Props Ken!
Glad things are going your way! These are some nice solid moves and combos you're posting. Hope the job and gradschool applications come through.
cheers
Fanzine
May 14th, 2006
Went to the gym today, and had a chance to do a few dunks before the kids took over the court in their quest for tournament glory. I had nothing fancy dunkwise, but it was fun, and I don't think I pissed my body off at all. I played footbag for 45 minutes, which is a short session for me, but it went well. I played with my Carol bag the whole session, which is my floppiest bag. It was a conscious decision, since I wanted to play laid back. I tried to mentally picture Luis Monhollon's style, and even though I can't come close to emulating his style, I had a few runs and combos with trick selections that I don't usually do, which was fun.
Highlights:
*spinning clipper-reverse whirl bsos.
*barfly-blurriest both sides.
*pdx torque bsos, with a mid-string spinning whirl.
*DDD-PDLO bsos, pdx egg bsos, and blur-dim repeat all in the same run.
*drifter-pdx drifter-pdx torque bsos.
*whirligig-tomahawk
*other tomahawk-mullet-pdx torque.
The floppy bag definitely made some of these easier, but the main thing is I had fun. I'll likely be in Los Angeles in less than a week, so I'm thinking this week I should practice my string length more and forget about highlights for a while. I hope a few people will be able to make it out and play, since I haven't played with anybody since CSS7. Looking forward to it.
Went to the gym today, and had a chance to do a few dunks before the kids took over the court in their quest for tournament glory. I had nothing fancy dunkwise, but it was fun, and I don't think I pissed my body off at all. I played footbag for 45 minutes, which is a short session for me, but it went well. I played with my Carol bag the whole session, which is my floppiest bag. It was a conscious decision, since I wanted to play laid back. I tried to mentally picture Luis Monhollon's style, and even though I can't come close to emulating his style, I had a few runs and combos with trick selections that I don't usually do, which was fun.
Highlights:
*spinning clipper-reverse whirl bsos.
*barfly-blurriest both sides.
*pdx torque bsos, with a mid-string spinning whirl.
*DDD-PDLO bsos, pdx egg bsos, and blur-dim repeat all in the same run.
*drifter-pdx drifter-pdx torque bsos.
*whirligig-tomahawk
*other tomahawk-mullet-pdx torque.
The floppy bag definitely made some of these easier, but the main thing is I had fun. I'll likely be in Los Angeles in less than a week, so I'm thinking this week I should practice my string length more and forget about highlights for a while. I hope a few people will be able to make it out and play, since I haven't played with anybody since CSS7. Looking forward to it.
May 16th, 2006
So my California trip fell through, due to various reasons. It actually probably all worked out for the best, but I was still a bit of a letdown, cause I was looking forward to a change in environment. I haven't shredded with anybody else since CSS7. No idea when I'll next shred with somebody else.
I decided to re-take the GREs, which is Friday morning, so I may not play much these next couple days. It's been so incredibly hot out these days, that I only have about an hour a day when there's light out and it's not too hot. Because of this, I've started shredding at the local gym. It has the advantage that I can shower, use the steam room, use the whirlpool to massage my legs, and watch TV as I play in an air-conditioned environment. Unfortunately, it also has the drawback that lots of people talk to me, hack with me, etc. It's good exposure for the sport, and I'm always happy to teach, but I don't have much time to myself to really drill. On the other hand, having people around prevents me from losing my temper, and probably makes me extend my strings a few contacts.
Thanks to the Heat-Nets game, and more people than usual chatting me up, I only got something like 10 minutes of serious shred time. I was pretty happy though, cause I managed a few good highlights.
*food-mullet. My first time ever, and not that hard. I really should practice some 6 add links out of mullet, because I've hit a few 6-6 combos ending in mullet, and I can see it being a controlled middle link of a beast.
*spinning pdx eggbeater! My second time ever.
*juantomic butterfly, no seal. Stoked to get it within just a few tries, but I've definitely hit it better before. I'm excited that this set doesn't seem to hurt my body.
I came up with a comic book footbag riddle:
If Marvel Supervillains played footbag, who would hit this Sick 3: butterfly-opp butterfly-alpine blurry torque?
Ah, the nerdiness.
In good news, I've put all my eggs in the start-grad-school-in-fall basket, which may mean I can sneak in a footbag tourney or two this summer. At least, it's more likely than if I had started a job. On a related note, one of the jobs which didn't hire me, wrote me an email with the PS:
"We watched some internet video footage of you at the World Championships. You are phenomenal with the footbag. Absolutely jaw dropping amazing skill. Keep it up!"
That made me smile. It also made me happy Eli censored my Flipsider interview on my request, cause now I have proof that potential employers google my name to see what else I've done.
So my California trip fell through, due to various reasons. It actually probably all worked out for the best, but I was still a bit of a letdown, cause I was looking forward to a change in environment. I haven't shredded with anybody else since CSS7. No idea when I'll next shred with somebody else.
I decided to re-take the GREs, which is Friday morning, so I may not play much these next couple days. It's been so incredibly hot out these days, that I only have about an hour a day when there's light out and it's not too hot. Because of this, I've started shredding at the local gym. It has the advantage that I can shower, use the steam room, use the whirlpool to massage my legs, and watch TV as I play in an air-conditioned environment. Unfortunately, it also has the drawback that lots of people talk to me, hack with me, etc. It's good exposure for the sport, and I'm always happy to teach, but I don't have much time to myself to really drill. On the other hand, having people around prevents me from losing my temper, and probably makes me extend my strings a few contacts.
