IPhone 6 slow motion vs. GoPro Hero3+ 1080p 60 frame per secondcomparison

In a partnership between Carved.com and footbagshop.com, we present in slow motion, a side by side comparison of the new iphone 6 vs. GoPro Hero3+ each shooting a at 1080p x 60fps.

Be sure to change the YouTube resolution to the highest setting: 1080p to see the true comparison.

We didn't want to show slo-motion for the sake of slow motion but we wanted to present you with something that can only be understood at 50% of normal speed. 

Both cameras exhibit great quality but what are your opinions on what you see here?  Be sure to switch to 1080p view for the full effect!

Go to Carved.com and use the coupon code 'Footbags' to get a $2 discount on your next phone case. 

New iPhone 6 vs. GoPro Hero3+ Slow Motion Side by Side Comparison

This is the best head-to-head comparison of the new iPhone 6 and the GoPro Hero3+ slow motion cameras.  

It puts an amazing world champion athlete in front of both cameras at sunset facing south toward the City of Chicago from Montrose Harbor.  

If you are wondering, should I buy an iPhone 6 or a GoPro Hero 3+, watch this video (and be sure to change the sprocket setting to 1080p quality) and make up your own mind!

A worthy example of the slow motion capabilities of the 60 frames per second (60 fps) of the new iPhone in comparison with the Hero 3+.

Enjoy!

Inspired by a woman nearly twice my age whom I have never met...

One of my clients was telling me this story about a woman who he would see playing tennis every day. When he finally asked her why she plays tennis so much, she said "I play every day because I'm 86 and if I don't play today, I'm not sure Ill be able to play tomorrow."

She has it right!  We all need to embrace the mobility we have, and not take it for granted. Someday it might not be there.  

"Use it or Lose it!"   This has been a theme of the videos I publish and a core part of my message to others. I could let myself go and play a couple of times a week... but if I do, I'll spend two days catching up for every day I take off.  So I choose to play every day, and to allow NO EXCUSES to get out of it.  

Everyone needs 30 minutes of vigorous exercise daily, but for athletes and especially Footbag freestylers, muscle memory has a short term memory loss problem.  If I take a day off I'm afraid I'll lose my edge. That's why I play everyday.  Join me!

I love to hear these stories about other people who are also exercising every day... it keeps me motivated.

Here is what the Mayo Clinic says about exercising every day...
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389

Today is 2822 days in a row shredding for me.  And I know I'm not the only one!

Practice update: Today I hit some unique seamless tricks, like Fairy (phobic) Gyro Miraging Seamless Juggle and Legbeater Seamless Juggle.  Also Spinning Symposium Butterfly seamless Juggle both sides too.  BSOS.  Still getting better every day.  Thanks for all your support!

Here is what the Mayo Clinic says about exercising every day...
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389

I tried my hand at the Copa Uppy Challenge #copauppy

A few years ago, I was at the US Open and saw Andy Murray warming up by kicking a tennis ball around.  I went home and practiced.  I came up with many tricks and because it is such a fun and healthy activity, I started Tennis Foot Skills to teach kids.  Soon after that, I got busy and lost interest, which I now regret.

So after Andy Murray did 88 kicks the other day and started the Copa Uppy Challenge (#copauppy).  The BBC made a nice video and told people to publish their own attempts, and my Copa-Uppy attempt is located at http://youtu.be/l8QSbzSGYOY.  I have embedded it below as well:

Please let me know what you think of my new site Tennis Foot Skills !

I have really enjoyed my time practicing with a tennis ball, which was supplemental to my time playing footbag everyday.  Today is 2,752 days in a row shredding a footbag.

Enjoy!

Save my Sole! Why I am switching to asphalt and wood surfaces for Footbag Hacky Sack Freestyle

I am now forgoing the would-be ideal grippy surface of concrete, for the less ideal, dirty asphalt or slippery wood for my shredding needs. This is primarily to save my Adidas Rod Laver shoes from wearing out too soon. 

