The Departure - Thomas Cole. If you aren't familiar with him, check out some of his work. He is one of my favorite British/American landscape artists.
Fanzine
Re: Fanzine
Because top posts deserve paintings:
The Departure - Thomas Cole. If you aren't familiar with him, check out some of his work. He is one of my favorite British/American landscape artists.
The Departure - Thomas Cole. If you aren't familiar with him, check out some of his work. He is one of my favorite British/American landscape artists.
Re: Fanzine
TPP: Nice top post painting! I'm really liking this trend. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing to be greeted by art every time I open a new page/thread, but it also gives us insight into each others' artistic tastes. I've seen it in a few other blogs too...I hope it continues. I liked the Cole stuff I googled, but I get the feeling that it'd be way more impressive to see it in person in like a museum.
USO: In 24 days I get on a plane for Portland. I kind of wish it were next week, as I feel ready to compete already. Hopefully the next 3.5 weeks go by quickly and I can stay mentally and physically sharp, and make improvements to the routine. My biggest worry for USO now isn't my preparedness, but rather figuring out how to keep the wife entertained (especially on the first day). When we bought tickets, I assumed the tournament was in Portland, and Haley would be able to check out shops or museums while I competed. It turns out the tournament is actually a 30 minute drive outside Portland, in a suburb town with little entertainment options. I don't want to rent a car, but I feel like if I don't either she'll be bored and stranded for 2 days while I compete, or I'll be stuck at the site waiting for somebody to give me a ride back to Portland to meet back up with her. Hopefully I can figure out a good solution soon.
Routine: I had a streak of 4 sessions in a row where I only did one routine each day, and they were all dropless. That was a confidence booster. I broke the streak with a strong one drop routine, but didn't beat myself up over it. As I get closer to the actual tournament, I'm going to ramp up routine practice either by doing multiple routines in a session, and/or by drilling components of the routine. I feel confident I'll be physically ready for competing. I want to put some more effort into the mental side now, since I think that will be the thing that really takes me to the next level.
New footbags! My new Ivan bags arrived last week, and they are awesome. I bought a yellow and black amaretta/USL hybrid from Ivan at East Coasts last year, and its been one of my best bags ever. When I decided to compete this summer, I knew I had to get a couple more, so I ordered a red/black and green/black from Ivan. The yellow one from last year was holding up well (only one hole), but I didn't want to risk it dying in the middle of the summer. When the red and green ones arrived, the plan was to break in one of them before USO, and then use the yellow as my primary competition bag and the new broken in one as the backup juggle bag. Instead, both the red and green ones felt broken in and perfect off the bat. I've been using both the reds and greens as primaries since I got them, and in some routine practices I don't even use the yellow bag. It feels great to have the luxury of 3 perfect bags, and not worry if one of them dies. Here's a video of my first session with them:
BFF: Paul is hosting a competition called "Best Foot Forward" which sounded cool to me. Here's the breakdown of how it works: Even though I'm in routine training mode, I couldn't resist entering the comp. In fact, I think I shot and uploaded my submission the same day I read the rules. While I don't generally think of myself as a very both-sided player (especially with hard elements), I was very happy with my submissions and think they'll score well. The sick one was especially gratifying, as it's a trick I've only hit a handful of times on each side, and never both sides in the same day (or year even?). The downside to having submitted entries so early is that I have to wait a full month to see what everybody did, or to talk about what I hit. On the flipside, I'm happy I got my submission done early, as now I can focus on routines without being distracted by a contest I want to enter.
We're still getting afternoon thunderstorms, but hopefully I can continue with my training without too many hiccups. Just need to keep my eyes on the prize.
USO: In 24 days I get on a plane for Portland. I kind of wish it were next week, as I feel ready to compete already. Hopefully the next 3.5 weeks go by quickly and I can stay mentally and physically sharp, and make improvements to the routine. My biggest worry for USO now isn't my preparedness, but rather figuring out how to keep the wife entertained (especially on the first day). When we bought tickets, I assumed the tournament was in Portland, and Haley would be able to check out shops or museums while I competed. It turns out the tournament is actually a 30 minute drive outside Portland, in a suburb town with little entertainment options. I don't want to rent a car, but I feel like if I don't either she'll be bored and stranded for 2 days while I compete, or I'll be stuck at the site waiting for somebody to give me a ride back to Portland to meet back up with her. Hopefully I can figure out a good solution soon.
Routine: I had a streak of 4 sessions in a row where I only did one routine each day, and they were all dropless. That was a confidence booster. I broke the streak with a strong one drop routine, but didn't beat myself up over it. As I get closer to the actual tournament, I'm going to ramp up routine practice either by doing multiple routines in a session, and/or by drilling components of the routine. I feel confident I'll be physically ready for competing. I want to put some more effort into the mental side now, since I think that will be the thing that really takes me to the next level.
New footbags! My new Ivan bags arrived last week, and they are awesome. I bought a yellow and black amaretta/USL hybrid from Ivan at East Coasts last year, and its been one of my best bags ever. When I decided to compete this summer, I knew I had to get a couple more, so I ordered a red/black and green/black from Ivan. The yellow one from last year was holding up well (only one hole), but I didn't want to risk it dying in the middle of the summer. When the red and green ones arrived, the plan was to break in one of them before USO, and then use the yellow as my primary competition bag and the new broken in one as the backup juggle bag. Instead, both the red and green ones felt broken in and perfect off the bat. I've been using both the reds and greens as primaries since I got them, and in some routine practices I don't even use the yellow bag. It feels great to have the luxury of 3 perfect bags, and not worry if one of them dies. Here's a video of my first session with them:
BFF: Paul is hosting a competition called "Best Foot Forward" which sounded cool to me. Here's the breakdown of how it works: Even though I'm in routine training mode, I couldn't resist entering the comp. In fact, I think I shot and uploaded my submission the same day I read the rules. While I don't generally think of myself as a very both-sided player (especially with hard elements), I was very happy with my submissions and think they'll score well. The sick one was especially gratifying, as it's a trick I've only hit a handful of times on each side, and never both sides in the same day (or year even?). The downside to having submitted entries so early is that I have to wait a full month to see what everybody did, or to talk about what I hit. On the flipside, I'm happy I got my submission done early, as now I can focus on routines without being distracted by a contest I want to enter.
