Adidas Rod Laver Prime Knit Review

Good news!  The Prime Knit has come and gone, and it was a total FAIL!
Check out the newest version of the Rod Laver shoe that has "PU Insole" and "Rubber Outsole" but NOT Gum Rubber!  I don't have the cash to get these right now, but let me know your comments if you get them!  http://www.adidas.com/us/rod-laver-super-shoes/BB8562.html

I was so busy in life that I could not post a review of the Prime Knits while they were still available, but I hope no one bought them but me!  The only pair of Adidas Rod Laver shoes I have ever regretted purchasing had gum rubber soles.  These Prime Knit Rod Laver shoes were somehow worse.  I'm glad they already discontinued this version.  Bottom line, they were still heavy and my foot slipped around in them, no matter how tightly I tied the laces.  The fabric was so flimsy that even the eyeholes bunched up on each other.  I can use these for casual use only.  NOT for footbag, and I'm sure the dancers won't like these either.

I still don't have the time to write up a proper review, but here is a summary of what I wrote while I was wearing them...

Old poly size 10. 337g.  No insole
New PrimeKnit 10. 374g
First impression.
Nice look.  Tongue has 'teeth' at the top.  Sidewalls need not be separated and removed. InSole is easy to replace. Gum rubber sole doesn't seem as heavy duty and thick as bad gum rubber sole.  Seems like hybrid. Under insole is nice knitted cover over the ugly holes that were under the old insoles.  No logo on white part of heel.  Easy to modify. The only two stitch removal's per shoe. No slice in tongue to keep tongue in place
First warm up. Noticing that the fabric makes kicking bouncier and I am concerned about catching being bouncy.  Outer flanges of the toe wall are so soft they become wavy under the stress of the laces and may need to be further modified.
They feel heavier. And the rubber soles are definitely stickier on hardwood floors.  Knitted tongue slips down word during regular shred.

Technology for Footbag: Activity Monitoring

I find real value in monitoring my step count while playing freestyle Footbag!

As a freestyle footbag enthusiast who has been playing every day for 3,169 days in a row, I'm always looking for ways to improve my game.  About a year ago I started to realize the value of counting my steps.  My iPhone 5s does it for me, all I have to do is look.

When I started to pay attention to my step count during my freestyle footbag workouts it was very revealing.  I bought an armband so I could wear my phone during workouts, I found that an hour of good solid solo shredding with a footbag equaled about 2000 steps.    On the other hand, if I walked for an hour I would get about 5000 or more steps.  So I like to think of my workout steps as 'Workout Points', as I work very hard for every recorded step.

Since I have always broken my daily jams into 15 minutes each of 3-add drills (for getting warm), 4-add flow, 5 add tricks and experiments and juggle practice with 5's sprinkled in.  I now have an additional way to gauge my performance!

I now know that when I am indoors playing alone in my living room, it takes me more time to achieve 500 points than when I'm outdoors in public.  Things that slow me down are: Lack of sleep, lack of stretching, dehydration, large circles and distractions like television.  Often I get interrupted by the dog needing to be walked. 

The movement sensors in the iPhone are clearly not giving me credit for all the effort I put in, but by observing how it reads my movement, it gives me powerful insights into how to keep improving as I continue to play freestyle Footbag every day.   

I am hoping to add several additional data points to my arsenal in the form of a new Apple Watch and an iPhone 6s in my future.  Which adds a gyroscope on my wrist, heart monitoring and even elevation.  I'm sure I'll gain additional insights with all this new data. 

I've also been motivated to walk more.  I've been averaging over 15,000 steps a day and for the past 8 weeks, I've hit over 100,000 steps a week!  As long as it doesn't get in the way of my daily shreds.

My conclusion is that by observing how many 'steps' I've taken informs my workout efforts, and helps me to know when to push harder as well as a gauge to measure my sessions against each other.  Today will be my 3188 days in a row shredding every day, and technology is my friend when it comes to my quest for mastery in the most difficult sport on Earth!

This is an instagram video compilation of a bunch of loops I made recently.  

How exercising every day positively effects my work...

When I think about the many benefits that I receive by exercising everyday, I mostly think in terms of improved health and fitness.  And while doing research about daily exercise and the physical benefits, I realized that there are many great reasons to exercise, that are specifically related to improving my work performance.

Exercise has many positive mental benefits: reducing stress and anxiety, improved focus, better mood, increased energy, and better sleep quality!

