I just finished school, and caught up on your posts.
Wow, to the fearless video. That is an accomplishment. The in torque surprised me the most
Fanzine
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Re: lack of comments
Ever since Anssi told me @ NYJ that he doesn't post vids no more because nobody comments, I've made an effort to post comments on vids I watch. Even if it's as short as, "Nice."
I understand being in lurk mode: reading and not posting. I still feel like I do that for the most part all these years on modified later. Like not having much to say sometimes - I realize I don't need some big analysis, just a short and sweet comment.
Totes good for giving life to the forum and keeping people interested I think as well as showing your appreciation for the vid.
Ever since Anssi told me @ NYJ that he doesn't post vids no more because nobody comments, I've made an effort to post comments on vids I watch. Even if it's as short as, "Nice."
I understand being in lurk mode: reading and not posting. I still feel like I do that for the most part all these years on modified later. Like not having much to say sometimes - I realize I don't need some big analysis, just a short and sweet comment.
Totes good for giving life to the forum and keeping people interested I think as well as showing your appreciation for the vid.
Yeah, I understand the comment thing. I think those of us who make a lot more videos, and more frequently, should be particularly aware of this problem and comment on others' videos. I appreciate your comment on mine, Ken. I made extra sure to comment on your thread here even after I'd posted my thoughts a few times on Facebook -- it also helps to bump a thread to remind others to comment. That's too bad about Anssi too. Actually, now that I think about it he showed me a video of his on his phone before New Years Jam that was, like, 100% triples dexes and up, but it never showed up on Modified. Too bad. He must have a magnificent hoard somewhere.
Also, I liked your comment in my blog too about video stuff, because I enjoy your blog for the same reason. I think it's great to have a high video-to-blog-post ratio. Your blog has always delivered in that respect and with great stories and history.
Also, I liked your comment in my blog too about video stuff, because I enjoy your blog for the same reason. I think it's great to have a high video-to-blog-post ratio. Your blog has always delivered in that respect and with great stories and history.
Footbag history and development are always interesting to me. I wish I'd stayed more involved in the scene, but I never had a real good support network for kicking - and I love the social aspect of it. So shredding alone in college just wasn't for me.
I remember kicking in a circle with Sunil and Ethan (the UPenn guys as they were known back in the day) at Funtastik one year - and they were showing me pixie stuff as uptime sets were really starting to be explored.
Just your mention of the history of furious sets and legbeaters makes me want to know more. Maybe I'll have to go find that Twitter account and see (if its in English, or I'm screwed).
Perhaps I should read through all 120 pages of your blog reading for history now!
I remember kicking in a circle with Sunil and Ethan (the UPenn guys as they were known back in the day) at Funtastik one year - and they were showing me pixie stuff as uptime sets were really starting to be explored.
Just your mention of the history of furious sets and legbeaters makes me want to know more. Maybe I'll have to go find that Twitter account and see (if its in English, or I'm screwed).
Perhaps I should read through all 120 pages of your blog reading for history now!
Darren Kautz
Kicking since 1991
Kicking since 1991
With Major League Baseball, historians often refer to the “deadball era” of the sport. During this time scoring was down for a variety of reasons. Similarly, I consider the last couple years on modified to be the “dead post era.” In this era, having 8 posts in a row in my blog made by others is akin to somebody hitting a grand slam during the deadball era.
First off, thanks to everybody for the comments. Here are my thoughts on a variety of topics discussed:
• I can understand why some people no longer post video/content on modified, due to the lack of response. I try to make a point to document my footbag experience in video and words, mostly so I have something to look back on in the future. That said, even with that mentality it can be frustrating when a project you’ve worked on for months gets only a handful of comments. I’m going to continue to make videos even if they don’t get much response. My fearless project motivated me to improve my fearless game, so that alone was worth the effort.
• My footbag book. I was pretty gung ho about this project around 7 years ago, and since then my enthusiasm has waned some. I guess it comes and goes. I’m not actively writing anything now, but maybe I should start up again. I currently live fairly close to Peter Irish and Rippin, so I’m sure I could get some good material by interviewing them in person. Maybe I should do some video interviews. Thanks for putting this back on my radar.
• In the Fearless Kids thread, Erik asked if I was eligible for the Footbag HOF. The simple answer to this is “yes,” since my first tournament was in June of 1997, putting me at 15 years this June. A more appropriate question would be, “is my playing career something that is HOF worthy?” I would argue the answer is clearly “no.” Then again I’d also argue that very few players deserve to be in the HOF based on their playing careers. Basically, my understanding is that the HOF should be for players who contributed significantly to the promotion of the sport. By that standard, Steve Goldberg is in a tier by himself, and then I’d put people under him like Bruce Guettich of the WFA, Justin Sexton, Vince Bradley for East Coasts, the Solonoski’s for Funtastiks, people who have hosted Worlds, etc. In terms of players, the few players I’d argue should be included in the Hall would be people like Kenny (best overall freestyle/net player ever), Manu (best net player ever), Peter Irish (5 Worlds titles), and Vasek. I think being a high level player is admirable, but BAP is enough recognition for that. If you’ve never hosted a tournament or done significant promotion work, I’d have trouble justifying inclusion into the HOF. For me, I’m happy with my playing career. I’ve stayed competitive for a long time, and I’ve had some good results. That said, I’m not on the same level of achievement as any of the players I’ve mentioned before (I’ve never even made routine finals at Worlds). A case could be made that my involvement in creating a sustainable scene in Japan is HOF worthy, but my playing career shouldn’t have anything to do with that.
• I played net/takraw again this past weekend, and again it made my hamstring feel weird. I was able to play the next day, but it’s still a cause for concern for me. I think next week I’ll try again, but not spike at all. If that works, then I’ll keep playing through the summer. If not, I might have to sit out this season so I can focus on getting in shape for Worlds and USO. That’d be a tough call, since the net scene here is so small…any person dropping out would be a big blow to it. Will play this by ear.
• I’m working on a secret video project now. I really wanted a breather after my fearless video, since it was challenging technically, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. My deadline is tomorrow night, so hopefully I’ll be done by then, and then I’ll take a more extended break from editing. I’ll post the video here once I’m allowed to.
