Fanzine

[C-Fan]

Treated to some spectacularly nice weather when I got back to Denver. Both Saturday and Sunday were t-shirt and shorts weather. Initially the forecast only predicted that for Saturday, but Sunday morning it was still nice and I took advantage.

About 5 weeks ago, I learned of some hackers in Denver, but due to work/holiday travel and winter weather, I wasn't able to meet with them:

In exciting news, some hackers in Denver randomly posted to the Freestyle Footbaggers group on Facebook! I reached out to them, and am optimistic we'll meet up to hack. The only downside so far is that they only play outside, so the aforementioned winter weather probably means it'll be a slow start with them. .

On Friday when I saw the forecast was so promising, I reached out to the contact I had for the group. Despite the short notice, he agreed to meet with me on Saturday! His name is Scott, and based on what he posted on the facebook group I was expecting him to be a beginner (no lavers, some fliers, not linking tricks, etc.). I was therefore very pleasantly surprised to meet him and find he already has lavers, he's modded them, he has a Hania bag, and he can do all 2 add tricks and a few 3s! Even better, he's already focused on learning everything both sides. Just has a ton of potential. We had a fun session on Saturday, and I was hoping to go get drinks/food afterward to solidify our emerging bond, but my dog was acting really antsy so I had to take him home. Hopefully I didn't scare Scott off though, and we can start meeting up semi-regularly to play. If he's interested in improving, I think I could teach him a lot. While I'm not at the best point in my life to take on a dedicated mentor role, it would be cool to help launch one more player's career as I fade out of my competitive stage. We'll see what happens.

Sunday I wasn't expecting shred weather, so it was a nice surprise to be able to play. I shredded at my normal location, and even busted out the camera:
Overall pretty pleased with those highlights, especially since I haven't been playing much in the past few months. That said, this was I think my 5th session in these g-units, and they don't feel any more broken in than on day 1. They actually pinch my feet and hurt a bit, which is annoying. I'm half tempted to mod them further, in the hopes they loosen up, but I'm also scared to cut away more material than I normally do, since my last few pairs have fallen apart so badly. Gonna give them some more time.

In typical Denver fashion, it is now snowing outside as I post this, about 28 hours after the weather in the last video. I still have some entry passes to the rec center, so maybe I'll get inspired and hit the gym this week in the evening.

[Kylescook]

Some really cool tricks and links in there. Liked all the torque-stuff

[C-Fan]

January was pretty quiet; I think I played 4 times total. I'm hoping February is more active, but I'm writing this at home because its a snow day, so who knows. I'm going to be in Vegas for a solid week starting Friday, so maybe I can get some shreds in then.

The big news this week is that Gatesman is in Boulder CO for a training. He got in right before the big snow dumps, but we had to cancel our originally planned session due to some last minute work schedule changes on his end. Maybe for the best, since that original plan would have had me driving in a snowstorm. We've tentatively scheduled a session for Thursday night, so with a bit of luck I'll get to see him and play. With this weather though, who knows what will happen.

Got in a solo shred at the rec center on Sunday, once I learned the Gatesman shred was canceled. Didn't play too well, but it was a good session in that I got much-needed exercise, and also I noticed and fixed some equipment issues. My new G-units had been pinching my feet and didn't feel like they were breaking in, and on Sunday I think I figured out why. My lacing was off by one lacehole spot on one foot, and on both feet I hadn't brought the laces up to the top hole. The first problem was just a detail I missed, but I think it impacted how the shoe stays on my foot. The second problem was due to the shoes being stiff and the laces not making it to the top, but they've broken in enough that I was able to get the laces enough slack to get to the top. Fixing both of these minor lace issues feels like they'll have a big impact. The shoes still feel a bit stiff, but they feel worlds better than before.

I still struggled in the session. I forgot my shred socks, and my casual socks kept sliding down. The floor was a lot dustier than last time, and I wasn't confident in my footing. I also am still out of shape, and I could feel it in my shorter runs. Despite all that, I'm glad I fixed the shoes, and it was good to get a workout. Hopefully both of those things will help me play better if my next session is with other people.

[C-Fan]

In Vegas for a week. Still not used to doing trips out here and not hanging out with Gatesman. Definitely makes these trips less fun. In a weird twist though, I saw Evan in Colorado the day before I flew out to Vegas.

Weather out here is super nice during the day, but by the time I get out of my classes its already too cold to play outside. Bummer. I did manage one outdoor session the day I flew in, and I'm hoping I can get one the day I fly out as well. In an annoying turn, I remembered to bring my camera and the memory card adapter, but I forgot the charge cable at home. Maybe its a good excuse for me to dedicate a couple sessions to drilling basics, instead of chasing highlights for video like I always do.

