"Anyway, if anybody reading this lives in a cool city where I don't need a car, and can put me up (put up with me?) for a few days, I'd consider coming to visit you."
Santiago de Chile is nice this time of year...
That sounds like a fun performance that you did.
Fanzine
Re: -Fanzine: Can't Shut Me Down-
Totally fucking jinxed myself with my last post. I work in a policy office, so I was reasonably sure I wouldn't get called back to work until the Federal shutdown ended. And since I figured there was no compromise in sight, I bought tickets to Arizona to spend a week with my folks in better weather than Colorado. The first two days were great, and then I got a call from my boss recalling me to work. To work on fucking charts. Even though the shutdown isn't even over. Unbelievable. So I had to pay a fee to change my return flights, and left the balmy 80 degree footbag weather of Tucson to come back to Denver. To work. God damn it.
I did pretty good on the footbag front in my limited time in Arizona. I was there for 5 days, and I played every single day. My first session with Mike Green in Phoenix was a decent warmup, and my next solo session I continued to shake off the rust. I used the last 3 sessions to push myself a bit and film some clips for Matt Cross' online comps. I managed to get good submissions for Sick 1, Sick 3, and Weird 1. I don't think I'll win in any of the categories, but I'm proud of all three entries. Definitely happy to have hit them and filmed them. For Sick 10, I came really close to getting some good ones, but ultimately couldn't get one. I had one attempt where I thought I got one, and confidently hand caught the last trick. I then immediately started counting the contacts in my head, and was crushed to realize I hit 9 instead of 10. Urgh. Cassy is right, I know I could hit a sick 10 that isn't fearless, but I still feel obliged to do so. My last session was definitely tainted by my anger at being recalled. I think if I played without the pressure of knowing I was leaving town 5 days earlier than planned, I would have hit something. I guess I can try and film something here in Denver if the weather doesn't suck this weekend, or if I complete this project at work and get back to furlough status. I don't want to get into it, but it's actually a better thing to be furloughed than have to work during the shutdown.
Anyway, I managed to make a quick video of some of the stuff I hit in Arizona. Here's my "shut down shred:"
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS0sPLEG_Sk[/youtube]
I did pretty good on the footbag front in my limited time in Arizona. I was there for 5 days, and I played every single day. My first session with Mike Green in Phoenix was a decent warmup, and my next solo session I continued to shake off the rust. I used the last 3 sessions to push myself a bit and film some clips for Matt Cross' online comps. I managed to get good submissions for Sick 1, Sick 3, and Weird 1. I don't think I'll win in any of the categories, but I'm proud of all three entries. Definitely happy to have hit them and filmed them. For Sick 10, I came really close to getting some good ones, but ultimately couldn't get one. I had one attempt where I thought I got one, and confidently hand caught the last trick. I then immediately started counting the contacts in my head, and was crushed to realize I hit 9 instead of 10. Urgh. Cassy is right, I know I could hit a sick 10 that isn't fearless, but I still feel obliged to do so. My last session was definitely tainted by my anger at being recalled. I think if I played without the pressure of knowing I was leaving town 5 days earlier than planned, I would have hit something. I guess I can try and film something here in Denver if the weather doesn't suck this weekend, or if I complete this project at work and get back to furlough status. I don't want to get into it, but it's actually a better thing to be furloughed than have to work during the shutdown.
Anyway, I managed to make a quick video of some of the stuff I hit in Arizona. Here's my "shut down shred:"
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS0sPLEG_Sk[/youtube]
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F[uns]tylin' Eclectic
- Post Master General
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Re: -Fanzine-
Bummer to hear about your premature vacation cap :/ look at the bright side.. at least you have a job in your field of study. I'm going through hell trying to find another one.
Anyway, sick video. LIked the weird stuff a lot. Very stylish. The Grifter tricks were dope too.
Anyway, sick video. LIked the weird stuff a lot. Very stylish. The Grifter tricks were dope too.
