Erik Chan, January 2011

[bustinjustin]

I agree with Jorden on this one. I also wish there was more scrutiny on these forums. I love telling people their game needs improvement, and guess what, mine does too. I played for years with my toe game on the outside of my knee's, until I read Jorden's article on form mistakes, and had Ianek reinforce it by showing me 1 how wrong it was and 2 how to fix it. Best thing that ever happened to my game, wish someone had called me out earlier on it. So hey, lets call eachother out, and not take it so personally, that way we can all get better together.

[C-Fan]

Nobody is debating the right to critique other people's game. I'm just saying it could be done much more graciously.

I completely agree that:

1. Constructive criticism is more valuable than flattery.
2. The community should be better about helping each other out by pointing out "the" and form flaws.

At the risk of speaking for Bob, neither of us have claimed the opposite.

We are what we say, and we are the way we say it.

What I've taken issue with, is the way Jorden approached this. If he wants to give advice to Chan on his form, great. But to publically call him out on his supposedly bad form, and then conclude by setting up a private session with Chan, doesn't help the community as a whole and is needlessly embarassing to Erik (see my last post).

Erik obviously loves footbag, as he has been involved for over 13 years now. He also has a well-known injury history. So when he posts a video with this as the intro:

I've been struggling for almost a year to get back to where I was in my game after a year off due to injury. ... So this is all I've got. I'm happy to be playing at all, but I'm sure others can empathize with losing skill

...my first instinct isn't to make a public post telling him he has bad form. If I felt the urge to help him out, I'd send him an email or a PM. If I thought the video was a learning opportunity for all of modified to learn something, then I'd make a public post which details:

1. exactly what is wrong with his form.
2. exactly what he should do to fix it.

Instead, Jorden publicly calls out Erik's form, and then says he'll give him tips in private. I'm just saying I don't think this was the right way to handle things.

[bustinjustin]

Well put.

[Jorden]

From my initial response:

...rotating your knees inwards, turning your hips inwards and landing on your heels...

So Ken, the first detail you were talking about was already covered.

These mistakes correspond to (in no particular order) #2, #3 & #7 on my list:
http://modified.in/footbag/viewtopic.php?t=20968

I think that covers your second detail.
To be able to apply these changes more effectively it's better to have someone help you in person (as Justin pointed out).

Chan knows he's a demigod. I know anything coming from a mere mortal like myself would never phase him.

A completely different player has already contacted me saying that my critique in this thread helped him spot an error in his game.

Shred well everybody!

[mikeanello]

Erik,

Great video. Your skills always impress me, even if you are still recovering. And I always enjoy your editing and music choices.

Regarding Jorden's post, Erik Chan is an icon to many of us, myself included. There are many players that have learned from him and I imagine new players that will study and learn from him as well. Erik Chan is the reason I ever started ducking the footbag. If another icon, such as Jorden, sees that there are harmful elements in Erik's style, I would hope that Jorden would call out those harmful risks publicly. That way those that idolize Erik and Jorden take into consideration both players influences, and hopefully find a combination of knowledge and skill that results in safe and expert level playing abilities.

Keep up the good work Erik, and take your time getting your strings back. I look forward to more videos from you.

[mentor]

What a privilege it must be for you to be shredding with Jorden in a near future. Enjoy. Don't stop using reverse whirls. I love them!

[Green Lanturn]

I personally don't think Jorden's post was offensive at all. I think it is productive for the sport to have the top players offer criticism and suggestions in order to help others improve their game, whether it's regarding a player's form or their creativity.

For someone like me (and probably a lot of other new players) we look to these videos to learn moves, new strings, and proper form. I rarely get the opportunity to play with others so I learn by relying on watching the best players in the sport on video. To read Jorden critique Erik's form helps me pinpoint things in my game that I need to work on.

I'd love to hear more suggestions by the best players in the world.

[calemccoy]

erik, ive always thought you have one of the sickest games in footbag. your most recent videos have been so awesome, thanks so much for making them!

as far as everything else: destroyer destroys. i would love to get a post like that one in one of my video threads. and from what i can see in this thread, erik hasnt taken any offense himself, so.... problem?

[Radek]

Ken you make a problem out of nothing, little flame war I don't see why is this needed (if you let me mock you a bit).

Jorden didn't flame Eric, his post was full of respect and really friendly advice. I don't see a negative side of his post, I believe even a person that this post was directed to doesn't really have a reason to dislike an advice from such a great athlete as Jorden.

Not everyone takes a criticism as an attack Ken, especially if it's constructive.

[C-Fan]

I've said my piece, and don't think I could have said it more clearly. I'm done here.

[ThisIsFate]

I still remember having a great session with Jorden and Erik, why don't you guys do the private session in Vancouver. I will participate too .

[drillbit]

Erik also has this to say regarding injury and prevention....

You been injured a lot during your footbag career. What was that like? What advice can you give to other players based on these experiences?

Oh that's a good one. I wish everyone could learn from my mistakes and avoid injury! My initial injury is still kind of undetermined, but it was basically a tight hip flexor, which came from pushing flip atomic and PS whirls. My biggest mistake was never stretching. I never thought I had to because for 6 years freestyling I never had any pain. Big mistake. Other, more debilitating injuries developed from there, but the same prevention methods hold: Stretch. I'm not a health expert and only really know what I have been told by others, but from what I have been told personally, and analyzing the injuries of others, I am convinced that tight hamstrings are the cause of most injuries, and all of mine (including tight hips/groin, bad knees (patella femoral syndrome), unbearable shin splints (worse than I have ever had before), and really bad chronic lower back pain). Stretch those hammies! Multiple times every day regardless of whether you're planning to play footbag or not. Also, some freestylers who are also into personal training highly recommend cross-training [to prevent injury] for footbag, and I think this will be the norm in the future.
http://supernemesis.blogspot.com/2009_0 ... chive.html