• My last few sessions have been very fun and relaxing. I’ve worked hard at getting back my flip spinning, and it’s coming along well. My strings during these sessions mostly consist of spins and ducks, which reminds me of how I was playing in 2008. This style is more relaxing for me, and also gives me hope that I’ll be able to play this way in a couple years when shuffle and other concepts wear down my body.
• Nate Pipenberg is going to be in Boulder for the summer, which I’m really excited about. I’m going to make an effort to play with him as often as I can. I’ll try to make a video as well. It’s fun making videos of other people.
First off, thanks to everybody for the comments. Here are my thoughts on a variety of topics discussed:
• I can understand why some people no longer post video/content on modified, due to the lack of response. I try to make a point to document my footbag experience in video and words, mostly so I have something to look back on in the future. That said, even with that mentality it can be frustrating when a project you’ve worked on for months gets only a handful of comments. I’m going to continue to make videos even if they don’t get much response. My fearless project motivated me to improve my fearless game, so that alone was worth the effort.
• My footbag book. I was pretty gung ho about this project around 7 years ago, and since then my enthusiasm has waned some. I guess it comes and goes. I’m not actively writing anything now, but maybe I should start up again. I currently live fairly close to Peter Irish and Rippin, so I’m sure I could get some good material by interviewing them in person. Maybe I should do some video interviews. Thanks for putting this back on my radar.
• In the Fearless Kids thread, Erik asked if I was eligible for the Footbag HOF. The simple answer to this is “yes,” since my first tournament was in June of 1997, putting me at 15 years this June. A more appropriate question would be, “is my playing career something that is HOF worthy?” I would argue the answer is clearly “no.” Then again I’d also argue that very few players deserve to be in the HOF based on their playing careers. Basically, my understanding is that the HOF should be for players who contributed significantly to the promotion of the sport. By that standard, Steve Goldberg is in a tier by himself, and then I’d put people under him like Bruce Guettich of the WFA, Justin Sexton, Vince Bradley for East Coasts, the Solonoski’s for Funtastiks, people who have hosted Worlds, etc. In terms of players, the few players I’d argue should be included in the Hall would be people like Kenny (best overall freestyle/net player ever), Manu (best net player ever), Peter Irish (5 Worlds titles), and Vasek. I think being a high level player is admirable, but BAP is enough recognition for that. If you’ve never hosted a tournament or done significant promotion work, I’d have trouble justifying inclusion into the HOF. For me, I’m happy with my playing career. I’ve stayed competitive for a long time, and I’ve had some good results. That said, I’m not on the same level of achievement as any of the players I’ve mentioned before (I’ve never even made routine finals at Worlds). A case could be made that my involvement in creating a sustainable scene in Japan is HOF worthy, but my playing career shouldn’t have anything to do with that.
• I played net/takraw again this past weekend, and again it made my hamstring feel weird. I was able to play the next day, but it’s still a cause for concern for me. I think next week I’ll try again, but not spike at all. If that works, then I’ll keep playing through the summer. If not, I might have to sit out this season so I can focus on getting in shape for Worlds and USO. That’d be a tough call, since the net scene here is so small…any person dropping out would be a big blow to it. Will play this by ear.
• I’m working on a secret video project now. I really wanted a breather after my fearless video, since it was challenging technically, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. My deadline is tomorrow night, so hopefully I’ll be done by then, and then I’ll take a more extended break from editing. I’ll post the video here once I’m allowed to.
• My last few sessions have been very fun and relaxing. I’ve worked hard at getting back my flip spinning, and it’s coming along well. My strings during these sessions mostly consist of spins and ducks, which reminds me of how I was playing in 2008. This style is more relaxing for me, and also gives me hope that I’ll be able to play this way in a couple years when shuffle and other concepts wear down my body.
• Nate Pipenberg is going to be in Boulder for the summer, which I’m really excited about. I’m going to make an effort to play with him as often as I can. I’ll try to make a video as well. It’s fun making videos of other people.
Really nice weekend for footbag. Friday it was too windy out to play, so I rested. Saturday morning I got in a fun solo freestyle session, and Saturday afternoon I met up with people for takraw and hack. Sunday I played solo again, and had another relaxing session.
Footbagwise, I feel like I’m in a good place. My fearless project is done, so over my last few sessions I haven’t pushed myself with hard tricks or combos. Worlds is still about three months away, so I still have time to plan and practice my routines. Over the last week, I’ve really just focused my sessions on improving my control and stamina, and working on solidifying my spins on both sides. My plan for May is to continue working on stamina and consistency, while also working on sections/elements for routines. I’ve already narrowed down a list of potential routine songs for Worlds, and have started weighing the pluses and minuses for each from a competitive standpoint. By the end of May I will have selected both songs for Worlds, and then I’ll spend June and July working on them. I’m hoping this plan will put me in good shape for performing well at Worlds.
I filmed both freestyle sessions from this weekend. On both days I spent time trying to rehit some of my old spinning challenges, which was fun. The weather was perfect both days too; low 60s with a slight breeze. I know it’s going to get blazing hot sooner than later, so I really made a point to enjoy the rare spring weather.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CD_yVj_I9Q[/youtube]
Well, in good news I came out of Saturday’s takraw session feeling fine. I didn’t cut out spikes altogether, but I reduced them enough that my legs feel good today. That session was fun. Allen Petersen (former world champ) and Remi Kristensen came to town, so we had some pretty competitive matches. Cody and Kyle also showed up and had a good time. I think Cody and Kyle are more natural freestylers, so I’m going to make a point to play with them before/after our takraw sessions. I need to convince Cody to use proper equipment. He gets frustrated at not hitting stuff like clipper stall, but he’s also not wearing great shoes or shorts for it. I talked to him about it, so hopefully he’ll invest in lavers sooner than later. Anyway, the good news is that I now feel like I can do both freestyle and takraw this summer, provided I limit my time and spiking in takraw. This is a good thing.C-Fan wrote:• I played net/takraw again this past weekend, and again it made my hamstring feel weird. I was able to play the next day, but it’s still a cause for concern for me. I think next week I’ll try again, but not spike at all. If that works, then I’ll keep playing through the summer.
