Frequently Asked Questions

Anz · Post by **Anz** » 04 Jan 2010 07:38

There are questions that are asked from time to time by newcomers in the sport. It's abut time to collect a list of the frequently asked questions (faq) and answer them.
What questions you hear asked and what did you ask when you started?
How do you answer these questions?
You guys ask and answer and I'll harvest them in this post.

FAQ:

Q: What is Tiltless/Guiltless/Tripless/Fearless/Beastly/Godly?

A: These terms refer to the number of ADDs of the tricks in a given string:
Tiltless - 2 ADDs or higher
Guiltless - 3 ADDs or higher
Tripless - 4 ADDs or higher
Fearless - 5 ADDs or higher
Beastly - 6 ADDs or higher
Godly - 7 ADDs or higher
-Matt Kemmer

Q: What's the difference between hacky sack and footbag?

A: Hacky Sack is a brand of footbag. Similar to how tissues are often called Kleenex, footbags are often called Hacky Sacks
-Bob Rieferman

Q: Do footbaggers play football/soccer?

A: Some players surely are great soccer players, but it's not a requirement. Having foot-eye coordination helps with both. Beyond that though, the goals of each game, as well as the physical demands of each, are very different.
-Bob Rieferman, Ken Somolinos

Q: Do you wear special shoes?

A: Any shoe that has nice catching surfaces (flat inside/outside/toe), and have sufficient traction and support for sporting activities will work. Many players find Rod Laver tennis shoes by Adidas to be a great option.
-Bob Rieferman

Q: Are there competitions? How are they scored?

A: There are many types of events ranging from serious competitive events, to 'jam' events that are more casual. At a serious event, players get judged a number of different ways to determine a 'winner'. Essentially, the scoring is very similar to how skateboarding is scored.
-Bob Rieferman

Matt K · Post by **Matt K** » 04 Jan 2010 07:59

Q: What is Tiltless/Guiltless/Tripless/Fearless/Beastly/Godly

A: These terms refer to the number of ADDs of the tricks in a given string.

Tiltless - 2 ADDs or higher
Guiltless - 3 ADDs or higher
Tripless - 4 ADDs or higher
Fearless - 5 ADDs or higher
Beastly - 6 ADDs or higher
Godly - 7 ADDs or higher

Example: Ripwalk>Blur>Dimwalk>Pdx Whirl is a Tripless string because all of the tricks are 4 ADDs or higher, but Ripwalk>Blur>Butterfly>Pdx Whirl is a Guiltless string because the lowest ADD move is 3.

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 04 Jan 2010 08:05

What's the difference between hacky sack and footbag?

"Hacky Sack is a brand of footbag. Similar to how tissues are often called Kleenex, footbags are often called Hacky Sacks"

Do you play soccer?

"Some players surely are great soccer players, but it's not a requirement. I suck at soccer but can play footbag very well."

Do you wear special shoes?

"Any shoe that has nice catching surfaces (flat inside/outside/toe), and have sufficient traction and support for sporting activities will work. Many players find Rod Laver tennis shoes by Adidas to be a great option."

Are there competitions? How are they scored?

"There are many types of events ranging from serious competitive events, to 'jam' events that are more casual. At a serious event, players get judged a number of different ways to determine a 'winner'. Essentially, the scoring is very similar to how skateboarding is scored."

What's the point?

this one is hard to answer.. I know how I answer, but I'm probably in the minority, so I'll let someone else provide an answer here

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 04 Jan 2010 08:13

Rieferman wrote:What's the point?

I usually respond by asking them: what's the point of any sport? What's the point of art?

One of the questions/comments I most frequently get is: "Do you play soccer?" or "You must be amazing at soccer!"

While this frustrates me, I remind myself that they are showing interest, and we shouldn't mistake their ignorance for contempt. When I respond, I generally hit on the following three points:

1. Footbag is even less close to soccer than table tennis is to tennis.
2. That said, having foot-eye coordination helps with both. Beyond that though, the goals of each game, as well as the physical demands of each, are very different.
3. I then usually go on to tell them that sometimes soccer coaches use footbag as a training tool for soccer, and how this backfired with Dave Clavens, who found footbag more interesting, and then went on to become the US champ.

