Non-players who nonetheless understand freestyle?

Post by **Allan** » 26 Aug 2011 00:44

Are there any? Is it actually possible to understand freestyle to the extent of being able to properly judge it if you've never played it?

Most people I've shown freestyle generally say: "it all starts to look the same after a while;" they're incapable of following the leg movements enough to tell which direction what leg went around when. Has anyone actually cared enough to learn it, but not been able to (or just didn't want to, I suppose) play?

Just curious ...

Jazzkid · Post by **Jazzkid** » 26 Aug 2011 10:53

super doubtful if not impossible.....

there are many music lovers out there, but a person who doesnt play doesnt understand the language well enough to distinguish between one master's skills and another....they might purely judge on audio or visual preference.

It all sounds and looks the same.....

im short on time otherwise I would have written a more complete answer.....maybe later

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 26 Aug 2011 11:01

my ex gf (yeah jenn, some of you even know her) used to watch most sessions i had, film, edit, helped me plan a tournament, etc. and while watching me or others play could name at least 60% of the moves i was hitting and often was a decent judge of cleanliness. she even had favorite moves (i think mobius...and ass stall but thats another story).

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 26 Aug 2011 11:36

I can't do much at all, but I watch enough footage to know what is going on. I do consider myself a player though.

Jazzkid · Post by **Jazzkid** » 26 Aug 2011 13:13

slapdash21 wrote:my ex gf (yeah jenn, some of you even know her) used to watch most sessions i had, film, edit, helped me plan a tournament, etc. and while watching me or others play could name at least 60% of the moves i was hitting and often was a decent judge of cleanliness. she even had favorite moves (i think mobius...and ass stall but thats another story).

Cool....I understand that.....

Its just that I dont believe a non- player should judge the elite level (or any level) of a competition. Many players still have issues with exactly how to judge another player....what tricks are hard for some are easy for others.....so its shows that there is a large margin for error even among "experts" when judging someone. If the judge is not a player then there is a wide understanding completely missing. As a nonplayer, some could argue that there is a advantage to being a spectator as opposed to a player...but an experience player should also be able to understand what appeals to crowds that do not play.

If it was for a job at a birthday party then fine let them judge, but for a technical competition let the players (or retired players ) judge

Matt K · Post by **Matt K** » 26 Aug 2011 13:16

Steve Goldberg, while still a player, has probably the biggest range of the level of play he can comprehend, and the level that he plays at.

Fade2black · Post by **Fade2black** » 27 Aug 2011 08:26

I quit after hitting a few sloppy whirls ( thanks Mark M and changerbanger for the tips) after last years worlds, but I feel like I could judge decently based on the amount of videos/ events I have seen and knowledge of density and proper form.

If people care enough about the intricacies of the movements involved for each trick/set/dex I think they can understand what they are looking at. Watching Milan's nemesis swirl Or matt cross' career Ender or the Boychuk/Moir video still gives me chills...

abstract · Post by **abstract** » 29 Aug 2011 11:07

i think it's possible, but not commonplace at the present time.

imo, most folks just don't understand that this is a sport, so they don't put in the time to comprehend it. i speak with people every night about footbag while i play, & nobody knows of this as a competition of any kind--it is why, i believe, so many people ask if we play soccer. this isn't a sleight against footbag, it is a credit to footbag. they see what we can do & can understand the dedication it must take, so they assume that we practice a sport. to them, footbag is not a sport, & soccer is the closest thing they can think of.

request contest has some high potential for being a gateway spectator event. the tricks in the early rounds are easy enough to comprehend & the spectator never has more than 2 contacts to dissect in their brain. they are also provided with the trick names that are being hit, & they can see competitors actually competing against each other, which is really important for increasing perception as a sport. lastly, they get to see the ridiculous things we are capable of in the later rounds when the competition gets really intense.

if some well edited request / circle videos go viral with trick lists & plugs for beginners, perceptions might begin to change in the years ahead. i am not very social-network-savvy, so i'm not exactly sure about the sweet science of making something "go viral", but internet is the medium of our time, so that would be the way to go if it can be done.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 31 Aug 2011 13:35

Jazzkid wrote:Cool....I understand that.....

Its just that I dont believe a non- player should judge the elite level (or any level) of a competition. Many players still have issues with exactly how to judge another player....what tricks are hard for some are easy for others.....so its shows that there is a large margin for error even among "experts" when judging someone. If the judge is not a player then there is a wide understanding completely missing. As a nonplayer, some could argue that there is a advantage to being a spectator as opposed to a player...but an experience player should also be able to understand what appeals to crowds that do not play.

If it was for a job at a birthday party then fine let them judge, but for a technical competition let the players (or retired players ) judge

oh man yah no fucken way. i would never have had jenn judging comps and she understood freestyle BETTER than guys i played with that were tiltless.
thats crazy talk.