Thanks to the Heat-Nets game, and more people than usual chatting me up, I only got something like 10 minutes of serious shred time. I was pretty happy though, cause I managed a few good highlights.
*food-mullet. My first time ever, and not that hard. I really should practice some 6 add links out of mullet, because I've hit a few 6-6 combos ending in mullet, and I can see it being a controlled middle link of a beast.
*spinning pdx eggbeater! My second time ever.
*juantomic butterfly, no seal. Stoked to get it within just a few tries, but I've definitely hit it better before. I'm excited that this set doesn't seem to hurt my body.
I came up with a comic book footbag riddle:
If Marvel Supervillains played footbag, who would hit this Sick 3: butterfly-opp butterfly-alpine blurry torque?
Ah, the nerdiness.
In good news, I've put all my eggs in the start-grad-school-in-fall basket, which may mean I can sneak in a footbag tourney or two this summer. At least, it's more likely than if I had started a job. On a related note, one of the jobs which didn't hire me, wrote me an email with the PS:
"We watched some internet video footage of you at the World Championships. You are phenomenal with the footbag. Absolutely jaw dropping amazing skill. Keep it up!"
That made me smile. It also made me happy Eli censored my Flipsider interview on my request, cause now I have proof that potential employers google my name to see what else I've done.
May 20th, 2006
Had my first shred today since Tuesday (3 full days off). I had to take some time off for a few reasons, some good, some... we'll see. On Wednesday I played pick-up basketball at the local gym, and I had so much fun that I ended up playing for 3 straight hours. I kinda overdid it, but it felt great. I had the most fun when I played with some 14-15 year olds. I got pretty nostalgic about the high school basketball team I coached in Japan, and it was also nice to play different positions. When I play with older people (which I also did), I'm normally relegated to playing one of the guard positions, which I'm fine with, since that's likely my best position. But with the young kids I got to play power forward, getting position in the paint and scoring off hook shots. It was so much fun. At one point I was at the top of the key, and the opposition verbally dared me to shoot the three (since I had scored 80% of my points in the paint). I shrugged my shoulders, and casually knocked down the three. Booyah! The only downside of all this basketball was it took my muscles 2 days to recover, and at one point I ran into some folded metal bleachers, which bruised a rib. My muscles felt fine today, but that rib still is tender. If I had broke it though, I think I would know, so I'm just gonna give it another week to see how it progresses, and if it still hurts I'll go see a doctor.
The other reason I haven't played in a while is that I had to re-take the GREs (like the SATs for grad school) yesterday, so I was pretty busy studying. Luckily, all that study paid off: I scored a 770 math and a 790 verbal! Those scores are good enough that I should be able to do a year or a semester at wherever accepts me this summer, then transfer to a really good program.
Today's shred was pretty short, but that was on purpose. I was a little nervous about torqueing about, since my rib is still tender, so I only allotted one hour to play, and really took my time warming up. Once I was warm though, I didn't even notice the rib at all. My ankle feels 100% healed, which I'm ecstatic about. I played on a raquetball court, which was a bit slippery (even in G-Units), but made cool echo noises.
Highlights:
*pig-smog-smoke-pdx torque, first try.
*smoke bsos pretty easily, real clean.
*blurriest-matador for my first time, both sides, footed bsos.
*alpine spinal tap for my first time, sealed twice. Just as I had predicted, it is easier than alpine tapping drifter/dlo.
*atomic drifter-mullet, first try! Had tomahawk bsos and a fog in the sealing combo.
I ended the session on that last combo, as it was probably my best run of the day. Today I made it a point to go for normal runs after every few tries at a highlight. I want to get my string length and stamina back up to good levels, on the off-chance I hit any summer tournies. The top 3 tournaments I most want to attend this summer are: Worlds, Japanese Champs, and the Santa Cruz Jammy Jam. We'll see how things turn out.
Had my first shred today since Tuesday (3 full days off). I had to take some time off for a few reasons, some good, some... we'll see. On Wednesday I played pick-up basketball at the local gym, and I had so much fun that I ended up playing for 3 straight hours. I kinda overdid it, but it felt great. I had the most fun when I played with some 14-15 year olds. I got pretty nostalgic about the high school basketball team I coached in Japan, and it was also nice to play different positions. When I play with older people (which I also did), I'm normally relegated to playing one of the guard positions, which I'm fine with, since that's likely my best position. But with the young kids I got to play power forward, getting position in the paint and scoring off hook shots. It was so much fun. At one point I was at the top of the key, and the opposition verbally dared me to shoot the three (since I had scored 80% of my points in the paint). I shrugged my shoulders, and casually knocked down the three. Booyah! The only downside of all this basketball was it took my muscles 2 days to recover, and at one point I ran into some folded metal bleachers, which bruised a rib. My muscles felt fine today, but that rib still is tender. If I had broke it though, I think I would know, so I'm just gonna give it another week to see how it progresses, and if it still hurts I'll go see a doctor.
The other reason I haven't played in a while is that I had to re-take the GREs (like the SATs for grad school) yesterday, so I was pretty busy studying. Luckily, all that study paid off: I scored a 770 math and a 790 verbal! Those scores are good enough that I should be able to do a year or a semester at wherever accepts me this summer, then transfer to a really good program.
Today's shred was pretty short, but that was on purpose. I was a little nervous about torqueing about, since my rib is still tender, so I only allotted one hour to play, and really took my time warming up. Once I was warm though, I didn't even notice the rib at all. My ankle feels 100% healed, which I'm ecstatic about. I played on a raquetball court, which was a bit slippery (even in G-Units), but made cool echo noises.