Re: -Fanzine-
Thanks for the nice words, Nick. In that video I mostly was focused on hitting shut downs, so I was a bit surprised I went for so many grifters. But yeah, gyro grifter was new to me, which made me happy. I got enough nice comments on the grifters that I made a short vid from my next session, where I set a new personal grifter record:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r88n9uepEQA[/youtube]
Government shutdown...it's been really weird. The first two days of it were good, since it enabled me to move apartments and unpack without using vacation time. I then bought tickets to see my folks in Arizona, since I figured it was a safe bet the government wouldn't reopen during that first week. I was right about that, but I didn't expect my work would recall me for a specific task. I still don't think they were justified in doing that, but whatever. I completed the task in 3 days, so if the shutdown continues next week, I will be furloughed again. Up until today, I was strongly considering doing another trip next week. My top two candidates were PSU and Las Vegas, and I had already started doing some research into flights/weather/crash space. But now its looking like Congress might reopen the government next week. I think it's 50-50...which makes it very risky for me to take a trip and face the possibility of ending another trip early because of that. I'm following the news really closely in the next 24 hours, but I'm not ruling anything out yet.
If I do a trip, Las Vegas is likely my front runner. The weather is perfect this time of year, I wouldn't need a car to stay entertained during the day, there are no open-container laws on the strip, and I'd get to shred/film with Evan. It's also not a bad flight to get there. I'm also considering PSU, since I think it'd be fun to be in a college town with an active footbag club. I could probably couch surf pretty easily there, there'd definitely be fun stuff to do (like sit in on lectures), I wouldn't need a car, and I could even be of some use by helping teach the beginners/intermediates. The main downsides to PSU are getting there (tickets are super expensive) and the weather. But something about that possibility appeals to me.
On the footbag front, I haven't played at all since getting back to Colorado. The weather has been a bit too cool for footbag, and working 8 hour days makes it impossible to play during the limited hours when it's nice outside. I'm hoping to get in a session or two this weekend though. I still want to film a Sick 10 for the online comps, and I definitely want to shoot that in good light. Here's hoping I get a chance to do that this weekend.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r88n9uepEQA[/youtube]
Government shutdown...it's been really weird. The first two days of it were good, since it enabled me to move apartments and unpack without using vacation time. I then bought tickets to see my folks in Arizona, since I figured it was a safe bet the government wouldn't reopen during that first week. I was right about that, but I didn't expect my work would recall me for a specific task. I still don't think they were justified in doing that, but whatever. I completed the task in 3 days, so if the shutdown continues next week, I will be furloughed again. Up until today, I was strongly considering doing another trip next week. My top two candidates were PSU and Las Vegas, and I had already started doing some research into flights/weather/crash space. But now its looking like Congress might reopen the government next week. I think it's 50-50...which makes it very risky for me to take a trip and face the possibility of ending another trip early because of that. I'm following the news really closely in the next 24 hours, but I'm not ruling anything out yet.
If I do a trip, Las Vegas is likely my front runner. The weather is perfect this time of year, I wouldn't need a car to stay entertained during the day, there are no open-container laws on the strip, and I'd get to shred/film with Evan. It's also not a bad flight to get there. I'm also considering PSU, since I think it'd be fun to be in a college town with an active footbag club. I could probably couch surf pretty easily there, there'd definitely be fun stuff to do (like sit in on lectures), I wouldn't need a car, and I could even be of some use by helping teach the beginners/intermediates. The main downsides to PSU are getting there (tickets are super expensive) and the weather. But something about that possibility appeals to me.
On the footbag front, I haven't played at all since getting back to Colorado. The weather has been a bit too cool for footbag, and working 8 hour days makes it impossible to play during the limited hours when it's nice outside. I'm hoping to get in a session or two this weekend though. I still want to film a Sick 10 for the online comps, and I definitely want to shoot that in good light. Here's hoping I get a chance to do that this weekend.
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F[uns]tylin' Eclectic
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Re: -Fanzine-
Wow, nice Ken. Grifters are tough. You broke my Grifter record by 4!