We're still getting afternoon thunderstorms, but hopefully I can continue with my training without too many hiccups. Just need to keep my eyes on the prize.
3 weeks to USO
In exactly 3 weeks I'm on a plane to Portland for USO. On one hand (the logistical one) it feels like that's coming up way too fast. On the other hand (the competitive one), it feels like that's forever from now, and would it please just happen already?
The crappy thundershowery weather doesn't appear to be going anywhere, which is definitely annoying. Most days I've managed to sneak in a shred while I see the thunderclouds gather in the near distance. Some of those shreds end with me being rained out, but usually I've gotten in a solid practice before then. On one day when the rain came way early, I tried playing in my basement for the first time. It actually wasn't too bad. The ceiling is a bit low, but unless I'm jumping my highest, it doesn't affect me. There's a thin carpet down there, which is actually probably better for my shoes and legs than my outdoor shred spot. The biggest weakness with the basement is the lighting, but in a weird way I think that might help me. The poor lighting kind of forces me to be more precise with my timing and placement, and also ensures I don't drill anything other than my routine and basics. That said, I'd prefer to not be forced into playing there by the weather.
The routine continues to evolve and feel more solid. My last session I did 2 dropless runthroughs, and spent most of the session just drilling parts of the routine. I'm also doing stuff like forcing myself to do 2 bag juggling after runs when I'm tired. If I can train myself to do parts of the routine even when tired, that should help me in the actual routine if I find my breathing has gone off track. I also made one significant adjustment by swapping out one trick for another at a key point in my routine. While the two tricks are equally difficult and equally reliable for me, I realized that one of them is entirely made up of components that I already showcase throughout the routine, while the other trick uses a set that isn't in the rest of the routine, and a downtime component that only appears one other time. So from a variety standpoint, it feels a lot smarter to use the more unique trick. Hopefully I can continue to make minor adjustments like this over the next 3 weeks (and then the next 4 weeks after that), and that they pay off.
This weekend I need to lock down some of my Portland logistics. I bought tickets months ago, and thought it'd be a straightforward trip logistically. Instead, due to the actual competition being in a neighboring suburb, I think I'm going to have to rent a car. Dithering on that decision also slowed me down in terms of deciding where to lodge, and that looks like it's going to cost me a lot of money. Even the cheap Air BNBs are close to $100 a night, so between that and the car I'm dropping a lot of money. At least Fourkast is picking up my costs. Oh wait...
In all seriousness though, the money and the logistics won't matter to me if I can come home with a win. I feel like I'm going into USO as an underdog for a variety of reasons, but I also feel like I can win it if I bring a strong mental game, and my routine drilling pays off. Work has been stressful lately and cutting into my playing time, and I've made a conscious effort to try and leave the office on time, even if that means work piles up a bit. The way I explained it to Haley, was that when I'm on my deathbed (hopefully a long time from now), I'm not going to be able to tell you what I was doing at work in the summer of 2015. But I bet you anything I'll be able to tell you how many times I won USO.
Here's a video from my second session using Ivan bags. Lately I've been listening to NBA podcasts when I play, so I've been using the free music on YouTube to cover up the sound of the podcast talking heads. Overall the music on YT for these tracks isn't that bad.
As I'm about to hit the submit button, I see ominous thunderclouds forming in the distance. May have to shred in the basement again today.
The crappy thundershowery weather doesn't appear to be going anywhere, which is definitely annoying. Most days I've managed to sneak in a shred while I see the thunderclouds gather in the near distance. Some of those shreds end with me being rained out, but usually I've gotten in a solid practice before then. On one day when the rain came way early, I tried playing in my basement for the first time. It actually wasn't too bad. The ceiling is a bit low, but unless I'm jumping my highest, it doesn't affect me. There's a thin carpet down there, which is actually probably better for my shoes and legs than my outdoor shred spot. The biggest weakness with the basement is the lighting, but in a weird way I think that might help me. The poor lighting kind of forces me to be more precise with my timing and placement, and also ensures I don't drill anything other than my routine and basics. That said, I'd prefer to not be forced into playing there by the weather.
The routine continues to evolve and feel more solid. My last session I did 2 dropless runthroughs, and spent most of the session just drilling parts of the routine. I'm also doing stuff like forcing myself to do 2 bag juggling after runs when I'm tired. If I can train myself to do parts of the routine even when tired, that should help me in the actual routine if I find my breathing has gone off track. I also made one significant adjustment by swapping out one trick for another at a key point in my routine. While the two tricks are equally difficult and equally reliable for me, I realized that one of them is entirely made up of components that I already showcase throughout the routine, while the other trick uses a set that isn't in the rest of the routine, and a downtime component that only appears one other time. So from a variety standpoint, it feels a lot smarter to use the more unique trick. Hopefully I can continue to make minor adjustments like this over the next 3 weeks (and then the next 4 weeks after that), and that they pay off.
