by Crazy Ivan
We talked the other day about the severe under use of Trap moves by freestylers. I promised then to highlight all eleven trick types over the coming weeks, but before we get to the pros and cons break down, I figured I should highlight another trick type that tend to be problematic in freestyle. And that's the centrifugal.
For those who aren't up on their Myachi terminology, a Centrifugal is a move where the Myachi remains on one place on the body (usually, but not always, the back of the hand) and the body moves without disturbing the Myachi. The most common examples are moves like the Half-Pipe, the Cradle, the Vert, the Snake, the Roller Coaster and all the numerous variations on those tricks. This is the type of trick that makes up some 80% of a game of Fu.
When we talked about trap moves, I was focusing in on their relative under-use in Myachi shreds, but with Centrifugals, I wanted to tackle a different issue altogether. For the record, I do feel that Centrifugals are under-used in freestyle, but nowhere near to the extent that Traps are ignored. That being said, many freestylers make Centrifugals a center-piece of their routines and Verts and Roller Coasters find their way into many if not most long-form shred sessions.
So rather than convince people to use more Centrifugals, I instead want to spend this post convincing people to use them correctly.
It seems to me that most of the time, if I see Centrifugals in a routine, they're lumped together. It's almost like the freestyler is saying, "I can do all the centrifugals as well, see." They're very rarely used in concert with other moves unless they're used on the way into a Daredevil or some other body-cross move and usually you see several of them together.
This makes sense from the perspective of the jammer, but not from the perspective of the audience. As a jammer, I recognize where this tendency comes from. Most of the popular Centifugals use the "Tiger Fist" position where the Myachi rests between the 2nd and 3rd row of knuckles on your fingers. The Roller Coaster, Reverse Roller Coaster, Snake, Crane, Helix, Centrifuge and any number of body-cross trap/swaps all use this same hand position and virtually no non-Centrifugal move in the game uses it.
So it's simply logical that if you, in the course of your jam, find yourself in a Tiger Fist position, you would just rock out a bunch of these moves one after the other. After all, do you really want to find two or three more tricks that end in the same spot? It's far easier to lump them together.
But from the audience's vantage point, it makes for a very unsatisfying portion of the routine. Centrifugals are, like any other type of move, best peppered throughout the routine. You could do a Double Wolverine> 1080> Butterfly> Double Sonic> Double Reverse Butterfly combo in the midst of a shred and it would be awesome. But it would be far less awesome if you never did another aerial move for the rest of the routine. Imagine that instead of using the Double Sonic here (where it's not really adding much to an already complex aerial combo), you held on to it and threw it in between, say, a Toe 360 and a Wing Catch that you were already doing elsewhere in the shred. I think we can all agree that it would be far more impressive to see this unexpected aerial popping up in transition than it would be to have a 5 trick aerial combo instead of a 4 trick one.
The same is certainly true with Centrifugals. Sure, you can lock them all up in one long combo. I've often seen even the best freestylers in the world throw down something like Snake> Roller Coaster> Reverse Roller Coaster> Helix> Crane> Reverse Helix> Drop of Death. Now, if you think it all the way through, this is a sick combo. But now imagine the same combo with a transitional trick in between each move:
Snake> Double Impossible> Roller Coaster> Mantis> DarkSlide> Reverse Roller Coaster> Scorpion Strike> Helix> Cross-Over> Crane> Reverse Helix> Daredevil> Reverse MVP Daredevil> Drop of Death
Now, sure, 14 tricks are cooler than7 tricks by default, but even any series of 7 moves in the combo above would get a better audience reaction than all 7 Centrifugals smashed together.
Another thing to keep in mind is that in the above combo, the Reverse Helix would really get lost in a maze of movement and the inclusion of a Reverse Roller Coaster immediately after a Roller Coaster really diminishes the impressive nature of the Roller Coaster by itself. In other words, if you follow a pretty tough centrifugal with a really tough one, the simpler one is quickly forgotten.
So when setting up a shred, look for opportunities for one off Centrifugals. Practice landing some of your aerials directly into Tiger Fist position. Look for combos that start and end on Centrifugals with other trick types in between. This will add flavor to your routine and make it more distinctive in competitions. And for Pete's sake, learn them with your weak hand too!
Showing posts with label shred videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shred videos. Show all posts
Friday, April 13, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The Importance of Traps
by Crazy Ivan
Traditionally, there are eleven categories of tricks in Myachi; High Body Stalls, Low Body Stalls, Strikes, Aerials, Flip Tricks, Body Crosses, Grinds, Portals, Swaps, Centrifugals and Traps. While some moves combine elements of several of these categories, virtually all moves can be described using some variation of these ten broad categories.
In shreds, we usually see a lot of stalls, aerials and body-crosses. Grinds, Portals and Strikes more often show up in games of MYACH. Centrifugals pop up in both instances and are the key to Myachi Fu. Flip Tricks and Traps are often relegated to the "easy" pile and very rarely find their way into jams or skill competitions.
With flip tricks, it's clear why. These are moves that rely on the motion of the Myachi itself (such as kickflips, shove-its, hard flips, etc.) and there's no real need for those in a game of MYACH or in a shred. They're too easy for games of MYACH and they're invisible in a larger shred.
But Traps should not be dismissed so flippantly. Sure, they're illegal in Fu so you won't use them there and there are only a few traps that are legitimate scoring chances in MYACH (and most of them are primarily body-cross moves that also incorporate traps). But when it comes to a shred, traps are probably the most under utilized tricks in the game.
For those that don't know the system, a Trap is a move where you actually "trap" the Myachi between two surfaces on your body. The most common trap tricks are the Hulk, Lotus and Slingshot, but there are hundreds of possible traps using combinations of the hands, feet and body. Still, these moves aren't usually as flashy or impressive as a fast aerial or a difficult low-body stall and because of that, they are usually nowhere to be found in a jam session.
This is a real shame. Traps serve a number of purposes in a shred and they can add a lot to the overall look of the routine. Easy isn't always unimpressive and, depending on how it's framed, a Trap trick can be every bit as impressive as a much tougher foot trick or centrifugal. Let's take a look at a few of the advantages of trap moves:
#1) They Break the Action
In juggling, breaks in the action are called "applause points". These are the moments when everything stops moving for a second so that the audience can catch up and, hopefully, warm the palms of their hands with some vigorous clapping. A good juggler will litter their routine with such stop-and-go pauses so that each motion can be appreciated. It also has the added benefit of making the audience feel like they got more out of the show.
Myachi shreds are the same. If you just string all your best tricks together, the audience really doesn't have time to respond to one trick before they're being baffled by another. Sure, you could use holding pattern moves like Fusions and Fus in between the big elements of your shred, but it's far better to stop the Myachi altogether and give the audience a second to reset.
#2) They Guarantee Odd Placements
Supposing that during your routine, you want to toss in a few Fist tricks. Let's say you've got a sick Fist of Lightening to a Punsiher combo you want to use. This means that at the beginning of this part of the routine, you have to get the Myachi to your fist. There are two ways to do this; you could catch it on your fist from a throw or you could use a trap move like the Hulk and then just come out with the fist stall already in place.
Obviously, the second choice is easier, but less obvious is the fact that it's the more aesthetically pleasing idea from the audience's perspective. Think about it; the Fist of Lightening involves a Fist Catch. So even though the fist catch is more difficult, it will take away from the next trick. Your audience would much rather see two tricks, one easy and one hard, than two difficult tricks that are essentially the same.
And the decision can also be a simple one of consistency. Catching on your fist is really hard. If you have an even more difficult starting position for a trick, the knife edge of the hand, for instance, you might not be able to consistently get that catch within a jam. But you can definitely accomplish it with a Trap. By using a trap, you might actually be expanding the total number of tricks you can bring to a routine.
#3) They Look Really Cool
Odds are that if you're jamming for a crowd, most of them have never played Myachi before. They don't know which tricks are harder than others. I mean, sure, they can just look at a Toe 360 and a Hulk and tell that one is much harder than the other. But do they know that a Spiderman is a lot harder than a Lotus that ends in a Wrist stall?
One of the toughest tricks that I regularly use in freestyle is the Spidey-Sense (a Spiderman to Spiderman Daredevil). When I do it, I always start with a Lotus and do the Spidey-Sense from there. This is a bit easier than just catching a Spiderman, sure, but that's not why I use it. It simply looks cooler to do a Spidey-Sense out of a Lotus than a simple wrist catch. There's more going on. There's more to see. It looks harder even though it's easier.
#4) They Can Be Really Tough
To be sure, I'm not suggesting that you go out and start peppering every routine with a bunch of Hulk to Lotus transitions. If you throw down a Duck N Dive, you can't exactly follow it up with an Anvil to a Slingshot and think it's going to impress somebody. But you could definitely follow up a Duck N Dive with an In-Spin to an Under the Leg Hulk and get some pretty perplexed expressions.
Trap moves are only easy if you do the easy ones. An Atlas is a tough, impressive Trap move. Behind the Back Hulks (or the dreaded Hula Hulk) can be great MYACH calls, let alone Jam tricks. The Figure 4 is a spectacular foot trap. I'm sure that with only a little bit of effort, you can probably think of a tough trap trick that has never even been attempted before.
#5) Traps Are Great for 2 Sack Shreds
Most serious freestylers focus more on multiple Myachi moves than single sack shreds, but even within a 2 sack shred, it can be fun to toss in some one Myachi moves. But what do you do with the second Myachi? Sure, you can stall it on your toe or the top of your head or something just to get it out of the way, but by employing a trap move, you can actually make the dormant Myachi into part of the shred.
Traps and Portals are natural allies. Think about how much cooler a Jump Rope is if there's a second Myachi trapped in a Hulk while you do it. How much cooler is a Musketeer if the fist on the hip is trapping a Myachi? Virtually all portal moves lend themselves to trap variations, but the utility of traps isn't limited to that. Think about some high-body stall/trap combos like the Pteradon and the Headlock (Slingshot and Bodyguard simultaneously from a split).
Even low body stall work can be improved upon by adding a few simple trap variations with one sack while doing a foot shred with another. Traps and Swaps are really the only moves that can realistically be used during a foot shred, as anything else would pose some pretty super-human difficulties. But a Transformer can be executed in the middle of a River Dance without the use of any super powers.
Traditionally, there are eleven categories of tricks in Myachi; High Body Stalls, Low Body Stalls, Strikes, Aerials, Flip Tricks, Body Crosses, Grinds, Portals, Swaps, Centrifugals and Traps. While some moves combine elements of several of these categories, virtually all moves can be described using some variation of these ten broad categories.
In shreds, we usually see a lot of stalls, aerials and body-crosses. Grinds, Portals and Strikes more often show up in games of MYACH. Centrifugals pop up in both instances and are the key to Myachi Fu. Flip Tricks and Traps are often relegated to the "easy" pile and very rarely find their way into jams or skill competitions.
With flip tricks, it's clear why. These are moves that rely on the motion of the Myachi itself (such as kickflips, shove-its, hard flips, etc.) and there's no real need for those in a game of MYACH or in a shred. They're too easy for games of MYACH and they're invisible in a larger shred.
But Traps should not be dismissed so flippantly. Sure, they're illegal in Fu so you won't use them there and there are only a few traps that are legitimate scoring chances in MYACH (and most of them are primarily body-cross moves that also incorporate traps). But when it comes to a shred, traps are probably the most under utilized tricks in the game.