Highlights:
*pig-smog-smoke-pdx torque, first try.
*smoke bsos pretty easily, real clean.
*blurriest-matador for my first time, both sides, footed bsos.
*alpine spinal tap for my first time, sealed twice. Just as I had predicted, it is easier than alpine tapping drifter/dlo.
*atomic drifter-mullet, first try! Had tomahawk bsos and a fog in the sealing combo.
I ended the session on that last combo, as it was probably my best run of the day. Today I made it a point to go for normal runs after every few tries at a highlight. I want to get my string length and stamina back up to good levels, on the off-chance I hit any summer tournies. The top 3 tournaments I most want to attend this summer are: Worlds, Japanese Champs, and the Santa Cruz Jammy Jam. We'll see how things turn out.
May 21st, 2006
Got in my longest shred in ages today. Something like 2.5+ hours, all with the Ilja. Hadn't played this long since my last shred at CSS7, where I was completely spent. My nuke sets felt surprisingly reliable all session, and jani also felt pretty good. I watched the "Penske Special" vid which was pretty inspiring. I keep seeing that nemesis in my head... so pretty. I started off the shred working on janiwalkers, then later I spent some time working on beastly links, but mostly I went for runs. I think my shred stamina is returning a bit. Overall it just felt real good to play so long, and not have to worry too much about getting home to do work. I'm almost completely done with my grad school apps, which was a very stressful experience.
OK, onto highlights:
*spin clip-gyro clip repeat to pdlo.
*ripwalk-sidewalk-matador-run. Both sides, nearly bsos.
*sumo bsos!
*jani-pdlo. Bsosed pdlo in the seal.
*jani-pdx egg. bsosed pdx egg in seal.
*"pdx" tap-smog.
*food-mullet-pdx mirage-run. I hit food-mullet a bunch of times, but kept going for (and dropping) pdx torque, so towards the end I just sealed it with pdx mirage so I could say I sealed it.
*blurry torque-mullet! New 6-6 combo.
*28 contacts of my Shred30 to a handcatch. All unique, scores 210.
I figured out a trick with food processor that made it easier to play out of. I think of the first dex like an original ripwalk, then focus all my energy on a quick blender. I make a real conscious effort to put as little energy and effort as possble on the step set, which gives you more power and control for the next trick. Using this method, I even got some stepping sets out of food. I've been thinking about possible beast combos, and I'm starting to wonder if mullet really is the best choice for me as the middle trick. I'm gonna continue skooling all of my 6es, try and make each one more efficient, and hopefully the most natural combo will present itself to me.
I also came up with a new Shred30, which is a bit harder than my old one, but the higher score offputs the risk I think. I still want to set a new personal record for myself in Shred30 in competition, or at the very least break 200 one more time. I also want to get a dropless routine (preferably at worlds) before I retire. Worlds...I looked at prices the other day, and I just don't know. I really want to go, but it may just not be in the cards.
Got in my longest shred in ages today. Something like 2.5+ hours, all with the Ilja. Hadn't played this long since my last shred at CSS7, where I was completely spent. My nuke sets felt surprisingly reliable all session, and jani also felt pretty good. I watched the "Penske Special" vid which was pretty inspiring. I keep seeing that nemesis in my head... so pretty. I started off the shred working on janiwalkers, then later I spent some time working on beastly links, but mostly I went for runs. I think my shred stamina is returning a bit. Overall it just felt real good to play so long, and not have to worry too much about getting home to do work. I'm almost completely done with my grad school apps, which was a very stressful experience.
OK, onto highlights:
*spin clip-gyro clip repeat to pdlo.
*ripwalk-sidewalk-matador-run. Both sides, nearly bsos.
*sumo bsos!
*jani-pdlo. Bsosed pdlo in the seal.
*jani-pdx egg. bsosed pdx egg in seal.
*"pdx" tap-smog.
*food-mullet-pdx mirage-run. I hit food-mullet a bunch of times, but kept going for (and dropping) pdx torque, so towards the end I just sealed it with pdx mirage so I could say I sealed it.
*blurry torque-mullet! New 6-6 combo.
*28 contacts of my Shred30 to a handcatch. All unique, scores 210.
I figured out a trick with food processor that made it easier to play out of. I think of the first dex like an original ripwalk, then focus all my energy on a quick blender. I make a real conscious effort to put as little energy and effort as possble on the step set, which gives you more power and control for the next trick. Using this method, I even got some stepping sets out of food. I've been thinking about possible beast combos, and I'm starting to wonder if mullet really is the best choice for me as the middle trick. I'm gonna continue skooling all of my 6es, try and make each one more efficient, and hopefully the most natural combo will present itself to me.
I also came up with a new Shred30, which is a bit harder than my old one, but the higher score offputs the risk I think. I still want to set a new personal record for myself in Shred30 in competition, or at the very least break 200 one more time. I also want to get a dropless routine (preferably at worlds) before I retire. Worlds...I looked at prices the other day, and I just don't know. I really want to go, but it may just not be in the cards.
May 23rd, 2006
Injuries are so frustrating. I'm still not sure what the deal is with my rib...does it feel better, or am I just getting used to it? Probably a good idea to get it x-rayed sooner than later. At least my ankle is completely healed, I was more worried about that, and it finally healed completely. I got in a shred yesterday, and amazingly, I picked up another...health setback. I started off feeling real strong, and within 10 minutes of play I got a cactus needle right in the sole of my foot. A cactus needle is like a thorn/splinter combination. Hurts like hell, and hard to get out. I decided to play through the pain, as I thought it would be a good experience. Still hurts today, but hopefully my body will break it down or reject it soon.
