to hang out a little with NYFA too, which was a lot of fun. I went to a session on Saturday night, and joked around while everybody played. Jon Schneider showed up, which was a nice surprise. Pascal hit ripped warrior, and other than that I don't remember too much. I had a good time just hanging out, but it definitely was a little frustrating watching people shred, and not being able to play with them.
It's weird to me that there's no YouTube vids on this page of the blog yet. Here's an old run that I found on my camera. I'm assuming I never posted it online:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O174VLm-jc[/youtube]
Last edited by C-Fan on 06 Oct 2014 13:30, edited 2 times in total.
Haven't played footbag in over a week. The plan is to take today off, have a tiltless session after work on Friday (breaking my 9 day streak of time off), and then have a real shred over the weekend. "But Ken," I hear you say, "wasn't your plan to take off a full month from footbag?" The answer is yes, but things changed. Which brings me to the exciting news: I'm going to New Year's Jam! For some reason I hadn't really considered NYJ a possibility until this week, but when I looked at my schedule and plane tickets, it seemed do-able. So Age and I will be representing DC at NYJ. Big biiiig thank you to Nathan Anderson and the rest of CIC that encouraged me to come out, and helped me out with housing. I've been wanting to go to NYJ for ages...I'm just glad circumstances finally lined up so I can go.
In other footbag news, Age's new video was released on the Xmas calendar today:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkze__NBN3c[/youtube]
I'm really happy and excited about this for several reasons. In no particular order, but because I like making lists:
*I live near somebody who has a legit camera. If I have a particularly good new trick, I can film it and watch it in slow-mo at good quality, which is something I can't do with my little digital camera.
*On a similar note, I think having a camera will help Age improve
*This is the first vid Age made, and it came out very well. Now that she knows the basics, hopefully she'll make more vids in the future.
*Being able to make vids of the club will be useful for promotion, especially for future tournies, etc.
In non-footbag news, I went to my first Wizards game yesterday! This is the first time in my adult life that I live in a city with an NBA team, and I plan to take advantage of it. I can get from my house to the arena in less than 15 minutes, and on Wednesday night home games I can get in for $10 with my student ID. It's upper deck seats, but they weren't bad at all. I just think its awesome that on a weeknight I can go watch the world's best basketball players in person for $10. Last night's game was against the Trailblazers and it was close until the last minute. The halftime show was also really fun; it was a highschool drumline. I'll post vid of them on YT later. I definitely plan on going to see future student night Wiz games.
I'm real excited for NYJ, but I need to be careful not to rush too quickly back into footbag. It's going to be a delicate balance between getting back into game shape in time for NYJ, and not pushing so hard that I hurt myself. I need to remind myself that while my brain remembers how to play the game, my body needs some time to get back to where it can do everything my brain tells it to do.
In other footbag news, Age's new video was released on the Xmas calendar today:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkze__NBN3c[/youtube]
I'm really happy and excited about this for several reasons. In no particular order, but because I like making lists:
*I live near somebody who has a legit camera. If I have a particularly good new trick, I can film it and watch it in slow-mo at good quality, which is something I can't do with my little digital camera.
*On a similar note, I think having a camera will help Age improve
*This is the first vid Age made, and it came out very well. Now that she knows the basics, hopefully she'll make more vids in the future.
*Being able to make vids of the club will be useful for promotion, especially for future tournies, etc.
In non-footbag news, I went to my first Wizards game yesterday! This is the first time in my adult life that I live in a city with an NBA team, and I plan to take advantage of it. I can get from my house to the arena in less than 15 minutes, and on Wednesday night home games I can get in for $10 with my student ID. It's upper deck seats, but they weren't bad at all. I just think its awesome that on a weeknight I can go watch the world's best basketball players in person for $10. Last night's game was against the Trailblazers and it was close until the last minute. The halftime show was also really fun; it was a highschool drumline. I'll post vid of them on YT later. I definitely plan on going to see future student night Wiz games.
I'm real excited for NYJ, but I need to be careful not to rush too quickly back into footbag. It's going to be a delicate balance between getting back into game shape in time for NYJ, and not pushing so hard that I hurt myself. I need to remind myself that while my brain remembers how to play the game, my body needs some time to get back to where it can do everything my brain tells it to do.
Last edited by C-Fan on 06 Oct 2014 13:30, edited 2 times in total.
