Modified - In Decline

[Jeremy]

That's a good point. On other forums that I frequent (in fact, I spend more time posting/reading there than here) the experts are the ones posting the most. I've seen seasoned electricians answering (AGAIN) silly questions about wire gauges. And I've never seen a "Use the search button" type of rant from anyone there. Because if you just use the search button, where's the fun and conversation of it all.

Also, on the other forums, it's considered "cool" to be the expert that weighs in with advice and posts etc. Seems like for some it's considered uncool to post on modified - better to be aloof or something?

was about to just close the window, but what the hell, might as well submit

Agreed, especially about the rants regarding using the search function. I never use it unless I'm looking for a specific topic that I know exists. I also asked thousands of dumb questions when I was starting, so I feel like I owe it to the people who helped me out so much when I was starting to answer other people's questions now.

[Corey]

i could be completely wrong but i think people will always come to modified as long as there are passionate shredders

imagine your a passionate swimmer and there is a forum where you can talk to michael phelps about your progress swimgear etc that would be attractive that is basically what modified is you have the best people (clavens, jorden, penske) helping new players like (me)

not only that but quality footbags are not like basketball shoes running shoes baseball gloves there are only a handfull of places to get them so if footbag is around i believe modified will be too

or maybe i am wrong and have not seen the rise and fall of modified maybe i am too naive

[abstract]

Telling intermediate players to work on their basics when they 'the' hard tricks is far better advice then telling them exactly how to fix the 'the' trick.

i wasn't clear enough i suppose, as i agree that basics are at the root of the problem.

when someone "the"s a hard trick, they are often missing one component, which is a basic concept.

eg. if someone tries to hit blurry flux & the illusion dex isn't clean, maybe that player could use some tips on how to clean up their illusions. so at the same time as encouraging the strengthening of their fundamentals, they can receive tips on how to make the process of learning those fundamentals more efficient.

of course, in the above example, if the step set is slurry, the illusion is the & the osis is pulled, then yea, absolutely they need to take a few steps back. but even still, breaking it down into detail like that is more helpful than saying "work your basics", imo, because now they can approach their training with specific basics in mind.

There are no secret tips.

there aren't "secret tips", i agree, but where video is concerned, you can clearly see that this individual player might be dipping their shoulders too much, not turning enough, poor footwork, etc. these are details that the top players can pick up right away when they see a player attempt a trick.

look at the one-shot video thread & see how big of an impact Radek's comments had on HollyZen's game, to play more on his toes. you could see an immediate improvement in the following one-shots. ( props, zen! )

these are things that a training coach would take care of in other sports. but for many footbag players, we train alone & don't have the opportunity to have that outside perspective to give advice.

[Rieferman]

jeremy wrote

I also asked thousands of dumb questions when I was starting, so I feel like I owe it to the people who helped me out so much when I was starting to answer other people's questions now.

Exactly, I think that's a great attitude.

Also, the evolution of every forum is that eventually you've pretty much talked about a lot of the possible topics at least once. So, if the answer is "just search" all the time, or if people are annoyed at someone asking a question that's been asked before (and I see that a lot), well then there might as well be no discussion then right?

On this other forum I mentioned the other day, someone had a fundamental, easy question on load distribution for a simple wall he was building. Though the answer was very likely available via searching, he stimulated conversation and responses from all sorts of members - and the topic ultimately branched off in a new direction that gave some good ideas on a topic that hadn't been talked about before. Also, some "newer experts" were able to weigh in and contribute - it may sound cheezy, but that's part of what makes a "community" in my opinion.

edit: I've talked to some really good players who have basically expressed "Why should I post on modified? Some newbie that thinks he's an expert is just spouting off all the time with advice". Shut that shit down. You're the effing expert. If the best of the best were on here with advice, comments, smack downs as needed, it'd go a long way in my opinion.

Edit2: The "get off modified and go play more" comment that I hear is so stupid btw. People think they're so cool if they don't post a lot becaues then they can say "I spend my time actually shredding". Laaaa deeee daaaaa. There's 24 hours in each day last time I checked and I'm able to get a shit ton accomplished in each chunk. If you don't have 10 minutes to skim some posts and add in a helpful comment to someone that might look up to you... or to give some props where due... etc. well, put down the guitar hero for a couple minutes.

I guess what I'm saying in total is: Contributing to this part of the community (the online part.. whether it's .org or here etc.), in my opinion, is important just like it's important to teach new players, attend tournaments, hold tournaments, promote etc. Whether you like it or not, our society uses online communities as a way to bridge distance etc.

[crazylegs32]

I dont think footbag as a sport is in great shape The people who footbag attract just dont wanna compete
I get more competitors and can win between 10x and 2000x more in a tiny bass fishing tourney than at worlds. These guys arent very good at fishing, half just started. But they have no problem putting up 20 or 50 bucks each and there are sponsors too. A sport cant exist without money as the prize. In the mid '80s those footbaggers would go to 10 or 20 tourneys a year according to their stories, and there used to be real prizes- what happened?

I would go so far as to say- you arent a member of the footbag community by posting online. If you go to events then you are heading somewhere. Pay the 20 dollar entry fee! Or throw your own events or invite people to Jams openly and you are there. And to clarify, throwing your own events means creating one from scratch- not promoting and taking credit for an event that was going on even if you werent there.