Kankeri Japan

[Tjuggles]

I think the most "chat" (but to me there is very little anywhere) is on Youtube comments. Even still this will be like 3 people commenting on a video, and it's not set in any kind of thread. I notice quite a few of the Japanese players use Twitter - I saw the Tokyo Shredder Gathering was on last weekend.

...I'd say the Facebook group is the main venue for social engagement now. But as Daniel mentioned, it's not nearly as consistent or thoughtful as what you'll find on a forum like Modified.

Interesting, so then I AM keeping up to date with much of the dialogue since I frequent YouTube Footbag vids. Is there someone/something to blame? Why don't people have the time to type a longer message? Is it collateral damage from all of these short-ass videos dominating social media platforms? I find myself watching many like 30 second vids, swiping until I snap out of it. I don't like that. I feel like it is ruining my brain. I wonder if, as a result of the constant swiping and short dopamine hits that come with it, that we are being conditioned away from longer bouts of concentration.

Maybe the diversification of platforms has been detrimental. I participate on Instagram posts and some players are posting regularly on there. But I never use Twitter. And here we are still on Modified.

That is a great point. Divide and conquer eh? Perhaps we have been dispersed and now since there is not one platform we all use, no one is as motivated to post consistently...maybe?

Super glad to hear that the quantums are working for you. Coming from the Climas (which are built like tanks) I feel a little unsupported by the quantum design and materials. I love the lightweight and surfaces but need to adjust my balance and weight control when playing. I also haven't been playing a ton lately, mostly tennis.

I am coming from Lavers, and agree with you; the Quantums feel less supported for sure. I am more conscious of my posture and form, which I think is a good thing. I feel like what the Quantums lack in support, they make up for in being lightweight and being super grippy in terms of delays.

I hope you enjoy your Golden Week stay in Kobe! I just watched Grave of the Fireflies which is set there (and I'm still an emotional wreck from it). Looking forward to seeing these places for myself as soon as I'm summoned by ECC.

Golden Week was good. I could have easily had a few more days off though. Never watched that movie, but it is on my list of movies to watch. Yeah looking forward to seeing you out here for sure. I feel like you waiting to be summoned is like death row inmates waiting for their call to die...except your life will change for the better, while the inmates' will end.

I have kicked twice this week so far, two days in a row. Two days ago was the first kick in about a week, and it felt great. Yesterday's kick was also great, but I was a bit tired from the kick two days ago.

May 8, 2023
Played for about 45 minutes
Gyro clip x14 first try
Fairy op legover x7
Dyno > stepping ss clip x2
Diving drifter bs


May 9, 2023
Played for about 35 minutes
Stepping ss clip > stepping op clip x2
Maybe some other stuff too, but don't remember and didn't write anything down.

[Tjuggles]

Kicked today for about 45 minutes. First kick after the weekend, and it felt great.

May 15 2023
toe set gyro mirage > ss mirage x2
front side blur bs
P whirl > dyno > dyno > P whirl

I was working on swifters for a little while. It has been a long time since I hit them, and so today didn't have any luck. My stepping game needs work, and I think practicing swifters will help. I did hit butterfly swirl bs.

Ken has been posting some vids recently. It is great to see him kicking.

[Tjuggles]

Had a kick on
May 18 2023
Gyro whirl bs
Spin whirl bs
Step ss clip to symp whirl bs
Blenders and Dyno bsos
Blender to p blender bs
This was a good session. It had been about 4 days since my last one, it was a Thursday and I knew if I didn't kick then, it would be next week until I could kick again. Additionally, I was fighting the darkness since I was busy until later than I had planned. All of that put together made me kick harder.

I also talked with Henmo recently. We are about 1.5 hours from each other so will try to meet up soon for a kick. Great!

[Tjuggles]

Kicked today. It was windy and rainy, but managed to kick for about 40 minutes under a bridge near my place.

May 22 2023

gyro mirage > pixie muted op clip x2. I notice my left foot getting a better idea of what to do for pixie sets out of other tricks.
left foot set gyro mirage > magellan > plo > magellan > plo
stepping ss clip > gyro clip x2
atomsmasher x2. I rarely do these (which I want to fix), so hitting b2b was nice.
left foot 2 bag juggle x21 contacts first try.

[boyle]

Interesting, so then I AM keeping up to date with much of the dialogue since I frequent YouTube Footbag vids. Is there someone/something to blame? Why don't people have the time to type a longer message? Is it collateral damage from all of these short-ass videos dominating social media platforms? I find myself watching many like 30 second vids, swiping until I snap out of it. I don't like that. I feel like it is ruining my brain. I wonder if, as a result of the constant swiping and short dopamine hits that come with it, that we are being conditioned away from longer bouts of concentration.

I think this is absolutely a thing. I find myself falling into the trap of watching this videos mindlessly, they are not even good but it's just like a connection into the brain that they have been able to fire up.