This weekend I need to lock down some of my Portland logistics. I bought tickets months ago, and thought it'd be a straightforward trip logistically. Instead, due to the actual competition being in a neighboring suburb, I think I'm going to have to rent a car. Dithering on that decision also slowed me down in terms of deciding where to lodge, and that looks like it's going to cost me a lot of money. Even the cheap Air BNBs are close to $100 a night, so between that and the car I'm dropping a lot of money. At least Fourkast is picking up my costs. Oh wait...
In all seriousness though, the money and the logistics won't matter to me if I can come home with a win. I feel like I'm going into USO as an underdog for a variety of reasons, but I also feel like I can win it if I bring a strong mental game, and my routine drilling pays off. Work has been stressful lately and cutting into my playing time, and I've made a conscious effort to try and leave the office on time, even if that means work piles up a bit. The way I explained it to Haley, was that when I'm on my deathbed (hopefully a long time from now), I'm not going to be able to tell you what I was doing at work in the summer of 2015. But I bet you anything I'll be able to tell you how many times I won USO.
Here's a video from my second session using Ivan bags. Lately I've been listening to NBA podcasts when I play, so I've been using the free music on YouTube to cover up the sound of the podcast talking heads. Overall the music on YT for these tracks isn't that bad.
As I'm about to hit the submit button, I see ominous thunderclouds forming in the distance. May have to shred in the basement again today.
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Lycanthrope
- BSOS Beast
- Posts: 431
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- Location: Las Vegas, NV
- Contact:
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Sporatical_Distractions
- registered sacks offender
- Posts: 4529
- Joined: 12 Oct 2004 19:14
- Location: Guy's American Kitchen & Bar
Re: Fanzine
Blubberman, inspin, fearless, grifters, great vid ken
Welcome to Flavortown
Kevin Crowley
Kevin Crowley
Re: Fanzine
Evan: I could do a whole blog post on that. Such an overwhelming mix of emotions. I was proud of my friend personally, I was stoked for the Japanese scene as a whole, and it also felt historic to see a non-white footbagger win a gold medal at Worlds. The closest the sport had come to that was Serge Kaldany winning Circles in 2008. Footbag definitely has a long way to go diversity wise, so it felt like a significant milestone.
Crowley: Thanks! I'll try and throw more grifters for you.
Abnormal spring weather continues. Everyday we get a thunderstorm, a hailstorm, or sometimes both. This is by far the wettest spring/summer I've experienced in Denver since moving here 5 years ago. Locals who've lived here longer are saying the same thing too. The weather has been inconvenient not just for the rainouts, but also because my normal outdoor shred spot has now become mosquito heaven. It's also made for unusually muggy conditions before the storms hit, which is something I haven't dealt with in Denver before. I'm trying to take the attitude that this will all help prepare me for USO. Like, if I can go dropless when its muggy and sweltering out, then I won't fear those conditions if they happen in Portland too. If anything, I'm hoping that playing in bad conditions at altitude will help me deal with them even better when I face them 4000 feet lower than what I'm used to.
Speaking of USO, we finally locked down housing. 4 nights for $400...yikes. Definitely turning out to be an expensive trip. Hopefully though we'll eat well, see friends, comp will go well, and it will be 5 days out of the office to forget about work. I definitely feel I could use a vacation.
A couple weeks ago a beginner contacted me through Facebook, and we arranged to play last weekend. Between training for USO and various house-related chores, I don't have a lot of time to spare on my weekends. That said, I reworked my schedule on Sunday so I could meet up with him in Denver. I texted him Sunday morning to confirm we were still on, and got a weirdly non-committal answer. In response, I proposed a later meet time to accommodate his schedule, which got a firm commitment from him. I rearrange my schedule, drive the 35 minutes into Denver, and right as I get to my spot (10 minutes before we're supposed to meet) I get a text from him saying he can't meet there anymore, and is in some other location 45 minutes away from Denver if I still want to play. So even with me checking ahead of time with him, altering my schedule to accommodate him, the guy still stands me up with 10 minutes notice after making me drive 35 minutes into Denver. With USO less than 3 weeks away, I frankly can't waste my time on shit like this. On one level it's frustrating for sure, but on a deeper level I just can't even understand what is going on in some people's minds. To use an example, I just bought a skateboard and want to learn how to skate this fall. I am a total beginner who has no skills at all, but have interest in learning. If I contacted a top level skater like Paul Rodriguez, and he somehow agreed to meet me to teach me (even though there's nothing in it for him at all, and he has the X-Games in 3 weeks), not only would I not stand him up, I also wouldn't be a total dick about it. Seriously, what level of entitlement do you have to have to do shit like this?
On a more positive note, Ivan is working on a video of me, with footage I shot in Tucson over the holidays. It wasn't intended to be a follow-up video to the one he did last summer, but looking at the initial cut of the video I feel its on a similar level, at least edit and vibe wise. I'm excited that now I'll have 2 HD, well edited videos of me I can show friends, and have for posterity.
Another cool footbag project I'm excited for is Red making Team USA jerseys for this summer. I've always been a big fan of jerseys, and it always struck me as odd that we don't have more of them in footbag. In 2004 when Team Japan got ready for Worlds, getting jerseys was one of the best things we did. It just fostered a sense of team amongst us, and also let everybody know that Japan had arrived, and that we were serious. To this day, the footbag shirts that mean the most to me are all jerseys: 2 Team Japan ones, and my NYFA jersey. It's been a while since the US has had a team presence at a Worlds outside America, so to have 5 strong players going this year with a real chance to do damage...it's just super exciting. The fact that I'm friends with everybody going makes it that much better. While I have personal goals for Worlds (routine finals, dropless), it'll be cool to be a part of Team USA's overall successes too.