For those that don't know the system, a Trap is a move where you actually "trap" the Myachi between two surfaces on your body. The most common trap tricks are the Hulk, Lotus and Slingshot, but there are hundreds of possible traps using combinations of the hands, feet and body. Still, these moves aren't usually as flashy or impressive as a fast aerial or a difficult low-body stall and because of that, they are usually nowhere to be found in a jam session.
This is a real shame. Traps serve a number of purposes in a shred and they can add a lot to the overall look of the routine. Easy isn't always unimpressive and, depending on how it's framed, a Trap trick can be every bit as impressive as a much tougher foot trick or centrifugal. Let's take a look at a few of the advantages of trap moves:
#1) They Break the Action
In juggling, breaks in the action are called "applause points". These are the moments when everything stops moving for a second so that the audience can catch up and, hopefully, warm the palms of their hands with some vigorous clapping. A good juggler will litter their routine with such stop-and-go pauses so that each motion can be appreciated. It also has the added benefit of making the audience feel like they got more out of the show.
Myachi shreds are the same. If you just string all your best tricks together, the audience really doesn't have time to respond to one trick before they're being baffled by another. Sure, you could use holding pattern moves like Fusions and Fus in between the big elements of your shred, but it's far better to stop the Myachi altogether and give the audience a second to reset.
#2) They Guarantee Odd Placements
Supposing that during your routine, you want to toss in a few Fist tricks. Let's say you've got a sick Fist of Lightening to a Punsiher combo you want to use. This means that at the beginning of this part of the routine, you have to get the Myachi to your fist. There are two ways to do this; you could catch it on your fist from a throw or you could use a trap move like the Hulk and then just come out with the fist stall already in place.
Obviously, the second choice is easier, but less obvious is the fact that it's the more aesthetically pleasing idea from the audience's perspective. Think about it; the Fist of Lightening involves a Fist Catch. So even though the fist catch is more difficult, it will take away from the next trick. Your audience would much rather see two tricks, one easy and one hard, than two difficult tricks that are essentially the same.
And the decision can also be a simple one of consistency. Catching on your fist is really hard. If you have an even more difficult starting position for a trick, the knife edge of the hand, for instance, you might not be able to consistently get that catch within a jam. But you can definitely accomplish it with a Trap. By using a trap, you might actually be expanding the total number of tricks you can bring to a routine.
#3) They Look Really Cool
Odds are that if you're jamming for a crowd, most of them have never played Myachi before. They don't know which tricks are harder than others. I mean, sure, they can just look at a Toe 360 and a Hulk and tell that one is much harder than the other. But do they know that a Spiderman is a lot harder than a Lotus that ends in a Wrist stall?
One of the toughest tricks that I regularly use in freestyle is the Spidey-Sense (a Spiderman to Spiderman Daredevil). When I do it, I always start with a Lotus and do the Spidey-Sense from there. This is a bit easier than just catching a Spiderman, sure, but that's not why I use it. It simply looks cooler to do a Spidey-Sense out of a Lotus than a simple wrist catch. There's more going on. There's more to see. It looks harder even though it's easier.
#4) They Can Be Really Tough
To be sure, I'm not suggesting that you go out and start peppering every routine with a bunch of Hulk to Lotus transitions. If you throw down a Duck N Dive, you can't exactly follow it up with an Anvil to a Slingshot and think it's going to impress somebody. But you could definitely follow up a Duck N Dive with an In-Spin to an Under the Leg Hulk and get some pretty perplexed expressions.
Trap moves are only easy if you do the easy ones. An Atlas is a tough, impressive Trap move. Behind the Back Hulks (or the dreaded Hula Hulk) can be great MYACH calls, let alone Jam tricks. The Figure 4 is a spectacular foot trap. I'm sure that with only a little bit of effort, you can probably think of a tough trap trick that has never even been attempted before.
#5) Traps Are Great for 2 Sack Shreds
Most serious freestylers focus more on multiple Myachi moves than single sack shreds, but even within a 2 sack shred, it can be fun to toss in some one Myachi moves. But what do you do with the second Myachi? Sure, you can stall it on your toe or the top of your head or something just to get it out of the way, but by employing a trap move, you can actually make the dormant Myachi into part of the shred.
Traps and Portals are natural allies. Think about how much cooler a Jump Rope is if there's a second Myachi trapped in a Hulk while you do it. How much cooler is a Musketeer if the fist on the hip is trapping a Myachi? Virtually all portal moves lend themselves to trap variations, but the utility of traps isn't limited to that. Think about some high-body stall/trap combos like the Pteradon and the Headlock (Slingshot and Bodyguard simultaneously from a split).
Even low body stall work can be improved upon by adding a few simple trap variations with one sack while doing a foot shred with another. Traps and Swaps are really the only moves that can realistically be used during a foot shred, as anything else would pose some pretty super-human difficulties. But a Transformer can be executed in the middle of a River Dance without the use of any super powers.
-----
In summary, every type of Myachi Move has its place. If you're not using a lot of trap moves in your shreds, it might be fun to start rethinking that. I'll be highlighting the rest of the trick types over the next few weeks, but I really felt that the most under-rated type of trick deserved top billing on this little countdown. Look for a post highlighting Centrifugals coming soon...
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Bones Overtakes Maverick!
by Crazy Ivan
It's no mistake that the title of this post is so sensational, but I'll spare you the suspense and let you know right away that we're not talking skills here. Bones is one of the most promising young freestylers in the world right now and there is a chance that he will someday overtake Maverick in overall Myachi skills, but Maverick is still raising the bar and there's a lot of catch-up to do.
But Bones has overtaken Mav in a different and very important metric. He's jumped ahead of him on You-Tube.
If you search Myachi on YouTube and sort by relevance (the default setting), the top rated video is the Myachi commercial. But right below that, you'll see the video below... a video that Bones shot with Bamboo in Monk's room and posted back in February of 2010.
For years we've watched this video creep up the ranks and while the skills he and Bamboo exhibit here are utterly dwarfed by what they can do now, the video has remained popular and has actually gained momentum over the last year. A few months ago, it overtook one of the most popular Myachi shred videos ever recorded, a classic jam from Maverick in Washington Square:
This video had enjoyed top YouTube billing for quite a while and still ranks at #3, right below Bones and Bamboo. It's an epic shred to be sure, but is equally eclipsed by Mav's current level of skill. I have a feeling that in both cases, the stars of the videos find the tricks that seemed hard back then quaint in comparison to what they can do now.
I should note that Bones' video hasn't actually overtaken Mav's in total view count. Mav still has an advantage of some 8000 views as of this writing. But that's increasingly irrelevant. If you search Myachi videos by view count, the top 9 videos have nothing to do with Myachi. Three of them are highlights of Japanese football phenom Ryo Miyaichi and the others are all but inexplicable. In fact, the only actual Myachi video that cracks the top 10 in view count is a 4 year old video of Caffeine demonstrating a 360, a 720 and some very questionable attempts at higher rotations.
I'm not sure what factors are figured in to You-Tube's calculation of the most "relevant" video, but i can tell you that this top honor is a source of pride within the House of Skills. We all ceck in from time to time to see where we're ranking. As of this moment, the top 10 breaks down as follows:
It's no mistake that the title of this post is so sensational, but I'll spare you the suspense and let you know right away that we're not talking skills here. Bones is one of the most promising young freestylers in the world right now and there is a chance that he will someday overtake Maverick in overall Myachi skills, but Maverick is still raising the bar and there's a lot of catch-up to do.
But Bones has overtaken Mav in a different and very important metric. He's jumped ahead of him on You-Tube.
If you search Myachi on YouTube and sort by relevance (the default setting), the top rated video is the Myachi commercial. But right below that, you'll see the video below... a video that Bones shot with Bamboo in Monk's room and posted back in February of 2010.
For years we've watched this video creep up the ranks and while the skills he and Bamboo exhibit here are utterly dwarfed by what they can do now, the video has remained popular and has actually gained momentum over the last year. A few months ago, it overtook one of the most popular Myachi shred videos ever recorded, a classic jam from Maverick in Washington Square:
This video had enjoyed top YouTube billing for quite a while and still ranks at #3, right below Bones and Bamboo. It's an epic shred to be sure, but is equally eclipsed by Mav's current level of skill. I have a feeling that in both cases, the stars of the videos find the tricks that seemed hard back then quaint in comparison to what they can do now.
I should note that Bones' video hasn't actually overtaken Mav's in total view count. Mav still has an advantage of some 8000 views as of this writing. But that's increasingly irrelevant. If you search Myachi videos by view count, the top 9 videos have nothing to do with Myachi. Three of them are highlights of Japanese football phenom Ryo Miyaichi and the others are all but inexplicable. In fact, the only actual Myachi video that cracks the top 10 in view count is a 4 year old video of Caffeine demonstrating a 360, a 720 and some very questionable attempts at higher rotations.
I'm not sure what factors are figured in to You-Tube's calculation of the most "relevant" video, but i can tell you that this top honor is a source of pride within the House of Skills. We all ceck in from time to time to see where we're ranking. As of this moment, the top 10 breaks down as follows:
- The Official Myachi Commercial
- Bones' Tough Myachi Tricks (Bones, Bamboo)
- Mav's Washington Square Shred (Mav)
- Myachi in NYC (Myachi Man, Kid, Big Dog)
- Myachi Sales 101 (Kid)
- Meeting Night (Everybody)
- Old Myachi Video (Myachi Man and Big Dog)
- Monk and I in tandem (Monk and I)
- Battle Paddle Promo video
- My 1st Collection Video
There are always a few shuffles and changes here and there, but we're all always looking to crack that top 3. Which leads me to the call to action. Do you have a favorite Myachi Master? Do you think Mav's video should be above Bones? Do you think Bones and Bamboo have earned the top spot? Do you think Monk's Myachi and Cup shred should make the top 10? How about Sack Center?
You can, of course, help to decide. I'm not sure all the metrics that enter in to it, but I'm willing to bet that you can influence the top 10 just by watching, liking and sharing the video that you think most deserves the top honor. If you have a blog, you can embed it. If you have a Facebook page or a Twitter account, you can share it. If you have a Google Plus account... let me know how that's working out for you.
Anyway, I'll be updating this top 10 standing from time to time and hopefully some new entries will find their way into the honored spots. If nothing else, I'd love to see both Bones and Mav make follow up videos to these classics.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Attention Record Setters!
by Crazy Ivan
I have a Google alert set up for the word Myachi so a couple of times a day I get emails from Google when their little spiders pick up the word Myachi anywhere on the internet. Most of the time, the emails just include links to this blog, the forum, a You-Tube video or an Ebay auction, but once in a while I come across something really cool.
Such was the case this morning when I got an alert about a website called RecordSetter.com. It's an online database where people can submit world record attempts and video for any manner of challenge. Some dude decided the other day to upload a bunch of his personal Myachi videos to get the ball rolling on Myachi representation on the site.
Seems like a pretty cool guy. His name is Brian Pankey and he's a pretty accomplished juggler and skill toy enthusiast out of Springfield, Illinois. He picked a dozen or so tricks and decided to set records for the most done in 30 seconds or a minute.
Now, I don't think for a second that this dude thinks he's the fastest in the world at this stuff. I'm sure he's seen videos of people going a lot faster, so I'm assuming his main goal here was to get the database going. So the least we can do is respond to the challenge.