Sometimes, my first response to "do you play soccer?" is: "actually no, I was always more of a basketball player." And then I explain how footbag can be challenging to learn if you were raised on sports that emphasized hand-eye coordination, as opposed to a sport like soccer which already teaches foot-eye. I then segue to point #3, then #2, then finish with #1.

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to respond to questions with a positive attitude and a little humor.

Anz · Post by **Anz** » 05 Jan 2010 03:41

Nice.
How would you answer questions like "How long did it take to be so good?", "How can I learn this?" or "What kind of footbag is the best?"

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 05 Jan 2010 05:40

"How long did it take to be so good?"

I usually answer with some humor... "Me? I started playing last week.. it's EASY!" Then I'll give my real answer of "If you play an hour per day, 4 days per week, you will be able to play, string some tricks, and have some fun within a few months. After that, it's about how much you study the tricks, practice, and natural ability"

"How can I learn this?"

Seriously, I point them to Anz Tricks as well as some other youtube clips that are easily digested.

"What kind of footbag is the best?"

For a beginner, I often suggest those 4-panel sand bags. They're about the right size compared to today's bags, they're cheap, a new player often has success earlier (vs. being frustrated and just immediately quitting), and I don't think the learning curve is damaged later on by using them (at least, the benefit of them not quitting outweighs the risks in my opinion).

mc · Post by mc » 05 Jan 2010 08:21

"You don't REALLY need to wear special shoes and shorts, do you?"

Well, that depends on your definition of "need". If your current level of ability with the footbag meets your personal needs, then your current gear meets your needs. You could probably even practice and a hit a bunch of new, cool tricks in your pants and regular shoes.

However, if you are suddenly feeling a need to play the way you see me / us playing, then you need to get some shorts that give your legs a full range of motion. They also need to be not so long and baggy that they get in the way (above the knee is good). You also need some shoes that are going to accelerate your progression, not hinder it. These [footbag shoe of choice] are light, thin, and flat in all the right spots. I've even done a few cuts to make certain parts thinner, flatter, and / or more appropriately shaped.

Join the circle. Hang out for a while. That will help you decide for yourself."

Eric Chang · Post by **Eric Chang** » 05 Jan 2010 08:31

I think other people have gotten this but I've been asked countless times/told "Aren't your shoes cheating?"

I usually explain it a long the lines that its cheating as much skate shoes are for skateboarders, or basketball shoes for basketball players.

professor · Post by **professor** » 06 Jan 2010 11:01

Eric Chang wrote:I think other people have gotten this but I've been asked countless times/told "Aren't your shoes cheating?"

I usually explain it a long the lines that its cheating as much skate shoes are for skateboarders, or basketball shoes for basketball players.

To this, I usually explain to them that, saying my shoes are cheating is like going up to a baseball player and telling them to use an oven mitt, because their baseball mitt is cheating. Granted, an oven mitt is still a mitt, but it's not going to make baseball any fun.

habitat · Post by **habitat** » 06 Jan 2010 11:30

I get this one all the time ...

"Can you get laid AND paid by going pro hack brah?"

Contrary to old adage "kick legit, bitches don't quit" no you can't. This is due to the fact most footbaggers identify as transgender and find it hard to breakthrough into mainstream success. A fun fact to know is there has only been one non-trans hack world champ, old Willie McGillicutti. He died of natural causes, groundhogs day, 1984.

The moar you know.

PoisonTaffy · Post by **PoisonTaffy** » 07 Jan 2010 01:21

Well one could become a full time footbag instructor, with a little self marketing to schools. So when I'm asked this question I say that being a full time paid footbag instructor is possible.

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 07 Jan 2010 05:19

I usually answer the "can you make money playing footbag" question with:

At this point in time, the best handful of players in the world can basically cover their travel expenses to tournaments with their winnings. So, money isn't the primary draw for playing right now. Then again, skateboarding was in a similar place before the X-games (etc.) came along.