Everyone has their own favorite surface for shredding freestyle Footbag, and mine has always been white concrete.  My second favorite surface is the standard tennis courts. However, due to the unfortunate demise of the lightweight poly-sole Adidas Rod Laver in 2012 our poly-soled lavers are now unavailable and the pairs that we are lucky enough to possess have become prized possessions!  White concrete is ideally grippy so initiating a spin and controlling my spin is more predictable and I feel I perform best on this type if surface. 

The problem with concrete is that it eats Rod Laver shoes alive!  The very grippy-ness it provides also rips away at the poly soles, eventually wearing them through.  It has happened to every pair I've ever had, and it is the primary reason why any of my Lavers are forced into retirement.  

Another reason concrete is now a bad surface for me is that recently I've had two instances where I was rotating my upper body and my support leg normally rotates with me to get in position for the catch and the sole was so attached to the grippy concrete that I tweaked my knee by over rotating, and I've been babying it ever since, even though the pain has gone away. 

I'm going to take a cue from the Hip Hop Dancers who also treasure the poly-soled Adidas Rod Laver shoes, and I'm going to switch to smooth surfaces whenever possible.  Those guys probably don't have the wear-and-tear problem on the soles because they require smooth surfaces to dance on, due to the way they spin by pivoting on an amazingly wide array of body parts. The dancers have found a way to deal with the slipperiness of smooth flooring, and I'll need to make my peace with it too. 

But what surfaces are best?  Polished wood gymnasium floors?  The wood floor in my living room?  Tile or marble?  The problem with shiny and smooth surfaces when dust is present. Even the best wood floors need regular clearing of dust to stay grippy. 

One thing the european Footbag players and dancers have been doing for some time, is to roll out a thin floor over the concrete which modifies whatever surface they are on, into an ideal one.  I've tried athletic flooring in the past and my conclusion was that the plastic ones that used tongue and groove were too bulky to transport and the rubber ones sucked the energy from my legs and reduced my leaping ability.  I never before saw the wisdom of thin supplemental flooring, but I'm all over it now!   I will find the perfect surface that is a single lightweight portable piece, that is the right grippy-ness for freestyle Footbag and I will report back with my results.  For now I'm trying to play on wood floors with a damp rag nearby to step on and remove dust from my shoes.  Save our soles!

As for my daily shred update... Today is 2806 days in a row.  I'm still loving every minute of it!  Looking forward to tomorrow's jam session already and I haven't even gotten to werk yet.   I've been kayaking a lot lately, but I'm paying the price in the form of back pain.  First, lower and now upper.   But the pain did not slow me down a bit. Thanks for all your support!  

Freestyle Footbag - Official Study - Log, Day 1 of study, 2728 in a row for me.

I am participating in a study of Freestyle Footbag athletes by a college student.  It is a 30 day study where we fill in logs of what we did that day and he analyzes the data for his report.

Here I am sharing my daily logs: This is the log from June 9th.  2728 Days in a row for me.

