Mike Green

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 30 Jan 2012 17:38

Officially going to the Vegas Jam this coming March. That will be super fun. I am going to need to shed some of the pounds I have acquired over the year if I am going to last a whole weekend of footbag.

Just finished a 30 minute session before I have to go to class. I made a goal to hit 20 same side clippers on my strong and flip side. Strong side was under control and fairly easy to hit. My flip side only made it to 12

. I usually get 10 or so. Towards the end my thighs felt like lead weights. Feels great, man. I WILL hit 20 flip side clippers tomorrow. This is my #1 hurdle in footbag at the moment.

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

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 01 Feb 2012 17:41

Got a good 2 hours of shredding during work and after studying. My left clipper still are incredibly terrible. I could only hit 5 left clippers. I lose it after the 5th one every time. No more setting goals. They just make me want to stop because I set the bar too high. I will just keep working on that left foot. Damn I'm pissed.

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 06 Feb 2012 22:12

Today I was able to kick for about an hour on my own and for 15 minutes with two other footbaggers at Tempe Beach Park.

Highlights:

20 no step clippers on both sides (finally)

Whirls (both sides)

Paradox Mirage (both sides)

back to back Osis (both sides)

Osis finally clicked. Clippers are starting to feel natural. This was a really short, but good day!

It was nice to see the dudes at Tempe, too!

Ordered a new pair of Rod Lavers:

I have been looking for these for a LONG time.

Good day. No filming, though. Sorry.

Yesterday I made a day trip to Six Flags in California. I was planning on getting some footbag footage, but I became incredibly sick after 3 roller coaster rides. I will show me and my wife on a ride instead. She flips out on coasters, lol.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH6Sjs56MHo[/youtube]

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 07 Feb 2012 07:12

Those are some sweet shoes!

And glad to hear osis is clicking. That's the weirdest of the basic moves, and I'd almost argue the most important. Plus, most tricks ending in osis look awesome.

Stoked to see you in Vegas!

F[uns]tylin' Eclectic · Post by **F[uns]tylin' Eclectic** » 07 Feb 2012 15:57

I roflcopter'd at that rollercoaster video.

Also, setting goals isn't necessarily a bad thing. I thank goals for getting me to where I am in the game. A while ago, I made a list of long-term goals that I wanted to work toward and now I have crossed about 5/11 of them off (From my memory: Ultimate goal is BAP (Dream big), Mobius> Mobius bs, Ripped Warrior> Ripped Warrior bs, Inspire new players, Invent 5 tricks (only got a few inventions so far), 50 Contacts Guiltless etc...) Just imagine how you want your game to look when you hit the peak of your game and make goals that correspond to that. Think of your goals as you play every session and make steps (haha footbag pun) in the right direction toward those goals. Trust me, they help. As for end-of-session goals, make it something you KNOW you can hit, like Osis> Osis> Butterfly bs, legover> mirage rpt or something like that. Something that shows you're improving, even just by a little. If you find that your goal is too hard, MODIFY it and make it a little easier. One thing that helped me improve a lot... Only stop a session after you hit something you're proud of... If you absolutely find yourself in a situation where you cant get yourself to hit anything good, then hit a semi-new or even and old trick bs to a hand catch. AND ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO FORM. You'll regret it if you don't, trust me. Been there done that. Hope my mindless babbling has helped you in some way, shape, or form.

Keep kicking man. Hope to shred with you some day.

~Nick

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 09 Feb 2012 00:09

Ken: Yes Osis are definitely a new feeling for me. Vegas!

Nick: Thank you for that message. I decided to set a small goal for today (read below) thanks to your advice. I am going to take another crack at goals.

Today:

I had absolutely 0 time to kick outside of work. Luckily I was able to squeeze 20 minutes of kicking during a break. I made a quick goal to get 10 alternating osis down. I was able to land a really sloppy one in 10 minutes. By the time my break was over I was able to hit 10 three different times. A little bit of progress. I think my form is still a bit off on them, but should improve in the coming days.

I also decided to try whirl on my flip side for the hell of it. Since I have been practicing left clippers I am almost to the point to try other tricks on my flip side. I landed my 2nd attempt at flipside whirl. It felt incredible.

Something I noticed: Before I really drilled clippers I would set them right next to my planting foot and in front of my shoulders. Now they are pretty far back and directly under my supporting side's shoulder. It is easier to balance like this and to do swirls. I just realized this today and it made me proud of the progress I have made.