Random unedited clip, since I don't have editing software on this work laptop:
The other big news on my end, is I had a fun group shred in Colorado right before this trip. Gatesman, Irish, Rippin, and our new guy Scott met up at a Parkour gym in northern Denver. Whole thing almost didn't happen, but we pulled the logistics together at the last minute and it worked out. Evan was playing about as well as I've ever seen him play, which is saying a lot. He hit some pretty notable tricks and combos, but rather than spoil anything I'm just going to send my footage to Paul Agostinelli to make a vid. I was overall happy with how I played, but my shoes are still pinching my feet and bothering me. I kept a good mental game though, which I'm proud about. Pete was a little rusty, but you can tell he could get back into it if he wanted. He's just so naturally light on his feet. I think the sessions sparked some interest in him, so hopefully I can fan those flames and get a couple more sessions with him over the winter. Rippin had a rough session. He came a bit late, and I think that cost him his rhythm since we were all warmed up and he didn't have a chance to catch up really.

I wasn't able to hang out after the shred since I had to pack for my trip the next morning. Comforted myself by reminding myself I have a trip to Boise in May, and hopefully I can see Irish/Brad/Rippin at some point when I get back to Colorado.

[boyle]

That's a great gathering of legends of the sport in a last minute kind of session, look forward to seeing the video.

[C-Fan]

Video may take a while. I'm still in the process of transferring files to Paul Agostinelli over Google Drive. Between my trip and him getting sick and other technical difficulties, it's been slow progress. he should have all the files by the weekend though. I'm expecting it to be 95% Evan stuff.

Weather has been pretty nice since I got back to Denver. I've only managed one solo session since getting back, but the good weather puts me in a good mood in general. Maybe I can convince Pete and Scott to shred again this weekend if it holds up.

My footage from my last session got messed up, so I had to dump about a third of it, and cut some clips off before they finished. Glad the blurry blink was amongst the clips I saved, since I was pleased with how deep the blink dex was:
I've now been a homeowner for one year. Definitely feel a little pride that we survived the first year without any major catastrophes. We're still making the house into a home, buying furniture here and there. It's a process.

No work trips until late March; looking forward to being home for a while. May is going to be a crazy month, as I have trips to Boise, Texas, and Japan scheduled. I'm still hoping to go to USO this summer, but I may have to play that one by ear.

[DC Clinks]

Nice video mate, looking mad groovy. Idaho, Texas, and Japan all in one month sounds kind of intense. Looking forward to that Gatesman/Denver footage. Jealous of that (60 degrees??) weather you got going on.

[boyle]

Nice work on the homeowning. Does sound a bit extreme on the travel front!

[max]

Props on getting past the first year (I'm about 21 months in so nearly the same boat). I remember loosing sleep after we bought thinking this was a massive mistake. But it gets easier over time as 1) you see that your asset appreciates and 2) you can manage mortgage repayments. On that note, being risk-averse I am VERY jealous of the 30 yr fixed mortgages you have in the US. The longest you can fix here in Australia is about 5 yrs and even then those are hard to find (on average fixed terms are 1, 2 maybe 3 years). Hope you're enjoying home-ownership!

[C-Fan]

Amazing summer weather all 3 days this weekend. Got in shreds on Friday and Sunday. Saturday was nice enough to play outside, but I went on a hike earlier in the day that ended up being a lot longer (close to 8 miles) and more tiring than I expected, so I skipped.

Saturday night we went to see a Second City comedy show. They did a bunch of prepared skits, but they also did a good 40 minutes or so of improv, using audience input. When they asked the audience for an object, I immediately yelled out "hackysack!" and they went with it. They did a parody folk song about it, and 2 fake NPR style radio stories about hacky as well. It was amazing.

I'm glad I played outside this weekend, since we have snow in the forecast as early as tonight. Hopefully that means it clears up by the weekend, and I can get back to playing outside.

I'm not sure about my summer plans in terms of footbag. I have a lot of travel through May, including 2 weddings, the Japan trip, and 2 or 3 business trips. That's going to eat into my practice time, so who knows what kind of shape my game will be in by June. I'd like to go to USO this summer, but I have a feeling that even if I can pull that off, I might not have the time to prepare for it properly. I guess I'll play it by ear. I'd like to go, even if I don't compete or if I have to wing it in comp.

Video from Friday's shred. Free YouTube music cracks me up:
In other footbag news, I've lost a bit of momentum on my footbag project. I haven't given up on it by any means, but a combination of technical difficulties and schedule has really slowed me down. Hopefully I get back on track in the next couple weeks.

