A Good Footbag and How to Care for It
The footbag a kicker uses is much more instrumental in how he/she kicks the footbag than one would think! Footbags are easier to kick when soft but don't challenge an intermediate
kicker for development. The inside material needs to be sturdy and the footbag
packed well with it. Some bags look pretty and are packaged beautifully but
blow up after you really kick them for awhile (Danceman used one that blew up in 15
mintues). Vinyl footbags really do not last, neither do crocheted ones although
they are usually very inexpensive. If one of our footbags blows up
we replace it because it was faulty to begin with.
There are a lot of factors that come into play when choosing a freestyle
footbag. First of all - the rounder the better. A round
footbag is going to be easy to read because it's as consistent as the person
kicking it. The Bloughchi style of kicking incorporates many manipulations of the footbag such as slices. The harder the footbag is sliced the longer the hang time, meaning more time for you to create
your spins, reverses, jumps, etc. Also, a nicely rounded ball doesn't give you
weird bounces. Additionally, to be a good "Footbag
Dance"® freestyle kicker you really need a footbag that is firm.
The external footbag material should be sturdy. Leather IS THE VERY BEST FOOTBAG MATERIAL for freestyle kicking. Synthetic leathers have become very popular and better all the time but they get very dirty and break apart much more easily than leather. Leather has mostly been used in the past 20 years for the net game, but it is very good for freestyle kicking and recently Footbag.com introduced affordable, quality, leather footbags again. In the early days leather was the first choice for a footbag but was quite expensive and fell into decline because of that except for net game use.
The inside filling of the footbag is important too. If you make your own you might use rice, sand or small beans, but the toughest material to use is polyethylene beads, except in the case of sand bags of course. These beads do not absorb moisture so they do not swell, or grow, and while they break down some, they are generally realiable as a filler for a long time. Using sand as a filler is basically for stalling or juggling footbags because when the footbag is about half full of sand it will be floppy and heavy thus sticking better to the foot or other body part used in the stall. Our sand-filled Stalling Star is very popular for this type of freestyle kicking. It is double stitched to keep the sand from leaking.
Care of a Footbag
| 1.
Footbags are special and very small. Always store your footbag in a special
place. They are very easy to lose and a real challenge to keep. We include at least one Poucheewith every order. They sell for $1.50 if you want more. |
| 2. Do not
kick your footbag in the rain or around water if you can help it. If they are made of leather,
over time the water will crack them. If made of fabric they will mildew which
breaks down the fabric causing the stitches to come out thus ruining the
footbag. If it gets wet place it in the sun to dry, don't put them in the dryer or microwave. |
| 3. Be aware of where
you kick: watch out for street drains, puddles, large bushes, gopher holes,
roofs, etc. Footbags disappear easily. The better you get at controling the footbag the more sure you will be of its placement even if it is not intercepted by another kicker or yourself. |
| 4.
Do not stomp on your footbag or roll it with you foot on the ground to make it flatter because you think it will be easier to kick that way. If you do, you will break the stiches and ruin the footbag. All footbags naturally break down with continual kicking or by rolling them in the hands. After awhile you will find your footbag is too soft and want a new, firmer one. The firmer a footbag is, the more slice and hang time potential. |
| 5. Dogs
LOVE to eat footbags expecially if they are made of leather --
watch out your best friend can't reach it! |
|