Highlights, all done with my Ilja and the cactus needle in the foot.
*blurry torque bsos.
*vortex-ducking butterfly
*blurry torque-pdx drifter.
*symp whirling pdx mirage, both sides!
*alpine legbeater-blurry torque-pdx blender
I also tried out my new Shred30 and managed to hit the first 25 contacts without much trouble. That alone scores 186, and if I get the full 30 it scores 228 or 232. Felt pretty encouraged by it, I think the links almost work out to be easier than my last Shred30, which scored lower. I'm gonna try and hit the full Shred30 my next healthy session, though I currently have no plans to hit any tournies. Still, good stamina practice, and I'm sure the work will pay off at some future point.
Injuries are so frustrating. I'm still not sure what the deal is with my rib...does it feel better, or am I just getting used to it? Probably a good idea to get it x-rayed sooner than later. At least my ankle is completely healed, I was more worried about that, and it finally healed completely. I got in a shred yesterday, and amazingly, I picked up another...health setback. I started off feeling real strong, and within 10 minutes of play I got a cactus needle right in the sole of my foot. A cactus needle is like a thorn/splinter combination. Hurts like hell, and hard to get out. I decided to play through the pain, as I thought it would be a good experience. Still hurts today, but hopefully my body will break it down or reject it soon.
Highlights, all done with my Ilja and the cactus needle in the foot.
*blurry torque bsos.
*vortex-ducking butterfly
*blurry torque-pdx drifter.
*symp whirling pdx mirage, both sides!
*alpine legbeater-blurry torque-pdx blender
I also tried out my new Shred30 and managed to hit the first 25 contacts without much trouble. That alone scores 186, and if I get the full 30 it scores 228 or 232. Felt pretty encouraged by it, I think the links almost work out to be easier than my last Shred30, which scored lower. I'm gonna try and hit the full Shred30 my next healthy session, though I currently have no plans to hit any tournies. Still, good stamina practice, and I'm sure the work will pay off at some future point.
May 25th
Today I finally extracted the cactus needle. It had moved a good 2 centimeters up my foot, which kinda freaked me out that it could travel so far through me. Even though I was able to play lightly on it yesterday without pain, it still felt good to get it out. In other good health news, I went to the doctor today to see about my rib, and it looks like I just have a bone-bruise. He says it'll be sore and hurt for a good month or more, but that nothing is broken and there's no treatments I have to worry about. What this means for me: I should stay away from basketball til I'm healed, but footbag is fine. Hey, as long as I can still shred, little else matters.
Yesterday's shred was nice. My spot in the gym is carpeted, and right in front of a TV. So I played a good 90 minutes, and watched 2 episodes of "The Weakest Link" on the Game Show Network. Made for nice breaks. Yesterday's shred I mostly just messed around with runs, but I spent some time on beastly practice and Shred30 practice.
Highlights:
*gyro mirage-whirl-pdx whirl bsos
*pixie ss osis-pdlo repeat
*super solid spinning pdlo, on my second try! Cool.
*blurry torque-pdx drifter, both sides.
*whirligig-mullet-handcatch
*blurry torque-mullet-run
*food-mullet-run
I also did a dropless Shred30 run, but only 2/3 of it was planned. I got the first 22 contacts perfect, then I got confused and improvised, but the main thing was I didn't drop. I'm guessing something like 25 or 26 uniques, so probably scored over 200.
Still no real idea what my summer plans are. But considering how much stress I've been through these last couple months, I'm gonna make a point not to stress over this. Fan out.
Today I finally extracted the cactus needle. It had moved a good 2 centimeters up my foot, which kinda freaked me out that it could travel so far through me. Even though I was able to play lightly on it yesterday without pain, it still felt good to get it out. In other good health news, I went to the doctor today to see about my rib, and it looks like I just have a bone-bruise. He says it'll be sore and hurt for a good month or more, but that nothing is broken and there's no treatments I have to worry about. What this means for me: I should stay away from basketball til I'm healed, but footbag is fine. Hey, as long as I can still shred, little else matters.
Yesterday's shred was nice. My spot in the gym is carpeted, and right in front of a TV. So I played a good 90 minutes, and watched 2 episodes of "The Weakest Link" on the Game Show Network. Made for nice breaks. Yesterday's shred I mostly just messed around with runs, but I spent some time on beastly practice and Shred30 practice.
Highlights:
*gyro mirage-whirl-pdx whirl bsos
*pixie ss osis-pdlo repeat
*super solid spinning pdlo, on my second try! Cool.
*blurry torque-pdx drifter, both sides.
*whirligig-mullet-handcatch
*blurry torque-mullet-run
*food-mullet-run
I also did a dropless Shred30 run, but only 2/3 of it was planned. I got the first 22 contacts perfect, then I got confused and improvised, but the main thing was I didn't drop. I'm guessing something like 25 or 26 uniques, so probably scored over 200.
Still no real idea what my summer plans are. But considering how much stress I've been through these last couple months, I'm gonna make a point not to stress over this. Fan out.
May 26th, 2006
Very light shred today at the gym. I wore a t-shirt for the first time in ages, and used a floppy Carol in an attempt to slow me down. It worked for the first 20 minutes or so, but then I had some good looks at some symp whirling tricks, so I switched to the Ilja. All told, I think I played about 50 minutes, but the main thing was I had fun. Tomorrow I'm playing with the local shred crew (which will be my first non-solo shred since CSS) so I didn't want to tire myself out. Still, I managed a couple highlights.