[AdAstra]

Nice video, definitely gets me pumped to improve.

[boyle]

I think all your serious routine practice in previous years would put you in good stead for a comp, even if you just made it up as you went along. I guess there would be some serious competition with Landes, Gatesman, Penske, as well as others, but I imagine you could still get a good result just building on your strong training ideas in the previous years.

[C-Fan]

I imagine you could still get a good result just building on your strong training ideas in the previous years.

I guess it depends on how you define "good result" for yourself. For me, a good result at a tournament is either going dropless or winning the tournament. If I finish in second place with one drop (like I did at USO last year), I consider it a failure. I guess we'll see where I'm at with my game in the next couple months. Right now I still feel like I'm coming out of winter hibernation, as my consistency and stamina aren't close to where I'd want them to be if I were competing.

On a related note, here's the video from last Sunday. Inspinning osis wasn't clicking, but I didn't let that stop me from trying it and dropping it in every single run:
This was a tough week at work, but it looks like I'm being rewarded with good weather this weekend. High 60s and sunny tomorrow, and Sunday is supposed to be mid 50s and sunny. Going to try and play both days.

I recently started a thread on the Facebook page, asking who is the oldest person to have hit a quad dex trick. I figured the answer would be somebody in their late 30s, and that appears to be correct. It would be nice though to nail that down to a specific person, at a specific age, with a specific trick. I know it took me many years to hit a quad dex, and when I started playing in the late 90s nobody in the world had even hit one. I feel like in footbag (at least for me), mental barriers often prevent us from doing things we are capable of. I know that if as a teenager somebody had told me that 40 year olds are still able to hit quad dexes, it would motivate me to hit a quad. As of right now, the place-keeper benchmark video for this concept is me hitting clownface at 35 years and 9 months, but I've challenged Allan to hit a quad on video which I hope supplants that.

[boyle]

I imagine you would have a few of your reasonably recent routines pretty well ingrained in the mind, and there would be a potential dropless routine (that was pretty much my idea of a good result, the rankings are a bit hard to pick year on year depending on who turns up).

[C-Fan]

Gorgeous weather all 3 days this past weekend. I got in shreds on Friday and Saturday, and would have played Sunday too except we had a scare with the dog (he ate a pastry with raisins). The dog is fine, and I can't really complain that I ONLY got to play outdoors twice...in late February. Craziness.

Shred highlight of the weekend for me was hitting a new quad dex: tapping flurry!
Bit of bad luck with that clip. It was sunny and hot that morning, but the clouds rolled in right when I started playing. Once I was done shredding, the clouds decided to burn off and it was sunny again! So I basically picked the exact one hour window of the day when it was worst for filming. I was also wearing black shorts and a black shirt with a black bag, which doesn't help with the visibility. What can I say? I wasn't planning on hitting a new quad when I set out. Overall I was pretty happy with it, though I wish the final legover were less scoopy. It's a weird trick for me...the whole thing feels a lot tighter than say pixie flurry for example. The keys that helped me hit it were:

1. Don't set too high
2. Don't put too much energy into the tapping set
3. Slow tap, super fast flurry

I'll probably try for it again in better light with white clothes, for posterity. I'm now up to 17 quads for my career (18 if you count flip blurrier swirl as unique), all on video. Not bad for a player from the 1990s.

The other big highlight from the weekend, was bumping into a group of 3 high school hackers, who approached me and expressed interest in footbag. I was basically done with my session when they swung by, but I made a point to teach them 4square. They were pretty into it, so at the end I gave them my number, and info on the Facebook group, modified, and FreedomFootbags. One of them joined the Facebook group, so I'm going to try and set up a regular 4square game. We'll see how that goes.

Closing out with vid from my Friday shred. Gotta say, the free YT music always makes me chuckle:

[C-Fan]

Another weekend of gorgeous weather. Got to play outside all 3 days, which is definitely not a guarantee at this time of year in Denver.

The other big highlight from the weekend, was bumping into a group of 3 high school hackers, who approached me and expressed interest in footbag.

I managed to meet up with them two more times so far, which I think is a great sign. The first time all 3 showed up and we just played foursquare. I love Foursquare and I always have fun playing, but you definitely run the risk of ignoring freestyle when your group gets too into squares. I'm going to have to strike a balance somehow where maybe we alternate games of squares with 10 minute lessons on stalls. The second time I met up with the high schoolers, only one showed up (with a new friend), which ended up being good since we could focus on freestyle basics instead of squares. Teaching beginners the basics of toe/inside stalls is always an interesting experience. It's been probably 18 years since I first learned stalls, so they've really become second nature to me. But when you're teaching somebody toe stall for the first time, you're reminded of how hard it actually is, and how many different motions and timings are involved even for something as basic as a toe stall. Footbag is hard.