I honestly think this "old" style of forum is the best way to be talking about a topic like footbag, but it seems most people are no longer interested in the forum style.


This trick sounds really smooth

gyro mirage > pixie muted op clip x2

[Tjuggles]

I think this is absolutely a thing. I find myself falling into the trap of watching this videos mindlessly, they are not even good but it's just like a connection into the brain that they have been able to fire up.

Yeah, I don't like it at all. It's such an addiction eh? Recently I have been verbally telling myself to stop, and putting my phone down (or closing the internet browser on my computer). It's such a waste of time. I mean, I think it is important to rest and have personal time, but the time we are talking about I feel is lost time because you get sucked into the abyss.

I honestly think this "old" style of forum is the best way to be talking about a topic like footbag, but it seems most people are no longer interested in the forum style.

I agree. I feel like this forum is the closest thing we have to writing how it used to be done (when writing letters); sit down, think about what you want to say, and go through the writing process. Instead, there are numerous platforms and the ones that I frequent (not many, mainly Youtube), have one-word comments. I don't believe people are too busy to sit for 5 minutes and write something in a forum. I think it is mostly that addiction to instant gratification.

This trick sounds really smooth

gyro mirage > pixie muted op clip x2

Yeah it felt nice. Good practice for my left toe.

[boyle]

"sick" (thumbs up like comment) etc.

I think that sort of thing has its place, but the room for long form commentary is certainly there. I'm going to work on doing more of that. Especially while I am stuck at home.

[Muffinman]

Great to see you updating so much. I've also struggled with flip pixies for my whole career. Sometimes they are so ugly when midstring out of something that takes effort. I always find that keeping the dex closer to my body, under my face, and my knee pointed my inward are the things that help the most -- I tend to dex too far forward and knee pointed outward on flip pixie.

I also get stuck in that trap of YouTube shorts/TikTok. It's crazy how long I can find myself just endlessly watching things that I didn't plan to...

[Tjuggles]

Great to see you updating so much. I've also struggled with flip pixies for my whole career. Sometimes they are so ugly when midstring out of something that takes effort. I always find that keeping the dex closer to my body, under my face, and my knee pointed my inward are the things that help the most -- I tend to dex too far forward and knee pointed outward on flip pixie.

Good to know I'm not alone. I totally agree; I tell myself the same things, and have a similar set as you. I also notice I have a bad habit of not setting the bag. Instead, I have a habit of rolling the bag off my toe even before the set begins. So annoying.

I also get stuck in that trap of YouTube shorts/TikTok. It's crazy how long I can find myself just endlessly watching things that I didn't plan to...

Yeah it is so bad eh? I feel like it weakens my ability to concentrate for long periods of time.

Good to hear from you by the way.

[boyle]

Can I join this club too? My left side pixie set is way worse than the other side, though I feel I've improved it a bit in recent years.

[Tjuggles]

Can I join this club too? My left side pixie set is way worse than the other side, though I feel I've improved it a bit in recent years.

Hmm. I'll have to talk to Erik first, but it should be ok...

[Tjuggles]

I haven't kicked this week (now Friday). Maya is out here visiting me, so when work is over, I have my father hat on and have no me time. I brought my gear to uni but haven't had the time to kick. I did a few ATWs yesterday in my office, but that is about it. We are going to Kumamoto this weekend, leaving tonight by bullet train. It is a 2.5 hour ride. Kumamoto is in Kyushu (the west-most island of the four main ones), in about the middle of the island. The forecast says it will be pushing 30 degrees (86F). It is going to be hot! There is a conference out there that I am presenting at on Saturday so will be at the conference all day. Sunday the plan is to take it easy and explore the city. Luckily, my uni will pay for my trip so I only have to cover Maya. They will likely head back to Hiroshima on Monday, so will have some time to kick and get some things done I couldn't this week, next week.

[Tjuggles]

Kumamoto was a success, although traveling with a baby is hard work. My presentation went well, and got to network a bit which was nice.

It was really hot there, and even Maya was complaining, which is rare. We had a bunch of good food, saw Kumamoto castle, and got gifts for people.

Yesterday I had my first kick in a week, but it turned out to be mostly hack (which isn't a bad thing). I went to the gymnasium to see if I could use it (usually the volleyball club has it booked). There were three students in there waiting for the rest of the team, and I asked if I could use the stage in the back. They said yes, and asked what I was going to do. I showed them a couple of tricks and they were amazed. I had a big hack with me so the four of us started kicking that. We ended up playing for an hour! I was so impressed, and we even got a couple of full hacks. They had a great time and there was tons of laughter. This was exactly what I needed after not kicking for a week and getting burnt out at work with the mountain of shit I have to do without the time to do it. I did a couple of runs at the end of the sesh, then went home. The girls said they practice Mon, Wed, and Fri so I told them I will be back...