*symp whirling pdx illusion for my first time! Even cooler, in the sealing combo I hit symp whirling pdx mirage, using the other set.
*flip symp whirling pdx illusion, also first time.
*a run with DSO and gyro mirage bsos, with a reaper thrown in for fun.
Tomorrow's shred will be outside during the peak heat hours, so I'm gonna be real careful to stay hydrated and not overdo it. Should be nice to play with people for a change, even if it is in triple digit heat.
Very light shred today at the gym. I wore a t-shirt for the first time in ages, and used a floppy Carol in an attempt to slow me down. It worked for the first 20 minutes or so, but then I had some good looks at some symp whirling tricks, so I switched to the Ilja. All told, I think I played about 50 minutes, but the main thing was I had fun. Tomorrow I'm playing with the local shred crew (which will be my first non-solo shred since CSS) so I didn't want to tire myself out. Still, I managed a couple highlights.
*symp whirling pdx illusion for my first time! Even cooler, in the sealing combo I hit symp whirling pdx mirage, using the other set.
*flip symp whirling pdx illusion, also first time.
*a run with DSO and gyro mirage bsos, with a reaper thrown in for fun.
Tomorrow's shred will be outside during the peak heat hours, so I'm gonna be real careful to stay hydrated and not overdo it. Should be nice to play with people for a change, even if it is in triple digit heat.
May 28th, 2006
Absolutely exhausted today. Yesterday I played with the local Arizona shredders, and ended up playing something like 4.5-5 hours. I hadn't played that much since CSS, but I figured I shouldn't miss the opportunity to shred with others. I've been in Arizona for 6 months and yesterday was only my 3rd time playing with anybody. On top of playing for a long time, we also spent the first half of the day shredding on an unshaded tennis court in triple digit heat, which was really draining. I came home exhausted, and then today I donated blood, which made me even more tired. I think I should take a couple days off shred to fully recover.
Overall there wasn't anything notable in the shred, but it was good to play with others for a change, and good stamina practice. There were 5 of us for the first session, and then 3 for the second session. I totally understand people not playing twice, considering the exhausting conditions of the first shred. It was nice though, cause after the first shred we went to Johnny's place and had burgers and used the hot tub for a bit. The two players who came all the way from Phoenix (Josh and Mike) understandably wanted to play more, considering the long haul it took for them just to get here. The vibe felt pretty relaxed and laid-back, and I think the heat prevented us from going too hard. I was happy to see Josh had improved so much. He's only 19 and has good ankles, so I can see him getting very good very fast. Blur bsos, flip diving, decent mix of 2s, 3s, and 4s in his runs. Mike Jauss looked pretty solid. He hadn't improved as dramatically as he had the last time, but his consistency looked very good, and its clear he's putting time into the right areas.
The second session was more laid back than the first, mostly because we were already exhausted from the first. A good two hours into the session, somebody mentioned they had a camera, and then I learned that 2 people had cameras. I've seen this happen so many times (mostly in Japan), where people get together and play, and only decide to film at the very end of the session once everybody is already exhausted. So by the time we started filming, we had all played at least 4 hours already (2 in 100 degree weather), and didn't have much left in the tank. I took it as a personal challenge to see if I could hit a decent (mostly genuine) 30 contact string at this point, and it ended up being a good stamina challenge. I ended up doing something like 4 runs in the low-mid 20s, and was pretty much satisfied with that. But riiiight at the end I found that extra reservoir of strength, and hit a 43 contact string that had fog bsos and a food processor in there. On that note, I finally called it a day. There's a chance Josh may put up some of the footage on modified, which is exciting, since footage of me hardly ever gets online. The footage probably won't be great, since I was already burnt out, and the camera was like a digital camera, but probably better than nothing. We'll see.
Absolutely exhausted today. Yesterday I played with the local Arizona shredders, and ended up playing something like 4.5-5 hours. I hadn't played that much since CSS, but I figured I shouldn't miss the opportunity to shred with others. I've been in Arizona for 6 months and yesterday was only my 3rd time playing with anybody. On top of playing for a long time, we also spent the first half of the day shredding on an unshaded tennis court in triple digit heat, which was really draining. I came home exhausted, and then today I donated blood, which made me even more tired. I think I should take a couple days off shred to fully recover.
Overall there wasn't anything notable in the shred, but it was good to play with others for a change, and good stamina practice. There were 5 of us for the first session, and then 3 for the second session. I totally understand people not playing twice, considering the exhausting conditions of the first shred. It was nice though, cause after the first shred we went to Johnny's place and had burgers and used the hot tub for a bit. The two players who came all the way from Phoenix (Josh and Mike) understandably wanted to play more, considering the long haul it took for them just to get here. The vibe felt pretty relaxed and laid-back, and I think the heat prevented us from going too hard. I was happy to see Josh had improved so much. He's only 19 and has good ankles, so I can see him getting very good very fast. Blur bsos, flip diving, decent mix of 2s, 3s, and 4s in his runs. Mike Jauss looked pretty solid. He hadn't improved as dramatically as he had the last time, but his consistency looked very good, and its clear he's putting time into the right areas.