Crowley: Thanks! I'll try and throw more grifters for you.
Abnormal spring weather continues. Everyday we get a thunderstorm, a hailstorm, or sometimes both. This is by far the wettest spring/summer I've experienced in Denver since moving here 5 years ago. Locals who've lived here longer are saying the same thing too. The weather has been inconvenient not just for the rainouts, but also because my normal outdoor shred spot has now become mosquito heaven. It's also made for unusually muggy conditions before the storms hit, which is something I haven't dealt with in Denver before. I'm trying to take the attitude that this will all help prepare me for USO. Like, if I can go dropless when its muggy and sweltering out, then I won't fear those conditions if they happen in Portland too. If anything, I'm hoping that playing in bad conditions at altitude will help me deal with them even better when I face them 4000 feet lower than what I'm used to.
Speaking of USO, we finally locked down housing. 4 nights for $400...yikes. Definitely turning out to be an expensive trip. Hopefully though we'll eat well, see friends, comp will go well, and it will be 5 days out of the office to forget about work. I definitely feel I could use a vacation.
A couple weeks ago a beginner contacted me through Facebook, and we arranged to play last weekend. Between training for USO and various house-related chores, I don't have a lot of time to spare on my weekends. That said, I reworked my schedule on Sunday so I could meet up with him in Denver. I texted him Sunday morning to confirm we were still on, and got a weirdly non-committal answer. In response, I proposed a later meet time to accommodate his schedule, which got a firm commitment from him. I rearrange my schedule, drive the 35 minutes into Denver, and right as I get to my spot (10 minutes before we're supposed to meet) I get a text from him saying he can't meet there anymore, and is in some other location 45 minutes away from Denver if I still want to play. So even with me checking ahead of time with him, altering my schedule to accommodate him, the guy still stands me up with 10 minutes notice after making me drive 35 minutes into Denver. With USO less than 3 weeks away, I frankly can't waste my time on shit like this. On one level it's frustrating for sure, but on a deeper level I just can't even understand what is going on in some people's minds. To use an example, I just bought a skateboard and want to learn how to skate this fall. I am a total beginner who has no skills at all, but have interest in learning. If I contacted a top level skater like Paul Rodriguez, and he somehow agreed to meet me to teach me (even though there's nothing in it for him at all, and he has the X-Games in 3 weeks), not only would I not stand him up, I also wouldn't be a total dick about it. Seriously, what level of entitlement do you have to have to do shit like this?
On a more positive note, Ivan is working on a video of me, with footage I shot in Tucson over the holidays. It wasn't intended to be a follow-up video to the one he did last summer, but looking at the initial cut of the video I feel its on a similar level, at least edit and vibe wise. I'm excited that now I'll have 2 HD, well edited videos of me I can show friends, and have for posterity.
Another cool footbag project I'm excited for is Red making Team USA jerseys for this summer. I've always been a big fan of jerseys, and it always struck me as odd that we don't have more of them in footbag. In 2004 when Team Japan got ready for Worlds, getting jerseys was one of the best things we did. It just fostered a sense of team amongst us, and also let everybody know that Japan had arrived, and that we were serious. To this day, the footbag shirts that mean the most to me are all jerseys: 2 Team Japan ones, and my NYFA jersey. It's been a while since the US has had a team presence at a Worlds outside America, so to have 5 strong players going this year with a real chance to do damage...it's just super exciting. The fact that I'm friends with everybody going makes it that much better. While I have personal goals for Worlds (routine finals, dropless), it'll be cool to be a part of Team USA's overall successes too.
Re: Fanzine
Been pretty disciplined about training lately, which I'm proud of. I gave blood today, which means I'm ending a streak of 8 footbag days in a row. I also played 17 of the past 19 days, and one of those days I only sat out because of a sinus issue. I've also been making a point to be more disciplined about sleep (more of it) and booze (less of it). Of course, at the end of the day its not just about how much you trained, its about how smart you trained. I'm still figuring that one out as I go, and I guess I've been trying for several years now. I've been practicing individual sections of the routine, drilling single tricks and concepts, and of course doing entire routine runthroughs. Even that I'm tweaking, to set rules for myself for how many attempts I should have. Haley got me a book about sports science, and I've picked up some neat tidbits from it. Every edge helps.
I was pretty tired during my session yesterday, and almost called it a day with zero dropless routines. I had one very strong runthrough with a single drop, which I was going to accept as good enough. But then I pushed myself to do one more runthrough, as I feel its important to get at least one dropless every single time I play. I even thought of my motivational coach, and that helped me push through and close out with the dropless:
In other good USO news, I got a rental car for Portland. I was originally on the fence about this, since I really enjoyed not having to deal with a car last time I was in Portland. It felt liberating frankly. But I think having a car will open up some tourist opportunities to us that wouldn't otherwise be possible. It will also give us more control over our schedule, and give Haley the freedom to drop me off at the site and go do non-footbag stuff while I compete.
My sessions have been mostly focused on routines lately, which is the way it should be. I spend some time each session playing for fun too, but I definitely don't have any goals associated with that beyond stamina. Like, I'm not pushing my furious set or trying to learn anything new. I feel like footbag this summer is pretty much the exact opposite of last summer. Last summer I didn't have to worry about routines, so I really tried to push my shred level and make a solid video. This summer I'm pretty much abandoning hardcore footbag so I can get a 2 minute routine as solid as I can. So yeah, if my blog videos seem kind of scattered and random, its due to that.