Time to set some goals for tomorrow:

15 alternating osis

30 no plant same side clipper>clipper (both sides)

5 back to back whirls (both sides)

Flip side clipper set

clipper>set>clipper>whirl>set

That should be enough. I will try to film all of it for your viewing pleasure (and pain).

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 09 Feb 2012 21:36

Today was a pretty bad day for footbag. I did kick for 2 hours, though. I filmed my attempts at my goals. I tried the 15 osis for 30 minutes straight and got to 4. It seemed like everything I learned fell apart and I kept messing up. I was able to do 5 back to back whirls on my strong side and 1 on my flip side. I don't think I am letting my clipper foot catch after the dex of the whirl. I kept thinking of this scene when trying to "cradle" the footbag with my clipper foot (Skip to 3:20):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMjZ9nPaiW0&t=3m20s[/youtube]
Soft feet Soft feet.

Anyways I was so frustrated about footbag that I went 20 minutes on the elliptical machine at the gym. Now my legs feel like noodles. BEM FEITO!

Edit: Crap I just spent 20 minutes watching Mighty Ducks when I should be sleeping. More footbag tomorrow!

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 10 Feb 2012 07:18

worldbound wrote:Edit: Crap I just spent 20 minutes watching Mighty Ducks when I should be sleeping. More footbag tomorrow!

We all have bad days with footbag. Whenever that happens, it's important to remind yourself how incredibly hard our sport is. It takes forever just to learn the basics, and then anything above that...it's really a minor miracle.

We should totally do rollercoasters in Vegas.

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 10 Feb 2012 21:25

Ken: I kicked today with your words in my head and had a really great time! Thanks for the support

I LOVE rollercoaster, but honestly I can only do 1 and anything more than that will make me sick. I have done the stratosphere a few years back. It was awesome! I will have to see how much money I will be allowed to play with in Vegas.

I was able to kick for 3 hours today. I hit a lot of 20 contact strings, which felt amazing! I have never been so consistent in my life. I didn't record them, though. I have come to realize that I really don't play well when recording or playing for other people. A few highlights:

Illusion. I now obtain that sh*t.

10 osis>osis

something about osis, I feel really awkward doing them. Like my knees are almost touching when I do them and it sort of looks like I am knock kneed. I will have to work on that tomorrow.

Clipper>around the neck>flip clipper.

I think they call that ducking? I don't know.

Now all I can do is think about Vegas! Exciting!

Also the new lavers arrived in the mail, but since no one was home the post office guy just left a note saying they will try again Monday. Balls.

Since I have no footage to share, enjoy this combo:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6_XD7YDT4A[/youtube]

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 11 Feb 2012 07:53

Nice combo! I always thought that combos in footbag and fighting games were kind of similar. Like, in fighting games it's less about the violence, and more about the aesthetics of the combo, and in both cases you need to have all the basics down, but also be able to flow from one to the next with the right timing.

And yes, the move you described is ducking clipper. Now try ducking osis!

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 12 Feb 2012 13:39

Yesterday:

I was able to shred for 3 hours yesterday. I was drained of energy so I decided to drill my basics. I have been doing this for a few weeks now and I have only a little bit of progress. Here is an almost raw video of me hitting last night around 11:00 PM.

Basics drilling:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWDvTo4YHwQ[/youtube]
Is there anything I am doing critically wrong? I feel like my style is pretty wack. Any criticism is welcomed, and encouraged.

Today:
I had 5 hours inbetween my double shift from yesterday and my shift today. I didn't sleep much, but am full of energy! I have already shredded for about a half an hour. I hit a new trick on both sides! I am not sure what it is called, though.

Clipper>supporting leg does 2 dexes>toe stall on dexing foot.

Yeah, no idea.

I will try to film it in the last 2 hours of this shift.

Anyways I have a flight to work on right now. I will be back soon.

Ken:
I will get ducking osis down once I get ducking clipper down on both sides

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 13 Feb 2012 21:52

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8vXGVRC38M[/youtube]
Here is a video of a new trick.

Today I found out that I really really don't like filming myself, don't enjoy watching videos of myself playing, but I LOVE editing footbag footage. Weird.

There is something about my style that I really dislike. The more I drill the basics, the worse my style is becoming. My knees are getting closer and closer together when I do clippers. My arms and shoulders are all over the place. I don't like this at all. Tomorrow I will try to find out what to do to fix this.

