Logo Battle - Round 7

Hey Folks,

To the next round of the competition. A quick summary of round 5 has:

• Monster with 44%
• Metal with 38%
• Lily with 52%

In this round, we have some interesting logos up for competition.

Group 1

Ring of Fire - Raleigh, NC - Open

Sockeye - Seattle, WA - Open

Slow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Boston, MA - Mixed

Group 2

Safari - San Diego, CA - Women

Rhino - Portland, OR - Open

Roy - Toronto, Ontario - Artist: Hilary Leung - Open

Group 3

Roughriders - Vancouver, BC - Women


Revolver - San Francisco, CA - Artists: Nick Handler and Mike Jones - Open

Riot - Seattle, WA - Women

PJ

Extreme Throwing

The most advanced stage of in the development as a thrower is being able to get almost any throw off. Also, you need to know when you can make those throws. In this talk, I'll talk briefly about a theory on how to train for advanced throws.

Advanced throwing isn't about specific throws like a thumber, hammer, blade, or even, forehand. Instead, I beleive advanced throwing is about getting off backhands and flicks in any situation. These situations include along the sideline, when falling, and even from the knees or a sitting position. Similarly, these backhands or flicks need to be made including a high release and a low release.

So, essentially, advanced throwers can make simple throws under almost any conditions. How are we going to train for these throws?

My suggestion is first practicing awkward throws without a mark. Work on your high release flick and backhand. Try throwing while falling to the side, backwards, and on an angle. Throw from one knee, both knees, and sitting down.

After you get good at these throws under all sorts of conditions, then start using some of these skills in threeman. The problem with threeman (as much as I love the drill) is that you get used to making the same moves to break your opponent. I encourage you to try, 1 out of every 3 times you throw in threeman, something new. This will give you the opportunity to try some of your falling throws, lean back throws, and high and low release throws in game like situations. Plus it can be fun. to try new things.

PJ

Logo Battle - Round 6

Hey Folks,

Into the sixth round of the logo battle. In round 4:

• Jonhy Bravo scraped out a win in a three way battle with 35% of the vote
• Goat moves on with 55%
• Georgia comes from behind to beat the Fatties with 48%

Now to round 6...

Group 1

Queens - Kingston, Ontario - College, Open
Ozone - Atlanta, GA - Women

Rare Air - Boulder, CO - Women

Group 2

Oregon - College, Open


Ninjastars - Toronto, Ontario - Artist: Hilary Leung - Mixed
NYU Violent Femmes - Artist: Julie Sussman - College, Women

Group 3

Mephisto - Montreal, Quebec - Open

Jawbone - Cleveland, OH - Open

LCN Soldiers

PJ

Warmup House of Pain Style

Sometimes in the middle of a tournament you have to warm up, but the regular warm up just seems like a dreary effort. This emotional warm up spot comes up either after a loss, a tough win, or possibly, just a long day.

I've seen some teams, like Goat, use little games to relax players and get there minds off the game by bringing a little bit of enjoyment. My suggestion is a game that is both a warm up and some fun.

I call it "the jumping game". There are two stages in the jumping game.

1. Separate the team into 3 or 2 equal groups. In each group throw the disc around (in a circle), the trick being that you need to jump, catch the disc, and throw it to someone else before landing. Each group tries to link up as many of these in air throws and catches. The challenge is to be the group with the highest number of linked up throws.
2. After so many tries, make one large circle and perform the same in air catch/throw, but the trick here is that as soon as you either make a bad throw or drop the disc you are eliminated from the circle. Decisions of elimination are made by people who have already been eliminated.

This little game is fun and surprisingly active. I would, however, suggest that you start this little game after your first stage warm up. This normally includes some sort of jog and stretch.

Note: I'm in Bangkok, Thailand now, so I can't guarantee regular posting times, though they seem to be pretty connected. Checkout: http://phototraveller.wordpress.com/ if interested.

PJ

No Hitting, but Tough - Part II

Hey Folks,

I've given you a bit of time to think about it. If you've read my blog I've always looked at Ultimate and asked questions like, "Should juniors be playing ultimate or not?" and "Is the tournament format crazy?"