I vote you seriously think about that PSU trip. Any chance you could do it during Halloween weekend? Nov 2-3? I'll be coming up, Mike Toolan, Matt Kemmer, probably some others... Penn State does Halloween better than anyone else. Fact. If you go, I'll even stitch you a bag FO FREE. FO. FREE.
This club could really use some inspiration. Some of the players have so much potential and have never even been to a jam outside of PSU Jamps last year. Around 12 tiltless players in one spot.. most of them very serious about getting good (great?) at footbag. You cant get that anywhere but PSU
I vote you seriously think about that PSU trip. Any chance you could do it during Halloween weekend? Nov 2-3? I'll be coming up, Mike Toolan, Matt Kemmer, probably some others... Penn State does Halloween better than anyone else. Fact. If you go, I'll even stitch you a bag FO FREE. FO. FREE.
This club could really use some inspiration. Some of the players have so much potential and have never even been to a jam outside of PSU Jamps last year. Around 12 tiltless players in one spot.. most of them very serious about getting good (great?) at footbag. You cant get that anywhere but PSU
Re: -Fanzine-
I decided against doing a trip, which ended up being the right decision. I got a call on Tuesday that I'd need to come in, and on Thursday the shutdown ended officially. Had I gone to Vegas or PSU, I'd almost certainly would have had to cut my trip short to come back. This whole shutdown business was just bad all around. I'm not going to go into detail on it, but it really stressed me out and was shitty.last week C-Fan wrote: now its looking like Congress might reopen the government next week. I think it's 50-50...which makes it very risky for me to take a trip and face the possibility of ending another trip early because of that.
It's fall in Denver now, which basically means we alternate between summer and winter weather every couple days. I did manage to play outside on Sunday, when it was beautiful out. Sunny, high 70s, no wind. Just perfect. I spent the whole session chasing a Sick 10 for the comps, which I mercifully was able to finally get. That salvaged the session. Monday and Tuesday it was cold and windy out...it actually snowed Tuesday. I decided to try out my new gym on those days to see how it is for playing as well as filming.last week C-Fan wrote: I'm hoping to get in a session or two this weekend though. I still want to film a Sick 10 for the online comps, and I definitely want to shoot that in good light. Here's hoping I get a chance to do that this weekend.
Overall I'd say the space has potential. It's flat, it's near home, it has a water fountain, timer lights, was warm enough, and generally looks unoccupied. The floor is pretty dusty and slippery though, which I could probably mitigate by playing in my good G-Units. You might remember that I broke in a new pair of units last season so I'd have grippier shoes for competition. Well, once I got back from Worlds I put those "competition shoes" back in the box and exhumed my old, broken in pair. Those work great outside, but have almost no tread. In a perfect world, I'd use them through the winter, but now I'm thinking I should use my comp shoes instead. Given that I'm playing on an indoor hardwood court, I don't think they'd wear down that badly anyway.
The light in the gym is fine to play in, but doesn't film as well as outdoor light. That's the case with most cameras, and it's actually not too bad with this one. You can definitely see some blurring with quick dexes, but its not horrible. Last winter I only really played on weekends, and outdoors. If this winter I can play during the week because of this indoor spot, a slight decrease in video quality is a small price to pay.
Here's a short vid of my first couple gym sessions. I also threw in a clip from Sunday, so you can see the visual difference between indoor and outdoor light:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjYfkbv5elI[/youtube]
The highlight of my last few sessions was rediscovering my flip HPD, and getting HPD bsos. I'm pretty sure the last time I did that I was still living in DC, which means it's been around 4 years. Wow. I think with a little training and/or luck I could get HPD back to back, which would be sick. Overall though, my goal for the winter is just to stay in shape and work on basics. I do hope to film and put out videos, but given the reduced video quality of that spot, I'm not going to shoot for any landmark goals.
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boyle
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Re: -Fanzine-
Nice work on the HPDs, good trick that one. That's always the problem with any indoor spot, the light is never going to be as good as outside.
HPD
Reading Danny's post confirmed 2 things that I was already thinking: the first is that I should keep working on HPDs because they're cool, and the second is that I should really try and film some in outdoor light. In a stroke of luck, the weather was perfect on Saturday, so I was able to do both!