Footbag			Comments
Nr. 1  How long did you practice today?	< 30 min  30 – 60 min	60 – 90 min  > 90 min	75 Minutes in Morning Shred 30 minutes in afternoon shred
Nr. 2 Did you practice alone or in a group?	alone  in a group (at least one more player)		Alone
Nr. 3 Where did you practice?	inside (please specify, e.g. at home, gym etc.)  outside (please specify, e.g. park, street etc.)		Inside, living room
Nr. 4 Did you use music?	NO	if yes Please comment on how the music influenced your practice?	Not today. Had TV news on in the background.
Nr. 5 Did you warm up in a specific way?	YES	if yes  footbag related (kicks, stalls etc.)   running  stretching  rope skipping  other	5 minute mini yoga practice mostly forward bends and breathing exercises.  Sitting stretches especially the ‘giant inside’ cradle.  Holding up the wall stretch for the calves.  Then 10 infinity, 10 osis, 10 whirl/osis combo, 10 rip walks, 10 paradox whirls.
Nr. 6.1 Did you focus on a certain aspect or did you set yourself a goal for today’s training session?	YES	if yes  basics  drills  tricks / group of tricks / concept  sets  forms of competition  focus / goal developed while practicing  other	Today I worked on linking to 5 add tricks.  For instance, Spinning Butterfly to Blurry Whirl BSOS.  Blurry Whirl seamless juggles and Blurry torque to a seamless toe-pickup juggle.  Spinning Whirls to spinning miraging seamless juggle.  Mobius BSOS.  I’ve added Symposium tricks back into my daily rotation.  Mostly versions of Symposium Whirls.
Nr. 6.2 What did you do in detail to achieve your goal?	a lot of repetitions   variations of tricks, drills,         specific motion sequences etc.  integration in runs (e.g. drills,       tricks,  motion sequences etc.)	like in a competition (e.g. only 3/5/7 attempts or        routine only ones etc.)  divide tricks in its elements and then put them        together  other	I come up with a goal, which could be a single trick or could be a combo, and I drill it until I get it controlled 3 times consecutively.  If I blow it on the 3rd consecutive attempt, I restart the count.  I also try to free flow and create new links between moves I’ve never linked before.
Nr. 7 Did you visualize / imagine certain motion sequences before executing them?	YES	if yes  Please comment on what you did or what came to your mind specifically.	It is always necessary to visualize ‘economy of motion’ and to dream of uncharted territory.
Nr. 8 Did you record yourself with a video device while practicing?	NO	if yes Did you replay certain sequences immediately afterwards in order to watch and analyze yourself?  yes  no	When shredding indoors, I rarely record video.
Nr. 9 If you practiced in a group: Did you ask the others for advice?	NO	if yes Please comment on what you asked specifically and what you wanted to achieve.	NA
Nr. 10 If you practiced in a group: When watching the other players, what did you focus on?	combinations / links  posture  difficulty variety   other	Connecting question Did the observation bring you closer to your own focus / goal of the training session?  yes  no	NA

Footbag Summer Camp Programs - Summer 2014 - Chicago Area

Footbag Summer Camp Programs 

Now Available for Summer of 2014

Footbag is a fun and addictive form of exercise.  A simple, inexpensive footbag is just one of the tools we can use to help in the fight against the epidemics of Childhood Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes!  

Footbag provides constant challenges for individuals and groups, and a fun activity that gets them off their video games and into their driveways and living rooms to practice and get better. The first challenge is learning the basic kicks and aiming for ever increasing consecutive kick goals of 5, 10 or 50 in a row... and there is something about it that makes people want to keep trying.  If consecutive kicking isn't challenging enough, doing tricks with a footbag is the next set of challenges, and there is no end to it!   

Scott Davidson, Education Director for International Footbag Players Association, Certified Instructor and Footbag Freestyle World Champion, has been practicing and competing for 30 years and continues to improve and innovate new tricks.  Additionally, he has also been exercising with footbag freestyle for the past 2675+ days in a row.  

Scott is now offering summer camp demonstrations and instruction on a limited availability basis for the summer of 2014!  While we are very flexible in our presentation, our typical workshop format includes a dynamic demonstration and introduction footbag, followed by an instructional opportunity for the summer camp participants.  We recommend that you opt to include one of our affordable starter footbags for every participant to take home with them, which can be included in the cost of the program.  Please contact me immediately, as I am only available on Mondays this summer, unless I have at least 4 weeks notice.