I've already submitted a video to break his "Cold Fusions in 60 Seconds" record. He'd done 67 (like I said, no illusions that he's the world's fastest) and I did 180. My personal best is actually over 240, but I wanted to make sure that I could get my first video out without a drop so I didn't go for broke exactly. I'll be adding a few more videos throughout the day, but I can't do it alone.
Which brings me to you.
We've got to run up these records, guys! He's only put a few records up so far, but as we all know, there are hundreds of other tricks that we could submit. Besides, it should be fun trying to run some of these numbers up. I'm sure there are several people reading this blog who could beat my trifling 180 Cold Fusions in a minute. And many if not all of you could beat some of the records that our boy Brian set.
The submission process is super simple. You can upload your video to You-Tube and then just link it on their site. You can sign in with your FB account or create a unique one. The site's rules insist that everyone be at least 14 to submit, so be sure to play by the rules. I'm not sure, but I think you only have to be 14 to create an account or submit, so if you're under 14 you could still set the record and then have somebody else upload it for you (there's a spot on the submission form where they can still give you credit for the record).
So a quick thanks to Brian Pankey for making us all aware of this seemingly very cool website and a thanks in advance to all the Myachi Maniacs that are going to go out there and crush Brian's records!
I have a Google alert set up for the word Myachi so a couple of times a day I get emails from Google when their little spiders pick up the word Myachi anywhere on the internet. Most of the time, the emails just include links to this blog, the forum, a You-Tube video or an Ebay auction, but once in a while I come across something really cool.
Such was the case this morning when I got an alert about a website called RecordSetter.com. It's an online database where people can submit world record attempts and video for any manner of challenge. Some dude decided the other day to upload a bunch of his personal Myachi videos to get the ball rolling on Myachi representation on the site.
Seems like a pretty cool guy. His name is Brian Pankey and he's a pretty accomplished juggler and skill toy enthusiast out of Springfield, Illinois. He picked a dozen or so tricks and decided to set records for the most done in 30 seconds or a minute.
Now, I don't think for a second that this dude thinks he's the fastest in the world at this stuff. I'm sure he's seen videos of people going a lot faster, so I'm assuming his main goal here was to get the database going. So the least we can do is respond to the challenge.
I've already submitted a video to break his "Cold Fusions in 60 Seconds" record. He'd done 67 (like I said, no illusions that he's the world's fastest) and I did 180. My personal best is actually over 240, but I wanted to make sure that I could get my first video out without a drop so I didn't go for broke exactly. I'll be adding a few more videos throughout the day, but I can't do it alone.
Which brings me to you.
We've got to run up these records, guys! He's only put a few records up so far, but as we all know, there are hundreds of other tricks that we could submit. Besides, it should be fun trying to run some of these numbers up. I'm sure there are several people reading this blog who could beat my trifling 180 Cold Fusions in a minute. And many if not all of you could beat some of the records that our boy Brian set.
The submission process is super simple. You can upload your video to You-Tube and then just link it on their site. You can sign in with your FB account or create a unique one. The site's rules insist that everyone be at least 14 to submit, so be sure to play by the rules. I'm not sure, but I think you only have to be 14 to create an account or submit, so if you're under 14 you could still set the record and then have somebody else upload it for you (there's a spot on the submission form where they can still give you credit for the record).
So a quick thanks to Brian Pankey for making us all aware of this seemingly very cool website and a thanks in advance to all the Myachi Maniacs that are going to go out there and crush Brian's records!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Balancing the Trick of the Day
by Crazy Ivan
One of the first things I had on my "to do" list this week was update our playlists on You-Tube. I usually drop the Trick of the Day directly into one of the four, but while I was in Tennessee I let this responsibility slip and thus had a few dozen tricks to categorize.
They're all up to date now, so in case you're curious, you can click here to check out the:
But there's another, internal purpose as well. It helps me keep the tricks balanced.
I've received a number of emails, pms, etc. that have asked for "more easy tricks" or "more difficult tricks". Because I know that the mix is pretty half and half between beginners and veterans watching the videos, I try to include something for everyone, but sometimes it gets hard to keep track of.
Enter the playlists. I can glance at any time at my various playlists and see which category is "winning". Am I uploading a lot more basic tricks than advanced ones? Am I being too challenging and ignoring the newer players? Since I do these things 5 days a week it quickly becomes impractical to try to keep track of that stuff in my head.
So as I'm updating these playlists today, I took a few notes on how much meat was in each category. At the present moment, we have:
The goal is for the Beginner/Intermediate to outnumber the Advanced/Master by about 2 to 1. Why? Well, advanced players can still have fun learning beginner and intermediate tricks but beginners can't have fun learning advanced or master moves. As it stands, there are 73 in the latter category and 115 in the former. That's not 2 to 1, obviously (more like 3 to 2), but it's in the right ballpark. There are (and should be) a lot more moves in the easier categories.
Some people will look at the numbers and think that the "Master" category is woefully lacking. It's less than half the size of the next smallest category. Again, even though this seems like an error it is essentially what I was looking for. The smallest group of people watching these videos, of course, will be people who are true "masters" of the game, so it is only rarely that I feel the need to add more to that category. In fact, when I do, I often get accused of "showing off" (a charge I don't deny).
Still others will see the numbers and wonder if there shouldn't be more moves at the extremes. The beginner and master categories are the smallest and to such a wide degree that both of them together have fewer tricks than the intermediate category.
Again, that's what we're shooting for. Beginner tricks are necessary (and can be fun for even advanced players) but I think it's safe to assume that most of the people who are logging in to check out the Trick of the Day video are looking for a challenge. For this reason, the majority of the moves should stretch the limitations of the players watching them.
So to make a long story short, by categorizing the moves in these playlists, I've managed to make it easier to keep them balanced. But only the difficulty end has been balanced.
I'll be adding some new playlists over the next day or two to address other imbalances in the videos. For example, I have no idea off hand how many 2 Myachi tricks I have compared to 1 Myachi tricks. Obviously I want there to be a lot more 1 Myachi moves, but I have no early warning sign that if I'm getting imbalanced there. Similarly, I want there to be a lot more hand moves than foot moves, but I can't say off hand what the ratio of hand tricks and foot tricks is.
My thoughts at present are to create new playlists for all the "Clades" of tricks (trap; swap; body-cross; strike; etc.) and to create new playlists for 1, 2 and 3 Myachi moves. I'll also add (or update) the hand tricks/foot tricks playlists.
But ultimately the system is only as good as the input. I'm calling on you, the loyal reader, to help me decide what else to do. Obviously, anyone who wants to put together a playlist can (assuming they have a You-Tube account) so what I'm looking for here isn't just ideas for cool playlists (although those are welcome). What I'm really looking for is different ways to keep the thing balanced. Having a hand trick/foot trick playlist will make it much easier for me to realize when I've been neglecting foot tricks or focusing on them too much, just as having playlists divided by difficulty level help me to see when I'm doing too many advanced moves.
Any suggestions? Feel free to leave them in the comments section below or email me at crazyivan@myachi
One of the first things I had on my "to do" list this week was update our playlists on You-Tube. I usually drop the Trick of the Day directly into one of the four, but while I was in Tennessee I let this responsibility slip and thus had a few dozen tricks to categorize.
They're all up to date now, so in case you're curious, you can click here to check out the:
- Playlist of Tricks for Beginners
- Playlist of Tricks for Intermediate Players
- Playlist of Tricks for Advanced Players
- Playlist of Tricks for Masters
But there's another, internal purpose as well. It helps me keep the tricks balanced.
I've received a number of emails, pms, etc. that have asked for "more easy tricks" or "more difficult tricks". Because I know that the mix is pretty half and half between beginners and veterans watching the videos, I try to include something for everyone, but sometimes it gets hard to keep track of.
Enter the playlists. I can glance at any time at my various playlists and see which category is "winning". Am I uploading a lot more basic tricks than advanced ones? Am I being too challenging and ignoring the newer players? Since I do these things 5 days a week it quickly becomes impractical to try to keep track of that stuff in my head.
So as I'm updating these playlists today, I took a few notes on how much meat was in each category. At the present moment, we have:
- Beginner = 44 Tricks
- Intermediate = 71 Tricks
- Advanced = 52 Tricks
- Master = 21 Tricks
The goal is for the Beginner/Intermediate to outnumber the Advanced/Master by about 2 to 1. Why? Well, advanced players can still have fun learning beginner and intermediate tricks but beginners can't have fun learning advanced or master moves. As it stands, there are 73 in the latter category and 115 in the former. That's not 2 to 1, obviously (more like 3 to 2), but it's in the right ballpark. There are (and should be) a lot more moves in the easier categories.
Some people will look at the numbers and think that the "Master" category is woefully lacking. It's less than half the size of the next smallest category. Again, even though this seems like an error it is essentially what I was looking for. The smallest group of people watching these videos, of course, will be people who are true "masters" of the game, so it is only rarely that I feel the need to add more to that category. In fact, when I do, I often get accused of "showing off" (a charge I don't deny).
Still others will see the numbers and wonder if there shouldn't be more moves at the extremes. The beginner and master categories are the smallest and to such a wide degree that both of them together have fewer tricks than the intermediate category.
Again, that's what we're shooting for. Beginner tricks are necessary (and can be fun for even advanced players) but I think it's safe to assume that most of the people who are logging in to check out the Trick of the Day video are looking for a challenge. For this reason, the majority of the moves should stretch the limitations of the players watching them.
So to make a long story short, by categorizing the moves in these playlists, I've managed to make it easier to keep them balanced. But only the difficulty end has been balanced.
I'll be adding some new playlists over the next day or two to address other imbalances in the videos. For example, I have no idea off hand how many 2 Myachi tricks I have compared to 1 Myachi tricks. Obviously I want there to be a lot more 1 Myachi moves, but I have no early warning sign that if I'm getting imbalanced there. Similarly, I want there to be a lot more hand moves than foot moves, but I can't say off hand what the ratio of hand tricks and foot tricks is.
My thoughts at present are to create new playlists for all the "Clades" of tricks (trap; swap; body-cross; strike; etc.) and to create new playlists for 1, 2 and 3 Myachi moves. I'll also add (or update) the hand tricks/foot tricks playlists.
But ultimately the system is only as good as the input. I'm calling on you, the loyal reader, to help me decide what else to do. Obviously, anyone who wants to put together a playlist can (assuming they have a You-Tube account) so what I'm looking for here isn't just ideas for cool playlists (although those are welcome). What I'm really looking for is different ways to keep the thing balanced. Having a hand trick/foot trick playlist will make it much easier for me to realize when I've been neglecting foot tricks or focusing on them too much, just as having playlists divided by difficulty level help me to see when I'm doing too many advanced moves.
Any suggestions? Feel free to leave them in the comments section below or email me at crazyivan@myachi
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Some You Tube Videos You Might Have Missed
by Crazy Ivan
When I'm in the office, it's part of my daily routine to look up Myachi on You-Tube, sort by upload date and catch up on any videos I haven't seen before. This is one of the many things I've neglected since I've been in Tennessee, so I fear that I've missed some really solid videos.
Had the day off yesterday so I thought I'd start digging through the backlog and I'm glad I did. There are a number of videos from new maniacs, a bunch of stuff from veteran jammers and a few videos of Myachi Masters as well. I even got my first chance to see our new display at Toys R Us (with Noodles jamming out in front of it).