Oh, I think I also finally picked a second routine song. I probably only need it for Round 1 of USO, unless it looks like a super weak field at Worlds. But most likely I'm doing my main routine at Worlds for the first two rounds, since I want to give myself the best chance at making Finals.
I was pretty tired during my session yesterday, and almost called it a day with zero dropless routines. I had one very strong runthrough with a single drop, which I was going to accept as good enough. But then I pushed myself to do one more runthrough, as I feel its important to get at least one dropless every single time I play. I even thought of my motivational coach, and that helped me push through and close out with the dropless:
In other good USO news, I got a rental car for Portland. I was originally on the fence about this, since I really enjoyed not having to deal with a car last time I was in Portland. It felt liberating frankly. But I think having a car will open up some tourist opportunities to us that wouldn't otherwise be possible. It will also give us more control over our schedule, and give Haley the freedom to drop me off at the site and go do non-footbag stuff while I compete.
My sessions have been mostly focused on routines lately, which is the way it should be. I spend some time each session playing for fun too, but I definitely don't have any goals associated with that beyond stamina. Like, I'm not pushing my furious set or trying to learn anything new. I feel like footbag this summer is pretty much the exact opposite of last summer. Last summer I didn't have to worry about routines, so I really tried to push my shred level and make a solid video. This summer I'm pretty much abandoning hardcore footbag so I can get a 2 minute routine as solid as I can. So yeah, if my blog videos seem kind of scattered and random, its due to that.
Oh, I think I also finally picked a second routine song. I probably only need it for Round 1 of USO, unless it looks like a super weak field at Worlds. But most likely I'm doing my main routine at Worlds for the first two rounds, since I want to give myself the best chance at making Finals.
Re: Fanzine
Interesting time to give blood, do you have a fancy blood type? You and your routine prowess. Curious as to what sweltering heat is for you? Gonna be playing in some 108 weather today 
Really like that you weren't playing in the shade, either. Embrace the elements, except for frigid cold, eff that.
Really like that you weren't playing in the shade, either. Embrace the elements, except for frigid cold, eff that.Live, Love, Footbag
Derek Littlefield
Derek Littlefield
Re: Fanzine
Vojta: Thanks! I haven't hit a ducking grifter, but I haven't tried much either. I'll give it some attempts after USO and Worlds are over. I have a feeling I could get it at least on one side.
Derek: I've got very plain blood; I'm type A+. That said, one time they did call me in specifically because there was some component of my blood that a particular donor needed. That was neat. I generally try and give every 2 months, since the general thinking is that 1 pint donated can save up to 3 lives. Even if that's an exaggeration, taking 1 hour of my day to potentially save even one life seems like a good use of my time. Sometimes my work travel schedule messes things up, but most years I give at least 3-4 times.
Footbag prep is going OK. We're still catching a lot of afternoon thunderstorms, which are pretty annoying. I've had to do a couple sessions in my basement, which is too dim to do proper routine runthroughs. I can still get a decent workout though, which is equally important. I'm getting excited to compete at USO. At this stage I've only been practicing for a month, but I feel pretty strong with my routine, and I look forward to testing it under pressure. It'd be sweet to get it dropless in comp at some point this summer.
I think I'm going to try and watch some inspirational sports movies in the next 10 days to get me further pumped for competing. NBA finals has been good for that too, though tonight may be the final game.
Closing out with a random vid of a nice bsos I was pleased with:
Derek: I've got very plain blood; I'm type A+. That said, one time they did call me in specifically because there was some component of my blood that a particular donor needed. That was neat. I generally try and give every 2 months, since the general thinking is that 1 pint donated can save up to 3 lives. Even if that's an exaggeration, taking 1 hour of my day to potentially save even one life seems like a good use of my time. Sometimes my work travel schedule messes things up, but most years I give at least 3-4 times.
Footbag prep is going OK. We're still catching a lot of afternoon thunderstorms, which are pretty annoying. I've had to do a couple sessions in my basement, which is too dim to do proper routine runthroughs. I can still get a decent workout though, which is equally important. I'm getting excited to compete at USO. At this stage I've only been practicing for a month, but I feel pretty strong with my routine, and I look forward to testing it under pressure. It'd be sweet to get it dropless in comp at some point this summer.
I think I'm going to try and watch some inspirational sports movies in the next 10 days to get me further pumped for competing. NBA finals has been good for that too, though tonight may be the final game.
Closing out with a random vid of a nice bsos I was pleased with:
-
Lycanthrope
- BSOS Beast
- Posts: 431
- Joined: 12 Oct 2004 19:39
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
- Contact:
Re: Fanzine
Nice last video. I really enjoyed the parts with you shredding in the red nyfa jersey with the clouds and trees. epic. Your control and style have progressed so much. Looking good! 
Evan 'OP' Gatesman
Re: Fanzine
Thanks Evan! I do feel like my style and control have improved a lot over the past 4 years or so. Definitely a lot better than where I was 15 years ago:
I'm posting this on Monday afternoon, which means in exactly 4 days I'll be on the plane to Portland. I'm oddly calm about USO, though I wouldn't be surprised if my excitement/nervous levels change once I get there. But as I sit and write this now, I feel good. My body feels good, my training has gone well, and I feel as ready as I'll ever be for comp. At this stage I kind of just want to compete and get it done with. Just bring it on, and lets see how it goes.