The second session was more laid back than the first, mostly because we were already exhausted from the first. A good two hours into the session, somebody mentioned they had a camera, and then I learned that 2 people had cameras. I've seen this happen so many times (mostly in Japan), where people get together and play, and only decide to film at the very end of the session once everybody is already exhausted. So by the time we started filming, we had all played at least 4 hours already (2 in 100 degree weather), and didn't have much left in the tank. I took it as a personal challenge to see if I could hit a decent (mostly genuine) 30 contact string at this point, and it ended up being a good stamina challenge. I ended up doing something like 4 runs in the low-mid 20s, and was pretty much satisfied with that. But riiiight at the end I found that extra reservoir of strength, and hit a 43 contact string that had fog bsos and a food processor in there. On that note, I finally called it a day. There's a chance Josh may put up some of the footage on modified, which is exciting, since footage of me hardly ever gets online. The footage probably won't be great, since I was already burnt out, and the camera was like a digital camera, but probably better than nothing. We'll see.
I have that same jersey you wore at CSS. If I have to play with a shirt on its an Under Armour shirt of one of 6 Pippen jerseys I own. My favorites is the white one from the Dream Team.Thanks man! I've really gotten into wearing NBA jerseys for footbag. They breathe well, hang perfect on my body (never get in the way, or obscure visibility), and they stand out and look cool. I've got something like 4 jerseys which are great for footbag.Zeke wrote:Sweet Pippen jersey
I just read about the dunking too. There are a couple of full court low hoops in the burbs around here. Man, there's no rush like throwin one down in someones face in the midle of a game! Have you tried any bounce passes or lobbing it off the backboard? Fun stuff.
Last edited by Zeke on 03 Jun 2006 08:38, edited 1 time in total.
Zeke
Funny movie titles if the movie were about poop:
Red
Fast & the Furious
The Green Mile
Children of the Corn
There Will be Blood
Funny movie titles if the movie were about poop:
Red
Fast & the Furious
The Green Mile
Children of the Corn
There Will be Blood
May 30th, 2006
The day after the group shred, I went to give blood with my dad, which meant no footbag for 2 days, a very light session the next day, and another light session today. I wonder if my blood donation is slowing my rib recovery, cause my rib felt a bit worse these last couple days. Oh well, the doctor told me I pretty much have to grin and bear it. Right on, onto highlights.
May 29th shred: baggy shorts/t-shirt, floppy Carol bag, 45 minutes.
I purposely played with equipment that would limit my game, and kept my playing time low. It paid off, and didn't annoy me either. Fun session, but I got winded easily and often. Probably shouldn't have played so soon after giving blood, but whatever.
*DDD-barfly repeat, to 3 barflies, to a string.
*a few promising looks at mantis on both sides.
May 30th shred: real shorts, Ilja bag, tanktop, 45 minutes. I decided to play with "real" equipment today, but to again limit my playing time. Felt good to play a bit more seriously, but I still think it was a good idea not to play too long. I definitely wanted to play longer, but why push it?
*Spinning PDLO
*fog-dod-pdx blender, very nearly bsos.
*Something like 8 contacts dexless at the end of a string. Surprised me, cause I wasn't skooling dexless.
*A run with GDLO and fog ending on left toe, and flurry and smog ending on right toe. Amazingly, I dropped going for strong fog (right toe).
Flip stepping felt very nice today; I was hitting things like dim-fog bsos, and ripwalk-bl drifter bsos very easily. I also had a 30+ run while trying for my Shred30. I got something like the first 20 contacts before getting confused, and then I just improvised the remaning tricks. Didn't do too good maxing out uniques during the improv though. Oh yeah, I think I forgot to mention it before, but last week I hit my new Shred30 complete for my first time. It scores 228, but if I tack on a pdx blender at the end (31st contact) it would score 238. I think it would be a good idea to try and hit my Shred30 at least once every serious session.
In bad news, it looks more and more like I won't make it to Worlds. It also looks like my negotiations with Japan Airlines to sponsor Team Japan won't get us a good enough discount, which sucks, but at least I tried.
The day after the group shred, I went to give blood with my dad, which meant no footbag for 2 days, a very light session the next day, and another light session today. I wonder if my blood donation is slowing my rib recovery, cause my rib felt a bit worse these last couple days. Oh well, the doctor told me I pretty much have to grin and bear it. Right on, onto highlights.
May 29th shred: baggy shorts/t-shirt, floppy Carol bag, 45 minutes.
I purposely played with equipment that would limit my game, and kept my playing time low. It paid off, and didn't annoy me either. Fun session, but I got winded easily and often. Probably shouldn't have played so soon after giving blood, but whatever.
*DDD-barfly repeat, to 3 barflies, to a string.
*a few promising looks at mantis on both sides.
May 30th shred: real shorts, Ilja bag, tanktop, 45 minutes. I decided to play with "real" equipment today, but to again limit my playing time. Felt good to play a bit more seriously, but I still think it was a good idea not to play too long. I definitely wanted to play longer, but why push it?
*Spinning PDLO
*fog-dod-pdx blender, very nearly bsos.
*Something like 8 contacts dexless at the end of a string. Surprised me, cause I wasn't skooling dexless.
*A run with GDLO and fog ending on left toe, and flurry and smog ending on right toe. Amazingly, I dropped going for strong fog (right toe).
Flip stepping felt very nice today; I was hitting things like dim-fog bsos, and ripwalk-bl drifter bsos very easily. I also had a 30+ run while trying for my Shred30. I got something like the first 20 contacts before getting confused, and then I just improvised the remaning tricks. Didn't do too good maxing out uniques during the improv though. Oh yeah, I think I forgot to mention it before, but last week I hit my new Shred30 complete for my first time. It scores 228, but if I tack on a pdx blender at the end (31st contact) it would score 238. I think it would be a good idea to try and hit my Shred30 at least once every serious session.