So the secret project I was working on was a video message for Tokyo Shredder Gathering 10. I knew it was coming up, and I was excited that there are two Japanese tournaments that have now gone on for ten years (the other being Japanese Footbag Champs), but I was surprised when the organizer Kim emailed me asking me to film a video message for the tournament. Naturally I agreed to do it, though it proved to be pretty challenging. One big challenge, was that I’m still figuring out how to edit/export with my new camera, so I wasn’t guaranteed to be able to do it from a technical standpoint. Sure enough, I shot some clips that I wasn’t able to use, but the important clips came out fine. The other big challenge, was that I wanted to give a speech in Japanese at the end, telling the attendees how proud I was of them and the Japanese scene. Given how rusty my Japanese is, and the fact that lots of the expressions I wanted to use aren’t natural for me, this was also going to be tricky. I ended up drafting a speech with the help of google translate, and then running it by my mom, who helped me refine it. Then I tried to memorize it, and get it on tape in one continuous take. It was hard, but I got a pretty good one at the end. Once I had the speech on tape, I decided to make a parody of a classic, comedic Japanese footbag video. This proved to be a lot of work too, since I had to film sections for it, come up with alternate parodic lyrics, and record myself singing over a musical track for it. Despite all these challenges, I worked my butt off and submitted a video within 3 days. On Facebook I saw photos of them projecting it at the tournament, which is pretty cool. I’ll post the video in here when I get back a subtitled version. I’m just glad I was able to get it all done in time, and that it came out well.C-Fan wrote: • I’m working on a secret video project now. I really wanted a breather after my fearless video, since it was challenging technically, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. My deadline is tomorrow night, so hopefully I’ll be done by then, and then I’ll take a more extended break from editing. I’ll post the video here once I’m allowed to.
Footbagwise, I feel like I’m in a good place. My fearless project is done, so over my last few sessions I haven’t pushed myself with hard tricks or combos. Worlds is still about three months away, so I still have time to plan and practice my routines. Over the last week, I’ve really just focused my sessions on improving my control and stamina, and working on solidifying my spins on both sides. My plan for May is to continue working on stamina and consistency, while also working on sections/elements for routines. I’ve already narrowed down a list of potential routine songs for Worlds, and have started weighing the pluses and minuses for each from a competitive standpoint. By the end of May I will have selected both songs for Worlds, and then I’ll spend June and July working on them. I’m hoping this plan will put me in good shape for performing well at Worlds.
I filmed both freestyle sessions from this weekend. On both days I spent time trying to rehit some of my old spinning challenges, which was fun. The weather was perfect both days too; low 60s with a slight breeze. I know it’s going to get blazing hot sooner than later, so I really made a point to enjoy the rare spring weather.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CD_yVj_I9Q[/youtube]
Last edited by C-Fan on 14 Aug 2012 08:21, edited 1 time in total.
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CIC flurry
- Amazingly Sexy Man-Beast
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Nice video. Some of the conversation in the background were funny. But how did you not use this song? I know you know it.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEBGCOCxLgA&ob=av2e[/youtube]
I am really impressed with how you can talk while you shred. If I ever try I am only doing bops and it usually makes me drop.
I agree with Tom too, so few BOP's, looks really nice.
I remember seeing you hit Gyro dlo from toe back in some 03 video, it seems like you have it pretty good from clip now too. How long was the toe version easier than clipper for you?
Get that vortex - ps whirl - rpt. Ill try it too, lets race
I think you should do some spin drills with inspinning in them, your good at both now. lets see spin osis - inspin clip - spin osis -rpt
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEBGCOCxLgA&ob=av2e[/youtube]
I am really impressed with how you can talk while you shred. If I ever try I am only doing bops and it usually makes me drop.
I agree with Tom too, so few BOP's, looks really nice.
I remember seeing you hit Gyro dlo from toe back in some 03 video, it seems like you have it pretty good from clip now too. How long was the toe version easier than clipper for you?
Get that vortex - ps whirl - rpt. Ill try it too, lets race
I think you should do some spin drills with inspinning in them, your good at both now. lets see spin osis - inspin clip - spin osis -rpt
zach jahner
Thanks for the nice comments guys!
Erik- Yes! It made my day that a non-Japanese player remembered that. I'm going to try and get the subtitled version of my parody video from the tourney organizer, and then I'll post both vids in the blog.
Mark- I couldn't believe how gullible/dumb that guy was. It was hard for me to not laugh at him when he took me seriously...but I was afraid that would make me drop.
Zach- After I looked over my footage and saw that convo was on tape, I immediately knew I wanted to use the Aesop Rock song. I couldn't find the MP3 on my current laptop, so I dusted off my old laptop and couldn't find it there either. I was too lazy to buy it again though, since I already have it on my ipod and I hate buying stuff I already have. But yeah, good call on that song. I totally planned on using it, it just didn't work out.
Flip inspins are hard, but you're right, I should put some in drills. I think the only three drills I've ever hit with inspins were spin osis-inspin osis rpt, spin clip-inspin clip rpt, and gyro osis-inspin clip rpt. I'll work on something. The vortex-psw-repeat drill isn't that bad, but yeah, I'll try it again next time I play.
I'm going to play during the week, but not film. Yesterday I played at the gym, which was super slippery. Maybe that'll end up improving my control...I like going to the gym though since I can crosstrain and strengthen my hip muscles, which should strengthen my knees. This weekend looks pretty busy with social obligations, but I'll carve out some time to play, and maybe film a bit more again. I'll also try and make a vid of last Sunday's shred and release that this week. I still have to make a video of flailing swirling tricks from a few weeks back.
EDIT: I think this version of the vortex-psw drill is in HD, so should look better than the one I embedded:
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=65EvR-rxddE[/youtube]
Erik- Yes! It made my day that a non-Japanese player remembered that. I'm going to try and get the subtitled version of my parody video from the tourney organizer, and then I'll post both vids in the blog. Mark- I couldn't believe how gullible/dumb that guy was. It was hard for me to not laugh at him when he took me seriously...but I was afraid that would make me drop. Zach- After I looked over my footage and saw that convo was on tape, I immediately knew I wanted to use the Aesop Rock song. I couldn't find the MP3 on my current laptop, so I dusted off my old laptop and couldn't find it there either. I was too lazy to buy it again though, since I already have it on my ipod and I hate buying stuff I already have. But yeah, good call on that song. I totally planned on using it, it just didn't work out.Flip inspins are hard, but you're right, I should put some in drills. I think the only three drills I've ever hit with inspins were spin osis-inspin osis rpt, spin clip-inspin clip rpt, and gyro osis-inspin clip rpt. I'll work on something. The vortex-psw-repeat drill isn't that bad, but yeah, I'll try it again next time I play.