[Muffinman]

Can I join this club too? My left side pixie set is way worse than the other side, though I feel I've improved it a bit in recent years.

Hmm. I'll have to talk to Erik first, but it should be ok...

Congrats on the successful presentation! The travel sounds fun. We still plan to visit Japan for our honeymoon some day, but it's already been 3 years since our wedding -- flights are so expensive now! Bullet trains look insane!

That's great about the hack circle! Sounds like maybe you have the start of a club on your hands. Fingers crossed! It's such a stark difference between playing solo and with others!

[Tjuggles]

Congrats on the successful presentation! The travel sounds fun. We still plan to visit Japan for our honeymoon some day, but it's already been 3 years since our wedding -- flights are so expensive now! Bullet trains look insane!

Thanks! Yes travel is fun for sure, although with a child it is much more difficult. And loud.

That would be awesome if youse come over here! Wow has it been 3 years already!? Yeah flights aren't cheap, that is for sure. The exchange rate from CAD to JPY is really good right now, considering its history eh? You can probably survive here for not that much money. How long would you come if/when you do?

That's great about the hack circle! Sounds like maybe you have the start of a club on your hands. Fingers crossed! It's such a stark difference between playing solo and with others!

Yeah it is on my mind for sure. One of the girls seems keen. We have hacked a few more times since then. She seems to love it. She hit both toe stalls within 5 minutes! She's got a knack for hack (a hacky knack). I told her that too. She gets it for sure. She's got toe kicks, inside a little, and outside kicks too, and knows pretty much when to use what. It's great to see.

I've had a handful of sessions since my last post.

June 21 2023
Osis x 50 first try
lfs clipper > ss mirage > op toe x 10
dyno x 15 first try
blender x 3
PLO x 10
P drifter to dyno > rpt > P drifter
p whirl > p blender bs (couldn't get the rpt)

June 26 2023
muted magellan > PLO x2
pixie muted ss illusion bs


June 28 2023
dyno and blender bsos
was trying blender > p blender rpt and dyno > far dyno rpt but couldn't hit them.

Yesterday was really hot and humid. I played for maybe 40 minutes and was drenched by the end.

[Muffinman]

Great stuff! Dyno x15 is a lot!! Blender > pdx blender would be sick!

For visiting Japan, we'd probably come for 1 week minimum, maaybbe push it to 2 weeks? But we only have ~4 weeks total vacation per year, and it'll depend on projected costs too, so we'll see. Probably not next year for some work reasons, but maybe the year after? Fingers crossed I'm playing footbag at a higher level also by then!

[Tjuggles]

Great stuff! Dyno x15 is a lot!! Blender > pdx blender would be sick!

Thanks! blender > pdx blender is a cool combo. I have been practicing blenders more so sooner than later should be hitting that combo (more) regularly.

For visiting Japan, we'd probably come for 1 week minimum, maaybbe push it to 2 weeks? But we only have ~4 weeks total vacation per year, and it'll depend on projected costs too, so we'll see. Probably not next year for some work reasons, but maybe the year after? Fingers crossed I'm playing footbag at a higher level also by then!

Ok sounds good. I would recommend like 9 or 10 days. 7 isn't enough, and 2 weeks sounds like it might break the bank. Keep me in the loop and I will do what I can do help. I may be able to get you places to crash at friends' houses (at least in Osaka), and surely the footbag crew around the country can help find cheap places to stay etc.

Yeah don't mess yourself up again and hopefully we can kick when you come out here!

[Asmus]

I wanna go to Japan too! 10 days sound right. Could be a honey moon possibility as well.
Yes I am getting married. I am also high jacking your footblog. Sorry about that.
I really like this little thang here - gyro mirage > pixie muted op clip x2
And Dyno x15 is crazy.

[boyle]

15 x dyno is a lot. I can barely do one.

Congrats Asmus! That's really great news for you.

I really like that gryo mirage>pixie clipper combo, I've been adding that to most sessions, it feels good. Very good mix of different skills.

I would also like to visit Japan. My kids study Japanese at school (primary school so very basic level). We might try to get there in the next few years.

[Tjuggles]

I wanna go to Japan too! 10 days sound right. Could be a honey moon possibility as well.
Yes I am getting married. I am also high jacking your footblog. Sorry about that.
I really like this little thang here - gyro mirage > pixie muted op clip x2
And Dyno x15 is crazy.

Oh shit! Asmus attack! Marriage! Great news friend! There is probably enough room for you to come to Japan too . If you like hot and humid weather, come between July and September. It's supposed to be 36 today, but will probably go above that. And SO humid.

You can comment here anytime you like, but if you get carried away...

I was just thinking about you yesterday. We were talking in class about the happiest countries in the world, and of course your end of the world ranks high. When are you getting married? When is the honeymoon? If you are serious about honeymooning in Japan, let me know and I can help you out however I can.

Thanks for the comments about footsies. I think my PR for dyno is mid-20s, maybe 24?