How Many Myachis are in a Series?

by Crazy Ivan

There were a few obstacles when we decided to do the whole 5.1x series.  For those who aren't up to the minute on their recent Myachi series, we just released the most ambitious series of all time.  Instead of a typical 12 sack series, we actually co-released 24 sacks; 12 in the 5.1 series (packaged singly) and 12 in the 5.1x series (packaged in twos with a DVD).

Now, we've done co-releases before.  We released the 2.1 and 2.2 at the same time and did the same thing with the 3.0 and 3.1 series.  The difference is that these series only had 6 sacks in them, so in total we were only releasing 12 sacks.  This has been standard since the 3.2 series so it doesn't seem like a big deal now, but at the time it was a pretty big deal.

To those that learned Myachi in the last few years, 12 sacks in a series seems pretty standard.  But truth be told, it took a long time to settle on that size.

It's hard to talk about series before 1.0 because there was a lot of intermixing, re-releasing and "in-between" sacks that weren't actually manufactured with a full series.  Today one series abruptly ends and another begins.  Tag numbers and numbers on the packaging essentially set the series in stone.  But neither of those things existed in the earlier series.  There wasn't a clear division between each series and sometimes one or two of the sacks being offered at any given time might just be the slower sellers from the previous "series".

Series 1.0 was the first to be offered in a numbered package and that changed everything.  The vast majority of the sacks before that came in no packaging at all, though a small run of early blister cards were made and several locations offered Myachis in collector's tubes.

Series 1.0 had 9 different colors.  The size of the packaging that we chose made the logical number of units per pack 36, so we needed a number that was divisible by that.  9 meant that there would be 4 of each different pattern in each pack and that worked so well that we did it again for the 1.1 series.

But on 1.2 we went kind of crazy and offered seven different sacks.  This made the shipping odd-ball and it was a short lived experiment.

For a while after that we settled into a 6-sack series.  Once again, the number was divisible by 36 and that satisfied us through the 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, XM7, 3.0, 3.1 and 5B, but there was a problem.  No matter how cool the fabrics, colors and patterns you choose for a series, some will invariably be cooler than others.  The fact that a Hard Core Cammo was awesome didn't make the Aztec Red any less cool, but it never sold as quickly as the Hard Core Cammo.

This means that after you put a series on the shelf in a store, some of the colors will sell out quicker than the others and leave less and less variety.  You'll put new series on the shelf, of course, but the coolest colors will still sell out faster and everything else will stack up further and further.

When there's only 6 sacks in a series, this can be a serious problem.  If 2 of those sacks are way more popular than the others (and two of them always are), you'll quickly be left with only 4 colors.  Of course, one of those colors will be the most popular so you'll wind up with only 3 colors and eventually 2.  When you have a whole shelf of the same two colors, it doesn't catch the eye the way a variety does.

By the time we actually made the switch to 12 it was a technicality.  Like I said, the 2.1/2.2 and 3.0/3.1 were released at the same time, making them essentially the same series.  By 3.2 we simply combined the release and made the number official.  12 sacks per series (and once again, divisible by 36).

That number has proven to be perfect for us.  Now, even once the four or five most popular sell out, you still have 7 different colors to choose from.  Series 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.0, 5.1 and 5.1x have all shown that the 12 color system works well.

But now we're throwing out a new wrinkle and co-releasing 24 different patterns.  It's been so popular that it's all but guaranteed that 5.2 will be accompanied by a 5.2x.  It adds a great deal of difficulty to the process of picking and naming the sacks, but it also adds the new wrinkle of figuring out which Myachis to pair together in the double packs.

It is, of course, a labor we're all happy to undertake.  It really doesn't matter how many new series I see, I always get excited when the new ones come out.

Series 5.1X: Quick Review

by Crazy Ivan

It's pretty weird trying to get to know 24 new sacks all at once and while I feel like I'm still learning a lot about the 5.1s, I've also now had a chance to jam with all 12 of the new sacks.  I know that I'll have a lot more input on them in the coming weeks, once I've had a chance to break a few of them in, but I felt like it was high time to give everyone a brief synopsis of my first thoughts on these new sacks.

It's late and I have an early morning, so I'm going to tackle a few of them with a couple of quick sentences.  Here goes:

Blue Horizon:

So far this one is my favorite from the 5.1x series.  It's a classic horizontal corduroy that evokes sacks like the Dreamcoat and the Gang Green.  I have a sneaking suspicion that even after breaking them all in, this simple sack will be the best jammer in the bunch.

BoneYard Blue:

No real difference in jammability compared to the BoneYard Red, but this one definitely has a little more punch with the visuals.  It looks great mid-jam and the skull images really pop off the blue.  Definitely a great collector's sack but also a pretty descent jammer.

BoneYard Gray:

I've kind of taken to this one as my favorite BoneYard, but that may be because it's paired with the Blue Horizon.  I haven't jammed with enough of them to say if there's a general difference, but this one seems like a pretty equal jammer to it's sisters.

Cupcake:

The Cupcake impressed me a lot.  I've thrown down with quite a few of these already and it's a spectacular jammer right away.  No word on how they break in yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Fishbone Gray:

Thus far I haven't really noticed a difference between this and the Fishbone Orange in terms of jammability, but I definitely prefer the look of this one.  As I suspected, in action it looks way cool, though in my opinion it still plays second fiddle to the Fishbone Red.

Fishbone Red:

I'm willing to offer the opinion that this is the best of the Fishbones.  There might not be a big difference, but it seems like the Reds I've played with are a bit more wide-boarded, have a little more grip and look the best mid jam.  This is a close runner up for my "favorite of the series" award.

Lumber Jack Black:

This plays exactly how you want a corduroy to play.  No word on why we went with "Lumber Jack Black" on a sack that is definitely gray, but it's a great jammer despite the name.  No question that so far the twin pack with this and the Lumber Jack Gray are the top sellers.

Lumber Jack Red:

Okay, so you see this one and you think "Isn't that a Highlander Red?"  You jam with it and think the same thing.  It's a very subtly different fabric and the ability to tell this one from the others would be like trying to differentiate between a Bubble Gum and a Bubbalicious it it weren't for the tag numbers.  That being said, if you know the Highlander Red, you know it's a crazy good jammer, so this one comes highly recommended.