Every one of these mental benefits translates to better performance at work.  When exercise reduces my stress and anxiety, I go to work more relaxed and calm, and enjoy my interactions with co-workers and clients even more than usual!  When exercise improves my focus, I'm better able to efficiently complete the tasks at hand and helps me to innovate effectively!  And when exercise improves my sleep quality, I arrive at work more alert and feel rested throughout the day!

I exercise everyday, and I have since I turned 40, over 8 years ago.  It has had a positive effect on my work and my family life.  Consider pushing yourself to break a sweat every day!  It is amazing what you might accomplish!

Here is a video showing off what I have accomplished over the last 3000 days of exercising everyday.

Even the US Government has done research to prove the benefits of exercise in the workplace.  Read more about it here.

Thanks for watching!

Find more at www.earlyworkingretirement.com
My youtube channel is /footbagenlightener
Follow me on Twitter: @enlightener1
Friend me on Facebook: /enlightener

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...

Zippers are Cross-Body toes...

I've been dabbling with cross-body toe delays for a long time.  Only recently did I start hitting them consistently, and only after I had all but gave up on them.  It was a balance and timing thing.

Now after practicing them even more, which always causes some kind of unusual soreness when I try new trick categories, I have uncovered at least 5 iterations of it, and Zippers keep getting better.

In this recent video, I explored Zippers for the first time and showed Reverse Swirling Zipper and Phairy (fairy) Butterfly Zipper.  Since this video, I have hit Blender Zipper, ToeSis (Zipper from op side/behind) and Spinning ToeSis.  I am close to Blurry Zipper and Pixie Opp Zipper.

Today was day 2521 in a row shredding.

Thanks for watching!
-Enlightener

2,500 Days in a row and still going strong!!!

Please watch my new video which summarizes my 2,500 day journey of exercising every day.  Specifically, exercising in Footbag Freestyle, a high-impact aerobic sport that requires focus and dexterity, and provides a constantly challenging, constantly unique athletic experience.

None of this would be possible without the constant support and understanding of my wife and son, who give me the time it takes to play everyday, they tolerate me dominating the computer to do the video editing and publish videos, blog and maintain my website: EarlyWorkingRetirement.com, they help me with laundry and they feed me.  I could not have maintained this kind of focus over this long of a period of time without their help. THANKS!

Today is 2511 in a row.

-enlightener

iPhone 5s vs. GoPro Hero3 - Hyper and Pulse Sets - Footbag Freestyle in ...

Yesterday I filmed a new trick on the roof of Mammoth Springs Footbag Training Center.  I filmed simultaneously on an iPhone 5s and a GoPro Hero3 from 90 degree opposing angles.



The new trick is called "Pulsing" and it is a symposium dexing set.  It could also be called Up-Rooted Pixie set.  I show it here to a DLO and a far osis.

I use side-by-side slow motion comparisons of it.  The video also has the Hyper set in it... with several iterations.

I hope to link this closely to a Rooted trick, for instance Rooted Blur directly to Hyper or Pulsing DLO or osis.

This was filmed on day 2474 in a row of playing footbag freestyle (at an extreme level) shred.  In my 2nd session of the day.

Thanks for watching!

Apple iPhone 5s Slow Motion Demo Sample 120fps 720p - Footbag (Hacky Sack) Freestyle amazing example of a great camera

I have been shredding every day for 2472 days straight, and it feels great!  I had access to an iPhone 5s Apple camera for an hour so I shot this video.  I hope you agree, when viewed in real time, footbag tricks are difficult to figure out, but at 120 frames per second (120fps), it is an amazing visual.

I have a gopro with a wide angle lens, but I desire having a camera with this capability alongside my phone, in case I get the urge to film.

Play everyday!

See ya!
-enlightener

The Journey and the People are really the reasons I love to go to Footbag tournaments...

Certainly World Footbag Championships is the father of all Footbag tournaments, and that means many of my old friends are traveling there too. This post is to summarize our Journey to Montreal. 

Starting in Oak Park, IL which is a suburb of Chicago, we began packing on Thursday, the day after my wife's moms funeral.  It was a tough week. I am traveling with my wife Valeria, my son Alex and my niece Juliana (both 14) and our dog Harley.  We each get a bin and packed it into our station wagon with a car topper that has our camping gear, chairs, xootr, etc...  

We got our usual late start and didn't get to the Windsor Canada crossing until midnight.  We had to reserve a room in Canada to prove we needed our passports expedited, but it took until 4:00am to find the hotel near Toronto. We slept until 10:30 and had to check out at 11.  