I'm going to play during the week, but not film. Yesterday I played at the gym, which was super slippery. Maybe that'll end up improving my control...I like going to the gym though since I can crosstrain and strengthen my hip muscles, which should strengthen my knees. This weekend looks pretty busy with social obligations, but I'll carve out some time to play, and maybe film a bit more again. I'll also try and make a vid of last Sunday's shred and release that this week. I still have to make a video of flailing swirling tricks from a few weeks back.
EDIT: I think this version of the vortex-psw drill is in HD, so should look better than the one I embedded:
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=65EvR-rxddE[/youtube]
Last edited by C-Fan on 14 Aug 2012 08:23, edited 1 time in total.
Hi Ken,
It was great to see your video at TSG. I think everyone there really appreciated it. The TSG "11" was also a nice touch. I think its really great how you haven't forgotten Japanese even after (I assume) not really using it.
If it weren't for you, I might not have continued kicking after coming to Japan as there would have been no scene and thus no one to kick with. So, thank you.
It was great to see your video at TSG. I think everyone there really appreciated it. The TSG "11" was also a nice touch. I think its really great how you haven't forgotten Japanese even after (I assume) not really using it.
If it weren't for you, I might not have continued kicking after coming to Japan as there would have been no scene and thus no one to kick with. So, thank you.
TJ Boutorwick
"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson
"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson
I'm as happy as you are that the Japanese scene has survived and thrived. Such awesome people.
So, even though this is almost 2 months overdue, here's my writeup of the 2012 Vegas Jam:
Vegas Jam was amaaaaazing. It was my third one, and I’d say easily the best. The hanging out was awesome, the Vegas experience was great, and footbag was super fun. I feel like after 3 jams there, I now have an understanding of the best way to approach future weekends in Vegas. I’m gonna try and do a detailed writeup, but no guarantees I can finish since work is kind of insane this time of year.
First off, thank you to Evan for throwing this. Who doesn’t want an excuse to go to Vegas and hang out with friends? This wouldn’t have happened if Evan hadn’t picked a date and said it was a go, so thanks for making it happen. It was the most fun I’d had in a while, and I know a bunch of other footbaggers would say the same.
Pre-Tournament
The weeks leading up to Vegas weren’t ideal in terms of preparation. I was dealing with a quad injury I suffered while big-trick-hunting, so I was contemplating sitting out comp altogether. Even before I injured myself, I hadn’t been working on stamina at all, since I was chasing 10 fearless. There were a few sessions where I spent the entire time just chasing 10 fearless, which doesn’t do wonders for your consistency, variety, or stamina. Given that the main event in Vegas is Circle, I boarded my flight with low expectations.
Thursday night
I fly out of Denver without any problems. Once I land in Vegas I make some calls, and its decided I’ll wait for Zach and Anton at the airport before Evan picks us up. I kill the time by filming some establishment shots, some which I later use in my fearless video (the big lizard). Zach and Anton find me, and we exchange hugs. Zach surprises me by giving me a jersey: it’s a Grant Hill Pistons jersey, but it’s the teal one with the flaming horse’s head from the 90s. He tells me he picked that one because it’s especially ugly. I laugh and agree, and point out that the dinosaur dribbling a basketball jerseys of the Toronto raptors from the same time period give them a run for that title. Evan picks us up in a minivan, and the special guest is riding shotgun. Caroline Birch! Holy crap! I never would have expected that, and it makes it that much cooler. Caroline makes every event better, so I know right off the bat that’s a great sign for the weekend. We swing by a 7-11 on the way to the hotel, and we all pick up 6 packs. This is the start of a long night of drinking for me, but since it’s stretched out over 12 hours, I never feel that buzzed. I check into the hotel, and am pleasantly surprised by our room. It’s small but very clean, and its right on the strip. We decide to walk the strip for the night in search of adventure. The highlight is seeing a magician at some bar, who bends all of our minds with his tricks. It’s crazy too, since he’s wearing a t-shirt with short sleeves and no watch, so all of his sleight of hand is super legit. He did some tricks where he put small foam balls in people’s hands, and made them disappear or multiply. His finale was making putting one of those balls in a girls hand, and then having her open it to reveal a big penis complete with set of balls. “He pulled a dick out of her hand!” At that moment I propose that be the slogan on next year’s tshirts. I sing one karaoke song in the bar (buddy holly by weezer), and then we head out. As we walk the strip, multiple people comment on my jersey…most of them registering some combination of nostalgia as well as awe at how ugly the jersey is. That’s good for a lot of laughs for us.
Friday
Mat wakes up way before me or Chris Dean, so I go pick him up at the pool. As I walk around looking for him, I’m struck by how awesome the pool area is. There are multiple big pools, multiple hot tubs of generous size, and lots of cute girls in swimsuits. I make a mental note to come back the next morning so I can do the pool properly. We arrive at the site, and I decide I won’t play at all, since my quad is still tight and comp isn’t til Saturday. In order to force myself not to play, I go get a huge hamburger. Sure enough, that takes me out of the competitive game the rest of the day. When I was in line to buy it, I saw I could get a can beer for just one dollar more. I decided to exercise some restraint after the previous night of boozing, and don’t buy it. The second I sit down at the site to eat my burger, Caroline whips out one of my beers from the previous night, and says: “hey you forgot this last night.” It was like the universe was telling me I was in vegas and should cut loose.
I was good about not freestyling much, though I think I did a few tricks in my baggy shorts. I filmed a bit, and played a bunch of foursquare. Despite my 4square strategy of ignoring points and just playing like a jerk, I somehow managed to win a game!