In bad news, it looks more and more like I won't make it to Worlds. It also looks like my negotiations with Japan Airlines to sponsor Team Japan won't get us a good enough discount, which sucks, but at least I tried.
May 31st, 2006
Mike Hansen restored my posting abilities yesterday, putting an official end to my time off modified. All told, I went over 9 weeks without posting at all, and overall saved a ton of time by cutting back on reading these forums. I'm really glad I did it too, because grad school/internship applications/GRE study all required a lot of time, and I feel like I gave them all my best shot.
Now that I'm back, I think I will still try to limit how often I post, and what sort of topics I post in. In the past, I would correct lots of errors, and moderate as diligently as I could. Now, I think I will continue to limit my comments to blog posts and complimenting videos. I took a look at the discussion and kicking circle forums, and I really felt disappointed with the community, but I'm not going to exert any energy and time into babysitting modified's least mature members.
I also want to thank Mike Hansen for helping motivate/make possible my time off from the forums. Here's hoping my time off was just the start of my managing my time better.
While I was gone, I seldom looked at my blog, so I didn't have a chance to respond to any comments made. While I had mentioned this before I left, I still felt a little bad not responding to lots of comments. That said, here's a smatering of responses:
Zeke: Good to hear there are other people who get the same perverse joy out of dunking on lowered hoops. 6 Pippen jerseys?!? Damn. The one Pippen jersey I keep trying to track down on eBay is his black Trailblazers jersey.
Kevin Regamey: Good work on nerdily solving my riddle. My favorite cover from that series though is issue number one, with the crisscrossing gleams from the infinity gems.
Grom: Depending on whether or not I get an internship, there's still an outside chance I may make the Jammy Jam! Crossing my fingers.
Matt Cross: Yeah, I'm real glad I kept the Ilja bag. It's probably the best bag I've ever had. When I got it, I was sure it would expand in size when I'd break it in, but it never got bigger. It's just perfect. I'm glad I won Sick3 instead of Shred30. Oh wait, I did win Shred30...
Mike Hansen restored my posting abilities yesterday, putting an official end to my time off modified. All told, I went over 9 weeks without posting at all, and overall saved a ton of time by cutting back on reading these forums. I'm really glad I did it too, because grad school/internship applications/GRE study all required a lot of time, and I feel like I gave them all my best shot.
Now that I'm back, I think I will still try to limit how often I post, and what sort of topics I post in. In the past, I would correct lots of errors, and moderate as diligently as I could. Now, I think I will continue to limit my comments to blog posts and complimenting videos. I took a look at the discussion and kicking circle forums, and I really felt disappointed with the community, but I'm not going to exert any energy and time into babysitting modified's least mature members.
I also want to thank Mike Hansen for helping motivate/make possible my time off from the forums. Here's hoping my time off was just the start of my managing my time better.
While I was gone, I seldom looked at my blog, so I didn't have a chance to respond to any comments made. While I had mentioned this before I left, I still felt a little bad not responding to lots of comments. That said, here's a smatering of responses:
Zeke: Good to hear there are other people who get the same perverse joy out of dunking on lowered hoops. 6 Pippen jerseys?!? Damn. The one Pippen jersey I keep trying to track down on eBay is his black Trailblazers jersey.
Kevin Regamey: Good work on nerdily solving my riddle. My favorite cover from that series though is issue number one, with the crisscrossing gleams from the infinity gems.
Grom: Depending on whether or not I get an internship, there's still an outside chance I may make the Jammy Jam! Crossing my fingers.
Matt Cross: Yeah, I'm real glad I kept the Ilja bag. It's probably the best bag I've ever had. When I got it, I was sure it would expand in size when I'd break it in, but it never got bigger. It's just perfect. I'm glad I won Sick3 instead of Shred30. Oh wait, I did win Shred30...
OK, that infinity gauntlet image was cool, but I temporarily disabled it cause it was making this page of the blog hard to read, and I don't have the time to resize it.
Life is still pretty stressful. I thought I was done with grad school applications, but I keep finding out that various programs are missing bits of my application, then re-finding them, etc. I can't believe how widespread this incompetence is, especially in public policy departments at various reputable schools. It really is shocking. I'm also trying to figure out my summer plans, which is stressful. I may end up in Portland Oregon, I may end up in Santa Monica, or I may just forgo any internships and go to Japan. We'll see.
As usual, footbag remains the only strong anchor in my life. Yesterday I got in a good long session, which helped me with the stress a little. I used the Ilja bag, but my right calf felt a little funny. Played through it though. I mostly went for long strings, but I guess flip fog was the move of the session.
May 31st, 2006 highlights:
*pdx reverse eggbeater, on my first try! Possibly my first time hitting this trick, but I can't be sure. Had pdx torque bsos in the sealing run, which ended with 5 or 6 dexless.
*a run with both flurries and both fogs.
*a run with fog, bedwetter, and blurriest all BSOS.
*blurry whirl-fog BSOS! That was my first time hitting the combo flip, too.
*dropless runthrough of my Shred30, with two minor mistakes. Scores 218.3
If I get an internship on the West Coast this summer, I'm gonna try and make the US Open in August, and try my best to make the Santa Cruz jammy jam. Hopefully I'll know for sure within the week.
Life is still pretty stressful. I thought I was done with grad school applications, but I keep finding out that various programs are missing bits of my application, then re-finding them, etc. I can't believe how widespread this incompetence is, especially in public policy departments at various reputable schools. It really is shocking. I'm also trying to figure out my summer plans, which is stressful. I may end up in Portland Oregon, I may end up in Santa Monica, or I may just forgo any internships and go to Japan. We'll see.