The one thing I'm worried about for USO is the heat. Weather.com forecasts for both Portland and West Linn look like the heat is going to peak on the Saturday and Sunday of the tournament, with highs between 95 and 102. There isn't an indoor location, and I don't know about shade, so we may be competing in pretty extreme conditions. All I can do is show up and try my best. At least everybody will be in the same conditions, and its not like my training can hurt me. I've been practicing my routine in a t-shirt, but in light of the forecast I've started practicing in NBA jerseys again. I wonder if people would be open to competing earlier in the day, so we're not competing during peak heat. Though it sounds like Derek has been training in those conditions, so maybe he'd want to do that to gain an advantage.
I didn't play a lot this weekend, since it was my 1 year wedding anniversary. That ended up being really fun though, and good for me mentally/emotionally too. I got in a quick session Saturday morning that went very well, and Sunday I didn't play at all, but we walked over 5 miles, so at least I wasn't a total bum exercise wise. My plan is to play today through Thursday, take Friday off completely, then hit the tournament as hard as I can. My main goals are to do my finals routine dropless and to win routines. I guess the hope is that if I hit dropless it would improve my chances of winning overall. But I also wouldn't be surprised if the heat makes routine finals a sloppy dogfight where nobody manages dropless, in which case I'd be happy to take any win no matter how ugly. I'm not sure if I'll do Circle or other events...I'll have to see how my body reacts to the heat and make a judgment based on that.
Since USO looks to be pretty small, I'm planning on doing 2 different routines. At Worlds I'll likely just do one routine all three rounds, but for USO I think I'll mix it up, since cuts probably won't be too bad. I did a few runthroughs of my alternate routine over the weekend, and they went OK. Its a weird balance in that I don't want to spend too much time working on it, but at the same time I don't want to risk getting cut because its not well-developed enough either. One positive of practicing it though, is that its good stamina practice for my primary routine. I'm not overly worried about it.
Having gone through the process of developing 2 routines over the past month and a half really got me thinking about coaching. It's weird to me that footbag lacks coaches, especially since its so hard to learn the basics of our sport. Then you look at routines, where even advanced players struggle to put together well-choreographed, well-planned routines. I make a point to film all my practice routines and study them, but even that is delayed feedback, and I'm not getting an outside perspective either. It makes me wonder how good our routines could be if we had dedicated coaches in the sport. This article is a bit of a long read, but raises similar questions.
Here's a vid from my Saturday session. I spent most of the time working on routines, but I also got a few good strings. The two biggest highlights for me were hitting one of my better nemeses to date, and also playing out of clownface with an uptime set. That's the first time I've ever done an uptime set out of any hard furious trick, so it felt like a milestone.
I'm posting this on Monday afternoon, which means in exactly 4 days I'll be on the plane to Portland. I'm oddly calm about USO, though I wouldn't be surprised if my excitement/nervous levels change once I get there. But as I sit and write this now, I feel good. My body feels good, my training has gone well, and I feel as ready as I'll ever be for comp. At this stage I kind of just want to compete and get it done with. Just bring it on, and lets see how it goes.
The one thing I'm worried about for USO is the heat. Weather.com forecasts for both Portland and West Linn look like the heat is going to peak on the Saturday and Sunday of the tournament, with highs between 95 and 102. There isn't an indoor location, and I don't know about shade, so we may be competing in pretty extreme conditions. All I can do is show up and try my best. At least everybody will be in the same conditions, and its not like my training can hurt me. I've been practicing my routine in a t-shirt, but in light of the forecast I've started practicing in NBA jerseys again. I wonder if people would be open to competing earlier in the day, so we're not competing during peak heat. Though it sounds like Derek has been training in those conditions, so maybe he'd want to do that to gain an advantage.
I didn't play a lot this weekend, since it was my 1 year wedding anniversary. That ended up being really fun though, and good for me mentally/emotionally too. I got in a quick session Saturday morning that went very well, and Sunday I didn't play at all, but we walked over 5 miles, so at least I wasn't a total bum exercise wise. My plan is to play today through Thursday, take Friday off completely, then hit the tournament as hard as I can. My main goals are to do my finals routine dropless and to win routines. I guess the hope is that if I hit dropless it would improve my chances of winning overall. But I also wouldn't be surprised if the heat makes routine finals a sloppy dogfight where nobody manages dropless, in which case I'd be happy to take any win no matter how ugly. I'm not sure if I'll do Circle or other events...I'll have to see how my body reacts to the heat and make a judgment based on that.
Since USO looks to be pretty small, I'm planning on doing 2 different routines. At Worlds I'll likely just do one routine all three rounds, but for USO I think I'll mix it up, since cuts probably won't be too bad. I did a few runthroughs of my alternate routine over the weekend, and they went OK. Its a weird balance in that I don't want to spend too much time working on it, but at the same time I don't want to risk getting cut because its not well-developed enough either. One positive of practicing it though, is that its good stamina practice for my primary routine. I'm not overly worried about it.
Having gone through the process of developing 2 routines over the past month and a half really got me thinking about coaching. It's weird to me that footbag lacks coaches, especially since its so hard to learn the basics of our sport. Then you look at routines, where even advanced players struggle to put together well-choreographed, well-planned routines. I make a point to film all my practice routines and study them, but even that is delayed feedback, and I'm not getting an outside perspective either. It makes me wonder how good our routines could be if we had dedicated coaches in the sport. This article is a bit of a long read, but raises similar questions.
Here's a vid from my Saturday session. I spent most of the time working on routines, but I also got a few good strings. The two biggest highlights for me were hitting one of my better nemeses to date, and also playing out of clownface with an uptime set. That's the first time I've ever done an uptime set out of any hard furious trick, so it felt like a milestone.