Saturday I walked to the gym with my fiancee, with the plan that I'd play inside. Halfway through the walk I took off my sweatshirt, and realized it was nice enough out that I could play outside. I picked out a scenic spot by the pool, and set my goal for the session: hit HPD bsos. It occurred to me that I'd only gotten it bsos twice before, and each time it was indoors in bad light. Thankfully there was nobody at the pool (since it's mid-October), so I was able to play without being hassled. The footing was a bit uneven, but it gripped waaaaaay better than the gym floor. That gave me the confidence to really attack the start of HPDs, which made a big difference. In other good news, I never fell into the pool, and my bags also resisted the urge to get wet. Though that would have been pretty funny.
Here are the results:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXMGAo9M-w[/youtube]
The highlight for me was that last link, though I know I could get the second trick deeper. Even so, I was proud to have hit it. I remember seeing Sunil come close to that link back at 99 Worlds, and oddly enough I don't think I've ever seen it hit in person (though I'm sure many people have gotten it). I'm happy that I can still occasionally surprise myself, especially at this point in my playing career.
I played again on Sunday, but it was cold out so I had to play in the gym. I got HPD bsos a couple more times, but overall I struggled with the footing. I either need to mop the space before playing, or bust out Units with better tread. The other alternative would be to continue playing on that surface in bad shoes through the winter. That could force me to improve my footwork and balance. It could also lead to me slipping and falling on my ass. I should probably just get out my newer Units.
We're not in winter yet, but already we're at the stage where outdoor weekend sessions aren't guaranteed. The fact that I have an indoor spot this year makes that a lot easier to take. I can train during the week, and if the weather is playable on a weekend I'll feel ready to take advantage. Last fall, bad weekend weather could lead into prolonged stretches without playing, so already I feel optimistic this winter will be better for footbag.
Saturday I walked to the gym with my fiancee, with the plan that I'd play inside. Halfway through the walk I took off my sweatshirt, and realized it was nice enough out that I could play outside. I picked out a scenic spot by the pool, and set my goal for the session: hit HPD bsos. It occurred to me that I'd only gotten it bsos twice before, and each time it was indoors in bad light. Thankfully there was nobody at the pool (since it's mid-October), so I was able to play without being hassled. The footing was a bit uneven, but it gripped waaaaaay better than the gym floor. That gave me the confidence to really attack the start of HPDs, which made a big difference. In other good news, I never fell into the pool, and my bags also resisted the urge to get wet. Though that would have been pretty funny.
Here are the results:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXMGAo9M-w[/youtube]
The highlight for me was that last link, though I know I could get the second trick deeper. Even so, I was proud to have hit it. I remember seeing Sunil come close to that link back at 99 Worlds, and oddly enough I don't think I've ever seen it hit in person (though I'm sure many people have gotten it). I'm happy that I can still occasionally surprise myself, especially at this point in my playing career.
I played again on Sunday, but it was cold out so I had to play in the gym. I got HPD bsos a couple more times, but overall I struggled with the footing. I either need to mop the space before playing, or bust out Units with better tread. The other alternative would be to continue playing on that surface in bad shoes through the winter. That could force me to improve my footwork and balance. It could also lead to me slipping and falling on my ass. I should probably just get out my newer Units.
We're not in winter yet, but already we're at the stage where outdoor weekend sessions aren't guaranteed. The fact that I have an indoor spot this year makes that a lot easier to take. I can train during the week, and if the weather is playable on a weekend I'll feel ready to take advantage. Last fall, bad weekend weather could lead into prolonged stretches without playing, so already I feel optimistic this winter will be better for footbag.
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boyle
- Post Master General
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Re: -Fanzine-
I really like to play by the pool, or any kind of water place, it's a lot of fun to have a really sweaty session then dive straight in to the pool. My suegra has a pool in her apartment block so hopefully that will open up again soon and I can make use of that. Once again, nice work on the HPDs, that is a trick I have always wanted to hit, which I have made very little progress towards.
