Ivan's 1st Shred Video

by Crazy Ivan

Spending my morning looking over all of the entries we got for the Spring You-Tube Tournament and having a ton of fun with it.  I've actually already seen all the videos, but now I'm watching them differently.  I'm watching each one four times for the purposes of grading them.

I watch once just to get my overall impression of each video.  Then I go back and focus only on the tricks being done so that I can realistically assess the "skills" portion of each score (1-50 points).  Next I go back and watch it, focusing instead on video quality and trying to ignore the actual tricks altogether.  I assign each video between 1 and 25 points for that element.  Finally I watch a fourth time and just ask myself if I'm seeing anything here for the first time.  Are there new tricks?  New ideas for backdrops?  New uses of the environment?  New jokes or visual gags along the way?  Anything new in the soundtrack?

I add between 1 and 25 points for creativity to give each video its final score.  I've already gone through and assigned each video a "skill" score, but I've still got a ways to go on finalizing all the scores.  I should be finishing that up instead of blogging, but as I'm watching these videos, something strange occurs to me:

I've never done a shred video.

I've been in this game for nearly eight years.  I've posted over 100 Myachi related videos on You-Tube.  I've carried at least some kind of camera with me everywhere I've gone for the past couple of years.  Still, I've never actually done a shred video.

I can't actually say why.  A few of the veteran Maniacs have pushed me to do a shred video before and I've always placated them by promising to do it at some undefined point in the future.  I always intend to make good on that promise, but I never actually do.

The issue was in my face something fierce two weeks ago when our loyal reader Katana submitted his guest blog about shredding with style.  In the article he links to several videos of various Myachi Masters throwing down stylish shreds as examples for aspiring Maniacs.  As I'm moving the article to the blog I check out the links and I realize that he's got Animal, Monk and Mav linked but no me.  My first thought it "do I not have style?"

But then I realized that style or no, I've got no shred videos.  I did a tandem bit with Monk once.  I have a video where I play Myachi while swinging faux nunchuku.  I jam for a split second in Meeting Night and The Epic Shred.  I'm plastered all over Sack Center.  I have dozens of instructional videos and a couple of collection videos.  But no shred videos.

Well, I've known myself long enough to know that I'm the kind of guy who can't get anything done if there's not a deadline.  So I'm setting myself a deadline and by publishing it on the blog, I'm setting it in stone.  I will release my first ever shred video no later than twelve noon on Saturday the 30th.  That's one week from today.

Now, clearly, since I'm building suspense for it a week out, I'm going to have to go all out and load this video up with tricks, combos and Myachi stunts that have never been seen before.  I'm okay with that.  Figure I've got a few things up my sleeve.  That being said, I'm also looking for ideas.  So if anybody has anything they'd love to see me try in my first ever shred video, just let me know.  Email me at crazyivan@myachi.com or just leave your idea in the comments section below.

And don't worry if it's insanely hard or even kind of stupid and/or dangerous.  I might not do it, but I'll probably try it one way or the other.