Friday night was pretty chill and quiet, since we all wanted to be fresh for competition the next day. We end up hanging out in Nate Linscott’s awesome suite, and getting a poker game going. We had the luxury of having Caroline run it for us, which is sweet because she’s worked at casinos before. It was nice having somebody there to figure out sidepots and to raise the blinds. We played a $5 buy in no rebuys. I didn’t get many face cards and don’t think I had pocket pair a single time, but I played the right hands and bought enough pots to make it to the final 3. Around this time, Mike gets plastered, and ends up folding most of his hands. This ends up being a good strategy, since he had a big enough stack that he could wait it out and sober up, while his remaining opponents (Chris Dean and myself) duked it out. Sure enough, I finally knock out Chris, and then it’s just me and Mike heads up. I play aggressively and win it, marking the second year in a row I won the poker game at Vegas Jam. Sweet.
Saturday
Saturday starts off well. We figure comp will start in the afternoon, so we take advantage of the beautiful pools at the hotel. We pick up some pastries and coffee slushies from Starbucks, then go lounge at the pool for a couple hours. The pool was awesome. Kevin Regamey and Mathieu hit some good tricks by the pool for Mike’s camera, and I have fun watching in between dips in the pool. Mike asks me to hit something on camera, but I suck barefoot. I decided to try TATW, and I surprise myself by hitting one on my 3rd or 4th try! I figure I’m not going to top that, so I spend the rest of the morning swimming, dipping in the hot tub, and watching others shred. Eventually we decide to go to the event site, though we toyed with the idea of skipping comp and just staying at the pool all day.
At the site I warm up slowly, and am happy to find my legs feel good! I decide to caffeinate, to help give me a boost. In the months preceding Vegas, I had drastically cut down on my caffeine intake, with the idea that I’d want it to have an impact if I needed it. Sure enough, this was the case. First round of circle I feel great. At one point I realize I’m going to win and advance, but I still push myself hard on every turn. I don’t know how much energy I’ll have for finals, but at the least I want to know I turned in one solid round of comp, and I do.
I think I was in the first pool of comp, which means I have to stay warm through two more rounds of Circle before competing in finals. I do my best, but it’s hard to stay springy that long. Circle finals ends up being Brian, Evan and myself. Right before we start, Brian comments that it feels appropriate for Vegas finals to be us three. I couldn’t agree more. Rules for finals are announced as 4 turns of variety and 4 of difficulty, and I lobby to reduce it to three a piece. 8 turns almost always means the last two turns are crap from everybody, but we end up doing the long version. Sure enough, I’m running out of gas by the end, and feel like my muscles are shutting down during my last turn. Overall I feel like I put in a solid performance though, which I’m happy with.
After Circle ends, we break and decide to do the remaining events the next day. We make an exception for the pendulum contests, which are fun but hard. Brian gives me back a blue G-Unit I asked him to fix for me, and also a bag. The bag is sweet. Saturday night a bunch of us go to New York New York and ride the rollercoaster, which is awesome. Evan’s mom works near there, and gets us an employee discount, saving us all a bunch. Thanks Evan’s mom! I don’t remember much else about Saturday night…did we walk the strip more? I need to get these write-ups done closer to the event.
Sunday
Sunday we have to check out from the hotel at noon. Mathieu lobbies for us to pay extra for a late checkout, which turns out (again) to be the absolutely correct option. We do so, which buys us more time to lounge by the pool. It’s fantastic. Mike brings his go-pro with the waterproof case, and we do some shooting underwater using a chain mail bag. It’s super hard to hit anything since I can’t see what I’m doing, but I manage to hit a smear and a pixie ss clipper. We’re tempted to stay at the pool again, but finally leave and checkout.
At the event site I warm up and feel a bit tight, but overall good. The first even it request contest, which I somehow found really frustrating and annoying. Combos were announced with the new nomenclature, which added a layer of confusion/stress for me. I was also frustrated by some of the combos chosen. I understand that if your mastery of trick elements is good enough, you should be able to hit non-standard tricks and link them. That said, asking somebody to hit an awkward non-standard trick and link out of it in less than 3 tries doesn’t really show mastery of anything to me. I’m talking about stuff like far symp whip to spinning opp pickup. Is that a hard combo? No. Is it a hard link? No. But it’s two tricks nobody ever does, and nobody ever will do in shred, which are linked. I kinda just didn’t see the point of it, and got really frustrated. It felt more like a novelty than a measure of skill.
In past request contests I’d been knocked out due to a hole in my game (e.g. fairy sets, zooming) and came away with the goal of filling those gaps in my game. This time around I was knocked out on something stupid like far symp whip, which I knew I could hit within 3 minutes of skooling (but not 3 tries) and wouldn’t help my game. So I just walked off after I got knocked out. My two main goals for the tournament were to compete, and also to film some fearless with Mike Green’s headcam. It seemed like a good time to do that, so I went off and gave it a go. I was pretty impressed by the camera actually. With the headstrap, it didn’t move around much and was unobtrusive. The only limitation I felt with the go-pro was double spinning, since the camera obstructed the area of sight where I normally spot the bag in between spins. Other than that, I could pretty much play normally. Mike later sent me footage of me hitting 6 or 7 contacts fearless, which was just what I needed to spice up my Fearless Kids video. Thanks Mike!
At this point I’m feeling pretty exhausted, and I know my departure to the airport is looming. I normally don’t like saying goodbye, but this time around I feel even more down about my farewell, and I don’t know why. At the time I thought it was maybe due to the fact that I had had such an amazing time, and I didn’t want to leave my friends. I even comment to a bunch of them how weird I’m feeling. Later on I realize why I felt so weird: after not having caffeine for a couple months, having massive caffeine doses two days in a row gave me mood swings. It helped me compete physically, but I had forgotten how hard it can hit me on an emotional stability level.
Ben Skaggs drops me off at the airport with a few other friends, but they are going to a different terminal. I hug out some goodbyes, and get on the plane. At that point I was still feeling down from the caffeine, but a part of me was optimistic and already looking forward to next year’s Vegas Jam. After going to a few of these, I had the feeling that I was beginning to figure out the best way to approach them. Next year I’m definitely getting a hotel with a pool again, and will also try and take a similarly casual approach to comp. This year was definitely the most fun Vegas Jam for me, and one of the most fun weekends I’d had in quite some time.
Thank you again to Evan for hosting this, to Nate for letting us use his suite as a party suite, to Caroline for being the surprise guest and making everything more fun, and to all my friends who made it out and hung out. I hope to see every one of you there again next year.