Re: -Fanzine-
Last night I set out to have my first weeknight session in my new apartment complex. I didn't have an indoor spot at my old place, so last winter I couldn't play on weeknights. My plan was to go play in the basketball courts, since that was the only indoor spot I was aware of. In a weird stroke of good luck, the door I normally take to get to the courts was locked. So was the second door. I figured out that I could still access the courts, but only by going through the exercise/weight room. I had seen the inside of this room before, but only from the main entrance. And from that approach, there are no good shred spots visible. Because of all the locked doors at night though, I had to enter that room through the backdoor, which enabled me to see a shred spot you can't see from the main door!
There was almost nobody in the gym when I started, so I staked out my area and warmed up. Eventually other people would enter the gym, but even when they did I was still able to play in my area and film without disrupting anybody. The lighting is slightly worse than in the basketball courts, but that only really affects the film quality. I can still see fine in terms of playing. While the spot films slightly worse, it's superior in almost every other way to the basketball courts. There's light carpeting, so I can play in treadless G-Units no problem. Links and transitions that require good footing, like stepping out of double downs or momentum shifts like zooming are no problem. It's also a warmer spot, so I can play in just a tshirt, and also take my time stretching down when I'm done. Overall it's a huge upgrade over the basketball courts. I think as long as I'm quiet, and play outside of office hours, I should be able to use that space all winter.
Here's a quick vid I whipped together of the session:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miZ29J1VuVs[/youtube]
Weather forecast is promising for this weekend. If it's in the 60s, i'll try and film an outdoor session.
There was almost nobody in the gym when I started, so I staked out my area and warmed up. Eventually other people would enter the gym, but even when they did I was still able to play in my area and film without disrupting anybody. The lighting is slightly worse than in the basketball courts, but that only really affects the film quality. I can still see fine in terms of playing. While the spot films slightly worse, it's superior in almost every other way to the basketball courts. There's light carpeting, so I can play in treadless G-Units no problem. Links and transitions that require good footing, like stepping out of double downs or momentum shifts like zooming are no problem. It's also a warmer spot, so I can play in just a tshirt, and also take my time stretching down when I'm done. Overall it's a huge upgrade over the basketball courts. I think as long as I'm quiet, and play outside of office hours, I should be able to use that space all winter.
Here's a quick vid I whipped together of the session:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miZ29J1VuVs[/youtube]
Weather forecast is promising for this weekend. If it's in the 60s, i'll try and film an outdoor session.
Re: -Fanzine-
I see what you did with the name there 
Liked the video. Nice quantum sprinkled in. Symple Swirl War looked easy.
You should come to DFO - I still owe you a juice from Prague.
Liked the video. Nice quantum sprinkled in. Symple Swirl War looked easy.
You should come to DFO - I still owe you a juice from Prague.
Re: -Fanzine-
Nice out this weekend, so my goal is to shoot outdoors every day. My other goal is to push my BOP-free game. Saw that in Nick's blog and thought it'd be a fun challenge. A better challenge would be to cut out all bails, which for me would include smear/dimwalk/ducking clipper, but for the moment I think this is a good enough challenge. I'm hoping to do this for 3 sessions in a row, and make 3 vids. I've done one so far:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDbRDKNGdcE[/youtube]
Heading out in a minute to get in my second session. By request, I'll try and throw in more spins.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDbRDKNGdcE[/youtube]
Heading out in a minute to get in my second session. By request, I'll try and throw in more spins.
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F[uns]tylin' Eclectic
- Post Master General
- Posts: 4092
- Joined: 05 Feb 2010 19:53
- Location: Drumore, PA
Re: -Fanzine-
Yeah! Nice Ken. Your density video tops mine haha, obviously 
But this is probably my favorite stuff from you so far. Really looking good and controlled. Cant wait to see the other density vids you make.
Btw, I was totally inspired by one of your links. May be kinda normal or whatever, but Spinning Whirl> Pdx DLO looked fantastic to me. Really caught my eye and made me rewind. I'm going to use that link next time I play.
But this is probably my favorite stuff from you so far. Really looking good and controlled. Cant wait to see the other density vids you make.