Normally, when I come across a video that really blows me away, I'll link it on our Facebook page, share it on Twitter and maybe even embed it on this blog. Haven't done that in a while, so I figured I'd take a few minutes to toss up a few of the best ones I saw yesterday.
I'm limiting myself to three videos here because if I embed more than that it starts taking forever for the page to load on slower computers, but I assure you that I could be tossing 10 videos up here right now. I'll have to simply encourage you to check You-Tube for some of the others.
#1) Max's Debut
We've seen Max jam a bit before on FB videos and we've seen him throw down some sick stuff in his attempt to best Mantis in the Trick of the Day contest, but this is the first time we really got to see him cut loose with an all out jam:
#2: A New Combo (and the Outtakes)
Can't tell if I like the trick itself or the "bloopers" better, but one way or the other it's an awesome video. The same dude has a sick 12 move combo video up as well, so I'd encourage you to check out his channel.
#3) A Slow Mo Shred
This one is more than a week old and was probably linked on the forum (which I've also neglected while I'm in Tennessee). It's a sick shred from a jammer I don't recognize. He's obviously been learning a lot from the various instructional videos we've got on You-Tube and he throws down a bunch of it in slow mo.
Great video quality on this one so if you've been dying to see what a Flying Fish looks like in extreme slow (like myself), this video is one for you:
Hope you like the videos. I know I did. And if any of the creators of these videos are reading this (and I know at least one will), thanks a ton. It's always fun to see another new take on the game.
When I'm in the office, it's part of my daily routine to look up Myachi on You-Tube, sort by upload date and catch up on any videos I haven't seen before. This is one of the many things I've neglected since I've been in Tennessee, so I fear that I've missed some really solid videos.
Had the day off yesterday so I thought I'd start digging through the backlog and I'm glad I did. There are a number of videos from new maniacs, a bunch of stuff from veteran jammers and a few videos of Myachi Masters as well. I even got my first chance to see our new display at Toys R Us (with Noodles jamming out in front of it).
Normally, when I come across a video that really blows me away, I'll link it on our Facebook page, share it on Twitter and maybe even embed it on this blog. Haven't done that in a while, so I figured I'd take a few minutes to toss up a few of the best ones I saw yesterday.
I'm limiting myself to three videos here because if I embed more than that it starts taking forever for the page to load on slower computers, but I assure you that I could be tossing 10 videos up here right now. I'll have to simply encourage you to check You-Tube for some of the others.
#1) Max's Debut
We've seen Max jam a bit before on FB videos and we've seen him throw down some sick stuff in his attempt to best Mantis in the Trick of the Day contest, but this is the first time we really got to see him cut loose with an all out jam:
#2: A New Combo (and the Outtakes)
Can't tell if I like the trick itself or the "bloopers" better, but one way or the other it's an awesome video. The same dude has a sick 12 move combo video up as well, so I'd encourage you to check out his channel.
#3) A Slow Mo Shred
This one is more than a week old and was probably linked on the forum (which I've also neglected while I'm in Tennessee). It's a sick shred from a jammer I don't recognize. He's obviously been learning a lot from the various instructional videos we've got on You-Tube and he throws down a bunch of it in slow mo.
Great video quality on this one so if you've been dying to see what a Flying Fish looks like in extreme slow (like myself), this video is one for you:
Hope you like the videos. I know I did. And if any of the creators of these videos are reading this (and I know at least one will), thanks a ton. It's always fun to see another new take on the game.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Why Ivan Lost...
by Crazy Ivan
Got a message on You-Tube today that brought up an interesting question that hadn't occurred to me before. The inquiry came from a person who wondered why I never won anything.
I'm not talking about Academy Awards or anything (although I think that Meeting Night should have at least been nominated). But rather, they noticed after watching a number of Myachi videos that whenever I'm pictured in competition with another Myachi Master, I always lose.
To be honest, I'd never noticed it before. The first example comes from the early days of Myachi when I filmed a "fight scene" against former Myachi Master Big Dog. When we choreographed the scene, we knew that one of us would have to lose. Since I had a pretty good fall and Big Dog's Mohawk made it all but impossible for him to do a plausible dive, we set it up so that he defeats me with a Pendulum at the end.
But unbeknownst to be, this began a trend. Later, Monk and I would write and film a parody of SportsCenter called "Sack Center". In that video we filmed several competitions and I was a participant in two of them. One was a game of Fu against Animal (which I lost) and the other was a game of MYACH against Monk (which I also lost).
There were different reasons for both of my losses. When we set up the Fu battle between Animal and I, we actually filmed about seven points and I won 4 of them. But all of my points came quickly in the round and a few of Animal's came at the end of more dramatic exchanges. In the end, we decided to present it as a three round bout and we used the two best rounds (both of which Animal won) and the most dramatic round that I won (which was still super quick).
As for the MYACH battle against Monk, well... I just lost that one. Monk is unbelievable at MYACH and it wouldn't have been very realistic to set up a match where he lost so I'll just have to satisfy myself with having gotten a few letters off of him.
Lest you think this trend only carried over to a couple of videos, I also managed to recently lose a match of Myachi Arm Wrestling to Bones and post it on You-Tube. I could point out that before we shot the video, in my effort to get Bones to do the video, I enticed him with "I'll let you win...", but that being said, he would have beaten me anyway. Bones is a deceptively strong dude and he represented the surest challenge at the cabin.
With four losses and no videos of me actually winning games, I suppose one could be forgiven for thinking I just always lose at Myachi games. There is the one counter-example where I beat Unknown in a game of "Faceoff", but until Unknown reaches the rank of full fledged Myachi Master, I still haven't defeated a Myachi Master on camera.
I suppose much of it is that I'm the one that's usually filming, editing or choreographing the stuff. It would be pretty arrogant of me to choreograph a game that I win by design. I guess most of it is probably just coincidence, but part of it could be that our team of Myachi Masters just keeps getting so much better (at everything).
Got a message on You-Tube today that brought up an interesting question that hadn't occurred to me before. The inquiry came from a person who wondered why I never won anything.
I'm not talking about Academy Awards or anything (although I think that Meeting Night should have at least been nominated). But rather, they noticed after watching a number of Myachi videos that whenever I'm pictured in competition with another Myachi Master, I always lose.
To be honest, I'd never noticed it before. The first example comes from the early days of Myachi when I filmed a "fight scene" against former Myachi Master Big Dog. When we choreographed the scene, we knew that one of us would have to lose. Since I had a pretty good fall and Big Dog's Mohawk made it all but impossible for him to do a plausible dive, we set it up so that he defeats me with a Pendulum at the end.
But unbeknownst to be, this began a trend. Later, Monk and I would write and film a parody of SportsCenter called "Sack Center". In that video we filmed several competitions and I was a participant in two of them. One was a game of Fu against Animal (which I lost) and the other was a game of MYACH against Monk (which I also lost).
There were different reasons for both of my losses. When we set up the Fu battle between Animal and I, we actually filmed about seven points and I won 4 of them. But all of my points came quickly in the round and a few of Animal's came at the end of more dramatic exchanges. In the end, we decided to present it as a three round bout and we used the two best rounds (both of which Animal won) and the most dramatic round that I won (which was still super quick).
As for the MYACH battle against Monk, well... I just lost that one. Monk is unbelievable at MYACH and it wouldn't have been very realistic to set up a match where he lost so I'll just have to satisfy myself with having gotten a few letters off of him.
Lest you think this trend only carried over to a couple of videos, I also managed to recently lose a match of Myachi Arm Wrestling to Bones and post it on You-Tube. I could point out that before we shot the video, in my effort to get Bones to do the video, I enticed him with "I'll let you win...", but that being said, he would have beaten me anyway. Bones is a deceptively strong dude and he represented the surest challenge at the cabin.
With four losses and no videos of me actually winning games, I suppose one could be forgiven for thinking I just always lose at Myachi games. There is the one counter-example where I beat Unknown in a game of "Faceoff", but until Unknown reaches the rank of full fledged Myachi Master, I still haven't defeated a Myachi Master on camera.
I suppose much of it is that I'm the one that's usually filming, editing or choreographing the stuff. It would be pretty arrogant of me to choreograph a game that I win by design. I guess most of it is probably just coincidence, but part of it could be that our team of Myachi Masters just keeps getting so much better (at everything).
Friday, June 10, 2011
Excuses, Excuses...
by Crazy Ivan
Normally, I'm a pretty punctual guy. I hate being late for stuff so I always leave way early and end up milling around for a while. I'm always an hour early to Bar Mitzvahs, I never show up late to the office and when there's any chance of me being late, I start to break out into a cold sweat.
And then I started this blog.
Now I'm late getting contest announcements up, I'm late getting Wednesday quizzes up, I'm late getting prizes mailed out, I'm late getting break-in tests done and I'm late, unfortunately, getting Myachi Master Shred Videos orchestrated. I can offer as an excuse that getting Myachi Masters on the same page can be like herding cats sometimes, but that's just an excuse. In truth, we got so caught up playing Fu at the meeting the other night we barely even brought it up. So no, sorry if you were waiting with bated breath for videos from Mav, Animal, Monk, Noodles, Bones, Unknown, Rush or myself that were supposed to debut today.
It all started so simple. I pointed out on the blog that I've still never put up a shred video in all my years with Myachi. I mentioned it and set a date to rectify the situation. Then Bones brought up a Myachi Master Shred Contest, which seemed like such a good idea that I couldn't pass up on it.
I mentioned it to all the guys and they got fired up and excited, and then promptly forgot all about it until I reminded them the other day. But as of today it looks like some of the guys haven't even filmed anything yet and others haven't even started editing. In my attempt to organize a Myach Master shred video, I have failed... At least for the time being.
But all is not yet lost. While we can't necessarily get all the Myachi Masters to post videos at the same time and get a whole vote thing going, that doesn't mean that we can't all still post those videos we were working on (or in the planning stages of).
And 1,000 apologies for getting everybody fired up about it. And 1,000 more for letting my own shred video get so infinitely delayed because of it.
Normally, I'm a pretty punctual guy. I hate being late for stuff so I always leave way early and end up milling around for a while. I'm always an hour early to Bar Mitzvahs, I never show up late to the office and when there's any chance of me being late, I start to break out into a cold sweat.
And then I started this blog.
Now I'm late getting contest announcements up, I'm late getting Wednesday quizzes up, I'm late getting prizes mailed out, I'm late getting break-in tests done and I'm late, unfortunately, getting Myachi Master Shred Videos orchestrated. I can offer as an excuse that getting Myachi Masters on the same page can be like herding cats sometimes, but that's just an excuse. In truth, we got so caught up playing Fu at the meeting the other night we barely even brought it up. So no, sorry if you were waiting with bated breath for videos from Mav, Animal, Monk, Noodles, Bones, Unknown, Rush or myself that were supposed to debut today.
It all started so simple. I pointed out on the blog that I've still never put up a shred video in all my years with Myachi. I mentioned it and set a date to rectify the situation. Then Bones brought up a Myachi Master Shred Contest, which seemed like such a good idea that I couldn't pass up on it.
I mentioned it to all the guys and they got fired up and excited, and then promptly forgot all about it until I reminded them the other day. But as of today it looks like some of the guys haven't even filmed anything yet and others haven't even started editing. In my attempt to organize a Myach Master shred video, I have failed... At least for the time being.