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Kyle Hewitt
- something more funny
- Posts: 1273
- Joined: 31 Jul 2005 11:06
so watch out$10 is pretty awesome. It costs more to go see a game here and the level is way lower. In fact, before this season one of the Sydney teams (the older and more successfull on the court) went into receivership and dropped out of the league - their major sponsor was set up as giant con and the dude poured money into sporting temas to make himself seem legit. Now, half way into the season the remaining Sydney team is also going into receivership. So even if I wanted to pay more than $10 to see second rate bball I couldn't.
Who wears short shorts?
Dylan Govender.
Dylan Govender.
Kyle: I'm a bit intrigued by your goal, since it raises interesting questions about how to compare players at different points in their careers. Here are a few possible ways of interpreting your goal.Kyle Hewitt wrote:
its still my goal to get better than you
1. You would like to eventually play at a level higher than me at the peak of my career. At some point, I will (very possibly have already) hit a high point in the way I play. Then your goal would be to eventually achieve a higher point. So lets assume 2008 was the high point of my game in terms of style/difficulty/competition. Your goal would be to beat that level, at some point in time (2009, 2011, etc).
2. Your goal is to be better than me at footbag at a specific period of time when we are both still playing. This would seem to be less ambitious, because at some point my game will begin to decline (watch Shaq play an NBA game this year for an example of a player whose game is in rapid decline). So let's assume my game declines drastically in 2009, and I revert to playing tiltless. If you play guiltless, you would be better than me in 2009, even though you may not be playing better than I did at my peak.
3. Your goal is to be better than me at the same temporal points in our career. I began playing in 1997, and you began playing in 2005? So if you were guiltless in 2006 (1 year into playing), then you were better than me in 1998 (equal time into the game). By this standard, based on the tricks you are hitting and the tricks I was hitting in the year 2000, I would argue that your goal is achieved. If you continue to outpace my improvement each year of your career, then you should be better than me in the sense of Goal #1 as well.
4. Another possiblity, is that your goal is to be better than me in terms of worldwide ranking. This is even more difficult to calculate. Let me explain. Intermediate players today hit tricks and combos (think rubberman) which are standard in today's game, but would have been considered BAP level in 1998. So while a player in 2008 can hit the exact same tricks and combos as a player in 1999, their overall skill level is considered different. By the same logic, even though I may be hitting harder tricks in 2008, I may have been overall higher ranked in the world of footbag back in 2003 for example. My game didn't get worse, it's just that everybody else's got better. So by this logic, even if you got to the point where you could hit all my tricks/combos/routines from a given time period (say 2008), but you hit all of them in 2011 when those tricks/combos/routines are more standard, it coule be argued whether or not you are better (than I was).
Given how young you are, and how much you play, I think all 4 possibilities are within your reach (actually, you've already achieved possibility #3, and possibility #2 is likely just a matter of time). I'm excited to continue seeing you get better, and hope I can get better for at least another year to set the bar higher for you.
Dyalan: Too bad Patty Mills came stateside. Was he like a national hero during the summer olympics this year? I think he'll go to the NBA sooner than later.
Max: Thanks for the props. Adrienne has a lot of footage of me that hopefully we'll make into a video over winter break. The clips of me in the xmas video were essentially stuff that I didn't think was good enough for the next vid.
For those who made it through such a wordy, abstract blog post, here's a vid of me playing on Sunday:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1G75jWAu5k[/youtube]
Last edited by C-Fan on 06 Oct 2014 13:34, edited 2 times in total.
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Eric Chang
- Fearless
- Posts: 567
- Joined: 29 May 2006 23:16
- Location: San Jose, California
Ken as founder of Triple Cup Posse, I was wondering if you wanted to get another game going with Alex and myself? (Of course we would invite other people!)
yeah? yeah?
We still have the two coke cups, and won't be hard to find an ashtray and cup.
yeah? yeah? We still have the two coke cups, and won't be hard to find an ashtray and cup.
Look a BLOG! That I never update
http://modified.in/footbag/viewtopic.php?t=16244
http://modified.in/footbag/viewtopic.php?t=16244
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boyle
- Post Master General
- Posts: 3173
- Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
- Location: Canberra, Australia
- Contact:
I started writing a big post about the terrible state of basketball in Australia, and that because of this Patrick Mills was probably not regarded so much as a hero.
Also, Australia didn't win in Basketball, and Australia likes winners. Or medallists.
The standard of the NBL is really low, I went to a game last year and I actually left before the end, because it was so boring. Another team, the Cairns team just went into administration, there main owner pulled out halfway through the season.
A while back they changed the scheduling so the NBL ran at the same time as the NBA, so people can just watch the NBA on TV instead of the NBL.
