Ask Me Anything

General footbag-related topics that don't fit elsewhere go in here.
Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 06 Nov 2022 15:13

:)
Jorden Moir

User avatar
Asmus
Ass Moose
Posts: 3773
Joined: 13 Jun 2004 08:18
Location: Copenhagen
Contact:

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Asmus » 07 Nov 2022 00:14

Hey Jorden

I was actually thinking about you yesterday. Hope you are well.

Could you share some memories from going to Denmark in 2005? :)

I think you would get more traction on this if you posted it in the football discord: https://discord.gg/4jdNTXXu

Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 07 Nov 2022 15:28

Sure Assy

Having to rebook the flight and missing a day because Nikolai's Dad was accidentally on the E-ticket
Being super excited
The ferry ride
Bad jetlag the first night and drinking way too much Faxe Kondi!
All night party that same night (the Danes never stop!) - fell asleep in the bar and the bouncer squeezed my neck muscle to wake me up - OW!!!
Smorebrod
Madseses!!
The construction and the narrow streets of Aalborg
Trying doubles with Dylan Fry for the first time and succeeding with a routine!
Lise sessions - (she was a crush of mine for a long time)
Street session with you
Hanging with Lise and Anne at her place on the way back to the airport
Jorden Moir

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by boyle » 08 Nov 2022 11:41

What's a trick that you tried many times but were never able to hit?

Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 08 Nov 2022 16:44

Good question. There are lots.

Gyro Symp barroque
Triple Blender (footed)
Leggy double flux
Triaging legover
Trioque
Gyro whirr
69
Splicing double blender
Phasing whirling swirl
Blurry flurry
Pdx whirling reverse swirl (it's a knee smasher. expect to fall every time :P)
Furious DLO, stange enough
Delusional gyro mirage (very close)

JM
Jorden Moir

User avatar
Asmus
Ass Moose
Posts: 3773
Joined: 13 Jun 2004 08:18
Location: Copenhagen
Contact:

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Asmus » 17 Nov 2022 09:43

Sick stuff!

Would it be possible to get digital copies of your session videos? I would be willing to pay a little for it.

You could set up a gumroad.com for it. Sure I am not tje only one who would want this.

Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 17 Nov 2022 10:21

Pretty sure Jay Boychuk has all of them.
Feel free to ask him for them - it's ok with me.

Assy, any footage I sell from now on I want to make sure I have the music rights for. Time to do things by the book.

I have TONS of stuff I need to film. Maybe even a bit of footbag as well.
Without shoes and bags at the moment.

HUGE life changes coming for me next year.
Stay tuned!
Jorden Moir

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by boyle » 17 Nov 2022 14:24

Matt Kemmer has just started doing some set by set videos. What's the hardest pixie set trick you've hit?

Also come back to a bit more basic stuff - what was the first sort of "mid level" trick that you ever hit - when you kind of clicked and thought - I might be getting pretty good at this...

Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 18 Nov 2022 08:02

Hardest pixie trick?

Maybe pixie delusional butterfly at SJFF 2007 (Seattle). No video. If not clean, then pixie gyro DLO?

Mid-level trick - that could mean a lot of things...I guess 3-ADD or thereabouts?

Most of them I don't remember the first time hitting.
Butterfly took me about 6 months to get consistent. Getting proper equipment helped a lot.
Discovering the technique for xbody rake was a breakthrough and got me really excited.
Drifter took what felt like ages to learn. I remember scouring the footbag.org message board (I think pre-forum - anyone remember that??) looking for tips.

Let me be clear - none of this came easy! It was a product of focused obsession and mind over matter.
Understanding where I stood relative to others started probably my first competition - Montreal Footbag Challenge in 2003.
There I met heroes Eli Piltz, Yacine Merzouk and Scott Bevier. I think they were drawn to me and saw a lot of promise. My style was still a bit of a mess.
I placed 3rd in Intermediates.

Breakthrough was Funtastiks 2003 in Pennsylvania - got to play one on one with Kenny Shults, a surreal experience.
Peter Irish had a near-dropless stunning routine and won 1st in Pro division.
So many big names were there. Eric Wulff, etc.

I came 2nd in Amateur routine - with a couple big tricks like fairy ducking mirage.
Many players accused me of "sandbagging" (competing below one's level for the chance of a better result), which was surprising - I'd only been playing 2 years.

I'll never forget showing Kenny a new trick concept of mine. Asked him what it was - he just called it a "weird thing".
Later to be known as bent stepping. Start of a generational shift.

JM
Jorden Moir

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by boyle » 23 Nov 2022 11:49

This concept of sandbagging is an interesting one - because I feel it's about how you feel your level is - that always sees discrepancies between the higher intermediate players and the lower open. But in the end, an intermediate trophy is kind of meaningless - maybe quite meaningful for the person. I have a feeling in those days (probably simply because there were more players), but there was a part of the culture that wasn't so pleasant (accusing of sandbagging, not letting players in a circle for xyz reason, calling out players on style etc.

Enough of that and you start running out of players.

User avatar
acxel22
Post Master General
Posts: 3065
Joined: 16 Sep 2004 18:52
Location: Montreal, Qc

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by acxel22 » 23 Nov 2022 12:05

Do you miss playing with other footbagers

Do you miss tournaments

Whats the best footbag related show you have performed or most proud? Circus or tournament

Hows circus life? Still going on?


Hows board games creation?