Missile Command Blue:

I was a bit iffy on this fabric when I first saw it because it seemed like it might be a bit stiff for a corduroy, but man was I wrong.  These things look like they'll break in like traditional cords, but they have way more grip fresh from the package.  This is a great jammer for a first timer but I'd also recommend it for a veteran of the game.

Missile Command Red:

I haven't really noticed a difference between this one and the Missile Command Blue, but I will say that the Red looks a bit cooler when you're jamming.

Shadow Boxes:

In many series, this would be a strong contender for my favorite and even in this gang of blockbusters I'd rank it third (though my opinion on that may change as I break 5.1x sacks in).  It's a cool design to be sure, but this is a jammer's sack.  It breaks in quick, it looks good dirty and it jams like an Aztec Red.  Definitely a must have.

Wonderland:

The Wonderland reminds me a lot of the Phat Kat Green in jammability.  It's a little tight at first and probably won't break in the same as most corduroys.  The designs are unique and not by a little bit.  Some have awesome patterns and others are mad random.  It's definitely a cool sack, but I think I'd rank it as the lowest in jammability for this series.

Overall:

I'm still getting use to this whole double pack idea and I'm loving it.  In a lot of ways the series seems repetitive compared to previous series, but it's probably just a byproduct of making the double packs.  Some interesting mixes in fabric here, but not as adventurous as the 5.1 was.  It a great series with nothing but good jammers and has a few obvious future classics when it comes to design.

My first impression gives this series a B+, but again, I reserve the right to swing that in a range from B- to A once I've gotten all the sacks broken in and really learned what they're all about.

An Engagement Extended

by Crazy Ivan

There have been rumors for a while now but we finally got confirmation that our stay at Dollywood has been extended by a week.  We'll be hanging out for their "Dollywood Nights" celebration, which is a week long thing where they keep the park open until 10 am.  All I can say is "... Glowsticks!"

We're all really excited about it.  Pinky, Kore, Bones, Bamboo, Rush and I have been having a lot of fun these past few weeks and we were all kind of hoping for a little more time here.  The people at Dollywood are awesome and I'm going to miss a lot of them when I leave.  Plus it's a chance to make another week's worth of maniacs.

But like all things, there's a downside too.  I have to wait another week to see my cats, for one.  And they probably forgot what I smell like by now.  More importantly, anyone in NY who is looking forward to seeing Bones, Bamboo or Rush again is going to have to wait.  Anyone who hangs out at HQ and has been missing Pinky or myself will have to wait another week.

Ultimately, that's no big deal.  What is a big deal is that anyone who was looking forward to me being done with Dollywood so I could go back to my normal (frenetic) blogging pace is going to have to wait another week.  With the crazy hours we're working I've been updating this thing a few times a week instead of a few times a day.  My contests have been in limbo, I'm barely on the forum, the Trick of the Day videos are getting uploaded after 11, I haven't even reviewed the 5.1x series yet, I haven't been on for the Wednesday Night Brawl in ages and there hasn't been a Wednesday Quiz in months.

I'm looking forward to this extra week, but I feel like I owe our loyal readers an apology at the same time.  Our new final date is August 14th, but we're hoping to hang out in Tennessee for a few days after so we might not be back in NYC until the 18th or 19th.  Expect me to go crazy making up for lost time on this blog.

Some Trick of the Day Math

by Crazy Ivan

So, before I get started, I should warn the long time reader that I'm going to be going over some old ground here.  This is a subject that I've adressed before here, among other places.  But it's come up several times in the last few days from the sudden influx of new maniacs along the southeastern United States.

The question is about the trick of the day and if you've been reading this blog for very long (or clicked the hyperlink above), you've probably already guessed what it is.  "How long can you possibly keep coming up with a new trick every day?"

And it's not just new maniacs that have posited that question.  I've gotten it from seasoned Myachi Masters who really know what they're talking about (Myachi Man and Maverick, for example).  I've also gotten it from a few jugglers and other skill toy enthusiasts that frequent our You-Tube channel.  They ask if this is a one year project or if I think I can keep it up longer.

Now, I could just reference the article above and wash my hands of the question, but as often as I get it, it's probably best to tackle it from another direction altogether.  So let's look at the math:

If you've read this article before, you know that there are (at least) 48 common stall surfaces in Myachi.  The graphic below (which is the wallpaper on Pinky's office computer) shows you all the basics and when you figure weak side and strong side in, you get 48 total surfaces.

Now, by the strictest definition, a Myachi move begins on one of these surfaces and ends on one of these surfaces.  Often time stuff happens in between, but let's start by simply looking at the total combinations you can get to just by going from one surface to another.  For example, Toe Stall to Melon Stall or In-Wing (weak side) to Mantis (strong side).

There are 48 surfaces and you can throw from any one to any other (including throwing back to the same surface such as Toe Stall (strong side) to Toe Stall (weak side).  So that gives us the first total on our little equation:

48 x 48 = 2304

So that means that if I never did anything at all but stalling on one surface and then tossing to another, I'd have 2,304 tricks.  Since I take weekends off, that would give me about enough tricks for the next nine years.  In fact, since you could also end a trick with a strike instead of a stall and you can strike with all 48 of those surfaces, we really have to quadruple that number.  After all, you can go strike to stall, stall to strike or strike to strike instead of just doing stalls.

2304 x 4 = 9216

But Myachi is a lot more than just going from one surface to another.  In virtually all of these instances, you could add an aerial move in between.  Illusions, 360s, Wolverines, Mirages, Double Illusions, 720s, Butterflies, Double Mirages, Double Wolverines and Reverse Butterflies can be added between almost every stall or strike.  Sure, it would be almost impossible to do a Wolverine while going from a Sole Stall to a Melon Stall, but if you give Maverick a couple of days, he'd probably hit it.

So let's suppose that those 10 aerials can be done between at least 90% of our moves so far.  That means that we can multiply the number we had by another 9:

9216 X 9 = 82944

Obviously I could keep going.  I haven't touched on Traps, Portals, Grinds, Flip Tricks, Under the Legs, Behind the Backs, Blind Moves, Two Myachi Tricks, Juggling Moves, Two-Person Tricks, Prop-Adds or any of the specialty stalls and strikes that don't show up on the chart above.  There's a lot more to Myachi that this number doesn't remotely represent.  But even just using a small fraction of what can be done, we have enough Myachi tricks to continue to tricks of the day for the next three hundred and seventeen years.