But all is not yet lost. While we can't necessarily get all the Myachi Masters to post videos at the same time and get a whole vote thing going, that doesn't mean that we can't all still post those videos we were working on (or in the planning stages of).
And 1,000 apologies for getting everybody fired up about it. And 1,000 more for letting my own shred video get so infinitely delayed because of it.
Monday, June 6, 2011
A Predictable Delay
by Crazy Ivan
If you've been paying close attention to this blog over the last couple of days, you might have anticipated this announcement. Looks like we're going to have to extend the deadline on the Myachi Master Shred Video contest. I've been asking the guys about it and with one exception (and I'm not going to name names here), nobody is prepared and there's only one day left in this thing.
So to be fair not only to the Masters, but also to those people who are looking forward to the outcome, we'll be adding a few days to the deadline. The new date will be this Friday. We'll drop the videos on Friday and give everyone the weekend to vote on them. We'll announce the winning video on Monday at 6 pm and that person will maintain bragging rights until we can organize another contest like this one.
And for those of you who expressed concern following my post on Saturday, don't worry... I never had any intention of not reminding everyone. The point of this contest is to entertain the Myachi fans of the world and get some really cool videos on YouTube. I guess I could have conned my way into a pretty likely victory, but there's not much point in winning if you don't win honestly. Besides, it's not like everyone put up a rare Myachi for this or anything...
If you've been paying close attention to this blog over the last couple of days, you might have anticipated this announcement. Looks like we're going to have to extend the deadline on the Myachi Master Shred Video contest. I've been asking the guys about it and with one exception (and I'm not going to name names here), nobody is prepared and there's only one day left in this thing.
So to be fair not only to the Masters, but also to those people who are looking forward to the outcome, we'll be adding a few days to the deadline. The new date will be this Friday. We'll drop the videos on Friday and give everyone the weekend to vote on them. We'll announce the winning video on Monday at 6 pm and that person will maintain bragging rights until we can organize another contest like this one.
And for those of you who expressed concern following my post on Saturday, don't worry... I never had any intention of not reminding everyone. The point of this contest is to entertain the Myachi fans of the world and get some really cool videos on YouTube. I guess I could have conned my way into a pretty likely victory, but there's not much point in winning if you don't win honestly. Besides, it's not like everyone put up a rare Myachi for this or anything...
Saturday, June 4, 2011
My Dilemma (or What would Monk do?)
by Crazy Ivan
If I had to describe Monk in one word I would say "winner". I don't know that I've ever met a person who so easily steps up to the challenge when a competition is offered. The ice water seems to flow through his veins when most of us would be buckling under the pressure and the more important the moment, the better he is.
And he plays dirty.
I feel alright saying that because in a lot of ways, I think Monk is pretty proud of that fact. He might deny that he "plays dirty", but that's only semantic. He would agree with me if I were to say it another way, for example, "Monk takes every tactical advantage imaginable, including some that others might reject out of a sense of civility".
To give you an example of what I mean, we had to enact certain rules in MYACH because Monk got so good at figuring out ways to do the move you described in a way that was far easier than the way you did them. If you neglected to call something like "from the back of your hand", he might do the same move with his finger (way easier on flexibility moves) and leave you facepalming as you saw him defend a tough move with an easy variation.
If you asked Monk, I think he'd simply say he does what he has to do to win.
So now I find myself in a situation where I'm wondering whether to do the same. As many of you know, I recently challenged all the Myachi Masters to a shred-video contest. We talked about it a few times and finalized everything at our meeting a week and a half ago. We all agreed on the rules and we all agreed on the date. Videos had to be in by Tuesday the 7th.
Well, here it is only a few days shy of that date and I'm starting to think most (if not all) of the guys have forgotten all about it. Nobody's mentioned it and I haven't seen anyone working on a video. If I had to guess, I'd assume Bones was all over this because he's been wanting to do a Shred-Video contest for a while, but I'm starting to wonder if anyone else remembered that we were supposed to have them in by Tuesday.
And therein lies my dilemma. I could remind everyone today and give them a few days to put something together...
But I don't think that's what Monk would do. I think he would remind everyone on Monday evening after he finished polishing off the editing of his own video. I think he would give everybody just enough time to put together a video, but not enough time to put together a video as good as his.
So what should I do? Well, the fact that I'm writing this says a lot. I know Animal, Bones and a couple of the other guys read it regularly, so I'm tipping my hand to them a bit. Obviously the idea here isn't so much to win as it is to make sure that the coolest possible videos get posted for the sake of our loyal subscribers. But all that being said, I still want to win.
So what would Monk do?
If I had to describe Monk in one word I would say "winner". I don't know that I've ever met a person who so easily steps up to the challenge when a competition is offered. The ice water seems to flow through his veins when most of us would be buckling under the pressure and the more important the moment, the better he is.
And he plays dirty.
I feel alright saying that because in a lot of ways, I think Monk is pretty proud of that fact. He might deny that he "plays dirty", but that's only semantic. He would agree with me if I were to say it another way, for example, "Monk takes every tactical advantage imaginable, including some that others might reject out of a sense of civility".
To give you an example of what I mean, we had to enact certain rules in MYACH because Monk got so good at figuring out ways to do the move you described in a way that was far easier than the way you did them. If you neglected to call something like "from the back of your hand", he might do the same move with his finger (way easier on flexibility moves) and leave you facepalming as you saw him defend a tough move with an easy variation.
If you asked Monk, I think he'd simply say he does what he has to do to win.
So now I find myself in a situation where I'm wondering whether to do the same. As many of you know, I recently challenged all the Myachi Masters to a shred-video contest. We talked about it a few times and finalized everything at our meeting a week and a half ago. We all agreed on the rules and we all agreed on the date. Videos had to be in by Tuesday the 7th.
Well, here it is only a few days shy of that date and I'm starting to think most (if not all) of the guys have forgotten all about it. Nobody's mentioned it and I haven't seen anyone working on a video. If I had to guess, I'd assume Bones was all over this because he's been wanting to do a Shred-Video contest for a while, but I'm starting to wonder if anyone else remembered that we were supposed to have them in by Tuesday.
And therein lies my dilemma. I could remind everyone today and give them a few days to put something together...
But I don't think that's what Monk would do. I think he would remind everyone on Monday evening after he finished polishing off the editing of his own video. I think he would give everybody just enough time to put together a video, but not enough time to put together a video as good as his.
So what should I do? Well, the fact that I'm writing this says a lot. I know Animal, Bones and a couple of the other guys read it regularly, so I'm tipping my hand to them a bit. Obviously the idea here isn't so much to win as it is to make sure that the coolest possible videos get posted for the sake of our loyal subscribers. But all that being said, I still want to win.
So what would Monk do?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Myachi Master Shred Contest: GO!
by Crazy Ivan
First a quick thanks to Draco for bringing this up on the forum the other day and inadvertently lighting a fire under my butt to get this thing rocking and rolling.
Had a meeting with all the Myachi Masters last night and I simply asked, "By a show of hands, how many people want in on the Myachi Master Shred video contest?" And within about 4 seconds, every hand was raised.
Here are the rules that we agreed on:
Of course, the loyal reader has a part to play in this as well. The videos will all be up by Tuesday, June 7th. Voting will open up on Wednesday, early in the morning. We will be asking Myachi Maniacs to vote for their favorite and the winner will have bragging rights amongst the various Myachi Masters.
In order to be eligible to vote for this contest, you will have to be registered on the Myachi Forums. Accounts registered after June 1st will not be eligible for voting so if you want in on this you have to register soon. We also ask that before you vote you watch all the videos. It wouldn't be fair to all of the contestants if you voted after only watching the 2 or 3 from your favorite Myachi Masters.
And there will be several videos to watch. The field of participating Myachi Masters are:
I also feel like I should tackle this one before hand as well: Mantis isn't in on this one. I know that at least a few people will ask me that, but this is a contest amongst the Myachi Masters and one of the benefits is that we will be able to trash talk if we win. Trash talking Mantis is no fun.
However, if Mantis should decide to put up a video of 3 to 4 minutes with at least 60 seconds of unedited shredding on June 7th just to show us all up, well, I guess there's not much I could do about that...
First a quick thanks to Draco for bringing this up on the forum the other day and inadvertently lighting a fire under my butt to get this thing rocking and rolling.
Had a meeting with all the Myachi Masters last night and I simply asked, "By a show of hands, how many people want in on the Myachi Master Shred video contest?" And within about 4 seconds, every hand was raised.
Here are the rules that we agreed on:
- Videos must be between 3 and 4 minutes.
- Each video must contain at least 60 seconds of unedited shredding.
- Videos must be completed and uploaded by June 7th
- Videos cannot be uploaded before June 7th.
- Videos must be worthy of the title "Myachi Master"
Of course, the loyal reader has a part to play in this as well. The videos will all be up by Tuesday, June 7th. Voting will open up on Wednesday, early in the morning. We will be asking Myachi Maniacs to vote for their favorite and the winner will have bragging rights amongst the various Myachi Masters.
In order to be eligible to vote for this contest, you will have to be registered on the Myachi Forums. Accounts registered after June 1st will not be eligible for voting so if you want in on this you have to register soon. We also ask that before you vote you watch all the videos. It wouldn't be fair to all of the contestants if you voted after only watching the 2 or 3 from your favorite Myachi Masters.
And there will be several videos to watch. The field of participating Myachi Masters are:
- Animal
- Bamboo
- Bones
- Crazy Ivan
- Maverick
- Monk
- Noodles
I also feel like I should tackle this one before hand as well: Mantis isn't in on this one. I know that at least a few people will ask me that, but this is a contest amongst the Myachi Masters and one of the benefits is that we will be able to trash talk if we win. Trash talking Mantis is no fun.
However, if Mantis should decide to put up a video of 3 to 4 minutes with at least 60 seconds of unedited shredding on June 7th just to show us all up, well, I guess there's not much I could do about that...
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Trick of the Day Contest Update
by Crazy Ivan
Just a quick update on the Trick of the Day Video Contest. After reviewing this video with a panel of judges, we've determined that Gold hit 25 tricks clearly enough to count on his first entry video. He has set the bar high by doing several of the toughest tricks on the list. I was pretty shocked that he had things like the Kelly Slater and the Swashbuckler made it in so early in the jam.
Anyway, this puts Gold in a fortunate position. He is the only person who has a video up (that has been sent to me anyway) so he automatically wins day 1.
Remember, the Oaxaca is going to whoever leads for the most days over the next 4 weeks. Gold is already in the lead with this video:
If you want to kick him off the top of the mountain, all you need to do is get a video of you hitting more than 25 of the tricks on the list in this link. Put it up on You-Tube and send the link to me at crazyivan@myachi.com or pm me on the Myachi Forum.
And congrats on an awesome video, Gold. Way to set the bar high to begin with.
Just a quick update on the Trick of the Day Video Contest. After reviewing this video with a panel of judges, we've determined that Gold hit 25 tricks clearly enough to count on his first entry video. He has set the bar high by doing several of the toughest tricks on the list. I was pretty shocked that he had things like the Kelly Slater and the Swashbuckler made it in so early in the jam.
Anyway, this puts Gold in a fortunate position. He is the only person who has a video up (that has been sent to me anyway) so he automatically wins day 1.
