Fanzine

[Ryan_Morris]

Sick LOTD combos! (pun intended)

Top post! Paintings seem to be the norm here, but on a whim I googled "hackysack painting" and this was among the top results.

[boyle]

That is even better than a painting!

I was out of action with a sore neck but I'm feeling a lot better now, so I will try some of those links and drills.

[Muffinman]

I think part of the problem with drill of the day was just the sheer amount of STUFF happening during Joulu every single day:
-Joulukalenteri itself
-Intermediate LOTD
-Advanced LOTD
-DOTD

And then all of the posts for these moving up and down in the discussion thread of the FB group made it hard to find posts and keep up with everything with all the noise and non-Joulu content happening simultaneously as well. I feel like if Modified was still active and all of the Joulu content was posted in a single top post more people would have been contributing and discussing all of the above. I did the first handful of LOTDs but then just lost track of everything, particularly because of the nebulous nature of FB posts. Too bad because I know you put a lot of energy into yours just like Nathan did with his.

Would love to hear more podcasts. I've never listened to a podcast before yours and I was absolutely riveted by every moment of every episode. Please do more when you're able! Did you only ever do them in person? Have you considered doing more over, say, Skype to get a wider cast of interviews? These are something else that would be amazing to add to a hypothetical footbag archives.

[C-Fan]

That is even better than a painting!

Agreed. When I saw that Ryan got top post, I really hoped he would do a TPP. When I opened the thread and saw that photo of Fogle, I laughed out loud. Well done.

I think part of the problem with drill of the day was just the sheer amount of STUFF happening during Joulu every single day:
-Joulukalenteri itself
-Intermediate LOTD
-Advanced LOTD
-DOTD

I do wonder if the formatting of the Facebook posts also reduced participation. Most days the way the Joulu posts appeared on my Facebook, the links for both LOTDs would appear, but I'd have to click on "see more" to expand the post to show the Drill of the Day. I tried to keep the DOTDs somewhat updated on Modified, but I'm not sure how many people frequent that area anyway.

Would love to hear more podcasts. I've never listened to a podcast before yours and I was absolutely riveted by every moment of every episode. Please do more when you're able! .

The Symposium Podcast never really left my mind. I stopped doing them pretty much because they took up so much time to produce, and basically got zero reaction from the community. Then once the baby arrived, I had even less time, so it was kind of a non-starter. I tried doing the first 2 pods over Skype, but had a bunch of technical difficulties that way getting good audio quality, so all pods after the second one were done in person. I have audio for 2 pods I never released, which I'd still like to edit and release one day. I also identified somebody to take over the Symposium, though I'm still working on getting him the keys to the kingdom. It'd be nice to see it continue on without me (though my theme song would have to be used forever).

I think I've had 3 sessions since my last post. Yesterday's session I didn't hit much, and just tried to enjoy moving around. I'm still sick, so it's tough to feel real good when I'm hacking up phlegm after/during each run. I had fun doing some double spins, but I didn't film anything noteworthy all session. My session before that I just went for weird tricks I don't normally do, and that was a lot of fun. I got some footage, which I still need to edit up. The session before that I met up with Daniel Chacon from Costa Rica, who was in town seeing family. Nice guy. I basically spent those 90 minutes just giving him tips on basics. I think he found it helpful. I basically didn't play that session, as I thought my time would be more valuable coaching him than playing for myself.

Crud, I already used that video. Here's one from a year ago. Crazy to think my son didn't exist then.

[C-Fan]

I'm in Vegas for work for the week. I used to really look forward to my Vegas trips as it meant shredding and hanging out with Evan, and I didn't feel guilty about being away from home for a week. Now though, Evan isn't here and I'm leaving Haley home to take care of my baby son and my dog by herself for a week. Hard to shake the guilt of being away from the fam, especially since I know how much work it is even when the two of us are home.

I brought my shred gear on this trip, even though I wasn't sure I'd have the time or motivation to play. When I left Denver on Sunday it was snowing and when I landed in Vegas it was sunny and 70 degrees. Felt obliged to play simply because of the weather and it was a pretty positive session. I play so infrequently now that I don't really have playing goals, which is in itself kind of liberating.

I actually played in Denver right before this trip. Par for the course, the temperature dropped in the short time it took me to leave my house and get to my shred spot. While that's annoying, I also shouldn't be surprised that its cold outside in Colorado in February either. Didn't hit much, but I did have fun with some reverse swirling stuff:


Even if I don't play much on this trip, I did take advantage of my down time to do a couple footbag maintenance things, like washing my footbags and cleaning off my g-units.