As usual, footbag remains the only strong anchor in my life. Yesterday I got in a good long session, which helped me with the stress a little. I used the Ilja bag, but my right calf felt a little funny. Played through it though. I mostly went for long strings, but I guess flip fog was the move of the session.
May 31st, 2006 highlights:
*pdx reverse eggbeater, on my first try! Possibly my first time hitting this trick, but I can't be sure. Had pdx torque bsos in the sealing run, which ended with 5 or 6 dexless.
*a run with both flurries and both fogs.
*a run with fog, bedwetter, and blurriest all BSOS.
*blurry whirl-fog BSOS! That was my first time hitting the combo flip, too.
*dropless runthrough of my Shred30, with two minor mistakes. Scores 218.3
If I get an internship on the West Coast this summer, I'm gonna try and make the US Open in August, and try my best to make the Santa Cruz jammy jam. Hopefully I'll know for sure within the week.
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Sporatical_Distractions
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SuperPropsC-Fan wrote: *pdx reverse eggbeater, on my first try! Possibly my first time hitting this trick, but I can't be sure. Had pdx torque bsos in the sealing run, which
I've always been curious as to why you wear basketball jerseys to shred. I always just thought it was because you're a b-ball fiend. Now I know the truth
I really like the idea of playing with gear that restricts your potential. I do that quite a bit.
shred on
Welcome to Flavortown
Kevin Crowley
Kevin Crowley
I definitely wear the NBA jerseys while I shred partly because I am such a fan of b-ball. But yeah, they also are pretty ideal shred gear: breathable, light, don't get in the way.
On the basketball note, I was sad to see my Phoenix Suns get eliminated tonight. That said, the fact that they made it to Game 6 of the Western Finals, without Amare Stoudemire playing at all this year... that shows a lot of heart. Definitely was inspired by them this season, to really try my best to do the most I could with what I had. Never give up. I hope we win the Championship in the next couple years, I think its a very achievable goal.
No shred today or yesterday, and only a real light shred the day before that. My right calf is still a little gimpy, but hopefully all this rest will help out. I've been thinking about two moves during this time off. The first is atomic merlin, which seems do-able, but hard to clean (I haven't even tried it yet, this is all abstract thought). I don't think I've ever hit a trick with 3 full dexes, so that would be a cool goal.
The other trick on my mind is VuDoo (PS blur). As Andrew Grant pointed out, 6/6/06 is soon approaching. Considering that I have never hit a beast combo before, I thought it would be a good goal to hit my first beast on that day. Towards that end, I had been practicing some 6-6 links, but I really need to get a downtime 6 off of mullet. In theory, there are a couple I could do, but they seem pretty hard. But I think mullet to voodoo wouldn't be that bad, provided I skool my voodoos. Considering how easily I hit pdx rev egg, I think I have a shot, but similar to atomic merlin, I won't be satisfied unless I hit it real clean. We'll see.
The other small monkeywrench in my plans, is that my gym membership expired, and I don't want to buy another month's pass before I figure out my summer plans. It looks like my LA internship won't work out logistically, and I'm increasingly doubting whether its worth my time to do the other internship I've been offered in Portland. If I accept any internships this week, I will leave immediately, so a gym membership would be a waste. If I don't do an internship, I'll likely stick around a few weeks to hear from grad schools, then maybe go to Japan for a month. Expensive, but I miss it a lot. I guess I could spend an equal amount and go to Worlds, but Japan has more positives for me (food, arcades, friends, free rent).
On the basketball note, I was sad to see my Phoenix Suns get eliminated tonight. That said, the fact that they made it to Game 6 of the Western Finals, without Amare Stoudemire playing at all this year... that shows a lot of heart. Definitely was inspired by them this season, to really try my best to do the most I could with what I had. Never give up. I hope we win the Championship in the next couple years, I think its a very achievable goal.
No shred today or yesterday, and only a real light shred the day before that. My right calf is still a little gimpy, but hopefully all this rest will help out. I've been thinking about two moves during this time off. The first is atomic merlin, which seems do-able, but hard to clean (I haven't even tried it yet, this is all abstract thought). I don't think I've ever hit a trick with 3 full dexes, so that would be a cool goal.
The other trick on my mind is VuDoo (PS blur). As Andrew Grant pointed out, 6/6/06 is soon approaching. Considering that I have never hit a beast combo before, I thought it would be a good goal to hit my first beast on that day. Towards that end, I had been practicing some 6-6 links, but I really need to get a downtime 6 off of mullet. In theory, there are a couple I could do, but they seem pretty hard. But I think mullet to voodoo wouldn't be that bad, provided I skool my voodoos. Considering how easily I hit pdx rev egg, I think I have a shot, but similar to atomic merlin, I won't be satisfied unless I hit it real clean. We'll see.
The other small monkeywrench in my plans, is that my gym membership expired, and I don't want to buy another month's pass before I figure out my summer plans. It looks like my LA internship won't work out logistically, and I'm increasingly doubting whether its worth my time to do the other internship I've been offered in Portland. If I accept any internships this week, I will leave immediately, so a gym membership would be a waste. If I don't do an internship, I'll likely stick around a few weeks to hear from grad schools, then maybe go to Japan for a month. Expensive, but I miss it a lot. I guess I could spend an equal amount and go to Worlds, but Japan has more positives for me (food, arcades, friends, free rent).