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boyle
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Re: Fanzine
Awesome stuff with the furious. What was the big change that made furious seem achievable? Was it just something that you had avoided over the years, putting it in the "too hard" basket?
Liked that first run too. Seems like you are well prepared for the upcoming tournament season. Who else are you up against up there?
Liked that first run too. Seems like you are well prepared for the upcoming tournament season. Who else are you up against up there?
Re: Fanzine
I hit my first furious tricks around 2002, and was hitting them off and on ever since. The problem for me was that my sets weren't popping...I could get enough height for janis and to eke out furies, but never with enough height to do anything good with them. I played around with a bunch of techniques (whirling stepping, stepping quantum, etc.) but none with much success. Then in January of 2014 I posted a video with furious, and somebody pointed out that my set leg was hitting the ground earlier than most people's. I studied the vid, and sure enough they were right. Gory detail in my blog here: https://modified.in/footbag/viewtopic.p ... start=2610boyle wrote:What was the big change that made furious seem achievable? Was it just something that you had avoided over the years, putting it in the "too hard" basket?
Long story short, once I realized this problem I adjusted my technique, and finally got it so I was getting real pop and height off the set. Now I think of the set as a pogo set melding into a wonton set, and it works great on one side. Unfortunately, I still haven't figured it out on flip. Maybe because that side is weak pogo and weak wonton. Anyway, the big change for me on furious was filming and studying the film, and once I identified the main problem, I was able to make adjustments.
I think the way Evan Gatesman would answer this (which I think is the correct answer), is that I'm up against myself. It doesn't matter who else is at USO, or how well they hit their routines. I'm competing against myself. Did I train hard enough to give myself a good shot? Can I make adjustments on the fly? Can I keep a good mental attitude throughout comp? All of that is the real competition I'm facing. The goal is to compete against myself and win, and hopefully if I succeed in doing that I will also win the tournament. But the key is to win the competition with myself.boyle wrote: Seems like you are well prepared for the upcoming tournament season. Who else are you up against up there?
The answer you were probably looking for though is that Penske, Landes, and Bear will also be competing. From a betting standpoint, I think the four of us would be the podium favorites.
Had a mixed bag session yesterday. I did 2 routine runthroughs, getting the first with one drop and the second dropless. The one drop was solid too, as I recovered from the drop well mentally, which is a good skill to develop. I also footed a new (to me) furious 6 add, which I'll try and hit after USO. The only downside to the session, was I pulled a neck muscle. Thankfully, it doesn't feel like a strong pull, and I feel optimistic I'll be ready by USO. Good reminder to be diligent with hydration and sleep hygiene. I still plan on training today, though I will probably make it an easier session than normal. Just got to listen to my body and not make things worse before comp.
Here's a recent vid, showing off the dramatic stormy skies we've been getting. I took some combo/concept inspiration from Hogan's recent revup stuff: Stoked to see everybody this weekend!
Re: Fanzine
Glad I didn't overreact. 2 days later, and I feel 90% back to normal. I still can't look all the way to the right, but even if I don't heal any more between now and USO, I don't think it'd affect my playing. I was able to play yesterday, and it didn't really affect me. I'm optimistic I'll be at or close to 100% by the weekend.C-Fan wrote: The only downside to the session, was I pulled a neck muscle. Thankfully, it doesn't feel like a strong pull, and I feel optimistic I'll be ready by USO.
The heat has broken in Denver, but not in Portland. In a weird twisted way, I kind of wish it was still super hot here, as I feel that'd help me train for conditions in Portland. Given that my only goals at USO are related to routine finals (dropless, hopefully win), I might scratch from the other events if the heat is really bad on Saturday. I'd prefer to compete in everything, but I may have to pick my battles to give myself a chance at the goals that matter.
Routine practice is still going well. More often than not I'm getting dropless on first try, which is good for my confidence. My routine this year is harder than past years' ones (7 fives!), so building that confidence is key. I've also tried to make a point to hit it dropless in a variety of conditions (e.g. in a tanktop and in a shirt, at the start of a session and at the end, on hot days and windy days, using my green Ivan as primary then the red one, etc.). My thinking is that this will prepare me for whatever conditions I might face this summer. Too hot for a t-shirt? No problem, I've gone dropless in a tanktop. Floor the same color as one of my bags? No problem, I've gone dropless using the other as a primary. And so on, and so on. Hopefully this training pays off.
Here's a video from my past couple sessions. In one of them I made a new friend, and taught him head stall to back stall. I was also stoked on the run with all the reverse swirling tricks bsos:
In 21 hours I check in for my flight, which means I'll physically be in Portland in less than 2 days. Getting pumped!
Re: Fanzine
I'm still waiting for the day someone says this and then attempts Alpine Boulderbeater or something like thatC-Fan wrote: My routine this year is harder than past years' ones (7 fives!), so building that confidence is key.
I hate bad form and I'm a hypocrite.
Vojta
Vojta
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Lycanthrope
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Re: Fanzine
What do you guys think has been the biggest trick ever hit in routine? The first thing that comes to my mind is tatw by vasek. Stepping whirling swirl by Milan was pretty huge.
Evan 'OP' Gatesman
Post-USO
I was really hoping to do a proper write up of USO, but at this stage I don't know if I can. This year the 5 week period from June 20-end of July is just a killer. Footbagwise I have USO and Worlds during 2 of those weeks, relationshipwise I have our 1st wedding anniversary and the wife's birthday, and workwise I'm smack in the middle of inspection season, which is my busiest time of the year. Throw in random homeowner tasks/problems, and its a bit overwhelming. I feel like I can't focus on any one thing as well as I want to, so its like I'm getting B pluses on all these tasks instead of As. Its frustrating cause I know I could do a lot better across the board if everything wasn't dumping on me all at the same time. 