Pictured Above: Two more pictures of the Capitals at UPAs (both from Shawn Chua's collection)

I ask these questions because I feel that Ultimate is a tough sport. It's tough, and I look forward to playing hockey in the winter.

The question is why is Ultimate tough. I think there are a few key physical factors:

• Very little positional play - you can't rest, and if you are, you're hurting your team.
• Full field play - means the entire field is a threat so you can't play too much easier (maybe zone) in different positions on the field (as opposed to most other field sports).
• Format for tournaments - they're just too long and we play with too few players (this applies to most sports).
• No on the fly subbing even with timeouts.
  

Another reason ultimate is tough from the psychological side:

• Throwing in conditions is tough since the disc is relatively light and oddly shaped
• Catching is challenging for the same reason
• Defending is an uphill battle (you feel open to attack)

I'm sure there are more reasons, but it's a tough sport. Maybe we don't hit, but we all push ourselves.

Ultimate definitely isn't the toughest sport. It lacks pushing your mind and body to the extreme. It lacks danger and physical contact.

So, my rankings would be:

1. Mixed Martial Arts (still has the word Ultimate in it and includes wrestling)
2. Marathon runner (representative for the extreme individual sports)
   
3. Ultimate
4. Badminton
5. Hockey
6. Squash
   
7. Basketball
8. Football

That was fun,
PJ

Logo Battle - Round 5

Hey Folks,

Round 3 closes up with 3 logos moving on:

• Bacon, Eggs, and Toast with 51%
• Furious George with 69%
• Fury (our first Women's team to move on) with 68%

Some stats for fun:

• That makes 6 open, 2 mixed, and 1 women logo moving into the winners circle, but some cool women's, junior's, college's and master's logos are coming over the next few weeks.
  
• In the winners: 6 United States, 2 Canada, 1 United Kingdom
• Biggest vote getter (Note: depends on competition but fun anyway)
  

1. Subzero - 355
2. Condors - 339
3. Furious - 259
4. Clapham - 251
5. Fury - 242

• Biggest percentage in grouping

1. Subzero - 78%
2. Furious - 69%
3. Fury - 68%
4. Condors - 60%
   
5. Bacon, Eggs, and Toast - 51%

Now to the next round...

Rules = Vote once; don't vote for a team you're on.

Round 5 groupings are:

Group 1

Monster - Toronto, ON - Artist: Hilary Leung - Mixed

Missoula's Mental Toss Flycoons

Mofo - Winnipeg, MA - Junior

Group 2

Metal - Cambridge, MA - Open

Mischief - Suunyvale, CA - Mixed

Michigan State - Burning Couch - College, Open

Group 3

Lily - Toronto, ON - Artist: Hilary Leung - Women

Machine - Chicago, IL - Open

Leeds, Leeds, Leeds - Leeds, England - Open

PJ

No Hitting, but Tough - Part I

Ok Folks,

Let's lay the hammer down. The nice thing with this hammer is we, ultimate folk, only have to argue with one another. What am I talking about? I want to question is Ultimate the toughest sport.

Pictured Above: A footblock attempt by one of the Capitals against ? Photo taken by Shawn Chua.

First off, we have to deal with the hitting sports. There's no point in arguing if Ultimate is tougher than taking actual physical hits like fighting (boxing, UFC, martial arts) or sports with hitting and tackling (hockey, football, and rugby). Obviously, hard physical contact is an element of toughness, and Ultimate loses in this type of comparison.

Instead, let's look at three other aspects of what I might call toughness:

1. Physical Strain - Challenge for the body (my definition)
   
2. Physical Exertion - Challenge during the exertion (my definition)
3. Psychological strain - The mind challenge of the sport (my definition)
   

Also, I think we need to put each sport into the same type of tournament setting. I'm not too interested in looking at the recreational comparison between sports.

So, each sport needs to be played for four 1.5 hour games and three 1.5 hour games over a weekend. We will assume there is breaks during each day between games.

Pictured Above: An air battle that appears to be clearly won with some huge ups. Photo taken by Shawn Chua at UPA finals.

Now, let's choose the candidate sports. I'll pick a sample set of mainly North American sports to argue with.

• Hockey
• Basketball
• Football
• Squash
• Badminton
• Soccer
• Mixed Martial Arts
• Marathon Runner

Ok, those are the sports. How tough is Ultimate relative to these sports. I'll discuss my views on Friday, but what are your rankings?