Another constant challenge is finding Internet and using it wisely. I rely heavily on iPhone maps, but without a data plan here, we have been successfully zenning our way around. We sat in the hotel parking lot and used their wifi to figure out our next moves. 

We found the Toronto lakefront, and went to this new park but $10 parking and mostly not dog friendly we backtracked to the old Toronto lakefront parks and found a $1.50 parking spot.  Here are some Toronto pictures: 

 A drive by picture

Met this kid and his sister, taught them some kicks and gave them a dragonfly Footbag from our sponsor www.footbagshop.com 

If you look carefully in the background you can see the spire in that last photo. 

The weather looked bad at this point, so camping that night was off.  We went to Gananoque CA which is billed as the 'Gateway to 1000 Islands' and found a hotel.  We watched a heavy rainstorm come thru and got up the next day to go see 1000 Islands. 

We zenned our way to the highway and headed for Montreal. We have a condo rented and we needed to dump all our stuff and get checked in for the tournament.  Here is our condo...

Pretty sweet!  About $100/night.  You see Valeria in the kitchen then the dining room and family room space, a bedroom beyond the TV and a sitting room to the right with Juliana on the barkolounger. 

We got checked in at the event site... Saw old friends like Tuan Vu and Lisa Monte-Vu, Kenny and Kendall Shults and family, and many others!  It was great!

Valeria made a great pasta dinner in our full kitchen and we felt right at home. 

On Monday, we skipped the tournament and went to Six Flags LaRonde and used our season passes to get in free.  They even let us use the parking for free!  

Julie and Alex at the site where I took 4th in the world in 1996. In the back of LaRonde.  After Worlds is over, we are going to 4 more six flags along the east coast.  Stay tuned. 

Back in 1996, a random jam happened on Isle St. Helene at this very location. Peter Irish, Tuan Vu, Eric Wullfe and I shredded epically here.  It is where I did my 2413th jam in a row and my last practice before round 1 at worlds. 

So at 12:30 today EST Worlds freestyle begins and at 1:20 my pool goes on.  So wish me luck.  It's breakfast time here.  And that is the story of how we got here!

See ya!

-Enlightener

Vote daily for Scott 'Enlightener' Davidson in Dr. Pepper video contest!

I need your votes!  Each day, starting July 10th thru July 24th you can vote once at http://www.drpepper.com/oneofakind/ and a second time by tweeting my custom hash tag #ScottForTheNextOne to your Twitter account.  

I know it will be difficult to remember to vote everyday, so I am putting a calendar event that repeats daily for the next two weeks to remind me. 

If you could share the link to my Dr. Pepper video on your Facebook and Twitter, I would greatly appreciate it. 

The video was submitted over a month ago, and would not have been possible without the help of my son Alex Davidson, my wife Valeria Davidson and my friend Steve Richardson.  It is in the style of the Dr Pepper /1 of a Kind as campaign and tells the story of how Over 1 million Footbag's are sold each year, and how hundreds of thousands of college students move on and never play Footbag again.  It also talks about how I am a world champion, how I am over 46 years old, and how I play every day, And that's what makes me one-of-a-kind!   When we were filming it, at Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois, As an afterthought, we got shot in front of the doorway at the college. It turned out that this was the best shot of the day.   A rather long string, captured with the iPhone in vertical mode, featured prominently in the second half of the video.

I apologize in advance for being annoying  this week. I will be making several Facebook posts a day to garner as many votes as possible. 

As of This writing, the video is not yet viewable. I hope there will be a share button for Facebook and Twitter, and even LinkedIn. I hope they publish it at 1080p. 

Even if you aren't quite as excited about this as I am, I truly appreciate your support in voting and getting the word out to vote!

If I win, the prize is that they will produce a professional quality video along the same lines of the one I made. And they will Eric on television and on the web.  I'll get flown to location, and per diem's. But no cash prize this time.

Just making the finals, feels like winning to me! But it sure would be nice to get some great positive exposure for the sport of Footbag, and Footbag Freestyle specifically.

How to create a 2 minute Footbag Freestyle routine, Part 2... The Music Map

This is Part 2 of my series of articles on "How to create a 2 minute Footbag Freestyle routine."

The Music Map:

A Music Map expresses the chosen song in relation to where the 'sections' of music start based on their relationship to the beginning of the song.  This is necessary for designing a routine, as it allows me to break the song into several pieces so I can create sections of the song in my mind.  It will also be necessary for training, as I will break the song down into these sections so I can train the different sections separately.