Remember, the Oaxaca is going to whoever leads for the most days over the next 4 weeks. Gold is already in the lead with this video:
If you want to kick him off the top of the mountain, all you need to do is get a video of you hitting more than 25 of the tricks on the list in this link. Put it up on You-Tube and send the link to me at crazyivan@myachi.com or pm me on the Myachi Forum.
And congrats on an awesome video, Gold. Way to set the bar high to begin with.
Monday, May 9, 2011
A Contest For Tricksters
by Crazy Ivan
As many/most/all of you know, each day I put a new trick up on You-Tube as the "Trick of the Day". At first I just scoured You-Tube for good trick videos and linked them on FB and Twitter, but after a while I ran out of videos to use and had to start making my own.
That was back in January and I've been at it ever since, recording a new video every weekday and sharing it with the Myachi world at large. It occurred to me yesterday that I'm only a month away from doing my 100th Trick of the Day video and I wanted to make it into something of a celebration... but how?
And then as idea struck me and I decided to turn it into a contest. And for the prize, I decided to put up two of my all time favorite Myachis... the two that, in fact, appear in more Trick of the Day videos than any other: My uber-yummy, sumpoy Yellow Jacket and my uber-wideboarded Oaxaca.
That's right, two of my personal jam-sacks are going up on the block and will be given to somebody who is reading this right now (along with a 5.0 of their choice).
Now, I don't want my personal jammers going to just anyone, so I've concocted a pretty tough contest to determine who will get them. So here's how it's going to work:
Contestants will make a video of them doing a series of tricks. They will do as many of the "Trick of the Day" moves as they can in one single shot (no editing) without a drop. Whoever can put up a video with the most tricks in a row wins.
Seems pretty simple, right? You just look over the list of tricks I've recorded (listed below) and do as many of them in a row as you can without a drop. Once you've got it on video, just upload the video and let me know (email me at crazyivan@myachi.com, PM me on the Myachi Forum or link your video on our Facebook page).
Whoever has the video with the most tricks by Tuesday, June 7th is the winner and gets my delicious Yellow Jacket (and a 5.0 of their choice).
But there will be a second prize as well. In addition to rewarding the person who ends the month with the most tricks, I will also award a prize (that Oaxaca and a 5.0) to the person who has led the pack for the most days. In other words, if you put up a video that has more consecutive, dropless tricks than anyone else, even if somebody puts up a video with more tricks at the end, you could still win.
That means it is in your best interest to put together a video quickly. The faster you can get one up, the more likely you'll be to take that 2nd prize so time is of the essence.
Keep in mind that I will be a stickler on getting the tricks right. If you pinch, palm or body trap between the moves, the video won't count. All tricks have to be done cleanly and on camera (no moving out of frame for a catch) and if the video quality is too low (too dark or too pixelated) to make out exactly what you're doing, the video won't count.
Below is a list of all the tricks I've recorded for the trick of the day so far. If you're not familiar with one or more of them, don't worry... they're on video. Check the official Myachi You-Tube page and me personal You-Tube page (crazyivan1976) to find all of these tricks demonstrated along with trouble-shooting advice along the way.
If there are any questions, please leave them in the comments section below. I'm guessing a lot of people will have a lot of questions so rather than just emailing me your inquiry, leave it below so everyone can see it (and my answer to it).
Keep in mind that as the conttest progresses, I'll still be adding more Trick of the Day videos. That means that while the best you could do if you did a perfect video right now is 79, by the time this contest is over you'll have been able to do 99. This means that the winner here will largely be the person who is paying the most attention.
Also, keep in mind that you don't have to do the tricks in any particular order. You can select just the tricks you think you can do. You can do them in whatever order you choose (though I'd start with the easiest and get a little tougher one trick at a time if I were you) and you can leave out whatever tricks you think you'll miss. Remember, it's not about who does the toughest tricks or the coolest video... it's just about who can get the most tricks into a single, unedited video.
Here's the list. Remember, tricks that aren't on this list won't count toward your total!
As many/most/all of you know, each day I put a new trick up on You-Tube as the "Trick of the Day". At first I just scoured You-Tube for good trick videos and linked them on FB and Twitter, but after a while I ran out of videos to use and had to start making my own.
That was back in January and I've been at it ever since, recording a new video every weekday and sharing it with the Myachi world at large. It occurred to me yesterday that I'm only a month away from doing my 100th Trick of the Day video and I wanted to make it into something of a celebration... but how?
And then as idea struck me and I decided to turn it into a contest. And for the prize, I decided to put up two of my all time favorite Myachis... the two that, in fact, appear in more Trick of the Day videos than any other: My uber-yummy, sumpoy Yellow Jacket and my uber-wideboarded Oaxaca.
That's right, two of my personal jam-sacks are going up on the block and will be given to somebody who is reading this right now (along with a 5.0 of their choice).
Now, I don't want my personal jammers going to just anyone, so I've concocted a pretty tough contest to determine who will get them. So here's how it's going to work:
Contestants will make a video of them doing a series of tricks. They will do as many of the "Trick of the Day" moves as they can in one single shot (no editing) without a drop. Whoever can put up a video with the most tricks in a row wins.
Seems pretty simple, right? You just look over the list of tricks I've recorded (listed below) and do as many of them in a row as you can without a drop. Once you've got it on video, just upload the video and let me know (email me at crazyivan@myachi.com, PM me on the Myachi Forum or link your video on our Facebook page).
Whoever has the video with the most tricks by Tuesday, June 7th is the winner and gets my delicious Yellow Jacket (and a 5.0 of their choice).
But there will be a second prize as well. In addition to rewarding the person who ends the month with the most tricks, I will also award a prize (that Oaxaca and a 5.0) to the person who has led the pack for the most days. In other words, if you put up a video that has more consecutive, dropless tricks than anyone else, even if somebody puts up a video with more tricks at the end, you could still win.
That means it is in your best interest to put together a video quickly. The faster you can get one up, the more likely you'll be to take that 2nd prize so time is of the essence.
Keep in mind that I will be a stickler on getting the tricks right. If you pinch, palm or body trap between the moves, the video won't count. All tricks have to be done cleanly and on camera (no moving out of frame for a catch) and if the video quality is too low (too dark or too pixelated) to make out exactly what you're doing, the video won't count.
Below is a list of all the tricks I've recorded for the trick of the day so far. If you're not familiar with one or more of them, don't worry... they're on video. Check the official Myachi You-Tube page and me personal You-Tube page (crazyivan1976) to find all of these tricks demonstrated along with trouble-shooting advice along the way.
If there are any questions, please leave them in the comments section below. I'm guessing a lot of people will have a lot of questions so rather than just emailing me your inquiry, leave it below so everyone can see it (and my answer to it).
Keep in mind that as the conttest progresses, I'll still be adding more Trick of the Day videos. That means that while the best you could do if you did a perfect video right now is 79, by the time this contest is over you'll have been able to do 99. This means that the winner here will largely be the person who is paying the most attention.
Also, keep in mind that you don't have to do the tricks in any particular order. You can select just the tricks you think you can do. You can do them in whatever order you choose (though I'd start with the easiest and get a little tougher one trick at a time if I were you) and you can leave out whatever tricks you think you'll miss. Remember, it's not about who does the toughest tricks or the coolest video... it's just about who can get the most tricks into a single, unedited video.
Here's the list. Remember, tricks that aren't on this list won't count toward your total!
Ahead of the Class
Ankle Breaker
Aqueduct
Armageddon
Atlas
A-Train
Back O Line
Bandit
Batman
Brain Freeze
Brontosaurus
Brain Freeze
Brontosaurus
Bruce Lee
Butterfly Clipper
Butterfly Stall
Butterfly Clipper
Butterfly Stall
Cap Wrap
Casper
Cell Phone
Clipper Delay
Clipper Kick
Clipper Kick
Crypto
Dragon Clipper
Dragon Clipper
Drop of Death
Duck
Electron
Figure 4
Fist Stall
Gemini
Gui
Half Pipe
Headstone
Hop Over
Illusion Fusion
Infinite Under the Leg
Infusion
Instep Stall
In Wing
In Wing
Jedi
Juggling Split
Jump Rope
Kelly Slater
Kick Spit
Mantis
Mantis
Matrix
Matrix Reloaded
Melon Stall
Mind Grind
Melon Stall
Mind Grind
Muay Thai
Osis
Osis Step-Over
Outstep Stall
Pendulum
Pepe Le Pew
Pez Dispenser
Pinocchio
Pez Dispenser
Pinocchio
Pistons
Popeye
Popper
Popper
Pteradon
Pterodactyl
Pterodactyl
Punisher
Reverse Roller Coaster
Reverse Step-Over
Reverse Under the Leg
Roller Coaster
Samurai
Shackle
Shoe Snap
Slash
Sleeve-O-Line
Smooth Criminal
Sole Clipper
Sole Clipper
Sole Stall
Space Cowboy
Spider Under the Leg
Split (Horizontal)
Split (Vertical)
Springboard
Stegoaurus
Stegoaurus
Step Over
Stiff Arm
Stiff Arm
Subter-Fusion
Swashbuckler
Swordfish
Tail Grab
Tailwhip Spilt
Thinker
Toe Stall
Transformer
T-Rex
Triceratops
Tripod
T-Rex
Triceratops
Tripod
Triple Split
Tunnel
Two Myachi Cold Fusion
Ultimate Fighter
Upper Cut
Yoga Under the Leg
Good luck!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Myachi Master Shred Contest
by Crazy Ivan
Bones has laid down the gauntlet. The challenge has been issued. The fires of the great arena shall be stoked once more as the Myachi Masters face off in epic battle.
I mentioned on a blog the other day that I had never actually done a shred video. I'd given myself a deadline to rectify that situation but before that deadline could arrive, Bones used the opportunity to suggest a bit of friendly competition.
For those that aren't aware, Bones posts on this blog as LiquidMayCry and his disputation came in the form of four words, all caps: "MYACHI MASTER SHRED CONTEST!!!!"
And I agree.
Now, that being said, we still have a few Myachi Masters out of the country so it wouldn't be fair to hold such a contest while they're still away, but they might be back as soon as the first of May (or as late as the eleventh) so this might still be a few weeks away. But it absolutely has to happen.
I should mention that I haven't mentioned this to any of the Myachi Masters yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion that all or most of them will accept the challenge. Here's what I'm proposing (though it might be renegotiated later):
Step 1:
We get a bunch of Myachi Master to sign on for this. While I hope that everybody will be up for submitting a video, I think we can safely say that this contest absolutely has to include the following:
Bones has laid down the gauntlet. The challenge has been issued. The fires of the great arena shall be stoked once more as the Myachi Masters face off in epic battle.
 |
| Like this only with better graphics and no fireballs. |
For those that aren't aware, Bones posts on this blog as LiquidMayCry and his disputation came in the form of four words, all caps: "MYACHI MASTER SHRED CONTEST!!!!"
And I agree.
Now, that being said, we still have a few Myachi Masters out of the country so it wouldn't be fair to hold such a contest while they're still away, but they might be back as soon as the first of May (or as late as the eleventh) so this might still be a few weeks away. But it absolutely has to happen.
I should mention that I haven't mentioned this to any of the Myachi Masters yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion that all or most of them will accept the challenge. Here's what I'm proposing (though it might be renegotiated later):
Step 1:
We get a bunch of Myachi Master to sign on for this. While I hope that everybody will be up for submitting a video, I think we can safely say that this contest absolutely has to include the following:
- Maverick
- Animal
- Monk
- Noodles
- Bones
- Bamboo
- Crazy Ivan (I hear he's in)
That being said, I'd love to see the rest of the guys making a grab for the title as well.