PJ

Logo Battle - Round 4

Hello Folks,

The results from round 2 see:

• Clapham takes a tight win with 44% versus Mamabird right behind with 42%. Tightest race yet.
• Condors decisively take there grouping with a 60% vote win.
• Doublewide scrapes a win over DoG with 39% to 35% win.
  

On to the next round...
Vote once; don't vote for a team you play with.

Round 4 groupings:

Group 1

Johny Bravo - Boulder, CO - Open

Iron Wood Phoenix - Master
Grand Trunk - Toronto, ON - Open

Group 2

Iceni - London, England - Women
Horseshow - Portland, OR - Mixed

Goat - Toronto, ON - Open

Group 3

Georgia - College, Open
Glum - Ottawa, ON - Master

Bombing Mad Fatties - Toronto, ON - Mixed

PJ

Ultimate Holiday Wish List

Sure you can go to VC or Gaia for Ultimate gifts, but I wanted to find out what Ultimate players want for the Holidays.

I thought I would poll a few Ultimate players (mainly in Toronto) on what they wanted for the Holidays. This might help you buy a gift for your friend or those parents looking for gift ideas for your Ultimate crazy child, though the most common answer, World Peace, is a tough one.

Here's some answers:

"S/he wants spankin new Speed TDs, and a plane ticket to nationals next year."
Malcolm Johnston

"More single and attractive women in CoEd."
Anonymous

"A bid to Worlds in Vancouver."
Juan Gomez

"A canon 70-200 mm f/2.8L IS USM Zoom Lens ($2,139)"
Shaw Chua ... Ultimate reporter hopeful

"I always like new cleats... a particularly nice Holiday gift would be a pair of Nike's Zoom SuperBad FTs, which are specifically designed for field turf ... Win detergent, which is a detergent specifically designed for getting sweat out of synthetic fabrics like dri-fit."
Tom Walsh

"Ideal Stocking Stuffers: Those heat packets you can put in your mittens and boots (for SnowPlate), Bottle of Baileys or Whiskey (could make a nice "SnowPlate" package),Gatorade powder, Cliff Shots, Sunscreen, Ferry tickets to the Toronto Islands, Epsom salts, Tiger balm
Presents: Golf Discs (for present fun or future retirement), Thai massage, Yoga classes, Head Lamp (the "ultimate" urban disc golf accessory), Round of laser tag with buddies against nemesis league team"
Cynthia Dell

"lots of home cooking, like pumpkin scones and chocolate mousse"
Kate Brown

"and to be 27 (or less) again!"
Dave Sheffield

"I’d like to get Nike speed td cleats (old version)"
Tolya Vasilyev

"3 sets of cleats: ... Nike Vapor Jet TD ... Speed D's ... TD's ... Next, would be a jersey that doesn't smell. Marmot makes a fabric with anti-microbial yarn (strands of silver mixed into the yarn) to kill the stinky stuff. Last would be a book on fitness for ultimate."
Taylor Martin

"...if they make ‘em – I’d give my left nut for waterproof (yet breathable) Gortex cleats!!"
Rahul Sarugaser

"Ultimate players want their toenails back"
Inian Moorthy

PJ

Beginner Player Development - The Throw

Day one with a new Ultimate player hinges around the throw and catch. So when you're teaching the fresh face, take some time to show them the basics.

Pictured Above: Another pull by the Capitals at UPAs. Nice extension. Picture taken by Shawn Chua.

For either throw I like to go through the following steps:

1. Demo what the throw looks like.
   
2. Show them a basic grip. A circle huddle for multiple people and check each grip.
   
3. Show them in slow motion reverse how the disc rolls off the grip.
4. Ask them to hold a disc with the grip, and go through the motion.
   
5. Fix their grip and motion if needed.
6. Let them try to throw a few.
7. Get them to throw, but hold the disc as they throw so they can get the feel of how the disc is supposed to bite. This step is key with the flick for many people.

That's about it, then it's just lots of throws with slight adjustments. A few additional points I like to mention:

• Ask the player to identify the plane of the disk they are throwing.
• Ask the player to throw a flick without moving their arm (demo how far you can throw this way).

PJ