I'm still struggling with my future with footbag. Some days I really feel like my serious playing days are over, and that makes me sad. Other days I could almost convince myself that I have a couple more tournament wins in me and that it'd be worth sticking around so I could close out my career on a better note than the disaster that was Worlds 2017. I still sometimes have footbag dreams where I'm competing, and I definitely still catch myself occasionally air-shredding while I'm waiting in line. I still have my USO gold medals for circle (2012) and routines (2013), which I always planned on framing as a souvenir of my competitive days. I still haven't done that, and I half wonder if that's because I fear it'd officially mark the end of my competitive career. Like, as long as I don't frame them that means there's a chance I could pick up another. While this all may sound ridiculous, I do think other people go through something similar when they approach the end of their sport careers. Like, in the NBA you aren't officially retired until you turn in your retirement paperwork. Some players turn it in immediately and their official retirement lines up with their functional retirement. Other players though wait several years before officially retiring, even when its clear they probably couldn't come back (Iverson was like this). I dunno. I don't have any clear answers. I guess the good news is that I'm not in any rush to come to any conclusions.

[boyle]

It's also different in footbag (and I guess in any individual sport, say something like tennis) in that in a team sport, when you get old and towards retirement, teams are less inclined to sign you, or the contracts will get smaller etc. In footbag there is not even a ranking where you might fall down to 1000 in the rankings if you don't play any tournaments. There's nothing really to show that you are officially active/inactive/retired/injured.

I don't think there's really any mechanism to do this either, as the tournaments are about just turning up and being there. I say don't frame those medals quite yet! Are they going to do the USO in Vegas again next year?

[Muffinman]

Are you thinking that you will at some point stop playing entirely?
That saddens me. I guess I can't think about footbag in the context of having a family because I don't plan on ever having kids, but it's hard for me to understand someone like yourself being around for so long just dropping off cold turkey at some point Kind of like players like Matt Cross who just stopped playing.

[Tjuggles]

I think we are all lucky to still be kicking at our ages, considering that so many others have had to stop way earlier than us. I think too even if he did stop cold turkey, he will still be lurking around on the forums/FB/tourneys, giving his opinion to continue the sport forward. At least I hope so!

[Ryan_Morris]

I think there is a difference between retiring from competiton and retiring from footbag as a whole. Adam Kieth, for example, has no plans to stop playing despite having a family and a job. In fact, he makes very specific plans for footbag and strength training and has said he wants to play as long as he is physically able. However, I don't think competition is as much of a driving force in his motivation as it is for you, Ken, if my assumptions based on your blog posts are valid. Certainly you compete at a much higher level.

Of course, I'm much younger and not a high-level competitor, so I don't have the same perspective as you and the other older guys here on Modified. But it seems to me that whether or not you decide to compete again you could still find enjoyment in footbag until your legs fall off.

Also, badass revup > far revup!

[C-Fan]

Even if I don't play much on this trip,

Well that didn't turn out to be the case. I ended up playing 3 of the 5 days I was here, including back to back sessions on Facebook Live. I don't think I've played this much footbag in a week since probably before Worlds, and even then it wasn't as intense as this. That was a pleasant surprise on this trip.

In footbag there is not even a ranking where you might fall down to 1000 in the rankings if you don't play any tournaments.

If somebody off the street learned to do ATW on both legs, they'd probably already be in the top 1000 footbaggers.

I think we are all lucky to still be kicking at our ages, considering that so many others have had to stop way earlier than us.

Super agree. Definitely not taking that for granted.

Also, badass revup > far revup!

Thank you! I thought that was a pretty neat combo you don't see everyday.

As I mentioned above, I did my first 2 Facebook live sessions ever. Overall I thought they went well. It's definitely a bit annoying you can't play music on your phone at the same time you stream. I think music would have helped me. I definitely felt out of shape, but playing live in front of a camera also motivated me to push a little harder on my strings. While I'm not in great game shape now, I did kind of like that FB live gives an unvarnished picture of where my game currently is. Like, I could totally edit a video where I look more consistent and better than I actually am, but the FB live is the raw unfiltered deal. I feel like the only thing really bad about the FB live videos, is that they eventually disappear. On that note, here's a link to my first one: https://www.facebook.com/groups/footbag ... 2722380921

[boyle]

I've never done a Facebook live session. I don't know if the timing would work that great for people to watch. I also prefer just getting out those short bursts with an Instagram video.

[C-Fan]

Yeah, the FB Live model definitely has some unique pros and cons.