Also, the Sydney team that went bust first- the Kings, actually won the premiership, but in the leadup to the grand final it was unsure if they would even be able to field a team. Two more teams didn't have enough money for this season either.
They are doing a big restructure of basketball in Australia, hopefully it has the same effect as the restructure of soccer that they did.
Also, Australia didn't win in Basketball, and Australia likes winners. Or medallists.
The standard of the NBL is really low, I went to a game last year and I actually left before the end, because it was so boring. Another team, the Cairns team just went into administration, there main owner pulled out halfway through the season.
A while back they changed the scheduling so the NBL ran at the same time as the NBA, so people can just watch the NBA on TV instead of the NBL.
Also, the Sydney team that went bust first- the Kings, actually won the premiership, but in the leadup to the grand final it was unsure if they would even be able to field a team. Two more teams didn't have enough money for this season either.
They are doing a big restructure of basketball in Australia, hopefully it has the same effect as the restructure of soccer that they did.
Eric: Triple cup! Hell yes.
Danny: Thanks for the insight on Oz B-ball. I was a little surprised to hear things are so bad in the Aussie basketball scene, given that you produced Lauren Jackson and Bogut. I know Bogut gets a bad rap sometimes, but he's improved every year in the league, and its not his fault he was drafted #1 ahead of some other players who ended up better than him.
Loyal blog readers will no doubt recall that I'd recently been trying to take time off from footbag to let my body heal up. Normally, I'd get as far as 8-10 days, and then I'd cave in and have a light session. Then I bought tix to NYJ, and realized I should get back into game shape. It wasn't until I played this last weekend and tried to have a legit session that I realized...in some ways I actually DID take off a month from footbag. Let's look at the record of the last month:
*My last real session was November 9th.
*I played again on November 11th, but I never warmed up properly, and therefore took it pretty easy. I don't even know if I'd count this as a session.
*My next session was November 22nd, in Pittsburgh. There were 5 of us in the circle, and we played for less than an hour. It was my first session in Q3s, and I spent a lot of that session just lacing them for freestyle. I never broke a sweat, and only hit a few runs. I think I even commented that this was the fewest adds I'd got in a session maybe ever.
*Next session was Nov. 26th. I only had one goal, which was to film myself hitting a new trick. I managed to get that goal pretty quickly, and then stopped. Don't think I broke a sweat in this session either, and I probably played for less than 30 minutes.
*December 5th. Played for 20 minutes, but only to hit some tricks for a training program that NYFA has implemented. I had nowhere to play, so I ended up playing in a cramped hallway in front of some elevators. It was drafty and small, and I was done in 15-20 minutes. Played in Quantums.
I had my first real session on December 7th, and man did I struggle. I was just amazed how easily I got winded, and how certain motions that used to be so dialed were now so foreign to me. This was my first session in nearly a month that I used G-Units, and my first session in that time that lasted over an hour. In many ways, I feel like I did take off a month from November to December.
Therefore, I really shouldn't be too surprised that I had a rough session. I'm going to have a couple tough sessions as I work to get my stamina back. While I don't care too much if I'm playing at the top of my game at NYJ, at the very least I don't want to embarass myself. On Sunday I felt like I didn't even have enough stamina to compete in a round of circle. I'm going to try and get in 2 serious sessions this weekend, and hopefully I'll make some progress.
I'll leave you with another run from Sunday:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3DjedPvrJo[/youtube]
EDIT: Highlights:
*Flip spinning clipper x6
*Strong spinning clipper x10
*Mid-string DSC first try
*pimping pendulum-mirage.
That last one was sooooo hard. You have to set the pendulum low, and mirage right when you see it drop in front of your eyes. The pendulum goes over your head, none of that side of your body crap.
Danny: Thanks for the insight on Oz B-ball. I was a little surprised to hear things are so bad in the Aussie basketball scene, given that you produced Lauren Jackson and Bogut. I know Bogut gets a bad rap sometimes, but he's improved every year in the league, and its not his fault he was drafted #1 ahead of some other players who ended up better than him.
Loyal blog readers will no doubt recall that I'd recently been trying to take time off from footbag to let my body heal up. Normally, I'd get as far as 8-10 days, and then I'd cave in and have a light session. Then I bought tix to NYJ, and realized I should get back into game shape. It wasn't until I played this last weekend and tried to have a legit session that I realized...in some ways I actually DID take off a month from footbag. Let's look at the record of the last month:
*My last real session was November 9th.