I hope life is good for you, we miss you in the community

Peace
Mathieu Gauthier

Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 23 Nov 2022 14:40

Yes, I miss playing footbag with some of the quirkier personalities and high-level players. You know who you are out there. :D

Don't miss paying $2500 to go to a big tournament, doing really well and winning $300. Kind of sucks.
The travelling and the hospitality were amazing. Very grateful to have been a special guest to some big events.

The best shows I've ever done for the foot juggling act have been for kids and special needs adults. The level of excitement, energy and anything-is-possible attitude of this audience is unmatched. Used to get a good reaction from other jugglers as well.

Circus plans are...morphing into something else. Not quite ready to share yet. Creating something BIG.
Y'know, I've never actually toured with a big top circus. Only a couple competitions in big tops.
Circus industry has really changed over the years. Not sure in a good way though.

Board games - yeah they're shelved (excuse the pun). When I was studying board game design, I kept reading that a designer can expect to make 10 games before they made ONE good one. I didn't believe that at the time. But, sure enough, I ended up making about 10 games with 8 having broken gameplay mechanics that got thrown out, one mediocre but playable game and ONE I'm really quite happy with. I'm sure it'll get self-published eventually. Thanks for asking.

Life is good. Started a new day job. It'll allow me to fund my dreams. Footbag is still a small slice of those dreams. Stay tuned. :D

JM
Jorden Moir

User avatar
acxel22
Post Master General
Posts: 3065
Joined: 16 Sep 2004 18:52
Location: Montreal, Qc

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by acxel22 » 23 Nov 2022 16:43

Where do you live now?

Wanna play if i pass by?

Im down to learn anything from the master if i pass by wherever that is 🤣
Mathieu Gauthier

Marvin
Circle Kicker
Posts: 11
Joined: 20 Apr 2010 01:54
Location: Czech republic, Brno

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Marvin » 24 Nov 2022 03:38

The list of moves you didn't hit is very surprising to me. I remember you hitting gyro double blender and even gyro whirlwalk and yet you didn't hit gyro whirr?:)
Anyway, great to hear something from you!

Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 24 Nov 2022 14:40

I'm in Hamilton where I've been the past 15 years (except for 2 in Germany, 2012-13).
Math, let's talk in the spring when I have equipment and am back in shape. :)

Gyro whirr is hard because the gyro AND the whirring dexes cause the body to rotate in the wrong direction relative to where the end clipper needs to be. A real struggle!

A couple more I never quite got:

- gyro whirlygig swirl
- FS nem
- double leggy grifter
- slicing pdx drifter
- symp revarius
- venom swirl

JM
Jorden Moir

User avatar
acxel22
Post Master General
Posts: 3065
Joined: 16 Sep 2004 18:52
Location: Montreal, Qc

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by acxel22 » 24 Nov 2022 19:03

spring is good, might do a roadtrip in ontario by summer, still to be determined with wife and kids.
will let you know.

last question
what do you think of current state of footbag freestyle, (the good and bad)
Mathieu Gauthier

Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 25 Nov 2022 01:17

Current state of freestyle...comatose complacency? :-/

Routines from 2 minutes to 90 seconds seems like a good idea.

Mixed feelings about this new "Battle" event. A little too "Red Bull Soccer Freestyle" for me - doesn't differentiate itself enough.
Circle Comp is a better vibe but is hard to watch from the outside because 3+ players obscure the view of the spectator.
Footbaggers are usually too easygoing and supportive to be pitted against one on one. The average player is not edgy or aggressive and a Battle demands it, so this feels a little awkward to watch.

A solution (20 players for example) would be a hybrid, 4 Rounds:

Circle:
Round 1: 5 circles of 4 players each, top 9 scores advance
Quarterfinals: 3 circles of 3 players each, top 4 scores advance
Semi-Finals: 2x Battles, Winner of each goes to Final
Final: Battle of the Semi winners

That way the weaker players have less stress of being seen by the public, and the visibility, skill level and rivalry (and marketability!) improves with each round. First 2 Rounds the judges should look at and compare all the scores collectively, not contextually within the circle.

While on the topic - why are there even pools for routines? Just schedule people in clumps but keep their scores unrelated to one another.
Like, if the 3rd best overall player unfortunately gets placed in a pool with the 1st and 2nd best in an early round (and only 2 from each pool advance) and they play just fine, then that 3rd player gets eliminated, while a 10th best playing 10th best moves on. It doesn't make any sense.

JM
Jorden Moir

User avatar
acxel22
Post Master General
Posts: 3065
Joined: 16 Sep 2004 18:52
Location: Montreal, Qc

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by acxel22 » 25 Nov 2022 04:53

I think 60 seconds routines are too short but 90 seconds is fine
I like the big pile idea. But it makes it harder to judge as it becomes time consuming for judges to do the whole group of players. Works for small jams tough
Mathieu Gauthier

Jorden
Retro Athlete
Posts: 2058
Joined: 23 May 2003 11:46
Location: Canada

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by Jorden » 25 Nov 2022 08:57

And doing 2 vs 2 round robin for 20 players and the same set of judges isn't time consuming? ;)

Can always request qualification videos pre-event to limit the competition size.
Jorden Moir

User avatar
acxel22
Post Master General
Posts: 3065
Joined: 16 Sep 2004 18:52
Location: Montreal, Qc

Re: Ask Me Anything

Post by acxel22 » 25 Nov 2022 17:07

I'm refering to the fact that pools can have different judges. but if it's one big pile, you need to keep same judges for consistency through the pile of players

maybe this clears it up?
Mathieu Gauthier

Post Reply