Btw, I was totally inspired by one of your links. May be kinda normal or whatever, but Spinning Whirl> Pdx DLO looked fantastic to me. Really caught my eye and made me rewind. I'm going to use that link next time I play.
Re: -Fanzine-
Thanks Nick! It's definitely a good challenge.
Got in my second Density session yesterday. A lot more frustrating and less productive than the first one. The only outdoor spot near my place that I know of is by the pool. The surface is uneven flagstones, which grip well but are very uneven. I'd only played there once before, but that session my goal was to work on HPDs. That meant that I could do a big trick followed by bails followed by another big trick, or maybe do 2 big tricks in a row followed by bails, etc. But trying to go completely bail-free on that surface? Man that was frustrating. I'm going to get in my third density session today, but I'm going into Denver to play at a park that I know is a good spot.
Apologies for all the strongside smears-atomic links, as well as all the PLOs. It was the best I could do given the circumstances:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJH_zxJINv8[/youtube]
Got in my second Density session yesterday. A lot more frustrating and less productive than the first one. The only outdoor spot near my place that I know of is by the pool. The surface is uneven flagstones, which grip well but are very uneven. I'd only played there once before, but that session my goal was to work on HPDs. That meant that I could do a big trick followed by bails followed by another big trick, or maybe do 2 big tricks in a row followed by bails, etc. But trying to go completely bail-free on that surface? Man that was frustrating. I'm going to get in my third density session today, but I'm going into Denver to play at a park that I know is a good spot.
Apologies for all the strongside smears-atomic links, as well as all the PLOs. It was the best I could do given the circumstances:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJH_zxJINv8[/youtube]
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F[uns]tylin' Eclectic
- Post Master General
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Re: -Fanzine-
You're a survivor. You're not goin' give up. You're not goin' stop. You're goin' work harder.
Nice work on this one. Really like that one string that started with blazing.
Nice work on this one. Really like that one string that started with blazing.
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boyle
- Post Master General
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Re: -Fanzine-
I'm looking forward to the wide range of destiny based themes. I'm sure you got plenty of influence in Japan...
Re: -Fanzine-
Last weekend we had a 3 day stretch of gorgeous weather. I took advantage by playing outside each day, and filming those sessions. I challenged myself in those sessions to go bail-less, or at least BOP-free. You can see the first two sessions in the above posts. The third session is at the end of this post; it just took me a while to get around to exporting the footage.
This week the weather was crappy. I rested a couple days, and played a couple days at my gym. I didn't film. It was a bit liberating to be able to bail again, and not filming freed me to just work on form and stamina. Shredwise no real highlights, though I made a bit of progress on my flip swirl. Even though it's my weaker downtime swirl, I feel like it has greater potential to become a swirling set. Weird. I also put some work into improving my weak clipper form, especially mid-string. I noticed that sometimes my support foot lands flat footed when I do midstring weak clippers. If I land that way I can still play out of it with a wide array of concepts (ducking, downtime tricks), but it basically kills my spins. It also makes me slur my stepping set. If I land on the balls of my feet, my spins and steps have no problem, but I need to work on landing like this midstring (especially when I'm linking hard tricks). That's why you'll usually see my hardest flip stepping/spinning tricks at the start of a run, but not as often in the middle. I need to improve this, so why not tackle it this winter?
This Saturday and Sunday look to be in the low 60s, so I may try and film outdoor shreds. We'll see. I kind of like the idea of spending this winter by drilling my foundation indoors during the week and not filming, and going for filmed highlights outdoors on weekends (when possible). Part of me thinks this can only help my game, since I'd get in more adds over the winter and stay in better shape. But part of me also wonders if my success last summer was partially due to resting my legs during the winter. I'm already a little sad about next summer, since I know I can't go to Worlds. I think my best case scenario is I compete at USO, get married and do my honeymoon, and then go to NYC for East Coasts in the fall.
