When we're 40

Senor Grommet · Post by **Senor Grommet** » 10 Sep 2004 22:01

The sport of freestyle footbag is ever progressing. Moves are becoming more demanding, more complex, faster, and harsher on the body. What will be the repercussions of this sport on our bodies as we grow older? Will our legs be mangled? Will we be able to walk when were middle- aged, like 40 y.o. non-footbag players do? What will be the toll of 15 years of hardcore freestyle footbag on young legs? Thoughts on this subject are welcome.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » 10 Sep 2004 22:03

Depends how your body reacts to it. I mean look at Richie he is like 32-35 I think and he still rips. I think it will come down to how you take care of your body. I think once Vasek has hit about 10 years he might not be able to play anymore. Just cause the stuff he is doing is so damn crazy.

King Monkey · Post by **King Monkey** » 10 Sep 2004 23:21

This is something i think about sometime, i think its an important topic but i try to avoid it because its pretty worrying and depressing. Its hard to guage the effects of footbag on the body and their repercussions, because at the moment it feels good and we can still do whatever we like. The things im most concerned about are my knees and spine. I get back pains every couple of mornings, some days worse that others. I dont get knee pain at all but im imagine its not great for the joints, doing all this cool stuff.

I think you can lessen the effects of the damage by playing smart and not doing things you really arent designed for. If you work on your style and form so that things dont hurt to do it, then i think you will last longer.
And remember that even if you are forced out of the sport, there are still many avenues to be pursued including competition organisation, sport promotion, forming representative organisations and clubs, filming footbag all over the world and making videos.

KronoKicker · Post by **KronoKicker** » 11 Sep 2004 01:06

I can see myself having some problems with my legs when I get older from the running I used to do and footbag. My knees are already a problem, which will most likely develop into arthritis, and my shin splints will probably only get worse. But on the plus side our hearts, lungs, mind, and muscles should definitely benefit from footbag.

zachatree · Post by **zachatree** » 11 Sep 2004 07:40

i have also given this some thought, im pretty new 3 months of shreding... so i get shin splints EVERY MORNING even if i take a break for 3 days i still have some pain in my legs, but walking around buy mid morning there gone, or i do some stretchs befor school, or so on. I really hope that one day there isnt a end, i hope that i can keep progressing with out problems, althogh i dont see my self being a hardcore shreder at the age of 35 i think ill still kick, and alot, just think that around 35ish id start to cool it down a little bit an not try hiting things that i can tell are bad on my legs. But this sports like good candy, very addictive, and if im still shreding at the age of 35 im gessing ( god bless ) that i would be very good, and stoping/slowing down would be very hard, bc the fun of this sport to me is to progress. i dont know if this will make much sence to any one, but there is my thoghts.

another thing i think about tho, by the time im 20 there will be many older shreders in there 40s so i will have the addvantiage of seeing how shred affects them when im 20, so... all be educated i gess.

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 11 Sep 2004 07:43

How is Kenny doing?

I can foresee all my footbag playing combined with my 15+ years of skateboarding experience playing a role in some horribly painful years to come.

From repeatedly tweaking my ankles skating and now shredding they crack like crazy everytime I step, my knees are whack too.

yay![/list]

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » 11 Sep 2004 07:59

Yah,bad knees are a problem in my whole family. My grandpa just had his re-placed just a year ago. I am only 13 and my kness seem like they are all ready shot. And skateboarding didn't help me at all, my ankles are messed. But I have been doing excerises that focus on the ankle,so hopefully I can re-build some muscle and strength in them.

Atom · Post by **Atom** » 11 Sep 2004 08:40

well i'm 21.....with only a year of freestyle under my belt....and I think I will know exactly when i'm done.....and when i say that I am meaning that i am different from everyone.....for example....my mother is 41 with a replaced hip already, and the arthritic bones of an 85 y.o.....and I have an uncle who is 52 and could outlast me at almost anything....so i think we shouldn't worry about 40...just about tomorow....if that makes sence to anyone lol

ShredPirate · Post by **ShredPirate** » 11 Sep 2004 12:19

well i just got back into judo, and i believe that if i continue to use judo as a cross-trainer (and vice-versa), i'll be much better off in the long run. i'll have well developed muscles which will take all the landing impact for you, instead of your ligaments and bones. and muscle is the fastest to heal out of the three. i think vasek has a style that emphasizes using the muscle of his legs to prevent pain in the future.

Splint · Post by **Splint** » 11 Sep 2004 12:43

Moved this on over to General Footbag since it's not really and advanced freestyle topic

Iain · Post by **Iain** » 11 Sep 2004 12:57

mosher wrote:How is Kenny doing?

i overheard him talking with i think steve saying that he can't do any whirls or double dex's, so for now he's only playing net untill it heals.

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 11 Sep 2004 14:54

That's harsh.

I guess no whirring swirls for now, eh?

david · Post by **david** » 11 Sep 2004 16:37

that comment was made becuase he tweaked his knee, not becuase hes old. he just got injured.

i dont think age is going to affect us. look at pete irish. he is like 34 and playign the best of his life. greg nelson has been playing 20 years and is still in good shape. i think you can last a long time in this sport if you just use good judgement and take care of your body.