I try to stay pretty healthy.  I work out a lot (for a living), I stay active and I keep learning new stuff.  I intend to stay young as long as I can, but no matter what kind of miracle break throughs medical science makes, I have more than enough tricks to last the rest of my life.

A Quick Historical Obseervation

by Crazy Ivan

First of all, this has absolutely nothing to do with Myachi, so if you're only here for the Myachi news, I can save you the trouble of going any further.  This is just a brief blog post about an observation I made while chatting with Kore on one of the cabin's many porches.

A heavy thunderstorm is rolling over the mountains tonight.  The horizon has been promising the storm all night with ominous flashes of lightening outlining the sea of jagged peaks around us.  The bugs have been taking shelter and the breeze was cold despite the heat of the day.  The rain began falling about fifteen minutes ago.

Being a fan of nature at her most chaotic, we took up on rocking chairs outside and watched the storm.  The radar promised it might last until 1:30 and both Kore and I commented on how comfortably we would sleep under the sound of the driving rain.  The incessant rap of the downpour would lull all of us to sleep as it always does.

And then a thought flashed across my mind in the manner of the approaching thunderheads.  It occurs to me how fortunate we are to live in the infinitesimal chunk of human history in which the sound of a raging storm is actually comforting.

I imagine my ancestors hearing the same sound and seeing the same dark omens in the evening and rushing out to cover windows and bring in livestock.  I imagine them sitting under leaking roofs and worrying about the condition of their fields if the rain continued.  I imagine their fear without the comfort that the Weather Channel's radar provides.  With no way of knowing how long the storm would last or how bad it would get, they likely worried themselves through many sleepless nights.

Now, keep in mind that at present I'm staying in a cabin where half of thing is hanging out over a mountain side on giant stilts.  Rain is pouring down and there's no concern of a landslide or other disaster because I'm fortunate enough to live in a time when we can generally trust the building codes to keep us from getting washed away with the storm.  Clearly for many this is still a concern, but in the USA and much of the world, the chances of being the victim of such a disaster without ample warning is far too remote to waste time contemplating.

Just thought it was an observation worth sharing.  Sorry for being so far off topic, as this blog is not normally a place for me to spew random mental byproducts, but I suppose I earn the right to do it once in a while... especially when the alternative was to pass out without blogging at all.

Promise to be back to something more Myachi tomorrow...

A Visit From the Man

by Crazy Ivan

You never know what to expect at Dollywood.  And I can tell you for certain that the last thing I was expecting yesterday evening was for Myachi Man to pop up in the midst of our closing crush.  I can't say I was caught entirely off guard because I knew he had to swing out at some point in the month, but it was a pleasant surprise none the less.

The reason I'm taking the time to share it on the blog is that I know we've got a few readers in the area.  And if you happen to be making the decision this morning as to whether or not to go to Dollywood, my strong suggestion would be that you should definitely go.  Not sure how long he'll be hanging out, but Myachi Man is going to be opening up with us this morning.

It's amazing the kind of energy that dude brings to what we do and its something that words cannot possibly do justice to.  The only way to understand is to simply see him in action.  He'll be there through early afternoon and he'll be rocking things out in a way that makes the rest of us jealous.

So swing by, ride some coasters and say "hi" to Myachi Man.  And if you're reading this too late or are too far away from Dollywood to use this information, you'll have to satisfy yourself by going to You-Tube and watching a bunch of the old school Myachi videos.  I particularly recommend this one.

The Art of the Split

by Crazy Ivan

I blogged the other day about some of the crazy split challenges we were doing at the cabin.  In that blog I promised forthcoming video and at the time I already had the raw video shot.  Unfortunately, with my currently insane schedule, it was some time before I could actually put it all together into a video.

The result is only a bit over a minute long and I was hoping to add several more shots before I brought it to you, but I figured at this point it was probably more sensible to put up a simple teaser for a potentially longer and more involved video to come in the future.

You'll note that at the time I wasn't looking my best.  I was taking a day off for illness at the time and Myachi Masters can never truly take time off.  Just as Bones spent much of his day off collecting raw footage for an upcoming shred video (that we're all mad excited about), I spent my partial day off tossing Myachis into bowls that Pinky later served food out of.

Incidentally, if you can think of a shot you'd like to see in the next split video, leave a comment below.  Just do me the favor of only suggesting things that would be possible.  I make it look pretty easy in the video because I edit out all the misses, but I would strongly urge you to try a few of these tosses.  It would be best to start off with large targets and work your way down to stuff like I was using (or even smaller targets if you really need a challenge).

So without further ado, my first "Split" video:

Reasons Why I Love My Job #1

by Crazy Ivan

For those that are new to the Myachi Blog, I should start by mentioning that I've had a running series of blog entries since this thing started where I list some of my favorite parts of the job.  In the past they've had titles like Reasons Why I Love My Job #63, Reasons Why I Love My Job #106 or Reasons Why I Love My Job #22.

But since I've been at Dollywood, I've been constantly reminded why I loved this job first.  As many of you know, Dollywood was my first Myachi assignment and it was through my hard work and dedication that first summer that I earned the title "Myachi Master".  And there was no question that I wanted to earn that title.  I knew from my first day with Myachi that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.

So I'm not going to assign some random number to this blog.  This is, in at least two senses, the number one reason why I love my job.  And it's pretty simple.  It's the people I meet.

This summer, I've already met more incredibly cool people than I can possibly list.  Punisher, who dominated our golf contests for a while and thought of a ton of cool challenges off the top of our tent.  Taylor and Zach who chilled at the booth all day for a week and a half helping us spread the word and convincing their dad to win them nearly a full series of sacks.  Blackout, who comes back after a week jamming like he's been doing this for months.  The mad cool martial artist I met the other day who was tossing the Myachi in the air, doing a standing backflip and then trying to catch it (and he got so close...).  Gabriel, whose enthusiasm made the whole last half of my day worth waking up for all by itself.  The little two year old who kept tossing the Myachi from his palm and was too cute to dissuade (he tied for the win on a contest, by the way.  The guy he tied with was a mad cool juggler that stepped in against a bunch of kids that had been practicing all day).