Step 2:
We each film a video. We'll have to decide whether we're doing unedited shreds or edited videos. We'll also have to agree on an approximate length for the video, but I'm thinking somewhere in the 90 seconds to two minute range.
Editing is a big question. An unedited video gives a much truer picture of somebody's ability to freestyle, but an edited video is just more fun to watch. I don't want the title to go with the guy who just had more free time to devote to filming (as might be the case for an edited piece) but I also don't want to discourage everyone from making the coolest video possible.
One possible solution is to say we're going to make two minute videos, but each video has to contain at least one minute of continuous (unedited) shredding. I'll see most of the guys tonight so we'll have a chance to sort all these details soon.
Step 3:
We would all upload our videos to YouTube on the same day and preferably at about the same time. I would link them all here, on the Facebook Page, on Twitter, on the forum... basically everywhere we can think to put them.
Step 4:
The winner could be decided in a couple of different ways, but one way or the other it would come down to a vote from the Myachi Maniacs. It could be based on You-Tube likes, it could be based on total views or we could just make a poll where you could vote here, on Facebook or on the forum.
One way or the other we'll figure out how we're going to do the voting well beforehand. Then when the videos are debuted we will give the Myachi universe three days to vote on the winner and that person will earn bragging rights at every Myachi get together for the rest of time.
-----
If you have any ideas or suggestions for how we can go about making this happen, please leave them in the comments section below. Once we've finalized stuff like dates and rules, I'll post all the details.
Monday, April 25, 2011
New Playlists
by Crazy Ivan
Just a brief little post here to make everyone aware of a couple of new playlists we've added to our You-Tube channel. As the Trick of the Day swells the total number of Myachi tricks we've got instructional videos for, it's becoming harder and harder for people to find the right moves for their skill level. After all, it doesn't do you much good to try to learn the Jedi if you're just getting started. Similarly, the Batman isn't going to give you much of a challenge if you're an experienced player.
For that reason, we've divided up all the official trick videos into one of four categories:
Myachi Tricks for Beginners
Myachi Tricks for Intermediate Players
Myachi Tricks for Advanced Players
Myachi Tricks for Masters
You'll note that if you check all the playlists that the "Masters" list is woefully lacking. There are, thus far, only five videos on the list. That's obviously because we very rarely use super-tough moves on the "Trick of the Day", but over the next few months we'll be looking to expand that category more than the others.
I should also note ahead of time that there are bound to be some disagreements as to what belongs where in a difficulty rating scale. After all, terms like "beginner", "intermediate" and "advanced" are pretty vague. There is no definite line that separates beginner from intermediate so there will be some inevitable debates abut certain tricks.
My goal is to make these lists as useful as possible so if I find that I've radically over- or underestimated the difficulty of one of these tricks, I'll be happy to move it to a different playlist. That being said, I expect that many people will take issue with one or two tricks and one person disagreeing with the tricks placement won't be enough to prompt me to move it. If, however, I hear from several people that one trick is ranked too low or too high, I'll swap it over.
I also intend to add a few more big playlists in the next week or two. I'll be adding a "Foot Tricks" playlist and a "2 Myachi Tricks" playlist, but if there are any others you'd like to see added to Myachi's official channel, let me know. Or, even better, make a playlist of your own and submit it to me.
Just a brief little post here to make everyone aware of a couple of new playlists we've added to our You-Tube channel. As the Trick of the Day swells the total number of Myachi tricks we've got instructional videos for, it's becoming harder and harder for people to find the right moves for their skill level. After all, it doesn't do you much good to try to learn the Jedi if you're just getting started. Similarly, the Batman isn't going to give you much of a challenge if you're an experienced player.
For that reason, we've divided up all the official trick videos into one of four categories:
Myachi Tricks for Beginners
Myachi Tricks for Intermediate Players
Myachi Tricks for Advanced Players
Myachi Tricks for Masters
You'll note that if you check all the playlists that the "Masters" list is woefully lacking. There are, thus far, only five videos on the list. That's obviously because we very rarely use super-tough moves on the "Trick of the Day", but over the next few months we'll be looking to expand that category more than the others.
I should also note ahead of time that there are bound to be some disagreements as to what belongs where in a difficulty rating scale. After all, terms like "beginner", "intermediate" and "advanced" are pretty vague. There is no definite line that separates beginner from intermediate so there will be some inevitable debates abut certain tricks.
My goal is to make these lists as useful as possible so if I find that I've radically over- or underestimated the difficulty of one of these tricks, I'll be happy to move it to a different playlist. That being said, I expect that many people will take issue with one or two tricks and one person disagreeing with the tricks placement won't be enough to prompt me to move it. If, however, I hear from several people that one trick is ranked too low or too high, I'll swap it over.
I also intend to add a few more big playlists in the next week or two. I'll be adding a "Foot Tricks" playlist and a "2 Myachi Tricks" playlist, but if there are any others you'd like to see added to Myachi's official channel, let me know. Or, even better, make a playlist of your own and submit it to me.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Spring You-Tube Tournament Winners
by Crazy Ivan
Once again we have reached the close of another contest and once again I find myself in the awkward position of trying to determine which of the entries achieve the highest honor. There was actually a much smaller than expected field of entrants, but I have a theory about that. I firmly believe that the quality of the first few submissions was high enough to scare a number of potential contestants away.
Before listing the winners, I should say that I was incredibly impressed by the quality of the videos that we did get. There have been a number of You-Tube contests in the past (though this was the first one actually sponsored by the company) and a lot of really solid videos have arisen from them. But I think this contest has really raised the bar. Not only on tournament videos, but on Myachi You-Tube videos in general.
Now without further ado (since I'm by myself at HQ and it's kind of hoppin' in here today), I present you the top 3 finishers in the first ever official Myachi You-Tube Tournament.
#3) Myachi Gold
To be honest, the third place winner was the real killer when it came time to judge these videos. There was a really close race between three contenders on this one, but Gold narrowly edged out his nearest competitors with the video you see above. And when I say narrowly, I mean narrowly. On the 100 point scale I used to judge these videos, he came in 2 points ahead of 4th place and 4 points ahead of 5th.
A well deserved win, Gold takes 3rd by the slightest of margins. 3rd place is worth, of course, 1 5.0 Myachi of his choice (so PM me or email me, Gold) and we'll get that prize out to you in no time.
#2) Mantis
Mantis was the final entry in the tournament and before his video dropped it looked like it would be a run away victory for our first place finisher. Before Mantis' last second entry there was really very little competition for the first place finish. But Mantis came out swinging in the manner we've gotten used to.
The videos were judged on 3 criteria; skill, creativity and video quality. Mantis took a commanding lead in Skill, which accounted for half of the total score. In virtually any contest we'd ever seen before, this video would have been plenty to take the grand prize. However, he came in behind the grand prize winner enough in the creativity and quality categories that he wound up missing the top prize by less than 5 points.
#1) Your Shining Star, CMC
I honestly don't think there was much doubt in anyone's mind who would take the top honor in this contest. Not only did CMC show off some incredible skill, but he put out one of the most original and entertaining Myachi videos ever created. If you watched with the audio switched off, you have to go back and watch it again to understand exactly why this video takes first place.
A very well deserved win, CMC has really raised the bar for every You-Tube tournament we do in the future. Just having awesome skills is no longer enough to compete. It helps to do something nobody has ever done before.
Congratulations to our winners and to all of the entrants. Like I said, it was really tough to narrow this contest down to the top 3 and at least 2 very deserving videos had to be left out of the winner's circle.
That being said, there is another video tournament coming soon so for those who narrowly missed winning a prize this time around, keep your skills polished and your camera ready. You will get another chance.
Once again we have reached the close of another contest and once again I find myself in the awkward position of trying to determine which of the entries achieve the highest honor. There was actually a much smaller than expected field of entrants, but I have a theory about that. I firmly believe that the quality of the first few submissions was high enough to scare a number of potential contestants away.
Before listing the winners, I should say that I was incredibly impressed by the quality of the videos that we did get. There have been a number of You-Tube contests in the past (though this was the first one actually sponsored by the company) and a lot of really solid videos have arisen from them. But I think this contest has really raised the bar. Not only on tournament videos, but on Myachi You-Tube videos in general.
Now without further ado (since I'm by myself at HQ and it's kind of hoppin' in here today), I present you the top 3 finishers in the first ever official Myachi You-Tube Tournament.
#3) Myachi Gold
To be honest, the third place winner was the real killer when it came time to judge these videos. There was a really close race between three contenders on this one, but Gold narrowly edged out his nearest competitors with the video you see above. And when I say narrowly, I mean narrowly. On the 100 point scale I used to judge these videos, he came in 2 points ahead of 4th place and 4 points ahead of 5th.
A well deserved win, Gold takes 3rd by the slightest of margins. 3rd place is worth, of course, 1 5.0 Myachi of his choice (so PM me or email me, Gold) and we'll get that prize out to you in no time.
#2) Mantis
Mantis was the final entry in the tournament and before his video dropped it looked like it would be a run away victory for our first place finisher. Before Mantis' last second entry there was really very little competition for the first place finish. But Mantis came out swinging in the manner we've gotten used to.
The videos were judged on 3 criteria; skill, creativity and video quality. Mantis took a commanding lead in Skill, which accounted for half of the total score. In virtually any contest we'd ever seen before, this video would have been plenty to take the grand prize. However, he came in behind the grand prize winner enough in the creativity and quality categories that he wound up missing the top prize by less than 5 points.
#1) Your Shining Star, CMC
I honestly don't think there was much doubt in anyone's mind who would take the top honor in this contest. Not only did CMC show off some incredible skill, but he put out one of the most original and entertaining Myachi videos ever created. If you watched with the audio switched off, you have to go back and watch it again to understand exactly why this video takes first place.
A very well deserved win, CMC has really raised the bar for every You-Tube tournament we do in the future. Just having awesome skills is no longer enough to compete. It helps to do something nobody has ever done before.
Congratulations to our winners and to all of the entrants. Like I said, it was really tough to narrow this contest down to the top 3 and at least 2 very deserving videos had to be left out of the winner's circle.
That being said, there is another video tournament coming soon so for those who narrowly missed winning a prize this time around, keep your skills polished and your camera ready. You will get another chance.
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Myachi Shows
by Crazy Ivan
I'd say that roughly 90% of Myachi You-Tube Videos fall into one of two categories: Shred Videos and Instructional Videos. Shred videos are collages or single cut shots that feature somebody (or bodies) showing off their Myachi skills. Instructional videos are usually instructions on tricks, but they can also take the form of instructions on how to break in your Myachi, how to lace your shoes for Myachi or even how to organize your collection.
But my favorite You-Tube videos often fall into that other 10%, the ones that are neither instructional nor demonstrative. Comedic videos like the classic Dwight Howard video or Monk's classic SackCenter make up a lot of the remaining videos but there's also some other cool stuff.
Many of my favorite videos come from a few of the Myachi You-Tube shows that have cropped up over the years. The first that I was aware of was a short lived weekly video offering from Caffeine that was a lot of fun while it lasted. Of course, Caffeine was always a busy dude with a couple dozen irons in the fire so it was tough for him to keep updating his show regularly.