Senor Grommet · Post by **Senor Grommet** » 11 Sep 2004 17:15

Dave,
what I mean is this:

Mr. Irish and Mr. Schultz havent been hitting moves like blurry torque marius, fury, bladerunner, e-walk etc. since they were 15 or 16. The game was much "easier" back then. The best players could maintain guiltless play for 20 contacts using what are now considered to be bails and non-genuine moves. Now, in two years, the average player seems to be at the level and already learning very difficult tricks. Where as the older pros have hadf about 5-7 years of hitting crazy hard moves, our generation will have 12-15. That is a lot more punishment on our bodies.

zachatree · Post by **zachatree** » 11 Sep 2004 17:59

At least david has a positive out look

Juana · Post by **Juana** » 11 Sep 2004 18:35

Good topic...one i contemplate a lot now that my body doesn't seem to like footbag like it used to. I've been hacking since I was 8 and freestyling since I was 18 or 19. Just turned 30 and have noticed a lot of effects of footbag on my body over the last 2 years. Some people like Peter Irish are the exception and not the rule...and perhaps Richie and others too. Most everyone I know who has kicked seriously for 10+ years has some type of pain, injury or other issue caused by freestyle. A lot of us who can't give it up have eliminated certain tricks or changed our form or style to be able to continue to play pain/injury-free. For me, one injury is usually replaced by another and I'm generally very strong, athletic and not injury prone. I've been a hardcore trail-runner, mtn biker, skier, snowboarder and soccer player in the past and none of these have caused me any problems...only freestyle footbag has. even when I'm amidst a footbag-related injury, if I do any other sports on the side doesn't bother me at all.

somethings I"ve lucked out on...I had excrutiating shin splints from footbag from about age 24-27. while kicking on wood surfaces avoiding pavement at all costs, using good insoles, doing special strengthening exercises, applying arnica and ice all helped a *little*...the thing that finally made them go away after 3 years was a major revelation -- my socks and how tight i laced my shoes!! I think i heard kenny mention about the socks and I had noticed that my shin splints were worse when I played in certain socks but hadn't made the connection until i heard kenny mention it somewhere. my nice super padded expensive sports socks turned out to be the problem. when i wear a thinner sock with more room for circulation i don't seem to get the shin splints. nice!

alex had severe tendonitis in his foot from too much footbag. while dr's, ice and time off helped, what finally soved his problem was lacing his shoes looser. his tendonitis was from lacing his lavers too tight.

things like knee problems and hip problems are a little more serious and difficult to treat. you don't want to mess up your joints! for me, skooling atomic tricks messed my hip up. for alex, single-legged double dexes and whirling motions messed his knees up. some time off and then avoiding tricks that cause the problem seems to help. when your young you can get away with pushing your body. when you get older you start thinking a little differently, like...do i love playing footbag soooooo much that I would risk painful arthritis or knee surgery. hmmmmmmm...

WHat I'm curious about is the younger generation of of footbaggers. I start kicking when i was 18 or 19...my body was mostly done developing. what will be the effects of kickers that begin playing before or during puberty? do you think this makes the effects of footbag on your body more or less than if you started when you were older and finished growing...which is the case for most of us "old skoolers"

hmmmmmmmm....

HG · Post by HG » 11 Sep 2004 19:32

thats a good point you have with the whole starting to shred before puberty

i am 15 years old, and i have not hit puberty. i am 4' 9" and about 80 pounds. i am thinking that as my body gets used to freestyling, it will adapt through puberty. i think your theory is very tangible, and seems realistic.

i know that my body hasnt changed much since like, 3rd grade, and im a freshman in high school now. sure ive gotten a bit taller, and grown a bit, but i have not hit my growth spurt.

maybe to avoid later injuries in footbag, you have to start at an early enough age to give your body a "warning"

you brought up a very valid point.

thank you!

crazydwarf · Post by **crazydwarf** » 11 Sep 2004 19:40

I don't konw isn't it usualy worse for your body to do stuff that might mess up joints and stuff when your still growing, cause they're softer and stuff. Don't know, all I know is that I have amazing luck, I have never had shin splints in my life and I hope I never do cause they sound horrible.

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 11 Sep 2004 19:43

It seems like one of the problems is a general lack of resistance training. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that a lot of what you develop in footbag is the ability to follow the bag mentally and the twitch muscles requires, and of course the coordination. Whoever was saying that Vasek's style emphasizes muscle strength... Well, that's probably why Vasek is so good and is still improving. I think what we need is a training regimen specifically designed for footbag. Something I have little knowledge about, sadly.

Juana · Post by **Juana** » 11 Sep 2004 19:45

yeah, shin splints suck, but i like them compared to bad knees or hip. you can kick on really bad shin splints/stress fractures and when they warm up you don't notice them so much until you cool down (ouch!) when i have a bad knee or hip, i can't kick on it at all...it just hurts and just feels wrong to be pushing it. if i had a choice, i would go with the shin spints.

Actually, if i had a choice, I'd have Peter Irish's body type -- i haven't heard him complain of a single injury and he has kicked in some of the shittiest most worn-out shoes ever.