Steel City Freestyle

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 07 Sep 2010 19:07

Funtastiks was some of the most fun I have had at a tournament. Right up there with Cornell Jam 2 and the two first NYFA Jams.

Highlights:
* Getting a ride with Pipebomb and Erin (DC-fame) to the event, and it only being 1.5 hours away!!!
* The massive NYFA turnout- now including Matt Cross

* DC and Flash. I didn't get to talk much with either of them but it was great to watch Dave shred and get to play in a circle with Bevier. Now that I think about it it's weird because I am staying in State College now and they aren't.
* Hanging with Nathan, Jay and Dtank (roommates) was great. Great guys. I am glad I got to know them a bit more, and in Doug's case, I am glad I got a chance to meet him.
* Nate's mom. Oatmeal cookies. Sandwich makings. A ride back to PSU. What a nice lady.
* Riefer. It was great to see Bob. Always is.
* Decorative syrup... !!!??? Should be the name of a footbag trick.
* Judging intermediate and open routines. I think I am good at this and I am glad that I had the opportunity to both help and to contribute.
* Talking with Steve about judging of routines. I am glad to know that we share a similar perspective on routines. There is a push towards a more "entirely-technical" angle from more people these days and I am glad that there is still hope for things to come closer back to the way they once were.
* Meeting Mark from Binghamton. What a nice guy. Had a great time dialing/schooling consecutive whirls with him.
* Meeting Nick P. There are not enough people like him out there. He has a combination of style, talent and kindness towards others that is extremely rare.
* Chatting with Drew Martin Jim (?-net player) about Dubstep, etc
* Seeing Josh G. and his cousin Chris.
* Seeing Dan Grier's finals routine.
* Chatting with Eve from montreal.
* Schooling atomics with Pat from NJ.
* Chatting with MC and Barrett, and hearing how stoked they both are that they are each others' neighbors
* Watching Kenny Schultz win singles and doubles net games, in person.
* Finally introducing myself to Kenny, after 15-16-odd years of appreciation and admiration of him.

RipWalker · Post by **RipWalker** » 08 Sep 2010 03:27

Was good meeting you too bro! I'll be continuing to school my whirls on both sides! Thanks again for the tips/advice and I really dug your circle etiquette.

Hope to shred with you some time in the future. NY isn't too far. :p

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 09 Sep 2010 17:54

Kicked with Nathan. He was tearing it up. He Hit 30 or so ripwalks like it was a day job plus several other drills.

Highlights:
* New move: far symposium swirling osis
* Very clean symposium bent swirl
* Around 15 consecutive whirls
* Twirl was feeling stickier than usual which is cool

Life in PSU is beautiful. I miss my girlfriend though. Gonna be great to see her this weekend!!!

Tripp · Post by **Tripp** » 09 Sep 2010 18:45

She's doing fine.

I'll be gone for the weekend.

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 22 Sep 2010 20:17

Kicked with Nathan,

Highlights:

*leggy atomic dyno, 3rd try. Been awhile since I went for that
*gyro clipper- far symposium swirling osis (first try)
*whirl to a solid ripwalk on my weak stepping side
*P Whirl b2b
*8 or so consecutive whirls, first try of the day
*osis-dyno-string
*some syposium bent clipper
*atomic illusion (new move I think)

yacob · Post by **yacob** » 30 Sep 2010 21:56

So my room mate is having a 'Talent/no Talent' party in November cause he's social like that and he works at the center for wooden boats here in Seattle and he gets one free rental of their party space per year, so this is how he is choosing to use it. I expect random heads to show up with flea circuses, exhibitions on how to get in and out of pants without using one's hands, plus actual talents such as stand up comedy, singing, amazing powers of memory, and i plan to wow one and all by unveiling my long dormant footbag repertoir.

I'm thinking of starting out with an awkward hack circle/newbie vibe, followed by a slow progression towards footbag enlightenment including the ripping off of warm-up pants to unveil my pale short shorts-clad legs just at the climax of Greig's In the Hall of the Mountain King when I'll bust out ripwalks and paradox whirls and osises to wow my footbag-ignorant seattle acquaintances with my jaw dropping skills of eye foot coordination and dexterity.

I predict it will be epic. And I would appreciate any insights on this type of performance that might make it better that anyone reading this might have in mind.

That is all

p.s. Ian and Matt I miss you guys like whoa.

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 01 Oct 2010 07:24

Scattered City Freestyle, represent!

Great to hear from you Jake. Here's my suggestion: Practice before the performance, if you have a chance.

Grad school is fun, isn't it?

Gonna kick with Nathan today. Stoked.

yacob · Post by **yacob** » 01 Oct 2010 08:55

Here's my suggestion: Practice before the performance, if you have a chance.

Thanks man, that's good advice

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 14 Oct 2010 21:23

Played today, first time since two Sundays ago with Nathan. I filmed three sections. The best one did not record though.

Missing highlights:
* Open op symp. whip: second and third tries were successful
* Some other cool strings
* A really nice symp. bent set.
* At least two flip, open infinities
* Whirl to rip to string

Caught highlights:
* Hippy atomics. Both sides. Leg and atom.
* Scophthalmus Rhombus, aka: toe set symp. bent op swirl
* Open ducking clipper, first try of the day
* Some other stuff, I think.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Morojq5cnf8[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twI7otEFw3o[/youtube]

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 15 Oct 2010 17:22

Some good stuff in there, the hippy atomics especially. I'd like the videos a bit better though if you pared them down a little, so it's more unique clips.