Pros:
Interaction with audience
Excitement of watching something live as it happens
Can publish right after airing

Cons:
Disappears after a while, unlike a YT video
Some people who would watch a 2 minute video of session highlights won't watch an unedited video of the session
Can't hide a bad session live, though you can opt to not publish it for later viewing
Exhausting, as you have pressure to always be playing or doing something of interest

I suppose some of those cons could actually be considered pros in a way though. One way around the con of disappearing content would be to film with the GoPro next to the iphone, so you can preserve the content longer. I have to say, the ability to publish immediately and not worry about editing is very appealing. I've been sitting on a bunch of clips spanning several sessions, largely because editing it is a pain (still using old laptop to edit) and I don't have a lot of time these days. So basically the clips I have that have the best chance to see the light of day, are the equivalent of Stephen Barnes one shots where I get a good run/trick right after turning the camera on. Not always the easiest thing to do:



Haven't had much opportunity to play lately. I've been fighting another day care cold the baby brought home, and we've been dealing with a slew of baby illnesses as well. I have another work trip next week, so hopefully the baby recovers before then. Ideally I'd be able to recover a bit too while I'm on the road (more sleep, deeper sleep, maybe take some baths). I plan on bringing my shred gear so maybe I'll even do another FB live. I was thinking it could be fun to combine a FB live shred session with a Reddit-style "ask me anything" session. Maybe film it on the GoPro and later edit it into a vlog or something. We'll see; a lot of it will depend on if I'm over my cold by then to begin with.

[boyle]

Nice one on fairy twirl. It's always good when you start filming and get something straight away, but it's no good when you're trying to do so and keep dropping it.

We've been reasonably lucky with Nico over these last few years with illnesses and things, but I have a feeling we won't have the same luck the next time around. Let's see. The AMA style thing sounds like a cool idea. It's also a nice way to not have to be playing the whole time.

On the disappearing - I think you will still always be able to access it if you have the link, but it might not come up in searches etc. I'm not too sure about that.

[C-Fan]

Nice one on fairy twirl.

Thanks! That was my strong fairy and weak twirl, so my next session I wondered if I could do the other side with my strong twirl and weak fairy. I could! Granted, the fairy wasn't as deep as on strong side, but I'd still count it. I have it on video, but been too lazy/busy to get that online.

On the disappearing - I think you will still always be able to access it if you have the link, but it might not come up in searches etc. I'm not too sure about that.

Yeah, I don't know either. Definitely going to keep an eye on that.

I'm in Vegas for work again this week. I managed to get in 2 shreds, both on FB live again. First one I was pretty frustrated, mostly due to this fucking head cold that I can't shake, but also partly due to a bunch of technical difficulties with FB live. Apparently if you film in landscape, it doesn't show up to viewers in landscape but shows it sideways. How annoying and stupid. It also doesn't remember your previous settings when you stop a session and start a new one. Despite the headaches, I had fun talking with the people who joined the stream. I also hit stepping ss double pickup on both sides, and I suspect at least one side was new for me.

I got out of work early today, so I was able to have an outdoors shred. That was a treat. I also managed to get music to play during the FB live, which felt like a big win. Of course, once I got back to the hotel FB live flagged my stream for having copyrighted content, which is horseshit. Anyway, it looks like they haven't taken it down yet, so check it out if (while!) you still can:

https://www.facebook.com/somolinos/vide ... 925590413/

[Ryan_Morris]

I really enjoyed watching your live-stream sessions. The Michigan crew has done a few for our personal facebook group, and you're spot on with those pros and cons. We've also done video chat sessions with Justin Dale, Matt Kemmer, and Ben Babyak, which went okay, but there are still some issues to work out.

I don't know why you're having an issue with live-streaming in landscape because I have definitely done it before and the viewers did not see it sideways. Does your phone screen auto-rotate when you hold it horizontally, or do you have that feature switched off?

[C-Fan]

I never figured out what was the deal with the landscape vs. portrait problem with my Facebook live streams. It's a moot point now though since I deleted the Facebook app from my phone, so I won't be doing streams anymore. I'm actually leaning towards deleting Facebook altogether. The two things that have prevented me from doing so yet are:

1. I'd want to go through all my photos and save copies of my favorites. I anticipate that'd take a good chunk of time, which I have not had lately.
2. The footbag community on Facebook. Mostly just seeing the latest videos being posted, but also some of the private messaging with Facebook friends. If Modified were still active, this point wouldn't matter. Unfortunately, there's a lot of content that gets posted on Facebook that isn't reposted on Modified.

All that said, I probably will get around to backing up my photos, at which point I will either delete my account altogether or maybe set up a ghost account just for footbag, kind of like what Larry Workman/Lavander Williams did. We'll see.

Been catching some nice spring weather on weekends so far, which has enabled me to get in a couple outdoor sessions. I've mostly just dicked around with whatever concept interests me during my warmup, which has been liberating. Last year I spent every session just drilling routines, and that didn't even end up paying off (that fucking carpet...). Since the most I play these days is once a week, I also don't feel bad about overworking certain tricks/concepts even if I know I'll be sore for a few days. Cause why not? If I try whirring swirl 80 times in a row and hit it once, as long as I had fun doing so it's worth it. Even if I can't walk normally for a couple days.