And that's only people I've seen in the last couple of days.  There are literally hundreds of names that could be added to that list.

There is no question that the best thing about Myachi is the people.  The people I work with are the coolest group of individuals I've ever met (and possibly the coolest ever assembled), but that only scratches the surface.  The maniacs I know through our online community, the maniacs I know from the dozens of places I've demoed, the maniacs I've met at the hundreds of parties, school assemblies and private events we've done and, of course, the new maniacs I meet every day.

It really doesn't matter how much I sweat, how long the hours or how hot it gets.  When your job is to hang out with cool people and do something cool while meeting other cool people, it never really feels like work.

Talk About Mad Dedication

by Crazy Ivan

When you're away from home for a long period, you start to miss the small nuances of wherever you live.  Whenever I see a pretzel vendor or a movie that that shows the New York skyline or somebody cuts me off in traffic, I start feeling homesick.

That's why it's really good to see a familiar face now and again.  That happened today a little while after we opened up.

Omega (also known as one of the several "Boss Tweeds" on the forum) became a contender for the "longest distance traveled to play Myachi" title when he showed up at Dollywood all the way from Long Island.

Before you call that insane, I should explain that he didn't come all the way just for Myachi.  He was already visiting his grandpa in North Carolina and was only a few hours from us at that point.  And, of course, there's more to do at Dollywood than just play Myachi.  But I will say with confidence that had we not been there, he wouldn't have asked his grandpa to come so far just to ride the ThunderHead (which would totally be worth the drive by the way).

Anyway, he picked up a bunch of the 5.1s, played in a few contests, met Bamboo and Kore for the first time, jammed out, learned some new tricks and reminded me how much I miss all the NY maniacs.  It was great to see him and we can't thank grandpa enough for bringing him out.  Grandpas tend to be pretty awesome about stuff like that.

Incidentally, I'd love to get the actual number on the furthest distance travelled to play Myachi and/or see a Myachi Master.  I know there are a few pretty impressive numbers, so if you think you might hold that record, let us know in the comments section, the forum or Facebook.

The Two Sides of Myachi

by Shogun

There are two sides to Myachi I believe. One side is probably more exciting than the other, depending on what type of Maniac you are, but never the less, each side has its perks. One side takes skill, practice and determination, while the other takes love for the game, memories, love and a little bit of money. 

Hopefully you know what I am talking about; jamming and collecting. I myself am not only a jammer, but a collector. My collection is slowly expanding, now including a Punk Pink Leopard and a Bengal Tiger (as I am a big fan of animal prints), as well as some personal unique sacks, like a Silver Bullet signed by Rush of Fools, a Christian band that played at Centrifuge and Exfuge, a Church Camp I went to last week. Collecting has really gotten me into the game, which is why I chose to focus on it in this blog post.

We all got into the game some way or another. I was introduced about 4 years ago momentarily, but really got into the game about 5 months ago. I remember my first sack, a Gang Green, and how I lost it in school one day (or someone stole it). I can remember having 4 or 5 sacks taken from me in class, only to be returned once the lesson was over. Coincidentally, these sacks have remained in my collection, never to be jammed with again, simply because they have sentimental value to me. Frankly, I would consider my Silver Bullet more valuable than the Guatemalan Wallet, simple because it means something to me, rather than having a rare value or fiscal properties. My love for the game also brings my love of memories IN the game, which is what got me into collecting sacks.

Obviously in collecting, there are some sacks you just get because they're rare. My favorite sack, and one I have never had, is a Blue Fish. Its slick design and cool texture brings a fun feel to itself, but is also one of the rarest sacks ever to be made. Some sacks sell online for over $200, which may seem unreal to people like me, but it is exciting to wonder what my Houndstooth or Six Flags would be worth someday as they get more rare and a lot older. I look at Myachis the same way people look at model cars, they are fun to play with when you're young, and awesome to collect as you get older because money comes into the picture.

I, at 17, have began to consider the fiscal side of Myachi like an economy, but have always kept my love for jamming. It is possible to be a collector and a jammer, and although I am just beginning as both of those, I think I am a prime example of the validity of a dual-purpose Maniac. I encourage everyone to trade, buy and sell sacks, simply to spread the word and spread the excitement. My Zoot Suit may not be a super-rare myachi, but I like to jam with it and my friends like the look of it. My Forum Sack is an amazing jammer I'm sure, but will remain in its diaper because it is a collectible. One day, I'll have people asking me for good jammers and collectibles, which is amazing. One day, we'll all be the New Elders of the game, teaching others the new tricks and telling stories about our sacks.

I say all that to say this: Save your sacks or trade them. Don't give up on the game. There are 2 sides to being a Maniac and part of it is keeping the tradition going. We all play a crucial role in the game and every member is special in his or her own way. Always remember to STWAKOJ, but also KTDG: Keep the Tradition Going.

Series 5.1: Quick Review

by Crazy Ivan

It must seem pretty weird when I do it, but over the last two days I've been asking kids if I can play with their Myachis.  I teach them the game, I get them hooked, I have 9 Myachis in my pocket and they know it.  But I'm asking to play with theirs.

I'm sure you, the loyal reader, know exactly why.  The 5.1 just came out and I want to jam with as many of them as possible.  You can't make up your mind about the Code Breaker if you've only jammed with one of them once.  You have to jam with multiple Code Breakers and you have to jam with new ones, old ones and really well broken in ones.  What's more, you have to try grind tricks, ariels, foot tricks, high body stalls, portals, body crosses and skate tricks before you can really say how good a sack is.

So I've been jamming with a lot of "fresh from the package" 5.1s recently.  I'm still not ready to give my final assessment on the series just yet, but I am willing to make some prelimenary observations on each one.  It's after midnight and we're in the middle of a huge weekend, so I'll keep each review brief.

Green Shredder: This one definitely out plays its sister sacks from the 5.0 series.  The whole series seems a little more wide-board friendly and the Green Shredder uses that advantage to take supremacy over the Black and Red Shredders.  If you haven't jammed with its sister sacks, I can only say that you get what you'd expect from a good horizontal corduroy.