Anyway, here's my 3rd density video. I feel like I'm running out of puns, but that shouldn't be the reason I end the series. Depending on the weather and how I feel, I may go for another density shred tomorrow.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFfDh6zMgjk[/youtube]
This week the weather was crappy. I rested a couple days, and played a couple days at my gym. I didn't film. It was a bit liberating to be able to bail again, and not filming freed me to just work on form and stamina. Shredwise no real highlights, though I made a bit of progress on my flip swirl. Even though it's my weaker downtime swirl, I feel like it has greater potential to become a swirling set. Weird. I also put some work into improving my weak clipper form, especially mid-string. I noticed that sometimes my support foot lands flat footed when I do midstring weak clippers. If I land that way I can still play out of it with a wide array of concepts (ducking, downtime tricks), but it basically kills my spins. It also makes me slur my stepping set. If I land on the balls of my feet, my spins and steps have no problem, but I need to work on landing like this midstring (especially when I'm linking hard tricks). That's why you'll usually see my hardest flip stepping/spinning tricks at the start of a run, but not as often in the middle. I need to improve this, so why not tackle it this winter?
This Saturday and Sunday look to be in the low 60s, so I may try and film outdoor shreds. We'll see. I kind of like the idea of spending this winter by drilling my foundation indoors during the week and not filming, and going for filmed highlights outdoors on weekends (when possible). Part of me thinks this can only help my game, since I'd get in more adds over the winter and stay in better shape. But part of me also wonders if my success last summer was partially due to resting my legs during the winter. I'm already a little sad about next summer, since I know I can't go to Worlds. I think my best case scenario is I compete at USO, get married and do my honeymoon, and then go to NYC for East Coasts in the fall.
Anyway, here's my 3rd density video. I feel like I'm running out of puns, but that shouldn't be the reason I end the series. Depending on the weather and how I feel, I may go for another density shred tomorrow.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFfDh6zMgjk[/youtube]
Re: -Fanzine-
Nice. I really enjoyed this series! 
Spicy shred. It was a nice mix-up! I've got a similar problem with flip stepping and pixie. And they're the things I want to work on most if I can ever play regularly.
Spicy shred. It was a nice mix-up! I've got a similar problem with flip stepping and pixie. And they're the things I want to work on most if I can ever play regularly.-
boyle
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Re: -Fanzine-
I was thinking of some new titles for the series the other day.
InDENSity (with a focus on inspinning tricks)
Something playing on Dennis The Menace, I had some ideas the other day, but come to think of it, they were all just as stupid as these...
InDENSity (with a focus on inspinning tricks)
Something playing on Dennis The Menace, I had some ideas the other day, but come to think of it, they were all just as stupid as these...
Re: -Fanzine-
LOL, I don't know why, but after reading your suggestions I now want to make a video called: "Density, the Mensity." It'd be epic. Sadly, I won't be able to do that for a while. More on that later.
So far, fall in Denver has allowed me to follow my plan. That plan is to drill in the gym during weeknights, and play outside in the sun on weekends. I think this pattern will make me a better player, and also hopefully keep me in shape through the winter. Last weekend the weather was absolutely perfect. I took advantage with a good density shred on Saturday. I also found a decent outdoor spot relatively close to home. It's a concrete tennis court, but at least it's protected from the wind and pretty flat. I have a feeling it'll tear up my shoes (and my shins if I'm not careful), but this pair of Units is basically dead already anyway.
Here's my Saturday shred:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL8CQ4rD6c8[/youtube]
Sunday was even better weather. I headed out to the same spot, did my warm ups, and then set up my camera. Which didn't work. It gave me a memory card error I hadn't encountered before, but given it's looooong history of problems with my memory card (like the time it stopped working in the middle of filming my USO routine in 2012), I didn't panic. I decided to take my camera home to reformat the card, with the hope that I'd be able to run back out and film while the weather was still good. I took it home, but no dice. A few days later, and I still can't get it to work. Anyway, I was so bummed about it on Sunday, I punted the session entirely, which sucks because we're not getting such good weather again probably til Spring. But I was just so pissed.