Adidas Rod Laver Shoe Review - 2014 Blue Model vs. Recent Blue/White model

The Adidas Rod Laver shoe is a great tennis shoe, but it is the very greatest footbag freestyle shoe!  Footbaggers worldwide have enjoyed the flat level surfaces, light weight and durability of this shoe for decades.  The Adidas Rod Laver shoe has been around since 1970, and we footbag has been recognized as a contributor to its success in news articles like this.  Both tennis and footbag players have been searching the world over for the traditional shoe, only to find out they had been discontinued.  I created the Facebook group called "Save the Adidas Rod Laver Shoe" and we have 473 followers as of this writing.  We still have some concerns about the usability of the shoe focused mainly around the weight of the shoe, but I have some other concerns which I have outlined below.

I have just received my new 'Blue/Blue/White' Adidas Rod Laver shoe via UPS.

It started by ordering the pair online at adidas.com, where I used a coupon code and got 20% off.  Very fast shipping time, way ahead of their estimate.    The big question still remains, are the soles made of rubber like the blue and red models released just days earlier?

Breaking news!  The Green/White Lavers have appeared on the adidas.com US store as of March 19th, 2014!

Weight Comparison (Size 9.5 Mens US):
Old Green/White model Adidas Rod Laver: 336g
New Blue/Blue/White model Adidas Laver: 503g
Old worn Grey pair of Adidas Rod Lavers: 292g
This represents a 50% increase in weight, unacceptable for serious footbag freestyle players, as well as tennis players.

Size Comparison:
The new shoes look thicker from the bottom up.

Tongue Comparison:

The tongue of the blue/blue/white is a flexible mesh fabric.  Footbag players be careful modifying the tongue, if you remove the backing, it might not provide the padding protection from the laces pushing force onto the top of the foot.

Side Mesh Comparison:

It is hard to see in the photo below, but the new side mesh is a finer grain, it is more slippery than green/white mesh and less flexible when bent.  The 2nd photo below, shows the imperfection in the shoe on the right.  A crease present on one shoe, before ever wearing it.

Thickness of 'Walls' comparison:
The blue/blue/white model shoe is significantly thicker on all surfaces.  This makes it less flexible and more important to do major modifications to make them into footbag freestyle shoes.

General notes:
The green/white models were made in China.  The blue/blue/white model reviewed here was made in Indonesia, and came with a warning that the colors may 'transfer' or bleed onto your socks.  In other words, these are not made to get wet.  The blue/blue/white model has a warning against machine washing them so be forewarned if you do.  After wearing them for just a few minutes I'm going to have to loosen my lacing because they feel too tight.  Don't forget to peel out the insole and replace it with a Spenco insole without arch support.  I've been playing every day for the past 2647 days in a row, and 23 years before that, and I've worn my Spenco Insoles in EVERY pair of shoes and I'm still playing.

Summary
The new Blue/Blue/White Rod Laver model, and presumptively the Red/Red/White models recently released are too heavy and thick for serious tennis players and footbag freestylers alike!  These new Lavers should be considered a stylish version of the shoe for general use in walking around town. Perhaps Skateboarders will see the rubber sole as a plus, but we all see it as a deal killer.  The rubber soles and thick sidewalls add 167 grams of weight to the shoe which is a 50% net increase in weight!  These are not the Adidas Rod Lavers we were asking for.

Breaking news!  The Green/White Lavers have appeared on the adidas.com US store as of March 19th, 2014!  They look promising, with painted green sole just like old times!

Now producing a footbag video for the GoPro website, at their request!

As usual, by perseverance and dumb luck, I have been contacted by GoPro to put some of my footage onto their website!  While I prepare that storyboard and get ready to film at the next break in the weather... I wanted to share my "Most Watched YouTube Videos of Scott 'Enlightener' Davidson" playlist from my YouTube Channel.

One of my videos has over 99,000 views, another is at 42,000.  Many more of my videos have over 2000 views!  Please enjoy these.  Hopefully I'll have a runaway hit with the GoPro video I'm making and I can break my own personal record!

Here is my most viewed YouTube video, my 7th place finish at the World Footbag Championships 2003 in Prague...