Code Breaker: This one had me scared when I first saw the fabric.  It's a linen and I've never been a big fan.  I have to say that I've been pleasently surprised by its jammability.  It's a good grinder, but the fabric is so yummy it more than makes up for it.  The unique cut of every design is making this one a mad popular seller as well.

Boneyard Red: Definitely the best seller in the series.  This one is also a linen, but it's a great jammer and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do when they're broken in.  Not my favorite jammer of the series, but there's no question that the design is too awesome to pass up.

Power Grid: Another horizontal corduroy that jams as well as we've come to expect from the most popular fabric in Myachidom.  This will almost certainly take over the title of the best selling purple Myachi of all time (the Purple Reign currently holds that record) and it's a good jammer.  No word on how it will break in.  It should be great, but my early impressions don't suggest that it has Beard/Line type wideboard potential.

Fishbone Orange: This one is going to be the toughest to break in, but I'm thinking it will be well worth the effort.  It's got a really durable feel and an almost denim feel, so you if you know my Myachi tastes at all, you know I'm mad excited about it.  It was the first sack I got from the new series and I'm hard at work getting one broken in (the old fashioned way).

Blue Spectrum: I'm more excited about this sack than any other in the series.  I just got one today and I'm jamming with it like crazy.  The look is great, sure, but this is almost certainly the best jammer in the series.  Obviously I haven't broken one in yet, but I feel safe in saying that this could be a legitimate follow up to the Yellow-Jacket.

Aztec Black: I actually haven't jammed with this one yet.  It's the only sack in the series that I haven't got my hands/wrists/elbows/feet on, but I feel safe saying it will be pretty similar to the Aztec Red and Aztec Blue before it.

The Medallion: A slightly thicker and fuzzier corduroy, it's got surprisingly good grip right away.  This is a sack that I'll have to break in before I'm really willing to make a judgment on.  That being said, it's hard to find a corduroy that isn't a reliable jammer.

The Jungle Fever: It looks like an angry Rolling Thunder and it jams like a sweet corduroy should.  So far it's right behind the Boneyard Red as our second best seller and it's easy to see why.  I haven't really had much time with them so I have little to say except that they're pretty sick.

Hounds Tooth Red: Jams almost exactly like the Hounds Tooth, except this one is a little wider and consequently, much better.  This will probably be the one that really contends with the Blue Spectrum for "best jammer" title.

Puzzled: I'm really surprised by how awesome this sack is.  I was a bit iffy on the fabric at first, but after seeing them, I've fallen in love.  They're a thicker canvas, but they jam really well pretty quick.  They also have sick break-in potential, so I'm looking forward to having a lot more good to say about them later.  Kore has taken this as his all time favorite Myachi, so I expect to have a well broken in one to experiment with in the near future.

Othello: It's hard to say anything bad about a wideboard Myachi with a white and black, contrasting geometric pattern.  It's awesome and in most series it would be the hands down favorite.  In this series, it seems to be struggling to get noticed.

Overall Impressions:Myachi history and it's not just a bunch of corduroy.  There are some great jammers in experimental fabrics so the collectors, veteran jammers and newbs should all be able to find something they like.

I know I say this (almost) every time, but this might very well be the best series we've ever made.

Split Challenges

by Crazy Ivan

The other night we're all sitting around munching on fine American cuisine (Hot Pockets) at the Cabin of Skills.  I'm waiting for mine to cook, Bamboo is sitting at the bar by the kitchen, Bones and Kore are at the dining room table and Rush is on the couch.  Pinky was in bed by that time, which is why we were forced to resort to eating Hot Pockets.

Rather than take a bunch of time to describe the layout of the room (which is an essential part of this story), I decided to go the quicker route of drawing up a terrible looking map on Paint:

On Second thought, I shoulda just described it...

So in order to keep myself entertained while I'm waiting (for 3:30 on high), I decide to start throwing splits.  I've got two Myachis in my pocket and I toss a split where one goes to Bamboo and one goes to Kore.  It's a near/far split where both still have to go forward, so it was a fun challenge.

Of course, in this cabin you can't do a throw without it becoming a game, so I decided to try to hit every combination of two people in the room.  With Bamboo close and Rush so much farther away, it became a serious challenge.  It took a few tries on a couple of combos and we decided that the ceiling was too low for me to get the Rush/Bones split, but I got all the others in a few tries.

And then, of course, everyone was in on it.  We had so much fun that I forgot all about the lava-temperature pepperoni and cheese that was waiting for me, freshly nuked.

If you've never done it before, try it sometime.  It's best if you have two friends that are into the game (or at least have a descent catch), but you can even try it alone.  Set up two golf targets and try to throw into both of them at once.  The key to the split, of course, is that both Myachis have to come off the same hand.

Pop Shove Its, slow Heel Flips, Hard Flips and a few other unique hand motions will allow you to split into any two locations in a room with a little thought and a lot of practice.

And if you have trouble visualizing what I'm talking about, don't worry.  A video is coming soon.

5.1 Hits the Shelves at Dollywood

by Crazy Ivan

It's really late and I have an early morning followed by a long day tomorrow, so I can't write a very long entry tonight.  But I had to give my first reactions to the 5.1 series going on sale today.  It's always a really big deal to see a new series fly off the shelves (or pegs, technically) for the first time.

Pinky got the call around 4:30 that the new series was at our local warehouse.  We were running mad low on product already and the warehouse is only a few minutes from the park, so she headed out to pick up a half dozen boxes.  Right after the 5 o' clock contest we put them on the shelves.

Of course, I knew the colors and fabrics for quite a while before the series actually came out and I'd long since pondered with Animal, Mav, Monk, Kid and Myachi Man about which would be the best sellers, which would sell to the older crowd, which would sell to the younger crowd, which would be the favorites among collectors and which would linger on the shelf the longest.

So I can only give my immediate impressions right now and they're subject to change the longer things are progress.  We only had the new series up for a few hours today so I don't have much data to go on.  But here goes my first impressions:

No surprise, the Boneyard Red is mad popular.  Cammo and Skulls always outsell anything else they're coupled with so that will almost certainly be the top seller.  When the two are combined, as they were in the legendary Hardcore Cammo, they're all but unstoppable.

The Power Grid is selling hard to both the guys and the gals.  Purple sacks are usually coin flips, but that one looks like it's going to rock.  The Medallion might actually compete with the Boneyard Red for the best-seller of the series and I wouldn't be surprised if the Fishbone Orange is right up there with them.

