Is there any way to increase my ankle crank?

Slimer · Post by **Slimer** » 26 Nov 2006 17:27

my ankles are about as flexable as a brick wall wrapped in titanium, this makes clippers a pain in the balls to do (I can do them, it's just really hard for me).

Can anyone suggest anything that would help?

professor · Post by **professor** » 26 Nov 2006 23:20

Keep playing. You will get more crank as time goes by. I don't suggest stretching your ankles too much, as it can cause problems. (<-- personal experience) You might benefit from light stretching, but be careful.

You don't need an enormous amount of crank to be good at footbag. Neither David Clavens' or Jorden Moir's crank is that great, but they are both ridiculously good.

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 29 Nov 2006 19:29

Trust me, crank is not the only problem. Ben and I both have bad crank and we're both pretty good. There are lots of other players (Flash, Sebastien, Yax) who tear it up despite bad crank. There is a LOT to clipper position. Study someone's form when they're in the middle of a clipper -- look at -every- part of their body and mimic. Find what's comfortable, but don't get lazy. Pay attention to timing, dip, and the like. Pay attention to what you're schooling - if you keep trying something the wrong way, eventually you will get good at that execution and then you'll have to relearn your positioning later. Footbag is at least half mental (for most people).

Splint · Post by **Splint** » 30 Nov 2006 03:08

Three things I did.

When I had a desk job I would just sit there and stretch the shit out of my ankles by stepping on one with the other in the desired inside stall position.

In my early days of playing footbag I did a lot of walkovers which required doing everything possible to stretch without breaking my ankle or dropping the bag.

I used to do an inside stall and keep the stall in place while I studied and tweaked the position of my ankle. I would then wrap it around to clipper and do the same. I also would stop mid string on a clipper to see if I was really holding it or relying on the momentum of play.

professor · Post by **professor** » 30 Nov 2006 06:40

Be careful with that ^.

I did the same thing and caused an overuse injury. I couldn't use my right clipper for about 6 months. So, if you are going to do that, BE CAREFUL.

The Energizer Benny · Post by **The Energizer Benny** » 17 Dec 2006 13:17

I seen a guy was sitting and stretching his ankle by stepping on it, like ya'lls is talking about. And then this space alien with all these arms and legs And eyes. Lohdy, the eyes was terrible. swooped down through the wall and jump-kicked through this man.

So don't stretch your ankle like that.

mc · Post by mc » 17 Dec 2006 20:18

classic, benny

3 of my favorite east side players (clavens, moir, and digges) do not have naturally cranky ankles, and I don't have to tell you about their games.

I'd say study their form, work with what you've got, and don't overdo the stretching. You can do it.

Wumbo · Post by **Wumbo** » 24 Jan 2007 14:57

get your leg bend at inside kick position and crank the foot fully flat. (everyone can do this, dont worry

) now bring down the foot slowly but try to hold the position. youll feel a strech in the inside of the middle part of the foot where crank is made; and not in the ankle itself. hold it 5-10 seconds, relax, repeat. just go as far as you can keep the crank flat, dont go too deep until its unflat. you can go deeper by time but overdoing it isnt the way to go.
you dont need a supercrank to become good, but the flatter it is the easier things will be (more control, less roll off), a minimum amount is neccessary indeed. the advantage of having good crank is that you can catch it somewhat deep, giving you more room and time for trick execution. watch some videos of vasek or felix doing clipper and press pause. if you look at the space between his foot and the ground, dude, there barely fits a sheet of paper in there.
i dont think people like jorden or david have a bad crank. you cant say that. if you think this is a bad one, youÂ´ve never seen a really bad one before.

Toby · Post by **Toby** » 26 Jan 2007 06:35

I think that the best and safest way to improve your crank is to focus on strengthening the muscles that you use to crank your clippers, rather than stretching the opposing muscles.

An exercise like what Wumbo suggested is a good idea. I think it would be even better to do this with a footbag on your foot at the same time, because it will force you to do it properly and also teach you the best way to use your clipper surface.

footymatt · Post by **footymatt** » 26 Jan 2007 07:09

my clips ain't perfect (but Don't get as much time to pratice as I'd like) but something that helped me learn, even just how to do them, is:

Wraps - these helped me the most, I still use them when my clipper stops wroking right.

StepOvers- also good, but more weight is added to the foot on the ground and if you mess up (which is hard to do, i guess) you could get hurt. But put the bag in the right spot with your ankle in the crank for you.

Inside stretching ,lightly, I just put my outside surface of my foot on the ground and add enough pressure to feel my ankle.

Hopovers- they work but if your not used to clippers you could most assurdly hurt yourself.

Stoneman · Post by **Stoneman** » 21 Oct 2007 12:38

what are these hinted dangers of ankle stetches?
my crank sucks balls and i want to make sure im not injuring myself before i spend a couple months trying to better my crank

proffesor, what happened with your overuse injury? what specifically caused it?

