Bob: I'm not aware of a trick name for pixie ducking ss mirage. Fun trick though!
Erik: Wow, thanks for the extensive write up on the GoPro! I think my biggest hangup with the GoPro models is the lack of a screen to check your shot framing during a shred, but based on what you're saying about the fisheye, it sounds like maybe I shouldn't worry too much about it? How does the separate LCD screen thing work? Looking at the current models, I'm trying to decide between the silver and the black. The black is $100 more expensive, but sounds like it can do slow mo very well, and shoots in higher quality. But you're pretty happy with the slow-mo on your model? I liked the quality in the video you linked, so if the silver can do that quality...ach, I need to do more research. I'll probably put off any purchase until after the honeymoon anyway.
Not much new on my end footbag wise. The wedding is 9 days away, so I've been doing a lot of errands to prep for it, which has cut into my playing time some. I've also felt a bit unmotivated to film since I lost the GoPro contest. I'm really fed up with the poor quality of my current camera, and I feel like I don't want to hit anything good on it if I'll just have to reshoot it once I get the new camera. I think my best bet is to spend my sessions between now and the wedding just playing for fun, maybe not even film, and then come back to furious once I get a GoPro or another proper camera.
One more quick note on furious. I was getting kinda down on myself and frustrated with my lack of progress on this set, but then I randomly stumbled on Bila Lavice on YT. I hadn't seen it in a couple years, but watching it again transported me to 2003, when I watched it repeatedly in the computer lab of the Japanese High School where I taught. Even 11 years later,despite the bad video quality, its still is a great video. The video was basically the coming out party for Vasek's furious ability.
[youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjg9_xPTeDY[/youtube]
Watching it in 2014 as I struggle to improve my own furious set, 2 things stood out to me. The first made me feel bad, but the second made me feel a lot more optimistic.
1. In the video its clear that Vasek is still in the early stages of mastering furious, but even then he was able to do flip furious. For some reason I can't do flip at all, which really annoys me. I'd really like to at least be able to get flip janis. Maybe I can work on this before I get my new camera.
2. The biggest furious tricks Vasek hits in this video are genesis and nemesis, both only on one side. In time, Vasek's furious sets improved and he was able to hit both of these tricks cleaner and on both sides, but back in 2003 I remember being blown away by the genesis/nemesis in this video. The thing that made me feel optimistic when I rewatched this video in 2014, is that I've hit better geneses and nemeses than any in Bila Lavice. They still don't meet my cleanliness standards for 2014, but if I could time travel to 2003 and rewatch BL in that computer lab with myself, I know the 2003 Ken would be THRILLED to learn I'd eventually hit those tricks, and hit them better than in that video.
Don't get me wrong; my goal of hitting a perfect nemesis is unchanged. My best nems and gens have been somewhere between thin and clean, but none have been undeniably textbook good. A perfect nemesis is still the goal, even if I only get it on film once. But while its easy to beat myself up every time I fall short of perfect, its also easy to forget that I've come a long way with furious, and that I should be proud of the progress I've made.
Here's a vid with bits from my last 3 sessions. I spent a lot of time chasing genesis over that span, I had one session cut short by a thunderstorm, and I was just straight bad for 2 sessions...so that's why there's so little footage from 3 sessions. Only thing I was really stoked on was the first trick in the video, which I had never done (or seen) before:
[youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QfCGJsY5uU[/youtube]
I'm not currently planning on taking footbag gear on the honeymoon, but I ordered new shoes for the trip...so depending on whether or not they work for footbag, we'll see. Our goal is to pack super light, so we ordered these shoes that are good for hiking and the beach, and dry super quickly. They might have some footbag potential, but if they don't then I'm OK taking a week off footbag anyway.
nemesis