The Puzzle is going to be big with a lot of crowds.  It was actually the first sack that sold when we put them on the shelves and we were already having trouble finding them by the end of the day.  Still very little word on which will be the best jammer, but the coolest looking one in action is probably the Othello.  The Power Grid is a close second.

Anyway, I meant not to write anything long and I'm in danger of doing that.  I need to get to sleep.  I'll have a new series to sell tomorrow.

More bulletins as events warrant.

Welcome to the Cabin of Skills

by Crazy Ivan

Tonight, the Cabin of Skills lived up to its name more than it has up to this point.  Don't get me wrong, I brought a number of toys so there's been plenty of juggling, hacky sacking, diaboloing and cigar boxing, not to mention endless hours of Myachi playing.

But tonight was a bit different.  Long time maniac and forum favorite Digit came over this evening and brought his roommate, who is a pretty impressive juggler.  He also does a little diabolo and was looking for some new tricks to try.

I obliged, of course, and taught him a few of the tougher basics.  I also gave him a few new tricks to work on in three and four ball juggling.  There was one point where Bamboo was juggling, Bones was juggling one ball and two Myachis, Kore was jamming and Digit, his roommate and I were all throwing down diabolo tricks.

So, sure, this has been the Cabin of Skills since we got here, but if you measure things by skills per square foot, it was definitely at its apex tonight.

My Myachi Family

by Prophet

For many, Myachi is a game. It’s something to do when they are bored, or something to pick up every once in a while when they think of it. For others it’s about collections, having the un-latest and greatest Myachis, or about the envy they get to watch when someone witnesses their collection.

But for the most dedicated myachi maniacs, myachi isn’t about who can stick the greatest tricks, or who’s collection would net the most on Ebay. It’s about the friends. It’s about the journey, and every single person that helps you on your path, and every single person that you help along their path.

For many, Myachi isn’t a game of you doing the best you can possibly do. It’s about showing others what the best they can possibly do looks like. It’s not about proving your good at something to someone. It’s about proving that they are good at something to them. It’s about showing them “You are amazing.” It’s about making friends. That’s all myachi is; a way to make friends.

Of all the toys, sports, and hobbies I’ve seen, very few could bring as many people together as Myachi does. For every maniac, new and old, collector or jammer, hard core enthusiast or part-time supporter, Myachi is a string that ties us together. The Myachi community is a close knit family. We support one another. We encourage one another. We are one of the most amazing groups of fanatics I have ever witnessed.

No matter what background we are from, we are together. You’re never truly alone if you’re a part of the Myachi community. I am honored to be a part of this loving, giving, and truly wonderful family. We all are.

5.1 Series Hits the Website

by Crazy Ivan

It kind of snuck up on us, didn't it?  The 5.0 took a while to come out and between the crushing we're doing in NYC, the mad STWAKOJ at Dollywood, huge sales in Australia and hot spots popping up all over the country, the 5.0 series is disappearing faster than we expected.

Not to fear, the incredibly awesome new selection is on the ground in the good old US of A and you can get them on our website now.  It's a really cool looking series with some spectacular jammers.

But there is also an intriguing mystery.  Series 5.1X is listed on the site, but that series hasn't been uploaded yet.  Leave it to Myachi Man to keep the suspense brewing for a little while longer.

Spreading the Word,No Matter How Hard It Is

by Jonathan Reynolds

Now believe me when I say that I love to spread the word about Myachi whenever and wherever I get the chance, and I am sure you all do to, but there are times when people are a little reluctant when the words Hand and Sack are used together.

I recently went on a camping trip with a few of my friends, all of whom are NOT into myachi which saddens me to say, and I brought along with me, of course, a Myachi. Not just any Myachi though, it was my super yummy “The General”. Now camping is fun and all, but after about one day of doing “Camping things”, I just had to pull out my General and start jamming.

At first my friends started to laugh and ask me what exactly I was doing and, of course, what I was doing it with. As you can see I had the perfect STWAKOJ moment laid before me. So of course I told them what I was doing (The exact trick was a simple cold fusion) and I told them that I was doing it with a Myachi Original Hand Sack. Now as I mentioned earlier, using Hand and Sack together isn’t a good idea around immature teenage boys, and they just started to laugh.

And the laughing continued….until I started showing them some pretty awesome tricks. Though the laughing had stopped, they still were looking at me like I was a maniac. Then I hit a daredevil. A trick I hit quite often, but they were amazed by it. Instantly one of my friends got up, walked over to me, and asked if he could try. It was pretty awesome that one of my friends, who just a few minutes before was laughing at me, now wanted to try it, but what was even more awesome was that he hit a daredevil in his first three tries, and his face just lit up!!

Now of course I felt pretty successful that I got one of my friends up and jamming with me, but what really made it a success was when, one by one, the rest of my friends came to join. But not only did we jam that day, we jammed every day the rest of the week!  It felt great, and though spreading the word and getting my friends to join was hard, it was definitely worth it.

Spread the Word and Keep on Jammin….No matter how hard it might be.

Myachi Fireworks Show

by Crazy Ivan

Don't have much time to blog, but I mentioned the other day that we'd purchased a bunch of really awesome fireworks for the fourth.  I've received several requests for a bit of video to back it up, so I had Rush post the video below on You-Tube.

Keep in mind that this is just the "grand finale" of our show... We'd been firing off massive bottle rockets, fire fountains and mini-mortars for a solid twenty minutes before we sent this up.  You'll see two giant bottle rockets, a mortar and an "Apache", which was a 16 shot monster that we wished we'd bought twelve of.

For those that live in the firework lenient states, this won't be that big a deal.  For those who live in the majority of the country, you'll be amazed at what is legal in Tennessee:

A Proposal

by Crazy Ivan

I know that as a Myachi Master I don't have all that much clout in world politics, but I'd like to exert what influence I do have with the following proposal.

As you might have gathered, I'm constantly butting up against deadlines this summer.  With the long days at Dollywood sucking up the majority of my day, I'm having a lot of trouble getting the blog updated, the trick of the day up, et cetera.  I've been trying to keep up, but there's only so much I can do.