(ps, sorry for dragging this thread out of the depths of modified memory)

Zeb Jackson · Post by **Zeb Jackson** » 21 Oct 2007 13:18

look at some of the best in the world, they have average ankle crank, not even great ankle crank and they are awesome, while ankle crank cn be a benifit, you can still do just as good without...

gMoney · Post by **gMoney** » 21 Oct 2007 13:20

I remember when I was learning clippers, I'd take a small weight, like 2.5 to 5 lbs. then hold it in clipper position for like 10 seconds. My crank wasn't that bad, but I just wasn't used to the position, and the weights helped.

Zeb Jackson · Post by **Zeb Jackson** » 21 Oct 2007 13:24

weights can strain muscles i do not recommend them

Stoneman · Post by **Stoneman** » 21 Oct 2007 13:33

Im pretty sure strained muscles arnt dangerous unless they're very severe.

What about the impossibility of stretching ligaments?

Zeb Jackson · Post by **Zeb Jackson** » 21 Oct 2007 13:38

when i first started footbag, i tried increasing my ankle crank because i thought it would be hugely beneficial,but after countless times injuring myself because of stretching them (even lightly) i gave up the idea.

all i can say is, if you wanna mess up your ankles, be my guest, i was just trying to throw some random, first hand experience your way.

peace.

Stoneman · Post by **Stoneman** » 21 Oct 2007 13:59

i just want to know how you "messed up" your ankles, what happened?

oh, and im pretty sure it is hugely beneficial.

gMoney · Post by **gMoney** » 21 Oct 2007 14:24

Zeb Jackson wrote:weights can strain muscles i do not recommend them

I was using very little weight, and I wasn't really using it on my ankles as much as I was using it on the rest of my legs to kind of condition myself for that position, sort of, if you know what I mean. Would that still be ok, or not? Because if not, don't listen to me.

Stoneman · Post by **Stoneman** » 21 Oct 2007 15:04

im really not trying to be an ass, but:

First off, i can clipper fine, i learned in like 2 days 7 months ago

Zeb Jackson wrote:look at some of the best in the world, they have average ankle crank, not even great ankle crank and they are awesome, while ankle crank cn be a benifit, you can still do just as good without...

I realise you said average, but i think almost all the best in the world have better than average, look:
best in the world:

supercrank :vasek, felix, sergey,honza, penske, andrew grant almost does, at one point pakonnen, (mby milan?)

pretty good :david,phil, jorden,lon, norek, tina, (kevin crowley) many others

uncranky : geilnek, landes,

most importantly

best style
W supercrank

takumi, felix, sergey, vasek, honza, matt cross, yoga kichigin, mikko, pakonnen, (penske sometimes)
w/o crank

landes,

there are probly more w/o crank with good style, but who?

I left out many people. I left out the toe to toe players, (kevin regamy has great style and is amazing), however, I feel like this is an accurate display of the top players.
Best style had very few people in the middle, so i left them out. Couple of them: david clavens, norek.

I dont think you can say that ankle crank isnt necesary, I see two exceptions, nick landes and geilnek, and my crank might be worse than thiers. Furthermore, style is more important to me than being the best, so that leaves 1 exception that i could think of.

professor · Post by **professor** » 21 Oct 2007 16:03

Stoneman wrote:what are these hinted dangers of ankle stetches?

professor, what happened with your overuse injury? what specifically caused it?

Overuse. My ankle tendons were overused. Overuse. Aka ankle stretching/cranking too much.

Stoneman wrote:oh, and im pretty sure it is hugely beneficial.

No, it's not. Look at all the people who aren't good that have great crank. It might help learn certain tricks fast in the beginning (osis, clipper), but other than that it isn't "hugely" beneficial.

Stoneman wrote:I realise you said average, but i think almost all the best in the world have better than average, look:
best in the world:
supercrank :vasek, felix, honza, penske, andrew grant almost does, (mby milan?)
pretty good :david,phil, jorden,lon, tina, (kevin crowley) many others
uncranky : geilnek, landes,

there are probly more w/o crank with good style, but who?

Best style had very few people in the middle, so i left them out. Couple of them: david clavens, sometimes jorden and sometimes not.

I dont think you can say that ankle crank isnt necesary, I see two exceptions, nick landes and geilnek, and my crank might be worse than thiers. Furthermore, style is more important to me than being the best, so that leaves 1 exception that i could think of.

Your classifications are totally subjective to the way you think. Landes has great crank. I'd say David, Lon, and Jorden have average crank not "pretty good". Average being compared to everyone else.
I don't understand why you brought up style as it has little to do with crank and is also totally subjective.

Is there any way to increase my ankle crank?

Is there any way to increase my ankle crank?

nuts