Footbag and Zen

Article by Asmus Helms

Footbag is what some high school students play when they get high, and a consistent element at music festivals across the world.  It is however also a sport performed by serious athletes.  But why do young men and women want to spend numerous hours every week practicing a sport that reminds people of river dancing and has no financial benefit? Why do people with jobs or students spend time organizing clubs, tournaments and making videos?  And why do these same people spend considerable amounts of money going to Worlds and other distant tournaments every year?

One of the main reasons many of us to keep on coming back is of course the amazing community we have, both locally and internationally.  This article is going to focus on entirely different aspects of why this sport is so great however.

One of the main reasons why I love footbag is how much you can work on a single trick, a single motion.  An example of this is one of the most popular tricks in footbag – the Ripwalk.  A perfect Ripwalk is done without force, when the body and not the head is in control. It doesn’t take a lot of strength, but rather hours of practice. There isn’t a set result, but you have to slowly learn how the move is supposed to feel. It is this perfect feeling that make many of us practice for hours. The motion is so compressed that it is in fact possible to find the absolute perfect Ripwalk. The three tapping sounds a perfect Ripwalk makes can be very satisfying, and I am sure a lot of us can recognize a Ripwalk solely from the sound it makes.  There are thousand of tricks like this in footbag.

Video of Jay Boychuk doing Ripwalks:  Jay Boychuk Ripwalks

I love when it is not only a perfect Ripwalk that makes you feel this satisfaction, but an entire run.  It is a great feeling to be in this zone.  I don’t mean in the zone like when Vasek talks about tora, that’s on a whole other level.  I would rather compare it to the Buddhist word “zen”; moments of enlightenment acquired through direct practice and meditation.

In everyday life there isn’t always a lot of interesting drama around us.  But in less than a minute, one good combo can depict great drama and true storytelling. The use of inspiration from the other players in the circle, the change in pace and intensity, the special style and personality you reflect with your game – all of this makes you enter a unique mindset that can be felt by the viewer. This is why I think a normal freestyle circle is still simply one of the best parts of footbag.  It is the way we should expose our sport to the public, and it's the one place where freestyle can be seen in its full glory.


I love freestyle footbag.

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