This years song is a compilation of two tracks from the Monsters, Inc. soundtrack which I spliced together using GarageBand on a mac as referenced in the previous article Part 1 - Picking your music.

For the past few days I've been listening to the music and watching the clock.  I have broken it into 6 uneven sections, for the purpose of mapping each group of tricks and the transitions between sections.

Here is my map:
0:00 - Intro
0:10 - Frontsides
0:30 - Juggle 1 sequence
0:49 - Shred 5's
1:12 - Flow Section 1 (starting on top of head)
1:35 - Flow Section 2
1:50 - (Starts and ends on freeze?) Finalé
2:12 - End

From this map, I went back into Garageband on my mac and split the song up along these lines.  I had to use multiple tracks, lots of splitting tracks and copying and pasting to get it done.  But my goal of creating musical sections of my song selection is complete.  Specifically, using the time codes and listening, I made 6 separate songs that each have a bit of the 'before' and 'after' of each section so I can also practice the 'bridges' between the sections.

After exporting each song to iTunes and creating some new playlists, I have my song pieces available.  The playlists I will ultimately do my training to will include these specifics...
1) A Playlist that has each section in order, with gaps to create a pause.  So I can hit pause after I do a section, and hit play when ready to go again.  I could also have itunes 'loop' each individual section.
2) A Playlist that has each section in order, but with 1 minute song segments in between, so I can do my 'endurance training' jams with each segment.  Those are so tiring.
3) A Playlist with the first half of the song repeating 5 times with 1 minute 'other songs' interspersed.  I start it and keep going until done.
4) A playlist with the second half of the song repeating 5 times with 1 minute 'other songs' interspersed.  I start it and keep going until done.
5) A playlist with the entire song repeating 5 times with 1 minute 'other songs' interspersed.  I start it and keep going until done.  Very tiring.

So join me in this journey.  My next article will be about my Trick Hit List.  These are the tricks that I would like to incorporate into my routine.

Shred notes from this week:
Published some advanced Eclipse combos to youtube.  Broke 100 youtube subscribers this week.  Had a blast toying with my routine.  Today was day 2298 in a row.  Doing at least 2 run-thru's of my routine for worlds every day. Looking forward to actual spring temperatures.

This is what I published:

How to create a 2 minute Footbag Freestyle routine, Part 1... Picking your Music

In this series of articles, I plan to publicly create my freestyle routine for World Footbag Championships 2013 in Montreal.

Usually, I train in private and come out of nowhere to surprise my competition.  This time, I am publicly sharing my progress through this blog, and occasionally through Vimeo.

Today's lesson:

Picking your Music...

I am always keeping my ears open for good music, but because my library is limited and my taste in music is poor, I rarely come across new music that I like.  Whatever I choose, I will have to listen to it thousands of times, practice to it hundreds of times and perform to it at least 3 times (assuming I make it to Finals).  It has to be near my Beats per Minute speed of about 110bpm, it should not have any lyrics.

One of my favorite performances was the year I emerged victorious against the great Peter "Executioner" Irish.  At East Coast Footbag Championships 2003, Here is that performance...

The other day, I heard a commercial for Monsters, Inc on TV and the music spoke to me.  I have always liked shredding to swing and jazz music and this is great.  I listened to a few songs and I settled on the beginning of one and the end of another.  I used Garageband on a Mac to splice them together the way I need them and I included the track here:

The next thing to do is a Music Map... that will be for tomorrow's lesson.

Shred notes: Day 2260 in a row.

Today, I worked through my routine music a few times to get a feel for it.  Wow, what a great time I had.  It has been a while.  This music really moves me. Let me know what you think.

See ya!
-enlightener

Lifes little interruptions... Yield "Bonus Jam" time

Shredding in the morning is a double edged sword.  It is great to get up and get going early.  Footbag Freestyle in the morning takes a real commitment to get started, but I am so fresh and ready to go, I always have a great jam.  I can also pull off 2 hour workouts in the morning, which was never possible on my lunch hour.  When my dog wakes up during my shreds, sometimes I'll walk him, but I'll always add that time back into my shred.  So if it takes 15 minutes to walk the dog, then I add 'Bonus Jam Time' to my session to make sure I break the 1 hour mark.  Lately, I've been averaging 1.5 hours in the mornings.

The double edged sword comes in at night.  Today's footbag freestyle athletes are half my age, and tend to play in the afternoons and evenings.  Have you ever met another shredder that practices only in the morning?  Maybe... but if they are like me, they find themselves tired at the end of the day, and somewhat unwilling to lace up.  The later in the day it is, the more effort it I need to get motivated to get going, and I feel that I am not at 100%.