So, even though this is almost 2 months overdue, here's my writeup of the 2012 Vegas Jam:
Vegas Jam was amaaaaazing. It was my third one, and I’d say easily the best. The hanging out was awesome, the Vegas experience was great, and footbag was super fun. I feel like after 3 jams there, I now have an understanding of the best way to approach future weekends in Vegas. I’m gonna try and do a detailed writeup, but no guarantees I can finish since work is kind of insane this time of year.
First off, thank you to Evan for throwing this. Who doesn’t want an excuse to go to Vegas and hang out with friends? This wouldn’t have happened if Evan hadn’t picked a date and said it was a go, so thanks for making it happen. It was the most fun I’d had in a while, and I know a bunch of other footbaggers would say the same.
Pre-Tournament
The weeks leading up to Vegas weren’t ideal in terms of preparation. I was dealing with a quad injury I suffered while big-trick-hunting, so I was contemplating sitting out comp altogether. Even before I injured myself, I hadn’t been working on stamina at all, since I was chasing 10 fearless. There were a few sessions where I spent the entire time just chasing 10 fearless, which doesn’t do wonders for your consistency, variety, or stamina. Given that the main event in Vegas is Circle, I boarded my flight with low expectations.
Thursday night
I fly out of Denver without any problems. Once I land in Vegas I make some calls, and its decided I’ll wait for Zach and Anton at the airport before Evan picks us up. I kill the time by filming some establishment shots, some which I later use in my fearless video (the big lizard). Zach and Anton find me, and we exchange hugs. Zach surprises me by giving me a jersey: it’s a Grant Hill Pistons jersey, but it’s the teal one with the flaming horse’s head from the 90s. He tells me he picked that one because it’s especially ugly. I laugh and agree, and point out that the dinosaur dribbling a basketball jerseys of the Toronto raptors from the same time period give them a run for that title. Evan picks us up in a minivan, and the special guest is riding shotgun. Caroline Birch! Holy crap! I never would have expected that, and it makes it that much cooler. Caroline makes every event better, so I know right off the bat that’s a great sign for the weekend. We swing by a 7-11 on the way to the hotel, and we all pick up 6 packs. This is the start of a long night of drinking for me, but since it’s stretched out over 12 hours, I never feel that buzzed. I check into the hotel, and am pleasantly surprised by our room. It’s small but very clean, and its right on the strip. We decide to walk the strip for the night in search of adventure. The highlight is seeing a magician at some bar, who bends all of our minds with his tricks. It’s crazy too, since he’s wearing a t-shirt with short sleeves and no watch, so all of his sleight of hand is super legit. He did some tricks where he put small foam balls in people’s hands, and made them disappear or multiply. His finale was making putting one of those balls in a girls hand, and then having her open it to reveal a big penis complete with set of balls. “He pulled a dick out of her hand!” At that moment I propose that be the slogan on next year’s tshirts. I sing one karaoke song in the bar (buddy holly by weezer), and then we head out. As we walk the strip, multiple people comment on my jersey…most of them registering some combination of nostalgia as well as awe at how ugly the jersey is. That’s good for a lot of laughs for us.
Friday
Mat wakes up way before me or Chris Dean, so I go pick him up at the pool. As I walk around looking for him, I’m struck by how awesome the pool area is. There are multiple big pools, multiple hot tubs of generous size, and lots of cute girls in swimsuits. I make a mental note to come back the next morning so I can do the pool properly. We arrive at the site, and I decide I won’t play at all, since my quad is still tight and comp isn’t til Saturday. In order to force myself not to play, I go get a huge hamburger. Sure enough, that takes me out of the competitive game the rest of the day. When I was in line to buy it, I saw I could get a can beer for just one dollar more. I decided to exercise some restraint after the previous night of boozing, and don’t buy it. The second I sit down at the site to eat my burger, Caroline whips out one of my beers from the previous night, and says: “hey you forgot this last night.” It was like the universe was telling me I was in vegas and should cut loose.
I was good about not freestyling much, though I think I did a few tricks in my baggy shorts. I filmed a bit, and played a bunch of foursquare. Despite my 4square strategy of ignoring points and just playing like a jerk, I somehow managed to win a game!
Friday night was pretty chill and quiet, since we all wanted to be fresh for competition the next day. We end up hanging out in Nate Linscott’s awesome suite, and getting a poker game going. We had the luxury of having Caroline run it for us, which is sweet because she’s worked at casinos before. It was nice having somebody there to figure out sidepots and to raise the blinds. We played a $5 buy in no rebuys. I didn’t get many face cards and don’t think I had pocket pair a single time, but I played the right hands and bought enough pots to make it to the final 3. Around this time, Mike gets plastered, and ends up folding most of his hands. This ends up being a good strategy, since he had a big enough stack that he could wait it out and sober up, while his remaining opponents (Chris Dean and myself) duked it out. Sure enough, I finally knock out Chris, and then it’s just me and Mike heads up. I play aggressively and win it, marking the second year in a row I won the poker game at Vegas Jam. Sweet.
Saturday
Saturday starts off well. We figure comp will start in the afternoon, so we take advantage of the beautiful pools at the hotel. We pick up some pastries and coffee slushies from Starbucks, then go lounge at the pool for a couple hours. The pool was awesome. Kevin Regamey and Mathieu hit some good tricks by the pool for Mike’s camera, and I have fun watching in between dips in the pool. Mike asks me to hit something on camera, but I suck barefoot. I decided to try TATW, and I surprise myself by hitting one on my 3rd or 4th try! I figure I’m not going to top that, so I spend the rest of the morning swimming, dipping in the hot tub, and watching others shred. Eventually we decide to go to the event site, though we toyed with the idea of skipping comp and just staying at the pool all day.
At the site I warm up slowly, and am happy to find my legs feel good! I decide to caffeinate, to help give me a boost. In the months preceding Vegas, I had drastically cut down on my caffeine intake, with the idea that I’d want it to have an impact if I needed it. Sure enough, this was the case. First round of circle I feel great. At one point I realize I’m going to win and advance, but I still push myself hard on every turn. I don’t know how much energy I’ll have for finals, but at the least I want to know I turned in one solid round of comp, and I do.