So my proposal is that we simply move to a 26 hour day for the next month or so.  I figure there's a precedent for it, what with all the goofy weirdness that we do for daylight saving time.  We've already decided that congress has the power to manipulate time, so why not just give us a little more day each day?

With that extra two hours I could get all my work done every day and still have time left over to get 6 hours of sleep every night.  I recognize the arrogance of wanting to redefine the word "day" for one single person amongst the hundreds of millions in this country, but the way I figure it, everyone else could use a little more day as well.  Even if you have nothing on your itinerary beyond sleep and video games, the 26 hour day would at least give you more time for sleep and video games.

So write your congressman, start an online petition, write a letter to the editor or do whatever it is you do when the time comes to change the world.  I promise to make it worth your effort if we can spur the government into action.

Should they fail to act, I suppose I'll have to accept the fact that on some days I'll be unable to update the blog.  But that seems like an unnecessary sacrifice when we could just add a few hours to each day.

An Update On The Other Contest

by Crazy Ivan

Just a quickie here before I head off to work.  I updated everyone yesterday on the Summer Photo contest, but I still have another contest that's in limbo as well.  When this blog first began, I announced a contest for followers.  The first 50 followers would be put in a drawing for a Pakisack and one would be randomly selected once we reached that 50 mark.

Well, as many of you have noted, we're over 50 followers now so it's high time for that drawing.

Unfortunately, until I get back to NYC, I'm cut off from my supply of groovy Pakisacks so it'll be the 2nd week of August before I'll have the chance to actually send out the prize.  For that reason, I'm going to delay the drawing itself until then.

There are a couple of good reasons.  The first is obvious; there's no reason to make the winner suffer through a month of knowing that they won but not having their prize.  The other is that I want to extend the eligibility to everyone who signs up to follow the blog between now and then.

See, one of the conditions of this contest is that Myachi employees are not eligible to win.  And since at least a few of the 52 current followers are Myachi employees, we don't actually have 50 eligible followers.  That doesn't really matter, of course.  We could still have the drawing and if I pull Bones or Pinky or someone as the winner, I can simply draw again.  That being said, more is better than less.

So look for that drawing on or about August 7th with the prize going out in the days immediately following it.  And sorry that I didn't get you this info a bit sooner.

Summer Photo Contest Update

by Crazy Ivan

I announced a contest back on the 8th of June that was originally scheduled to end on the 29th.  That date came and went with no announcement (for which I sincerely apologize) and now we're more than a week beyond it.  I'll admit that I totally dropped the ball on this one, but I haven't forgotten about you entirely.

The fact is that between my email being down and very few entries being posted on Facebook, we didn't have enough entries to make a full blown contest out of it.  I've been telling myself for days to write an entry updating everyone on what was going on, but with the mountain of work that faces me every day of the Dollywood assignment, I'm only now getting around to it.

So here's the deal.  The contest is still on.  I've extended the final date to July 21st so you have a couple of weeks yet to get entries in.  So if you want a chance to win a free Myachi, all you need to do is:

1. Snap a pic of yourself or a friend playing Myachi outdoors and
2. Post that pic on our Facebook page.

That's pretty much it.  Super simple contest.  We'll be choosing 3 winners and up to this point there are only a few entries so you have a really good chance of winning if you get in on it.  If you want more details, you can check the original post or you can leave any questions you might have in the comments section below.

And remember, if you submitted a pic to me by email, I didn't get it, so be sure to resubmit it on our FB page!

How Bad It's Gotten

by Crazy Ivan

Before I got to Tennessee, I had grand plans for this assignment.  I'd just do Dollywood for 12+ hours and then come home, film a trick of the day video, hop on the forum, answer our Facebook messages, answer our Twitter mentions, check our You Tube inbox, edit and upload the trick of the day video, write and adjust the schedule, track and order inventory, input all the paperwork for our sales at Dollywood, write a few entries for the Myachi Blog and then eat some dinner.

The plan seemed perfect, but somehow I forgot that I would also need to sleep at some points as well.

Because of that, the blog has suffered unduly.  It and the forum have been the most commonly neglected of my responsibilities, and this entry is meant as both a formal apology and a commitment to redouble my efforts.  I knew that the blog would suffer a bit, but I never thought it would get as bad as it's gotten.

Before I left for Tennessee, I was averaging about 18 entries a week, but on some weeks I'd go as high as 21 or 22.  That meant I was blogging well over twice a day on average and sometimes I was besting 3 a day.  And then I came to Tennessee and right away it dropped to 11 blog entries in a week.

Now to be honest, this is kind of what I expected.  I didn't really feel that I'd be able to keep up 2 and 3 entries every day, but I suspected that most days I could at least write something in the morning and something in the evening.  Some days I'd be too tired and I'd end up ending the week with about 11 updates.

But then things got worse.  I went from a week with 11 blog updates to a week with only 6.  That's not even one a day!  That means that at least once, I completely neglected the Myachi blog and didn't even bother to hop on and link a cool Myachi related or skill related You-Tube video.  Nada.  Nothing.  Zilch.

And then things hit rock bottom.  Last week, I only updated the blog 3 times.  Three times in one week.  I went from 3 entries in a good day to 3 in a whole week.  Pathetic.  Unacceptable.  That means there were more days last week when I didn't blog than there were days when I did.  And I owe our loyal readers way more than that.

Heck, I haven't even given an update on all the contests that are being postponed for the moment.  I haven't even announced another contest to follow up the Summer Photo Contest, which itself has been postponed, though I haven't bothered to mention it or give anyone a thorough update on what's going on there.  I haven't chosen the winner for the first 50 followers prize and I haven't explained why just yet.

Anyway, if you read this blog regularly, I don't have to tell you that things have gotten bad... you already know that.  You're probably getting sick and tired of logging in and seeing the same headline you saw the day before.

Well, I'm here to tell you "no more!"  No more shall you be deprived of regular and at the very least daily updates on the Myachi Blog.  No more shall you suffer the agony of not reading random stuff I write.  No more shall you wonder if I even remember that I announced a contest a couple weeks ago.  No more shall your trips to the Myachi Blog be stripped of their meaning by insufficient updates.

As exhibit A that I mean what I say, I offer the fact that it's midnight on Tuesday night and I've already posted more entries this week than I did all of last week.  But that's only 4 so it's not much to brag about.  But still, it's a start.