I'm still struggling to find time to edit videos, a problem compounded by my lack of editing software on my primary laptop. I also noticed my GoPro has a flaw in the lens, so my video quality isn't as good on it as it used to be. I'm wondering if maybe I should start filming my sessions using my iPhone, and see if there's a way I can edit the videos right on there. That might motivate me to film and edit more if I could do so easily.

Here's a short vid I made from a session I had a week or two ago. I went into it wondering if I could mine some beasts out of the link of set plus motion to mindbender. So basically, could I do any 6 before that to get a cheap beast?



So the short answer is "yes." The longer answer is I'd like to hit some of those a bit tighter, but not sure I have the motivation or time to do that. If you're only counting "pure" beasts (no xdex, no inspins, etc.) then the shooting butterfly-stepping ss motion-mindbender would be my 53rd beast. If you count xdex (e.g. Fury would be a 6) then I'd be at 64 after that session.

In past years when I'd be in training for a tournament, I'd often take a month or two off from alcohol mostly just to feel like I was being disciplined. Last year I think I took off the 2 months before Worlds from booze. This year, I'm not planning on going to any tournaments and I'm really starting to feel like I may be easing out of the competitive phase of my footbag career. While this transition has been a challenge on a lot of levels, one thing I did find myself missing was that sense of discipline, that desire to push myself towards a goal. So while I don't have any competition coming up, I randomly decided to take a month off from drinking leading up to my birthday. I'm now 16 days into that goal, with 14 to go. Crazy to think I turn 38 this year.

[boyle]

I actually just mentioned to my wife yesterday, that over the weekend, I was able to have a footbag session, go to a sepak takraw tournament and then have another footbag session, none of which would happen without being on Facebook. So it is very useful for that sort of thing. Like you said, a lot of that information doesn't flow on to Modified or other non-Facebook channels.

I think the way you are playing at the moment is a good way to keep up motivation when you are not in training for something - go for what you are feeling on the day.

53 is a lot of beasts! I hope to get my count to 1 this year...

[Muffinman]

Awesome tricks as always.
Can't you just download your Facebook profile before deleting? Doesn't that save all images and everything? I guess it wouldn't save images of you posted by others though.

[C-Fan]

So while I don't have any competition coming up, I randomly decided to take a month off from drinking leading up to my birthday.

Made it to my birthday without drinking...and decided to keep pushing the streak. Today marks 6 weeks without a drink, a good streak of self-discipline that I'm proud about especially since it's not tied to any training goals this year. I think I'll keep pushing this a while longer. I'm only a couple weeks away from tying my streak from last year, when I was actively training for Worlds.

53 is a lot of beasts! I hope to get my count to 1 this year...

I should do a Vlog tutorial on hitting your first beast. It's really not too hard to hit just one beast. A lot of it comes down to energy/breath management, as well as finding links and tricks that you can execute on minimal energy/breath. Like, if you can find a 6-6 link you can do where you don't completely expend all your energy, and then you "bail" out of it with your easiest 6, then you've hit a beast. Using myself as an example, I've found that off of my right foot clipper I can mind bender even if I'm almost completely out of energy/breath, while off my left foot clipper I can usually eke out a spender even if my control or energy isn't 100%. So if I can link any 2 sixes and get to either of my clippers with even a smidge of breath left, that's usually enough to luck out a beast if I finish with one of those moves. Make sense?

Can't you just download your Facebook profile before deleting? Doesn't that save all images and everything?

Apparently, yes. Why am I not surprised I didn't know about such an easy solution? Man I'm bad at technology. I actually learned about this option like 2 days after my last post too. Anyway, I still have yet to delete FB, though I have pared down a lot of the info in my profile and pretty much halved the people on my friends list. I do still intend to delete my account entirely, but when I do I want people to have my phone number and email to stay in touch. There's an outside chance I change jobs in the next month or two, which would mean I'd change phone numbers as well. If that happens, I'd hate to quit FB now and give people my current number, only to change numbers 3 weeks later. If things work out, hopefully I get the new job, change phone numbers, then quit Facebook all in short succession.

Here's a video from a session I had a couple weeks back. I was pretty stoked about double spinning rake, since that's one of my hardest 0-dex tricks I've hit. Definitely in the same category for me as double spinning eclipse or spinning ducking spinning clipper.

[boyle]

Makes perfect sense on the first beast thing. I'm looking for something that lands me nicely on a left foot clipper to do a motion sickness, which would be the easiest for me - or, probably better, to be able to hit something following the motion sickness. It's a nice achievement though and something I think I can do this year.