I think I was in the first pool of comp, which means I have to stay warm through two more rounds of Circle before competing in finals. I do my best, but it’s hard to stay springy that long. Circle finals ends up being Brian, Evan and myself. Right before we start, Brian comments that it feels appropriate for Vegas finals to be us three. I couldn’t agree more. Rules for finals are announced as 4 turns of variety and 4 of difficulty, and I lobby to reduce it to three a piece. 8 turns almost always means the last two turns are crap from everybody, but we end up doing the long version. Sure enough, I’m running out of gas by the end, and feel like my muscles are shutting down during my last turn. Overall I feel like I put in a solid performance though, which I’m happy with.
After Circle ends, we break and decide to do the remaining events the next day. We make an exception for the pendulum contests, which are fun but hard. Brian gives me back a blue G-Unit I asked him to fix for me, and also a bag. The bag is sweet. Saturday night a bunch of us go to New York New York and ride the rollercoaster, which is awesome. Evan’s mom works near there, and gets us an employee discount, saving us all a bunch. Thanks Evan’s mom! I don’t remember much else about Saturday night…did we walk the strip more? I need to get these write-ups done closer to the event.
Sunday
Sunday we have to check out from the hotel at noon. Mathieu lobbies for us to pay extra for a late checkout, which turns out (again) to be the absolutely correct option. We do so, which buys us more time to lounge by the pool. It’s fantastic. Mike brings his go-pro with the waterproof case, and we do some shooting underwater using a chain mail bag. It’s super hard to hit anything since I can’t see what I’m doing, but I manage to hit a smear and a pixie ss clipper. We’re tempted to stay at the pool again, but finally leave and checkout.
At the event site I warm up and feel a bit tight, but overall good. The first even it request contest, which I somehow found really frustrating and annoying. Combos were announced with the new nomenclature, which added a layer of confusion/stress for me. I was also frustrated by some of the combos chosen. I understand that if your mastery of trick elements is good enough, you should be able to hit non-standard tricks and link them. That said, asking somebody to hit an awkward non-standard trick and link out of it in less than 3 tries doesn’t really show mastery of anything to me. I’m talking about stuff like far symp whip to spinning opp pickup. Is that a hard combo? No. Is it a hard link? No. But it’s two tricks nobody ever does, and nobody ever will do in shred, which are linked. I kinda just didn’t see the point of it, and got really frustrated. It felt more like a novelty than a measure of skill.
In past request contests I’d been knocked out due to a hole in my game (e.g. fairy sets, zooming) and came away with the goal of filling those gaps in my game. This time around I was knocked out on something stupid like far symp whip, which I knew I could hit within 3 minutes of skooling (but not 3 tries) and wouldn’t help my game. So I just walked off after I got knocked out. My two main goals for the tournament were to compete, and also to film some fearless with Mike Green’s headcam. It seemed like a good time to do that, so I went off and gave it a go. I was pretty impressed by the camera actually. With the headstrap, it didn’t move around much and was unobtrusive. The only limitation I felt with the go-pro was double spinning, since the camera obstructed the area of sight where I normally spot the bag in between spins. Other than that, I could pretty much play normally. Mike later sent me footage of me hitting 6 or 7 contacts fearless, which was just what I needed to spice up my Fearless Kids video. Thanks Mike!
At this point I’m feeling pretty exhausted, and I know my departure to the airport is looming. I normally don’t like saying goodbye, but this time around I feel even more down about my farewell, and I don’t know why. At the time I thought it was maybe due to the fact that I had had such an amazing time, and I didn’t want to leave my friends. I even comment to a bunch of them how weird I’m feeling. Later on I realize why I felt so weird: after not having caffeine for a couple months, having massive caffeine doses two days in a row gave me mood swings. It helped me compete physically, but I had forgotten how hard it can hit me on an emotional stability level.
Ben Skaggs drops me off at the airport with a few other friends, but they are going to a different terminal. I hug out some goodbyes, and get on the plane. At that point I was still feeling down from the caffeine, but a part of me was optimistic and already looking forward to next year’s Vegas Jam. After going to a few of these, I had the feeling that I was beginning to figure out the best way to approach them. Next year I’m definitely getting a hotel with a pool again, and will also try and take a similarly casual approach to comp. This year was definitely the most fun Vegas Jam for me, and one of the most fun weekends I’d had in quite some time.
Thank you again to Evan for hosting this, to Nate for letting us use his suite as a party suite, to Caroline for being the surprise guest and making everything more fun, and to all my friends who made it out and hung out. I hope to see every one of you there again next year.
You make it sound so great. You're so systematic in your preparation, it seems. The pool sounds amazing. The video certainly was. Hey, so with the GoPro, how tight did you strap it to your head? I found it wobbling/trying to fly off on just spinning clipper... Did you just use it like this?
Also, Buddy Holly is a great song!
That would be a fun one to karaoke!
Also, Buddy Holly is a great song!
That would be a fun one to karaoke!
Buddy Holly is indeed a great karaoke song. A big reason for that is that everybody knows it, so they are more inclined to sing along. And once you get people singing along, it's usually not hard to coerce them into singing more.
As for the go-pro, the biggest tip that helped prevent wobbliness was a tip from Ben Skaggs. He suggested wearing it the way you have it pictured, but the key was to have the headstraps go under your earlobes. That made it a whole lot more stable.
As each year passes now, I fear my window for good results is closing, so I push myself harder. Last year I had my best competitive year, largely due to me training harder than ever. This year, I've added another dimension to my training in the form of a health spreadsheet. I've been keeping it since 9/28/11 (today is day 219), and in it I track sleep, exercise, footbag, caffeine, alcohol, soda, and meat. My overall goal is to average over 8 hours sleep, footbag every other day, almost 0 caffeine, zero soda, meat twice a month and one alcoholic drink a day. I figure that if I can do that, I'll go into Worlds knowing I was disciplined for almost an entire year beforehand, and I put myself in a position where I shouldn't have any physical excuses for not doing well. Even if it doesn't pay off with good results at Worlds, at least I'm having a healthier year because of it.
As for the go-pro, the biggest tip that helped prevent wobbliness was a tip from Ben Skaggs. He suggested wearing it the way you have it pictured, but the key was to have the headstraps go under your earlobes. That made it a whole lot more stable.
