To bring in the new year right, this past weekend was filled with many hours of jamming. Saturday was the most heinous day of them all. James Wiseman was in town and at one point he and I were playing one on one. It seemed like the we could do no wrong. We were flowing with both spins, turns overs, rolls, and setting each other for huge spinning catches. The pace was high and it only took a couple songs before we started to waver, but boy was it satisfying.
The following jam days just never measured up for me. Many perfect sets hit my hand but didn’t stay in, resulting in the dredded drop. As I watched my own catch percentage drop I saw others in the jam maintain their levels. Libby, a new jammer on the Portland scene, even seemed to increase her catching as the weekend progressed.
Before I pose this question, let’s define catch percentage. It’s the number of catches divided by the number combos in which either a catch was attempted or a drop was caused. Example:
If I go for a gitis from Lori’s set, and catch it, I’m 1 for 1 (100%).
Later Matt sets me and I drop a flamingosis; now I’m 1 for 2 (50%).
A little later I try a spinning pull and drop it; now I’m 1 for 3 (33%).
Just to be clear, I don’t actually count every catch / drop / combo in a jam. For me, this is really just more of a gut feel. If you do count, let me know in the comments. So with that, this week’s poll:
At the 1974 Jersey Jam, John Kirkland and Victor Malafronte announced that they had been hired to do a Frisbee exhibition as part of the entertainment show the Harlem Globetrotters presented during each game of their nationwide basketball series.
I had the particularly good fortune to attend the Harlem Globe Trotter game held in Rochester NY, circa February 1975. There is no way I can describe how exhilarating or fabulous their performance was. I’ll start by saying that it made the basketball game itself sort of ho-hum. Don’t forget, in 1974, few if anyone one in the crowd had ever seen a Frisbee performance of any kind. The substance of John and Victor’s show was all new to the vast majority of the spectators; they were ripe for a brand new experience. They went absolutely wild with everything that those guys did. On that particular night, John and Victory did an amazingly flawless show. But it wasn’t your normal competition routine in any sense of the word. It was designed to entertain, and it was choreographed to the hilt to do just that. They had a professional announcer narrating along with a pre-made tape of appropriate music and sound effects for the specific moves being done, and everything was perfectly timed.
The opening consisted of Kirkland standing unseen behind the baskets at one end of the court, stepping into view upon cue from the loudly playing tape being used for the occasion. He launched a huge anhyzer throw way up and out over the crowd, skimming high over the uppermost level of arena seats. It floated gracefully down on a perfect line toward the other basket. A hidden Malafronte magically appeared from behind the basket at the last second and successfully snagged the throw with a leaping trap catch between the knees. Just the accuracy and trajectory of the throw alone, along with the announcer’s hype, got the crowd going, but when Victor jumped out and closed with the perfect leaping trap catch between the knees, the crowd went absolutely wild. It set them up to anticipate more, and they weren’t disappointed. The guys continued with a few more high curving flights terminated with behind the head and behind the back trick catches, each one delighting the crowd as well as the first one did. The guys then settled in to a smooth and flawless quick catch and trick throw sequence that would have been competitive in any modern-day competition. They followed that sequence up with a short skit mimicking a gunslinger dual in which they used Frisbees as bullets and guts type throws as their guns, wowing the crowd with their ability to catch each other’s blazingly fast throws. After the skit, they did multiple disc throwing, juggling three discs between them.
From the very first introductory anhyzer throw to the end of the three-disc juggling sequence, John and Victor did not drop or bobble the disc at any time during the show!
Upon completion of their multiple disc routine, the guys gathered at mid-court as if to they were ready to take a bow in complete of their program, but the announcer stalled them by asking if they could throw the Frisbee into the basket from the foul line. They made a show of cockiness mimicking a “Sure, no sweat” attitude. As Malafronte lined up at the foul line and aimed at the basket with an overhead hammer throw stance, Kirkland tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the other basket way across the full court. Malafronte mimed a “What, are you crazy” type of response, and then with a shrug of his shoulders took aim at the far basket anyway. The crowd got into it and Malafronte milked the situation with perfect timing. He threw the prettiest hammer throw you ever wanted to see. The disc swished smack dab right through the center of the hoop as clean as it could be done. Kirkland and Malafronte wisely chose that moment to take their bows and walked off the court to a wild standing ovation crowd. The rest of the night was truly boring by comparison.