On Sunday I got in a solo session. I decided to work on some drills, since I haven't been playing very regularly and I like to think drills are good motivators for hitting links and concepts on both sides. Had a good bit of fun hitting some old and new drills, including a classic Kevin Hogan drill that looked fun: I'm glad I played so much this weekend, since I'll probably have to take it easy during the week. On Saturday we went to Ikea to buy bookshelves for a home improvement project, and even though I was careful about lifting from the knees, my back is really feeling it today. Painkillers and heating pads. Oof. Hopefully I recover in a couple days, and I can be back to playing next weekend.

[C-Fan]

my back is really feeling it today. Painkillers and heating pads. Oof. .

Happy that my back is recovering really well. On Monday I needed multiple advils and a heating pad. Tuesday just needed advil. Wednesday didn't need anything. And Thursday afternoon I was able to shred, and felt pretty much 100%. Knock on wood.

Here's vid from my Thursday session. I actually like the free YT music in this one; it feels less generic and more playful. I should dumpster dive the "children's" genre in the music options more.
I mostly worked on atomics this session, and they felt good. I was pleased to hit atomic ducking whirl (atomic hawk!) first try, and it felt less cramped than usual. The paradox torque drill was a request from Hogan, after I showed him the drill in my last video that I stole from him. The other highlight of the session for me was hitting 4 or 5 of my best motion sicknesses ever. Something just clicked with it yesterday, where I was setting lower and spinning tighter, that really helped. Most of them were sealed with meh runs, so I just put the one clip in the vid.

Weather is supposed to be fantastic all weekend. I definitely plan on playing every day, the real question is whether I can set any sessions up with the other footbaggers. There are now 3 separate groups I've been in touch with, and ideally I'd like them to all meet up. With the house, dog, and planning upcoming trips though, its definitely a challenge to find/make the time sometimes.

[Allan]

Cool runs! I like the rubberman that started furious and those sailing dada attempts looked like a lot of fun

[C-Fan]

Thanks Allan! I wanted to sandwich a rubberman between two triple dexes, and that was the first one I hit that day. The sailing dada attempts were inspired from a guy on the Facebook group who was asking for tips on it. I figured I should hit it before I said anything, but it's surprisingly hard/weird. It's so easy to cheat the dada dexes, since my sailing is rusty and I'm not getting great height off it. Gonna try for it again this weekend.

Anyway, here's some bonus footage since I'm posting twice in a day. Kinda funny to see how much hair I cut off:

[C-Fan]

Not a lot of time for footbag or footbag projects lately. I've got a trip to Cali at the end of the month, so I've been doing double duty on dog walks this week. The weather hasn't been great after work, so I figure it costs me nothing to do both morning and evening dog walks now, while next week I might have a shot at post-work shreds. Either way I want to make sure I walk the dog as much as Haley does, since I travel more for work than she does. But yeah, walking the dog twice in a day takes up about 2 hours of my free time.

In addition to the added dog walking eating up time, we're also in the middle of our first big home improvement project. Basically, we're doing an Ikea hack (hack!) where we combine several Ikea bookcases into a recessed wall, put fake crown molding on it and have it look like a built in bookcase. Sounds pretty straightforward, but its a lot of work and there's been a learning curve. We've already bought all the bookcases and I've assembled them, but stuff like affixing them to the wall so they don't tip over has been more work intensive than I thought (for example, we didn't want to blindly drill holes into a wall that may have electrical/metal in it, so we had to borrow a sensing tool).

Footbagwise I'm feeling even keel. I'm not playing super regularly, but that's really more due to weather than motivation. When I do play I have fun, and while I don't feel my game is improving, I also don't feel like it's declining either. I'm hoping I can maintain this for a month or so until it starts getting nice out more regularly. The hope then would be that I'd ramp up my playing going into my Japan trip, get to play a lot in Japan, and then come back motivated to train a routine going into USO. That said, at this specific moment in time I'm not feeling as motivated for USO as I have in years past. We'll see if that changes. Maybe I just need to find "the song" and that's all it will take for me to bust my ass preparing a killer routine. We shall see.

In honor of it being St. Patrick's day, here's a vid from last weekend where I'm wearing green:
That was a fun session. I had too much Chipotle for lunch, so I felt heavy all session, but that resulted in me mostly playing downtime. That ended up being pretty fun, and for some reason scorpion's tail on strongside was feeling more reliable than normal. Maybe next time I play I'll try and put it in some fearless strings. Just gotta remember not to overeat right before I shred.