So yeah, the trick I was stoked about was blurrier swirl. I had hit it on both sides a few times before, but never on the same day. I'm also not sure if I had filmed both in HD in good light, so that's nice to have for posterity for myself, especially since I'm pretty sure I invented the trick (back in January 2004). I liked the other players' submissions, especially Ianek's link and Sick 3. I just wish more people would have submitted.
I'll try and write up a quick USO recap later this week, but no promises. Not much new since USO...its been raining non-stop in Denver pretty much since we got back, which has made it tough to train. Really been trying to focus on routines, though I may start crosstraining by running with the wife.
Video and results of this were released last night:C-Fan wrote: BFF: Paul is hosting a competition called "Best Foot Forward" which sounded cool to me.
While I don't generally think of myself as a very both-sided player, I was very happy with my submissions and think they'll score well. The sick one was especially gratifying, as it's a trick I've only hit a handful of times on each side, and never both sides in the same day (or year even?). .
So yeah, the trick I was stoked about was blurrier swirl. I had hit it on both sides a few times before, but never on the same day. I'm also not sure if I had filmed both in HD in good light, so that's nice to have for posterity for myself, especially since I'm pretty sure I invented the trick (back in January 2004). I liked the other players' submissions, especially Ianek's link and Sick 3. I just wish more people would have submitted.
I'll try and write up a quick USO recap later this week, but no promises. Not much new since USO...its been raining non-stop in Denver pretty much since we got back, which has made it tough to train. Really been trying to focus on routines, though I may start crosstraining by running with the wife.
Re: Post-USO
Made it through the wife's bday weekend, and did pretty well with that. So at least that's one thing off the list. Work and the house are still overwhelming, and just in general I feel like the universe is trying to make everything in my life as unlucky and difficult as possible. Case in point:C-Fan wrote: This year the 5 week period from June 20-end of July is just a killer. Footbagwise I have USO and Worlds during 2 of those weeks, relationshipwise I have our 1st wedding anniversary and the wife's birthday, and workwise I'm smack in the middle of inspection season, which is my busiest time of the year.
What the fuck. This is STILL going on. What total bullshit. I either have to play first thing in the morning on a weekend and its 90+ degrees out, or I'm guaranteed a rainout after work. I bet we've had more days of rain this summer than the Pacific Northwest has. I've been rained out 3 sessions in a row now, and Worlds is less than 2 weeks away now. How the fuck am I supposed to train? I've been trying to play in my basement, but its darker than a dungeon down there. As if that wasn't demotivating enough, they announced judges for Worlds, and its clear I'm going to have to do A+ performances to beat a a lot of players who do worse performances. I really hope Taishi and I don't draw Dexter as a judge in the early rounds, cause given his racist track record, there's no way we get a fair chance.C-Fan wrote: Not much new since USO...its been raining non-stop in Denver pretty much since we got back, which has made it tough to train. .
Here's a vid of some post USO shred.
Re: Fanzine
Abysmal weather continues. I'm doing my best to get in sessions where I can, but oftentimes I only have enough time to warm up and do 1 or 2 routines before I'm rained out. It's hard to get a rhythm. I'm still getting dropless runthroughs, but I feel my confidence isn't where I want it to be at this stage. If I can get a few real sessions before Worlds, where I can play for an hour and really break a sweat, that'd be huge.
In good equipment news, I was able to buy a new pair of G-Units in my size off eBay. They are the white LA version, and they were $78 total. Happy to pay that in 2015, for a new pair in my size. They arrived and look fine. I'm half tempted to mod them and see if I can break them in by Worlds, since my current pair are falling apart quickly. I feel like it'd be a risk to switch to new equipment at such late stage, but I also worry about the insteps of my current pair making it through Worlds. It also could be a big deal to have shoes with tread, considering comp is likely inside a gym. Ach. Timing has been a problem in my life lately.
In other equipment news, Red is making Team USA jerseys for the American players. Super cool. I was really hoping to either get 3.14 or the pi symbol as my number, but it turns out they can't do either. I had to pick a number in a hurry, so I went with zero. It was the closest I could think of to a number with similar mathematical elegance and uniqueness to pi.
Hopefully I can ramp up my training between now and CPH, and as I do so feel stronger and more confident. This may be my last Worlds where I have the time to really train, so I'm doing everything I can to avoid having the weather hurt my chances.
In good equipment news, I was able to buy a new pair of G-Units in my size off eBay. They are the white LA version, and they were $78 total. Happy to pay that in 2015, for a new pair in my size. They arrived and look fine. I'm half tempted to mod them and see if I can break them in by Worlds, since my current pair are falling apart quickly. I feel like it'd be a risk to switch to new equipment at such late stage, but I also worry about the insteps of my current pair making it through Worlds. It also could be a big deal to have shoes with tread, considering comp is likely inside a gym. Ach. Timing has been a problem in my life lately.
In other equipment news, Red is making Team USA jerseys for the American players. Super cool. I was really hoping to either get 3.14 or the pi symbol as my number, but it turns out they can't do either. I had to pick a number in a hurry, so I went with zero. It was the closest I could think of to a number with similar mathematical elegance and uniqueness to pi.
Hopefully I can ramp up my training between now and CPH, and as I do so feel stronger and more confident. This may be my last Worlds where I have the time to really train, so I'm doing everything I can to avoid having the weather hurt my chances.