For a while nobody stepped in to fill the void. A couple of Maniacs would do one episode with the intention of doing more, but for a long time there were no regularly occurring Myachi program on You-Tube. That is, of course, until Dragon came along.
Dragon had the longest running and highest viewed Myachi Show in You-Tube history, ultimately recording more than 20 episodes. It was extremely popular in the Myachi movement as he tackled virtually every Myachi related subject known to mankind at one point or another. He also used his platform to solicit and edit the coolest Myachi collab video YouTube has ever seen:
But like all good things, eventually Dragon's show had to come to a close. I still check back with his channel from time to time hoping to see another episode of Myachi World, but I also understand better than most what a huge commitment of time and effort it really is to do a weekly show.
Last week, we saw the debut of another promising Myachi You-Tube show. Everybody's favorite future lacrosse star Myachi Fresh debuted his program to a waiting audience with the promise of doing an episode 3 times a week. This brutal schedule seemed like a bit of an overreach to me, aiming for new episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
He's three episodes in so far and in his third episode he had the good taste of highly recommending the Myachi Blog, so I figured the least I could do is return the favor. Despite the fact that he spends the first couple of minutes of the episode with his attention evenly divided between his audience and his game of Gears of War 3, it ends up being mad fun.
I know from the experience of both filming and watching (and blogging for that matter) that it can be tough to keep new, fresh stuff coming in each episode but it looks like even just 3 episodes in, Fresh is already starting to get an idea of how to formulate his show. I also know from experience that the best motivator on the planet when you're doing stuff like this is your like count.
So if you can spare a few seconds and a few clicks of your mouse, like the video and subscribe to his channel. With his million dollar smile and a name like "Fresh", you can rest assured that he'll keep it new and interesting.
And if you have or would like to start your own Myachi show on You-Tube, let me know so that we can try to send some traffic your way.
Oh, and for the record, the whole part where he talks about how awesome the Myachi Blog is? I totally agree.
I'd say that roughly 90% of Myachi You-Tube Videos fall into one of two categories: Shred Videos and Instructional Videos. Shred videos are collages or single cut shots that feature somebody (or bodies) showing off their Myachi skills. Instructional videos are usually instructions on tricks, but they can also take the form of instructions on how to break in your Myachi, how to lace your shoes for Myachi or even how to organize your collection.
But my favorite You-Tube videos often fall into that other 10%, the ones that are neither instructional nor demonstrative. Comedic videos like the classic Dwight Howard video or Monk's classic SackCenter make up a lot of the remaining videos but there's also some other cool stuff.
Many of my favorite videos come from a few of the Myachi You-Tube shows that have cropped up over the years. The first that I was aware of was a short lived weekly video offering from Caffeine that was a lot of fun while it lasted. Of course, Caffeine was always a busy dude with a couple dozen irons in the fire so it was tough for him to keep updating his show regularly.
For a while nobody stepped in to fill the void. A couple of Maniacs would do one episode with the intention of doing more, but for a long time there were no regularly occurring Myachi program on You-Tube. That is, of course, until Dragon came along.
Dragon had the longest running and highest viewed Myachi Show in You-Tube history, ultimately recording more than 20 episodes. It was extremely popular in the Myachi movement as he tackled virtually every Myachi related subject known to mankind at one point or another. He also used his platform to solicit and edit the coolest Myachi collab video YouTube has ever seen:
But like all good things, eventually Dragon's show had to come to a close. I still check back with his channel from time to time hoping to see another episode of Myachi World, but I also understand better than most what a huge commitment of time and effort it really is to do a weekly show.
Last week, we saw the debut of another promising Myachi You-Tube show. Everybody's favorite future lacrosse star Myachi Fresh debuted his program to a waiting audience with the promise of doing an episode 3 times a week. This brutal schedule seemed like a bit of an overreach to me, aiming for new episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
He's three episodes in so far and in his third episode he had the good taste of highly recommending the Myachi Blog, so I figured the least I could do is return the favor. Despite the fact that he spends the first couple of minutes of the episode with his attention evenly divided between his audience and his game of Gears of War 3, it ends up being mad fun.
I know from the experience of both filming and watching (and blogging for that matter) that it can be tough to keep new, fresh stuff coming in each episode but it looks like even just 3 episodes in, Fresh is already starting to get an idea of how to formulate his show. I also know from experience that the best motivator on the planet when you're doing stuff like this is your like count.
So if you can spare a few seconds and a few clicks of your mouse, like the video and subscribe to his channel. With his million dollar smile and a name like "Fresh", you can rest assured that he'll keep it new and interesting.
And if you have or would like to start your own Myachi show on You-Tube, let me know so that we can try to send some traffic your way.
Oh, and for the record, the whole part where he talks about how awesome the Myachi Blog is? I totally agree.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Adding Props to Your Shred
by Crazy Ivan
I've talked a number of times in the past about the joy of inventing a new trick. I've even gone as far as mentioning the places where I think most of the undiscovered tricks lie (portals, splits and 3 Myachi moves). But one of the biggest untapped sources of inspiration is worth it's own article. Specifically, we're talking about everything on earth that isn't a Myachi.
I've said forever to look for your inspiration outside of Myachi and try to find ways of bringing your other skills into the game. This works particularly well when you find something you can jam with simultaneously with a Myachi.
There are several that we've used in the past to great effect. One of my favorites has long been using Myachis along with nunchaku. Well... not the real ones because I hate the idea of breaking my own head open, but I have a couple pair of the stage chux that allow you to whack yourself in the head to great comedic effect:
Clearly adding the nunchaku (which I misspelled heinously on the video title) makes easier moves like simple rainbow hand switches into pretty cool and challenging tricks. But this is only one example of adding Myachi to another existing skill.
Monk, as many of you know, made his living for a number of years as a flair bartender. For those unfamiliar with the art, just think about a Myachi Master and add a bartender and you pretty much have what Monk did. One of the standard props of the flair bartender is a metal cup often called a "Shaker" or a "Shaker Cup." Normally you put things like lemons and booze into it, but Monk figured a Myachi is way cooler than either, so why not substitute?
I know that these two examples might seem random, but the whole idea of adding new props to your Myachi shreds is that it should be random. The weirder the thing you add, the cooler it can be and the more likely you are to find unique tricks that have never been done before.
So much of Myachi is about creativity and so much of creativity is about thinking "outside the box"... or, if you're sick of that cliche and you're ready for a new one, try thinking outside the palm.
And just in case those videos to quench your Myachi and added prop thirst, feel free to check out the link here for some cool video of Bones and Bamboo shredding out with Myachis and an Ogo.
PS If you're still looking for ideas for your Spring You-Tube entry... hint, hint... a quarter of your score will be determined by creativity!
I've talked a number of times in the past about the joy of inventing a new trick. I've even gone as far as mentioning the places where I think most of the undiscovered tricks lie (portals, splits and 3 Myachi moves). But one of the biggest untapped sources of inspiration is worth it's own article. Specifically, we're talking about everything on earth that isn't a Myachi.
I've said forever to look for your inspiration outside of Myachi and try to find ways of bringing your other skills into the game. This works particularly well when you find something you can jam with simultaneously with a Myachi.
There are several that we've used in the past to great effect. One of my favorites has long been using Myachis along with nunchaku. Well... not the real ones because I hate the idea of breaking my own head open, but I have a couple pair of the stage chux that allow you to whack yourself in the head to great comedic effect:
Clearly adding the nunchaku (which I misspelled heinously on the video title) makes easier moves like simple rainbow hand switches into pretty cool and challenging tricks. But this is only one example of adding Myachi to another existing skill.
Monk, as many of you know, made his living for a number of years as a flair bartender. For those unfamiliar with the art, just think about a Myachi Master and add a bartender and you pretty much have what Monk did. One of the standard props of the flair bartender is a metal cup often called a "Shaker" or a "Shaker Cup." Normally you put things like lemons and booze into it, but Monk figured a Myachi is way cooler than either, so why not substitute?
I know that these two examples might seem random, but the whole idea of adding new props to your Myachi shreds is that it should be random. The weirder the thing you add, the cooler it can be and the more likely you are to find unique tricks that have never been done before.
So much of Myachi is about creativity and so much of creativity is about thinking "outside the box"... or, if you're sick of that cliche and you're ready for a new one, try thinking outside the palm.
And just in case those videos to quench your Myachi and added prop thirst, feel free to check out the link here for some cool video of Bones and Bamboo shredding out with Myachis and an Ogo.
PS If you're still looking for ideas for your Spring You-Tube entry... hint, hint... a quarter of your score will be determined by creativity!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Guest Blog: Style & Creativity
(This is our first Myachi-Maniac submitted guest blog. Thanks to Katana for a fantastic point and some great writing. If you'd like to submit a guest blog of your own, type it up and email it to me at crazyivan@myachi.com.)
by Katana
by Katana
One day I became bored (as I often do) as I was browsing the web on my computer, so I decided to look up some jam videos on YouTube. I looked at a ton of videos and I see kids hitting insane tricks that I could never do, but there was something that they were missing: Style... they were missing style. Here is a brief overview of what style is:
What is style? The term has been overused and abused a lot, so lets take a look at what it means:
1. Style is individuality: The dictionary yields many definitions for style, but this one is by far my favorite, “A quality of imagination and individuality expressed in one’s actions and tastes.” This brings me to my next point:
2. Style is adding your own personal flair to your jamming: Too many maniacs I see out there jam like robots. They hit amazing tricks, but they don’t have any individuality or creativity in their style.
3. Style is anything you want it to be: Part of being creative is making up your own ideas. You can do that right now.
If you feel you’re guilty of any of the above, I’m here to help. To help you better understand style, here’s a video I made specifically for the blog with an emphasis on style and creativity:
So, while this video isn’t perfect, hopefully it will help you get inspired.
· Use “in-between” tricks: These are tricks you know you can hit easily and are great for using in between those hard tricks. Examples are: Cold Fusion, Vert, 360, Rev-Fusion, Snake, Roller Coaster, etc. These will really help complete your jam and add flow to moves and combos.
· Get Inspired: This means to get inspired by things beside just Myachi; I for example, am being inspired by contact juggling, pop and lock, and poi. If you take some inspiration from things like these, you will easily be able to invent new moves and add increased diversity to your style.
· Stay loose: Keep your hands and arms lose, so that when you catch the Myachi it seems like a fluid, liquid motion. Just doing this will add a ton of style points to your jamming.
· Get into a rhythm: As you’ll notice, in this video I allow the music to help me with my rhythm. When the bass line starts; I begin to jam with more intensity. Try to do this often to help with flow and style.
· Use music to practice: Basically the same point as above, but continually use music and let the beat modify your speed, flow, rhythm and style.
· Make a pattern: Try to make combos that continuously go down points of the body, and then reverse and go back up, for example: Head Stall> Trampoline> Hulk> Knee Stall> Instep Stall> Toe Stall> Knee Pop> Melon Stall. Or use only the arms or legs. Patterns are a great style tool, but don’t overuse them, or they can become boring.
· Watch these videos: Here are some great examples of style and creativity in jamming, use these to get inspired:
These are all great examples of flow and creativity from the masters. Hopefully this blog will allow you to add some style to your Crazy Leg x100 into Duck and Dive.
Thanks for reading, STWAKOJ,
Katana
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