footbag.org

[Mike McCollum (strat3795)]

I would like to just start out in saying, though I did not read through the entirety of the previous posts, to accurately debate this topic I feel you must be first versed in both of the subject matter. (i.e.: Subject A-Marijuana, Subject B- Hacky sack)

Moving forth on "Subject A- Marijuana"
Now let it stand that we assume, that because of the constant debate over the question "Does it make you lazy?” LEGITIMATE studies COULD BE performed over it. In fact a larger majority of the studies performed, showed that while some strains of the drug marijuana do in fact make you "lazy" (Sativa, "drowsier, full body lift"), others (Indica, "clear, heady high") do not.

Jumping to "Subject B- Hacky sack"
I, in fact, do find it to be exponential amounts easier to hack when my body is loose and can better "flow" into the motions I wish to make it perform.

Now discussing the effects of “Subject A- Marijuana” on “Subject B- Hacky sack”
When hacking while blazed, I have found myself in both a state of bettering and worsening my hacky sack skills. While it is perfectly acceptable to claim that your skill decreases while you are stoned, is it not also possible to state the opposite.

In the stead of debating this subject with harsh words, why not, do we just perform the experiments and gather the information that would be called for to answer this question?

Now, I am blazed to bits and pieces.

[Derrick Fogle (h4x354x0r)]

Interesting subject.

A quick personal history lesson about me: I was introduced to footbag largely because of the hippie counter culture, in 1981. Ironically, three years later in 1984, I quit smoking pot, partly because I would sometimes get high and then lose my enthusiasm to play footbag. I wanted very much to get better at footbag. I spent the next 13 years competing in footbag tournaments, without getting high at all. Anyone who remembers me at Worlds tournaments back then knows I had some severe anger management problems. In hindsight, I think a few hits would have done wonders to mellow me out.

Many of the greatest players back then got high; I was one of the few freestylers that didn't. I understand that's changed a bit now, but I believe there's still a very high prevalence of cannabis use among freestyle players.

I finally started using cannabis occasionally again in 1998; about the same time I finally retired from competing in and promoting footbag, and started kicking strictly for fun. Today my cannabis use is very sporadic. I sometimes use it consistently for weeks at a time, and then go through spells of not using for weeks at a time. I keep a fairly regular kicking schedule: basically one session per week lasting from 1-2 hours per session.

Once I retired from competition, footbag stopped being about technical difficulty so much, and I focused more on "hack dancing" and dynamic choreography. For the last year and a half, I have embarked on a project to blog about my footbag experiences. I have fairly meticulous records about how I felt during my weekly sessions, and videos of my single best taped rally during a session. Note that I only tape about 5-8 minutes per hour of session, and rarely catch my actual best rally on tape, but what I do get on tape is usually representative of how I did overall during the session.

From my documentation about my footbag experiences, I can correlate my footbag performance to the times I've been high while playing vs. when I haven't been high while playing. Here are some observations about the effects of cannabis use on my footbag play:

1) I certainly enjoy kicking more when I'm high, regardless of how well I do technically. For me, at my this point in my life, the "fun" factor is by far the most important.
2) The effect of cannabis on my technical performance (adds, ratios, rally length, etc.) are negative, but only barely so. There's a very small bias towards longer rallies, but lower add ratio, when high. I'm happy with that trade-off.
3) When I am high, I am much shakier when I first start out. Once I get going, that goes away, and in fact I seem to move more smoothly and fluidly once I get warmed up.
4) Cannabis reduces my perspiration rate, and I sweat a *lot*. Any reduction in the amount of sweat that pours out of me during a session is appreciated.
5) Cannabis acts as a mild analgesic; easing muscle and joint pain after a session.
6) The strongest effect of cannabis use is that it enhances my focus on the music, and thus improves my dynamic choreography. I am more in tune, more on the beat, more "in the zone" when I'm high. That is by far the most important thing to me personally when I play footbag.

I agree with Allan 100% about drug policy in competitive footbag. It's ridiculous to think that any change in drug policy would make the slightest difference in the mainstream acceptance of footbag. Making footbag grow should be about making everyone feel welcome - stoners and straights alike.

I remember back in day (late 80's, early 90's) when there was a huge push to get footbag into the olympics. The holy grail to get us there had nothing to do with drug policy. It had everything to do with eliminating drops from freestyle performance. The "no drops" hysteria severely stunted the growth of freestyle footbag for several years. To demonstrate just how bad it was, I set and held the highest add ratio record in Worlds competition for 2 years, just because I didn't subscribe to the 'no drops' mantra.

As with any oppressive ideology, the pressure eventually caused a blowout, and that blowout was the birth of the Big Add Posse. I'll take what BAP did for freestyle over what the push for olympic acceptance did any day. With BAP, we got the killer technical difficulty, and it was BAP members who first started pulling off dropless competition routines. Moral of the story: it doesn't have to be one or the other; letting people push the envelope with a minimum of restrictions is best.

[Frank Marrone (Alvechiri)]

thats fucking awesome

[Sara Katz (sarakkatz)]

As compared to most drugs, cannabis is the least dangerous. Cannabis is not an addictive drug. For those who claim it is, anything is theoretically addictive, and there are some people who can become addicted to spring water. So to put it in perspective, cannabis is less addictive than coffee. I have become addicted to coffee myself and have broken the habit. You get mild headaches for a few days. I have never had any symptoms for withdrawal from cannabis.

link removed by mod, no advertising please