Previously at the October Jersey Jam, neither Kirkland nor Malafronte had showed anywhere near the type of pizzazz that they displayed at that Globetrotter game halftime performance. The Globetrotter tour certainly showed what practice, hard work and choreography can produce. I have been told by John Kirkland that the flawless success I saw that night was typical of every exhibition they performed with the Globetrotters that year, and that they had only three for four drops or bobbles during the whole series! Regardless of how accurate that statistic might be, the performance that I saw that night was absolutely flawless. The 1974-74 Kirkland-Malafronte Globetrotter tour strongly foreshadowed the freestyle development that was to come about in subsequent years.
Graf is straight to the point about the possibility of prize money. Randy and Jake don’t let him off the hook so easily though, but for him, friendship and respect are the biggest prizes.
The discussion get’s interesting as they start to brainstorm.
The topic of routine lengths come up again and a thought provoking dialogue takes place.
The World Kitchen Freestyle Championships is something the FPA should seriously consider. Thanks Randy!
Happy New Year everyone!
What kind of frisbee skills do you want to work on in 2018? How good are your Egg Rolls, oops, I mean Leg Rolls? And your Monkey Dance Roll?
In our recent interview with Paul Kenny we learned about all the benefits that come with being a member of the Freestyle Player’s Association (FPA); access to compete in FPA events, deep discounts on discs, a member number, and more. We also learned about how the FPA uses the money, and many of the great things the FPA has done in 2017. Indeed, the FPA is at the center of the sport of Freestyle Frisbee.
Of course being an FPA member is only one of many ways to engage in the world of freestyle Frisbee. From the casual game of catch to jamming for hours on end; all who play are part of the tribe. And let’s not forget our fans, friends, and family who join in and give their support in so many ways. Yes, all who watch, listen, learn, and play freestyle Frisbee here are members of the Jamily.
In this poll let’s find out how many of our great readers are also memebers of the FPA. This weeks poll:
Are You A Member of the Freestyle Player’s Association?
[poll id=”50″]
In this video, I demonstrate how to perform an against-the-spin crank with the left hand and clock spin. Of course, for counter spin, just mirror the same movement using the right hand.
Doing this trick with clock spin is the same body motion as doing a with-the-spin crank with counter spin. Likewise, doing this with counter on the right hand is the same body motion as doing a with-the-spin crank with clock spin.
Before trying the full movement, here’s a practice technique: Give yourself a steep back hand throw, about shoulder height. Reach out with your left hand, palm facing towards your back. Hook the rim with your nail. As the disc falls, drop your arm and slowly decelerate the disc. Then, when the hand reaches toward the bottom, turn your wrist inwards and pull the disc up. Accelerate the pull of the disc and propel the disc into the air. Do this until you are comfortable with the motion.
Now it’s time to attempt the trick. Start with the disc on a nail delay on your left hand. Lift it up push your nail forward to tip the nose away from you. The goal is to give yourself a similar disc angle to the practice throw you did above. As the disc reaches that angle, turn your hand over and let gravity pull the disc down. Allow the disc to accelerate and, when it has enough speed, decelerate and pull your wrist inwards, using the rim (if needed) to crank the disc through.
A couple notes: First, I seldom use the rim. Instead, my nail is about halfway between center and the rim. One cool thing about this is the that disc makes a large gyration as it goes against-the-spin. However, this took many attempts to master; in the beginning I was using much more of the rim. The second note is that it’s possible to do this trick 100% in the center. The disc mechanics (when doing this trick totally in the center) change a lot as it becomes about mastery of the center delay in all hand positions. I highly recommend practicing this as well. Lastly, as you improve, a good exercise is to do as many cranks as you can from a self throw. If you can get to 4 successful cranks, you have mastered this trick.
In this episode we interview Paul Kenny, the Executive Director of the Freestyle Player’s Association to review 2017. The FPA is dedicated to the growth of freestyle disc play as a lifetime recreation and a competitive sport.
Find out who is on the board or directors; there are some new members. There is a great European presence, which is exciting. Remember, everyone on the board is a volunteer, so kudos to those who gives their time!
It seems like Ryan Young’s name comes up a lot when it comes to making big things happen. You rock, Ryan!
Also, find out what’s up for 2018. Remember, when your ideas come with a plan, the board is more able to help you. As Paul says, “Be empowered…those who are inspired to DO, will get the energy.”
The first test of City vs City is now complete. All in all it was a huge success. If you want to learn more, you can read about it here and watch the replay here. We are in the process of gathering feedback from participants and planning our next event. As we prepare, we’d also like to explore your interest level in City vs City. Do you want to watch more events? Maybe judge? Maybe compete? This weeks poll asks:
Would You Like to Participate in a City vs City Event?
[poll id=”49″]
If you have any other feedback about City vs City, please leave it in the comments, or send us a private message. Thanks!!
Stork talks about Frisbee, the essence of play, and how that impacts longevity.