I am going to say that the later in the day, the lower likelihood that I will be lacing up.  This is a direct inverse-proportional relationship.  I'd make a chart to illustrate my point, but I'm feeling lazy.

As the weather gets warmer, I'll still play in the AM, and my lunch shreds are my filming sessions.  I need to focus on moving my shred times later in the day as World championships approaches.  Finals is in the evening, and I plan to be on stage that night.  I'll have to make a conscious effort to shred later in the evenings.

So don't cut your workouts short because of life's little interruptions!  Add Bonus Jam Time to make it up!

Shred notes: 2/5/2013 - Hit Swivel both sides, and reverse swivel on the strong side today.  Never hit them before.  Day 2239 in a row today!

Don't forget to breathe when you shred freestyle footbag!

I play every day.  Today was 2234 in a row. This morning, I was shredding in my living room and I noticed that I was breathing only through my nose when I shred.  And once I got a little winded, I asked myself... "Would I be able to maintain longer strings if I were getting more oxygen, by breathing through my mouth rather than my nose?"

I know that one challenge that Josh 'Chizzler' Casey had back when he was shredding was that he would take a deep breath as he started a string, and he would hold it.  He wasn't breathing when he was shredding.  This made his string lengths shorter, and he had a hard time getting past 10 tricks in a row.

When I am in the zone, I don't have time to think about breathing, all my processing power is being used.  When I was trying to discover if I have been breathing properly, it took several strings of drills until I was sure I am breathing when I'm shredding.  As it turns out, I breathe fine, but only through my nose.  Something happens when I start to shred where my throat closes up, and only the nose can be used. It is natural.

So while trying to stay focused on new tricks like Atomic same Eclipse, which I first did yesterday, and others like Atomic Clipper Seamless juggle which I came across last week... I was trying to focus on breathing through my mouth.

The Verdict:
When I'm shredding, I am perfectly fine sticking with my nose-breathing, it provides plenty of oxygen.  When I did long strings and breathed through my mouth, I sometimes almost felt dizzy from, is it possible... too much oxygen?  Now that I know I breathe fine, I'll stick with breathing through my nose when I shred.  One less thing to think about.

Don't forget to breathe!

The bottom line:
It doesn't matter how you breathe, just be thankful you are breathing!

Please enjoy my Atomic Clipper Seamless Juggle video below:

2200 Days in a row and counting... still innovating!

This time of the year is special for me.  Not only is it my 46th birthday, Xmas and New Years celebrations all within two weeks, but for the past 6 years I've been celebrating another year of shredding every day, as I started this whole commitment to training everyday on my 40th birthday!  This year I have more to celebrate than just surviving another year.  Today marks the day that I have played freestyle footbag (hacky sack), at an advanced level, every day for the past 2200 days.

In just the past year, I have really made some breakthroughs that I wanted to put together into a single place, to summarize my accomplishments this past year... 68 Videos published to YouTube, of which 13 involved this new concept of Seamless Footbag Freestyle Juggling.  Watch them all here:
FootbagEnlightener Seamless Footbag Juggling Playlist
Seamless Juggling first came to me as a way to integrate juggling into regular footbag tricks without stopping back in 2010, with the first instance of what I now call "Seamless" juggling showing up in this video about "How to Juggle Footbags." This year, I named the concept Seamless and applied it to dozens of tricks in many nuanced ways.  Skyhook is another concept I've applied to several tricks, where I do a dexterity prior to a pendulum, combined into one trick.  See also, Atomic Skyhook.

Along the way, I have innovated many new tricks including Juggulous and Juggulouso... Paradox Drifting Cross Body Rake... PhobicFly and Phobic Vortex... Ryno and Spinning Ryno... Frontside Soles... New Dragonosis tricks... Phairy Same Down Double... Infinity Swirling Drag... Motion Sickness and so many more as seen on my YouTube channel.

I love this sport!  Constant variety.  Thanks to YouTube for all the free hosting.  Thanks to Spenco Insoles for keeping my feet in great shape!  Thanks to my family for putting up with me!  Thanks to mall security where I work for not kicking me out of my double secret shredding locations.  Thanks to everyone who supported me this year too, like Freedom Footbags, Flying Clipper Footbags and Dragonfly Footbags.  Make donations to IFPA (International Footbag Players Association).

Enjoy the moment!  2200 is the number of the day.