*I played again on November 11th, but I never warmed up properly, and therefore took it pretty easy. I don't even know if I'd count this as a session.
*My next session was November 22nd, in Pittsburgh. There were 5 of us in the circle, and we played for less than an hour. It was my first session in Q3s, and I spent a lot of that session just lacing them for freestyle. I never broke a sweat, and only hit a few runs. I think I even commented that this was the fewest adds I'd got in a session maybe ever.
*Next session was Nov. 26th. I only had one goal, which was to film myself hitting a new trick. I managed to get that goal pretty quickly, and then stopped. Don't think I broke a sweat in this session either, and I probably played for less than 30 minutes.
*December 5th. Played for 20 minutes, but only to hit some tricks for a training program that NYFA has implemented. I had nowhere to play, so I ended up playing in a cramped hallway in front of some elevators. It was drafty and small, and I was done in 15-20 minutes. Played in Quantums.
I had my first real session on December 7th, and man did I struggle. I was just amazed how easily I got winded, and how certain motions that used to be so dialed were now so foreign to me. This was my first session in nearly a month that I used G-Units, and my first session in that time that lasted over an hour. In many ways, I feel like I did take off a month from November to December.
Therefore, I really shouldn't be too surprised that I had a rough session. I'm going to have a couple tough sessions as I work to get my stamina back. While I don't care too much if I'm playing at the top of my game at NYJ, at the very least I don't want to embarass myself. On Sunday I felt like I didn't even have enough stamina to compete in a round of circle. I'm going to try and get in 2 serious sessions this weekend, and hopefully I'll make some progress.
I'll leave you with another run from Sunday:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3DjedPvrJo[/youtube]
EDIT: Highlights:
*Flip spinning clipper x6
*Strong spinning clipper x10
*Mid-string DSC first try
*pimping pendulum-mirage.
That last one was sooooo hard. You have to set the pendulum low, and mirage right when you see it drop in front of your eyes. The pendulum goes over your head, none of that side of your body crap.
Last edited by C-Fan on 06 Oct 2014 13:38, edited 2 times in total.
Worked out really hard in the gym after work. I felt good, but then remembered what Adrienne pointed out: while cross-training is better than nothing, it doesn't take the place of actually playing and working the footbag muscles directly.
I went to the study room of my building and got in a good 20-30 minute session in my quantums. It was a real confined space, so it was almost exclusively a tiltless/BOP session. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I really love the toes on Quantums. Something about the weight of the shoe combined with the shape of the toe box makes it really feel like you're playing barefoot. That said, I'm still struggling a bit with the insteps.
Highlights:
*toe dlo x4 BSOS
*osis x13, new personal Q3 record
*putting adds on my feet
I went to the study room of my building and got in a good 20-30 minute session in my quantums. It was a real confined space, so it was almost exclusively a tiltless/BOP session. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I really love the toes on Quantums. Something about the weight of the shoe combined with the shape of the toe box makes it really feel like you're playing barefoot. That said, I'm still struggling a bit with the insteps.
Highlights:
*toe dlo x4 BSOS
*osis x13, new personal Q3 record
*putting adds on my feet
That's pretty interesting that you had the opposite experience to me with the Q3s. My last couple sessions I played in G6s again, and while it was a joy to do clipper tricks in them again, the toes definitely felt worse than the G6s. Fairy tricks are near impossible in G6s for me.
The good news is that I got in 2 sessions this weekend. The bad news is that I pissed off my right knee again. I first injured that knee at Worlds this year, and for a couple months after that I was very good about resting it (no symp, whirls, or double downs). My knee was feeling so good recently, that I started doing whirls/double downs/symp with it, because I assumed it was almost totally healed. On Friday I tried a couple tricks with it which were just asking for trouble, and sure enough, my knee was hurting before we were even done playing. I was able to play on Sunday, but I had to really tone down my game and be careful with my trick selection. I still plan on playing at NYJ, though I'll probably play less (and lighter) than I had hoped to because of this.
I wouldn't be surprised if I pull an Erik Chan and just radically change the way I play, just so I can continue playing. I was watching vid I shot one year ago for Rory's vid where I hit stuff like mullet-WHAT, mullet-psw-psw-mullet, and other symposium tricks, and it was weird to think that I might have to give those tricks up. I'd be fine with that, since I feel I had my fun with my dex-heavy style, and I enjoy spinning and ducking, even though I'm not as good at it.