For example, if you hit hippy legbeater 10 times in a session, maybe show your two best ones, and not all 10. I'd be more likely to re-watch a 1 minute video of a bunch of different things (spin clip, the bent swirl trick, pixie ducking, etc) rather than 4.5 minutes of footage where there are several clips of the same trick. Hope that made sense.

Good to see you are still shredding, despite grad school pressure. Keep at it, and thanks for video.

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 15 Oct 2010 17:50

I appreciate where you are coming from. It will not influence my footage though. The documentation is in a specific format so that I can return to compare my form over time and document my accomplishments and embarrass myself into improving. I am an artist. I could make enjoyable films if I wanted to. This is just a tool to try and get better and maintain scientific interest in a game I rarely get to share with others.

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 15 Oct 2010 18:05

Thanks for the kind words, feedback and watching them. You might be the only one sometimes. It's just that since I so busy the easiest way for me to approach fb is by treating it like a study. Notice that these are not intended for the video section. They are intended for cunstrictive criticism. As such, the hippy atomicsm both what I aim for, and a sign that it was not just a fluke this time around

I

yacob · Post by **yacob** » 18 Oct 2010 11:24

Lookin' good man!

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 22 Oct 2010 14:25

Thanks Jake!

Just got a shipment from MC, since he came back from retirement for a minute:

I'm good for a bit!

Can't wait to kick again sometime- these all, already feel like they will be perfect, and I am still kicking with the same MC bag I picked up a year ago!

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 25 Oct 2010 19:12

Played solo.

* Hit flip hippy: leg first two tries, atom first two tris
* Getting close to Motor
* One nice weak rip
* Swirls looking much better, both sides
* Lower-set-spins, making all the difference
* Nice string with a solid blender in the middle

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 30 Oct 2010 18:25

Kicked with Nathan, Mike Toolan and Nick Palini. Had a great time playing and eating Thai. Stoked to see Matt in NYC next weekend and to kick with Nick when he moves here next year!

*New move: Motor
*Linked out of a bunch of blenders
*Hippy atomics feel good on one side
*Very rusty, but making forward-progress with every session

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic · Post by **F[uns]tylin' Eclectic** » 09 Nov 2010 13:21

I remember your motor like it was just yesterday. That looked awesome. Finally found your blog haha Definitely going to try to make it up there again and kick with you guys some more. See ya soon.

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 21 Nov 2010 22:41

It was great kicking with you, Nick!

Kicked with Nathan yesterday. Had a great session. It had been about two weeks since kicking last.

Highlights:
*Hippy atomics:
â€¢Hippy flux first try on left side
â€¢Hippy flux on the other side after several tries
Seems hippy prefers a hand-toss, toe-stall, then attack- which means my mid-string posture for toe-stall may need consideration
â€¢Hippy dim-walks felt fun. The swirl still needs to be worked-up-to
*Quantum is feeling really good on both sides. I am going to try and make my right side less hippy, but still, I am getting a good set out of it
*Hit a few blenders. Feeling positive about this
*Some decent strings

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 16 Feb 2011 00:26

Played Saturday with NYFA: Outsider, Boats (Beyers) and Drew
First time playing since Early December, with the exception of an interrupted 15 minute session in early January.

Played again today. Game was looking good on Saturday and today felt much better. Weak pm is feeling stronger. Had some decent strings. Ducking pm bsos felt great, first try, after all the time off.

School is hard.

Ian Brill · Post by **Ian Brill** » 23 Apr 2011 02:21

Life's been interesting. Been single since January. School's hard. Unusual challenge after unusual challenge. Meanwhile, I am learning a lot and I have received major recognition for my efforts (art). So, it balances out. It's painful at first when you spend 7 years trying to carve out a future with someone and they change their mind, but I am coming around to the idea of having my independence. And, we are still polite, so that is a bonus. Perhaps one day we will be able to be good friends like some of my other ex's.

Feeling old. Got to get out more.

My game is seldom but improving.

New stuff tonight:
*whirl-osis repeat from both sides
*trip walk bsos
*drifter to simp. swil/whirl
*some flip rips
*longer-held strong ripwalk
*whirl-rev.whirl-repeat- bs
*flip twirl first try

The other day (a week ago?) I hit:
*Drifter-twirl
*flip twirl first try
*bunch of toe blurs
*rip-pwhirl bs (might retire trick- knees hurt later)
*blenders both sides
*weak whirl x5

My stamina is wack, and now that I am coming back to reality from the impact of the breakup, I am putting weight back on- so it's bad. I am still in excellent shape, but I am fighting through the tail end of the worst depression I have ever experienced. So, looking forward to ending this semester, passing my MFA candidacy and getting back into the swing of things this Summer, before I start the most important year of my life- the last year of grad school.

Will I go for a PHD afterwards? Will I teach? Will I move to Japan or Korea? These are all very important things. However, the most important is my art, so yeah- not so much time for footbag anymore. After experiencing a creative block for the first time in my life (brought on by depression related to the breakup) I think I finally rediscovered my angst. No shit. After feeling like I took a ride on a relationship from my twenties into my thirties, I feel younger than ever before. A bit miffed like when I was a teenager. When I really wanted to produce. Yeah. It's all coming back together. My game. On every level. Just a little more time to recover from this semester, taxes, etc. And then, it's fucking on.