But I also know that I can't get very far just by saying "I will work harder".  I'm already working almost as hard as I can (I did spend an hour watching a George Carlin bit tonight, so there's room to improve).  To keep this blog rolling, I'm going to need your help.  I need guest bloggers and reader submitted updates.  Write about anything you want, as long as it's related to Myachi or it's something you think would interest the Myachi community.

Unfortunately, I have an e-mail issue at my @myachi address, so I'll have to ask you to send it to crazyivanmyachi@gmail.com instead, or pm it to me on the forum.  To get us back to two updates a day, I'll probably be looking for 3 or 4 guest posts a week, so if you like to write, keep them coming!

And remember, I might not use all the entries.  Think about it like a creative writing assignment in school.  Before I publish something, I have to check it for misspellings, grammatical errors and bits that don't make sense.  If I have to spend as much time correcting an entry as I would writing a blog, it doesn't do me much good.

But as long as it meets the high quality standards of the Myachi Blog and is of general interest to the Myachi community, I'd love to publish your work...

...Oh, and I promise to give everyone the full updates on those contest tomorrow.

A Perk of the Assignment

by Crazy Ivan

One of the many cool things about being stationed in Pigeon Forge over the summer is the fact that Tennessee has some of the coolest firework regulations in the nation.  Pretty much anything short of a hand grenade can be legally purchased in a firework store here.

Now, I'm not saying that's a good idea.  I've yet to see any statistics on it, but I would imagine states like New York with much tighter regulations probably have a lot fewer firework accidents every year.  But I will say that Tennessee is more fun (provided you don't blow your finger off or anything).

So on his way home today, Kore stopped by the firework store.  And yes, there are plenty of places dedicated to nothing but selling fireworks year round in Tennessee.  They're not even just seasonal places that operate around the 4th of July... these places are open all year.

Anyway, we'd armed Kore with $50 and told him to get a lot of stuff that goes boom.  And man did he succeed.  He got a couple 16 shot monsters, a score of roman candles, 16 giant-sized bottle rockets, 144 regular size bottle rockets, a couple sleeves of fire crackers, and a twelve pack of what I can only describe as colored mortars.

To top it all off, it rained like crazy out by our cabin tonight so there's no chance of starting any fires (that we don't mean to).  We're just waiting for Bamboo and Pinky to make it in so that we can blow stuff up.

I should note that even though I've been known to "play with fire", we're all extremely careful when lighting fireworks.  There are some things I goof around with, but explosives aren't among them.  We're all looking forward to watching pretty lights in the sky, but taking someone to the emergency room  really sucks the fun out of things.

So have a fun and safe fourth of July.

Myachi Arm Wrestling

by Crazy Ivan

So the other day I'm talking to Rush about my favorite Myachi games and I mentioned Myachi Arm Wrestling.  Much to my surprise he just responded with a blank stare and a quick "what's that?"

I thought it odd that I'd never shown the game to him before so we played a quick round.  Then it occurred to me that Rush is a regular reader of this blog and if he'd never heard about it, I must have never blogged about it.  So last night I went back through the blog and confirmed it.  And it surprises me since it's one of my favorite Myachi games.

One reason is that it's so simple to explain.  Two competitors face off.  They stand so that the outside of their right feet are touching and then place the backs of their right hands together with a Myachi in between.  The object is to touch your opponents palm to his or her leg using the strength of your arm.  Obviously, they're attempting to do the same to you.

It's a real full arm work out and when you get good at you quickly discover that much of the game is just about redirecting your opponent's energy.  To demonstrate the game, I talked Bones into playing a quick round with me while Rush taped it.  Seemed like the only real way to explain the game:



Couple of quick notes.  If the Myachi falls, the round is over.  If it was clearly one players fault, that player loses.  If it was a mutual thing, the round is a scratch and you simply play again.  If, during a battle, the Myachi gets twisted in such a way that it will be difficult to keep it up, you reset, place the Myachi back where it belongs and start again.

A Role Reversal

by Crazy Ivan

First let me apologize for the long hiatus between blog entries.  I suppose I underestimated the toll that this Pigeon Forge assignment would take on my energy and thought I'd be able to do a better job keeping this blog up to date.  As it stands, I've gone from blogging two or three times a day to blogging five or six times a week, and I feel that I owe our loyal readers a little more than that.

I'm the late guy in today and I have about 8 minutes before I have to hop in the car and head in, but I did want to take a few seconds to share a really fun moment in my day yesterday.

In places like Dollywood, our sales strategy is pretty simple; get the Myachi in the customers hand.  We spend much of our day standing at the fringes of the passing crowd and yelling "You're in!  Back of the hand!" before chucking a Myachi at some unsuspecting tourist.  Sometimes they catch it and toss it back, sometimes they miss it altogether and take another try and quite often they catch it, look at it and say "what is this thing?"

Myachi Man has aptly described this method as "Myachi Bombs Away" and it's amazingly effective in the right crowd.  A bunch of people all out to have fun all day at the amusement park is exactly the right type of crowd for this and it's worked wonders in the past and continues to work well today.

But yesterday I had a cool experience that I've oddly never had before.  As I'm standing near the booth and tossing people in, an eight year old kid that I'd played with earlier in the day runs up.  He'd already bought a Red Shredder and it was on his hand and in the ready position.

"You're in!  Back of the hand!" he calls out as he approaches.  I pocket my Hound's Tooth quickly, he tosses me in and I toss his Myachi back.  And then he runs off.

I turned to Rush and said, "Bro, I just got tossed in..."

After reading back over that, I suppose it's far more remarkable from the shoes of a Myachi Master, but it was the first time in my 8 years with Myachi that I ever had a kid toss me in a Myachi.  It's always the other way around.

Now that I look at it from the other perspective, I can see why our method is so effective.  Somebody tossed me a Myachi yesterday that I wasn't expecting and it was the highpoint of my day.

So that's all I have time to write now.  I've got to grab Bones and get to work.  I promise to write a longer and more relevant blog tonight.  It'll have pictures, video and it will introduce you to a Myachi Game that I've never before written about on this blog.  Incidentally, it's one of my favorite Myachi games and might be the most martial-arts relevant game that we play.