Friday's session was good, except for hurting the knee. The biggest highlight was hitting PS torque to a hand catch. I didn't know Age was filming, so we just missed getting it on film. Even though I invented PS torque, I still find it incredibly hard to do.
During the session I still felt a bit out of shape, but I felt better than the last session. Hopefully my stamina will continue to improve. Now that my knee is in bad shape again, I'm going to try and go for longer, easy strings, which may help out.
Here's a run from Friday:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlMk1wvWKOY[/youtube]
The good news is that I got in 2 sessions this weekend. The bad news is that I pissed off my right knee again. I first injured that knee at Worlds this year, and for a couple months after that I was very good about resting it (no symp, whirls, or double downs). My knee was feeling so good recently, that I started doing whirls/double downs/symp with it, because I assumed it was almost totally healed. On Friday I tried a couple tricks with it which were just asking for trouble, and sure enough, my knee was hurting before we were even done playing. I was able to play on Sunday, but I had to really tone down my game and be careful with my trick selection. I still plan on playing at NYJ, though I'll probably play less (and lighter) than I had hoped to because of this.
I wouldn't be surprised if I pull an Erik Chan and just radically change the way I play, just so I can continue playing. I was watching vid I shot one year ago for Rory's vid where I hit stuff like mullet-WHAT, mullet-psw-psw-mullet, and other symposium tricks, and it was weird to think that I might have to give those tricks up. I'd be fine with that, since I feel I had my fun with my dex-heavy style, and I enjoy spinning and ducking, even though I'm not as good at it.
Friday's session was good, except for hurting the knee. The biggest highlight was hitting PS torque to a hand catch. I didn't know Age was filming, so we just missed getting it on film. Even though I invented PS torque, I still find it incredibly hard to do.
During the session I still felt a bit out of shape, but I felt better than the last session. Hopefully my stamina will continue to improve. Now that my knee is in bad shape again, I'm going to try and go for longer, easy strings, which may help out.
Here's a run from Friday:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlMk1wvWKOY[/youtube]
Last edited by C-Fan on 06 Oct 2014 13:39, edited 2 times in total.
I can't wait til NYJ. Tomorrow marks 4 months at my job, and winter break will be my first real vacation during that whole time. Excited to take a week off work, go to another town, and play footbag. It's gonna be fun.
My knee still feels pretty bad, but it's hard to say how much of that is due to the injury, and how much is due to the fact that it's been cold and rainy the last 2 days. My joints tend to ache when it rains. I'm taking a few days off from footbag, and riding elevators instead of taking the stairs like I normally do. My goal is just to play at NYJ. If I play well, great. If I can compete, great. But really, I just want to be able to play a little, and if I spend the rest of the time hanging out and doing other stuff, that's fine by me.
Sunday: Got in a session with Age. The whole point of the session was to test my knee and see how much the injury limits me. I felt pain during the warm up, and the knee felt "off" while I played, but I was able to play. Lately I've been warming up by doing long tiltless strings, followed by long easy guiltless (mostly BOP) strings. While this is probably a good idea just in general, it also works particularly well for testing out what hurts/doesn't hurt when you are injured.
Not much in the way of highlights:
*Flip DATW was feeling deeper and more consistent.
*Mobius was feeling more natural on both sides.
*Spinning clipper x3 bsos
*Spinning clipper x4 or 5 to spinning osis.
*Toe set double pick-up Can probably get it deeper than that, but still, fun and a new trick.
Here's a run from Sunday:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJEtXgGZ8UI[/youtube]
My knee still feels pretty bad, but it's hard to say how much of that is due to the injury, and how much is due to the fact that it's been cold and rainy the last 2 days. My joints tend to ache when it rains. I'm taking a few days off from footbag, and riding elevators instead of taking the stairs like I normally do. My goal is just to play at NYJ. If I play well, great. If I can compete, great. But really, I just want to be able to play a little, and if I spend the rest of the time hanging out and doing other stuff, that's fine by me.
Sunday: Got in a session with Age. The whole point of the session was to test my knee and see how much the injury limits me. I felt pain during the warm up, and the knee felt "off" while I played, but I was able to play. Lately I've been warming up by doing long tiltless strings, followed by long easy guiltless (mostly BOP) strings. While this is probably a good idea just in general, it also works particularly well for testing out what hurts/doesn't hurt when you are injured.
Not much in the way of highlights:
*Flip DATW was feeling deeper and more consistent.
*Mobius was feeling more natural on both sides.
*Spinning clipper x3 bsos
*Spinning clipper x4 or 5 to spinning osis.