I read an article about Steve Nash a couple years back, where he talked about how he wasn't as athletically gifted as other NBA players, even when he was young, so he needed to be meticulous with his training just to stay in the league. As he got older, he wore down even more physically, so he just ramped up his training to make up for it, which is why he's still an excellent player even though he's in his late 30s. When I read that it struck a chord with me, since I recognized that in my early playing days I relied too much on springiness and power, and that my form and preparation wasn't good enough. That's a big part of why I never had a dropless routine until I was 28.Muffinman wrote:You're so systematic in your preparation, it seems.
As each year passes now, I fear my window for good results is closing, so I push myself harder. Last year I had my best competitive year, largely due to me training harder than ever. This year, I've added another dimension to my training in the form of a health spreadsheet. I've been keeping it since 9/28/11 (today is day 219), and in it I track sleep, exercise, footbag, caffeine, alcohol, soda, and meat. My overall goal is to average over 8 hours sleep, footbag every other day, almost 0 caffeine, zero soda, meat twice a month and one alcoholic drink a day. I figure that if I can do that, I'll go into Worlds knowing I was disciplined for almost an entire year beforehand, and I put myself in a position where I shouldn't have any physical excuses for not doing well. Even if it doesn't pay off with good results at Worlds, at least I'm having a healthier year because of it.
Hi Ken.
Like TJ, I wanted to thank you for your video message for TSG and for your continued support of the Japanese scene. This year's event was a lot of fun--it's encouraging to realize how long the core group of players from that first JFC have continued playing. Despite suffering a bad ankle injury last year, I feel that I am playing the best I ever have.
Thanks again for everything!
Like TJ, I wanted to thank you for your video message for TSG and for your continued support of the Japanese scene. This year's event was a lot of fun--it's encouraging to realize how long the core group of players from that first JFC have continued playing. Despite suffering a bad ankle injury last year, I feel that I am playing the best I ever have.
Thanks again for everything!
Wow, Adam Catt! Blast from the past. It makes me happy to know you're still playing, and playing well. There are times I definitely envy you and TJ for still being in Japan and directly involved in the scene there. I miss it. I'll post my TSG message video in the blog once I get the version screened at TSG.
Not too much new for me on the footbag front. I made hotel reservations for my first two nights in Portland, but I still need to book the last two. The first night is what was stressing me out some, since I wanted a hotel where I knew I'd get a good night's rest. The Jupiter sounds like a fun hotel, but almost all of the Yelp reviews complained it was too noisy to sleep, and that there's a bar on the premises with live music that doesn't quiet down until like 5 in the morning. Not ideal if I'm competing the next day. It also didn't have a hot tub or pool. While I wanted a hotel that was near the site so I could be social, I ultimately decided to book a nicer hotel that was farther away, but had better reviews. The hotel I decided on had better reviews and a hot tub, so it should be a good tradeoff.
I have yet to book my hotel for Worlds. I need to do that soon.
Shredwise lately I've just been working on stamina, as well as patching up some holes in my game. I've been doing a lot more downtime and less shuffle lately, which has been a fun change. Been working my flip spins hard...it's weird how they still don't feel natural, and I have to think about what my body is doing at every moment. I've also been working my flip open sets. I managed to hit open everything for my second time ever, and in a different order. I still haven't made a final decision on which songs I'm using for routines this summer. I think I'll be on stage in exactly 12 weeks, so it's probably a good idea for me to make that decision in the next week.
No takraw/net this last weekend. Like last year, I feel torn between spending my time preparing for big tournaments, and putting in the time to help nurture a local footbag scene. Part of me wants to achieve my Worlds goals this summer, just so it'd take pressure off of me in future years. I'd even feel comfortable retiring from competing if I did, though most likely I wouldn't drop out altogether from comp. In good news for the local scene, Nathan Pipenberg is going to be in Boulder for the summer. That's only about 35 minutes away from me, so I'm hoping to play with him pretty regularly. Beyond being fun, it should also be a good way to keep me pushing hard with my Worlds prep. I also want to make a video of Nathan while he's out here. I've already started talking to him about potential songs we'd use.
Here's a video from the day after my gateskeeper shred. There was an outdoor rave happening at my usual shredspot, and the DJs were really good. I also got to shred with the boys in blue:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbeE7ta0QMU[/youtube]
Not too much new for me on the footbag front. I made hotel reservations for my first two nights in Portland, but I still need to book the last two. The first night is what was stressing me out some, since I wanted a hotel where I knew I'd get a good night's rest. The Jupiter sounds like a fun hotel, but almost all of the Yelp reviews complained it was too noisy to sleep, and that there's a bar on the premises with live music that doesn't quiet down until like 5 in the morning. Not ideal if I'm competing the next day. It also didn't have a hot tub or pool. While I wanted a hotel that was near the site so I could be social, I ultimately decided to book a nicer hotel that was farther away, but had better reviews. The hotel I decided on had better reviews and a hot tub, so it should be a good tradeoff.
I have yet to book my hotel for Worlds. I need to do that soon.
Shredwise lately I've just been working on stamina, as well as patching up some holes in my game. I've been doing a lot more downtime and less shuffle lately, which has been a fun change. Been working my flip spins hard...it's weird how they still don't feel natural, and I have to think about what my body is doing at every moment. I've also been working my flip open sets. I managed to hit open everything for my second time ever, and in a different order. I still haven't made a final decision on which songs I'm using for routines this summer. I think I'll be on stage in exactly 12 weeks, so it's probably a good idea for me to make that decision in the next week.
No takraw/net this last weekend. Like last year, I feel torn between spending my time preparing for big tournaments, and putting in the time to help nurture a local footbag scene. Part of me wants to achieve my Worlds goals this summer, just so it'd take pressure off of me in future years. I'd even feel comfortable retiring from competing if I did, though most likely I wouldn't drop out altogether from comp. In good news for the local scene, Nathan Pipenberg is going to be in Boulder for the summer. That's only about 35 minutes away from me, so I'm hoping to play with him pretty regularly. Beyond being fun, it should also be a good way to keep me pushing hard with my Worlds prep. I also want to make a video of Nathan while he's out here. I've already started talking to him about potential songs we'd use.
Here's a video from the day after my gateskeeper shred. There was an outdoor rave happening at my usual shredspot, and the DJs were really good. I also got to shred with the boys in blue:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbeE7ta0QMU[/youtube]
Last edited by C-Fan on 14 Aug 2012 08:26, edited 1 time in total.