One possible option would be to simply buy a new memory card. But I really don't know if the problem is with the memory card, or the camera. All I do know, is that the combination of that camera and card has given me problems since the day they met, and I don't want to deal with it anymore. We're 23 days away from Black Friday, so I'm just going to wait it out and buy me a new camera then. I bought this one from Woot, which is a mistake I'll never make again. This time I'll use Amazon, and if it breaks down or is shitty, I'm sending it right back.
So here's the bad news for you. I'm going to Las Vegas in less than 2 weeks, and now I don't have a camera. I have 2 full days on my own, which I plan on spending hanging out with Gatesman and shredding. My original plan was to shoot a ton of footage of him, and then make a xmas calendar video out of it. But now that plan is dead in the water. Crappy timing.
While I can't film for the next few weeks, I'm not sure that'll change much on my end. I still want to train during the week and shred on weekends, since I want to be in good shape when I play with Evan in Vegas. I've been working on improving the sink on my weak clipper, so I can more reliably spin and step off of it midstring. I'm making progress, but its not second nature yet. I can get it when I focus and concentrate, but the end goal is to make it as automatic as my strong side. I'm not there yet. I'll occasionally mess around with some new/hard stuff, but for the most part I'm really just drilling my fundamentals. My osis record is somewhere around 240, but when I got that Crowley correctly pointed out that my form on them is different. I'd rather get 50 osis which are symmetrical and good than 240 where they are different, so I'm focusing a lot more on execution of drills rather than on the number of contacts. Hopefully this all pays off.
So far, fall in Denver has allowed me to follow my plan. That plan is to drill in the gym during weeknights, and play outside in the sun on weekends. I think this pattern will make me a better player, and also hopefully keep me in shape through the winter. Last weekend the weather was absolutely perfect. I took advantage with a good density shred on Saturday. I also found a decent outdoor spot relatively close to home. It's a concrete tennis court, but at least it's protected from the wind and pretty flat. I have a feeling it'll tear up my shoes (and my shins if I'm not careful), but this pair of Units is basically dead already anyway.
Here's my Saturday shred:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL8CQ4rD6c8[/youtube]
Sunday was even better weather. I headed out to the same spot, did my warm ups, and then set up my camera. Which didn't work. It gave me a memory card error I hadn't encountered before, but given it's looooong history of problems with my memory card (like the time it stopped working in the middle of filming my USO routine in 2012), I didn't panic. I decided to take my camera home to reformat the card, with the hope that I'd be able to run back out and film while the weather was still good. I took it home, but no dice. A few days later, and I still can't get it to work. Anyway, I was so bummed about it on Sunday, I punted the session entirely, which sucks because we're not getting such good weather again probably til Spring. But I was just so pissed.
One possible option would be to simply buy a new memory card. But I really don't know if the problem is with the memory card, or the camera. All I do know, is that the combination of that camera and card has given me problems since the day they met, and I don't want to deal with it anymore. We're 23 days away from Black Friday, so I'm just going to wait it out and buy me a new camera then. I bought this one from Woot, which is a mistake I'll never make again. This time I'll use Amazon, and if it breaks down or is shitty, I'm sending it right back.
So here's the bad news for you. I'm going to Las Vegas in less than 2 weeks, and now I don't have a camera. I have 2 full days on my own, which I plan on spending hanging out with Gatesman and shredding. My original plan was to shoot a ton of footage of him, and then make a xmas calendar video out of it. But now that plan is dead in the water. Crappy timing.
While I can't film for the next few weeks, I'm not sure that'll change much on my end. I still want to train during the week and shred on weekends, since I want to be in good shape when I play with Evan in Vegas. I've been working on improving the sink on my weak clipper, so I can more reliably spin and step off of it midstring. I'm making progress, but its not second nature yet. I can get it when I focus and concentrate, but the end goal is to make it as automatic as my strong side. I'm not there yet. I'll occasionally mess around with some new/hard stuff, but for the most part I'm really just drilling my fundamentals. My osis record is somewhere around 240, but when I got that Crowley correctly pointed out that my form on them is different. I'd rather get 50 osis which are symmetrical and good than 240 where they are different, so I'm focusing a lot more on execution of drills rather than on the number of contacts. Hopefully this all pays off.