*Toe set double pick-up Can probably get it deeper than that, but still, fun and a new trick.
Here's a run from Sunday:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJEtXgGZ8UI[/youtube]
Last edited by C-Fan on 06 Oct 2014 13:40, edited 2 times in total.
Knee is still hurting. If I don't notice any progress by the time I get back from NYJ, I'm gonna get an MRI.
The other day I was thinking about what are my favorite player sections on footbag videos. If I were to make the ultimate footbag DVD compilation, it would definitely include the following:
1. Ryan's section from Eutopia. Eutopia was never released, but Ryan and Ales' sections were. Ryan's is amazing.
2. Ahren's section from Aggressive Grounds. The black and white footage is beautiful.
3. Ricky Moran's section with the Roots song from Fourkast. Classic.
4. Vasek's final section from Ryan Thomas' Worlds 04 DVD
5. Ales' section from Natural Born Kickers.
That would be such a badass collection.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4l-X0SFMJ8[/youtube]
The other day I was thinking about what are my favorite player sections on footbag videos. If I were to make the ultimate footbag DVD compilation, it would definitely include the following:
1. Ryan's section from Eutopia. Eutopia was never released, but Ryan and Ales' sections were. Ryan's is amazing.
2. Ahren's section from Aggressive Grounds. The black and white footage is beautiful.
3. Ricky Moran's section with the Roots song from Fourkast. Classic.
4. Vasek's final section from Ryan Thomas' Worlds 04 DVD
5. Ales' section from Natural Born Kickers.
That would be such a badass collection.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4l-X0SFMJ8[/youtube]
Last edited by C-Fan on 06 Oct 2014 13:41, edited 2 times in total.
I really like that segment from Ryan Mulroney. He's one of the few footbaggers that I truly idolize, and his laidback perspective of the game is something I want to achieve in my own development. I just wish i can go as fast as him, but I just need to drill on those basics like you said, and reach that cap of 20 tiltless.
Anyway, let's have a lot of fun at Chicago, footbag or not. I'll see you and Age there.
Anyway, let's have a lot of fun at Chicago, footbag or not. I'll see you and Age there.
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
-
Kyle Hewitt
- something more funny
- Posts: 1273
- Joined: 31 Jul 2005 11:06
Gonna kick off this new page with some good and bad news.
The bad news is that I haven't played in over a week. I arrive in Chicago for NYJ on Friday, so I'm not exactly going to be in game shape. I know I'm going to have fun playing with everybody, but it's always more fun when you are playing well. At least I've worked out in the gym a couple times during this break, which will helpfully make my stamina a little better.
The good news is that my knee is feeling MUCH better. This may be related to the bad news, since all that rest probably helped my healing process. The real trick at NYJ will be resisting the temptation to play normally. I need to treat the knee as if it were still injured, so I don't reaggravate it. I should be able to do this.
I definitely feel like the good outweighs the bad, though I don't want to celebrate just yet because who knows how "healed" my knee will feel once I actually play on it again.
I'll be in Chicago from the 26th-30th, and I hope to post lots of video and a write-up when I get back. Because of that, I'm going to post my 2008 Year-End reflections before I leave. 2008 was most likely my best year ever in footbag, which was a very nice surprise considering it was also my 11th year in the sport. I'm looking forward to reminiscing over the highlights, taking a minute to be thankful it was such a good year, and getting ready for NYJ and the coming new year of footbag.
The bad news is that I haven't played in over a week. I arrive in Chicago for NYJ on Friday, so I'm not exactly going to be in game shape. I know I'm going to have fun playing with everybody, but it's always more fun when you are playing well. At least I've worked out in the gym a couple times during this break, which will helpfully make my stamina a little better.
The good news is that my knee is feeling MUCH better. This may be related to the bad news, since all that rest probably helped my healing process. The real trick at NYJ will be resisting the temptation to play normally. I need to treat the knee as if it were still injured, so I don't reaggravate it. I should be able to do this.
I definitely feel like the good outweighs the bad, though I don't want to celebrate just yet because who knows how "healed" my knee will feel once I actually play on it again.
I'll be in Chicago from the 26th-30th, and I hope to post lots of video and a write-up when I get back. Because of that, I'm going to post my 2008 Year-End reflections before I leave. 2008 was most likely my best year ever in footbag, which was a very nice surprise considering it was also my 11th year in the sport. I'm looking forward to reminiscing over the highlights, taking a minute to be thankful it was such a good year, and getting ready for NYJ and the coming new year of footbag.