Next month will mark 1 year of footbagging. I can't help but be really frustrated with how far I have come. It doesn't seem like I progressed all that much. Keep my head down and practice more.

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 14 Feb 2012 17:19

Today was pretty great so far. I am hitting the tricks I want to with more frequency. Ducking clippers are coming along. I almost have them down on my flip side 1/5. Strong side is about 2/5.

I thought of a string and landed it first try. That was a great feeling. It was DATW>clipper>symposium DATW to whatever afterwards. I think I named that wrong. I will have to look it up.

I am in class right now and will try to get an hour in after class.

EDIT:

Was not able to get out of class.

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 15 Feb 2012 17:59

2 hours of shred today. All I worked on was alternating clippers and alternating osis. A little bit of progress today. What I need help with is releasing the footbag so it goes straight up and down. I am all over the place. Time to head to class

Jazzkid · Post by **Jazzkid** » 16 Feb 2012 09:57

sent you a pm.....I also just watched some of your recent videos

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 16 Feb 2012 12:00

Thanks for the PM. I will get that video going right after I post this:

Today's goal is to see how many 3 ADD moves I can hit.

Here is a list I got from here:

Atomic Mirage (Atom Smasher)
Butterfly/Down
Crossbody Rake
Crossbody Sole Delay (Flapper)
Double ATW (DATW)
Double ATW (DATW) [poll: which direction is easier?]
Double Legover/Mixer (DLO)
Double Mirage (Barrage)
Double Pickup
Double Switchover, Far (Reaper)
Dragon Osis (Drag)
Drifter
Drifter, Reverse (Grifter)
Ducking Clipper
Ducking Mirage
Eclipse
Eggbeater
Eggbeater, clipper-set (Bubbabeater)
Fairy/Shut XBD Rake
Far Reverse Swirl/Twist
Hopover
Knee-Bumping Atomic Mirage
Osis
Pixie/Open Mirage (Smear)
Pixie/Open Same Legover/Switch (Magellan)
Refraction
Reverse Swirl/Twist
Stepping SS Clipper
Swirl
Swirl [downtime]
Symposium Illusion (Flail)
Symposium Mirage
Symposium Pixie
Toe Spinning Mirage
Tootsie Roll
Wauxpin
Whirl

Looking at this list I know I can hit a lot of these. Time to get working!

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 16 Feb 2012 13:12

Sh*t. I can't hit almost any of these on the list, let alone know what they are!

I only know off the top of my head what these tricks are:

Butterfly
DATW
Ducking Clipper
Osis
Swirl
Whirl

Maybe I am way over my head. I can't even get flip side clipper properly.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhGEC6UjyVU[/youtube]

Butterfly - 2/5 on strong side, 1/10 on flip side.

DATW - 1/5 strong side, 0/5 flip side.

Ducking Clipper - 2/5 strong side. 1/20 flip side

Osis - 3/10 alternating.

Swirl - 1/50 strong side

Whirl - 2/5 strong side. 1/10 flip side

Welp, might as well start somewhere. To the top of the list!

February 16 - Atomic Mirage (Atom Smasher) I am going to kick your ass!

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 16 Feb 2012 15:42

Atom Smasher
First one on the list, I landed it once.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unLDqaZiobc[/youtube]
It took 30 straight minutes to learn how to atomic set on both sides, then another 30 minutes to land one atomic smasher on my strong side. By the time I landed it I was exhausted. Flip side should come soon, too.

Tonight I will try it some more.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 16 Feb 2012 19:12

Nice atom smasher!

One thing I've noticed with all of your tricks, is that you don't sink enough on your support leg. If you bend your knee on your support leg a bit more, and focus on cushioning the stall a little deeper and longer, I think it'd make everything easier for you. Right now I think you are rushing out of some tricks because you aren't cushioning deep enough or long enough. I can explain more in person in Vegas if this doesn't make sense. Oh, and keep videotaping. It'll help you figure out the stuff you are doing right and wrong.

worldbound · Post by **worldbound** » 16 Feb 2012 20:04

Thanks, Ken. It wasnt a clean landing, but I was excited to land it at least once.

About the knee bending: Good point! I thought I was bending enough, but now that you mention it I am not bending at all. I will work on that tonight. That should help with my clipper game. Thank you!