Category: Polls

Photo by Lori Daniels

In part 1 of this poll series, we asked the question: which spin people brush best in high wind? In part 2, we expand on the question. At The Jammers 2018, I noticed how well many players who I tend to think of as counter players were quite proficient at brushing clock in high wind. This made me wonder if some players have mastery over a different spin depending on the playing conditions. In this poll, let’s find out. Notice that there is no “maybe” or “both” option. Ask your self, honestly, which spin are you best with in your no wind game? Sure, I don’t prefer one spin or the other, but if I’m honest, I have deeper skills with clock. Once you’ve made that choice, answer the question below by comparing your high wind answer from part 1, with your no wind answer. Are they the same, or not?

Is The Spin You Brush Best in High Wind is the Same Spin You Jam Best with in No Wind?

[poll id=”62″]

Last weekend at The Jammers 2018, the wind was very strong; at least 12mph and often more. My game has always been strong with clock spin, but I’ve been working on my counter skills lately. This high wind was humbling; I found that I have a long ways to go to really master counter brushing in high wind. One observation I came away with over the weekend is that most players there were able to brush clock. Even some people I thought might be be better with counter spin, still seemed to handle clock well. Some even preferred it.

This concept of preferring different spins for different skills is not a new one. Joey Hudocklin explained how he learned to delay counter, but brush clock as he was mastering his freestyle skills. This is the inspiration for this 2 part poll series. In part 1, we’ll find out which spin direction people are best at while air brushing in a high wind. In part 2, we’ll learn if your best airbrush spin is the same as your best nail delay spin.

In this poll there are no “both” or “none” options. Even if you are proficient at both, or can hardly do either, choose the one you can do the best.

What Spin Do You Air Brush the Best in High Wind?

[poll id=”61″]

I remember the first time I wore fake nails to jam. I was amazed at how much easier it was to control the disc, especially since I hadn’t yet mastered the center delay. When the jam was over I suddenly a had a sinking feeling. “How do I take these nails off?” I was given instructions to force my thumb nail between the glue and my natural nail to pry the fake nail off. I tried, but “OUCH!” After about an hour of fiddling around I managed to get the nails off.

Since then, my nail removal skill has greatly improved. Still, I don’t enjoy the process so, I typically leave them on for a few days until the glue loosens up and they fall off naturally. Of course, while the nails are still on I get lot’s of funny looks and questions about them.

In this poll, let’s find out what other people do with their nails after a jam. If you have any tips for nail removal, leave them in the comments.

Do You Take Your Nails Off Immediately After a Jam?
[poll id=”59″]

Photo by Florian Hess

Tipping a flying disc has to be one of the oldest tricks after throw and catch. I certainly was attempting to do over head tips long before I knew what freestyle was or how to delay. My goal was to do as many as I could before I caught it. I never got more than three and had very little control. When I first learned the delay it was so satisfying because it kept the disc under control. I naively judged the tip as a non-freestylers trick and stopped thinking about it all together.

Not long after, I met Tom Leitner at a jam. Before the jam started he told me a story about an impossible tipping combo by Joey Hudoklin. Then, in the jam, Tom kept doing tipping combos over and over, trying to recreate Joey’s tipping magic. I realized I needed to revisit my aversion to tipping. The next day I tried doing multiple, restricted tips and realized its really difficult. OK, mind blown and a new skill to add to my to-learn list.

In my spare time I would sometimes imagine the heinest combo I could think of. My imagined tipping combo included all sorts of tips…knee, toe, heel, and lots of restrictions. I mean, wouldn’t the heinest combo include every possible tip? And, of course I thought I had them all figured out, at least from an intellectual perspective. So, boy was I surprised when I witnessed Steve Hubbard do a tipping combo in a jam. His combo started with a few under the leg tips and then, bam two perfect shoulder tips. The disc crisply popped off his shoulder as if he was hitting it with the finest point, dead center. I had never imagined a shoulder tip was possible, much less precise and powerful. Mind blown again.

I could go on with mind blowing tipping experiences, but needless to say I am quite enamored with the tip. It has endless uses and possibilities. In this week’s poll, let’s explore the various ways parts of the body by which a disc can be tipped.

What Parts of Your Body Do You Tip the Disc With?

[poll id=”58″]

If you want to read more about tipping, here’s a great story about the possible origins of the tip. You can also listen to Joey talk about his famous tipping combo. Also, check out our tutorials on tipping. If there are any tutorials you’d like to see, let us know in the comments.

Photo by James Wiseman

On a recent trip to Seattle, Lori and I arrived to the jam full of energy. We walked up, setup our chairs, and began to prepare. As I pulled my jam gear out of my bag a sinking feeling came over me. I had forgotten my shoes. I was wearing flip-flops. At that moment my options were: jam barefoot or drive for about 1.5 hours round trip to get my shoes.

I don’t usually jam barefoot and I love kick brushing and kick tipping, which are more comfortable with shoes. This would really change my experience. However, imagining my friends jamming their brains out while I was driving would be torture, because by the time I got back, people would be tired and I would have missed the best part of the jam. Oh, the dilemma. 

This experience is the inspiration for this poll. Let’s say you arrive to the jam and realize you forgot one thing. Is there anything, besides a disc, that would cause you to turn around and go back home rather than jam without it? If so, what is it?

Oh, and for the curious, I decided to jam barefoot. I took it as a challenge and ended up having a wonderful jam.  And, the next day I certainly did not forget my shoes.

Which Item Could You Not Jam Without?

[poll id=”57″]

We often describe our Frisbee family as the Jamily, and we are like one big, happy family. But for some of us, we are lucky enough to have true family members who also share our passion for Frisbee. This is truly something special. When we talked to Jens and Erwin Velasquez, it was clear how much playing Frisbee together bonded them as brothers and as friends. I am fortunate enough to have Frisbee playing family members as well. My brother Matt and I started freestyling at the same time. We were partners in competition, we pushed each other’s games, and to this day, there’s just a sort of magic that happens when we are together in a jam. I’m also married to a Frisbee player, Lori Daniels. It’s great to share our passion for Frisbee. We play together, support each other, and there’s never a conflict about what we’ll be doing for our vacations. Plus, there’s nothing like waking up on a weekend and saying, “What do you want to do today?” and hearing back “Let’s jam.” 

In contemplating this question, I began to wonder, does Frisbee run in the blood? Or perhaps having a family member who plays Frisbee is not that common. In this weeks poll, we’ll find out. Extra credit if you share a story about your Frisbee playing family member in the comments below.

Do You Have a Family Member who Plays Frisbee?

[poll id=”56″]

The concept of the bail catch is an interesting one. It’s really your go-to catch. It’s a catch in which you have supreme confidence and that you can pull out without giving any thought to it. It’s the catch that’s used any time there’s trouble. Maybe you’re going for a hein combo and the wind puffs? Give the disc a touch and make the bail catch. Maybe your partner sets you short? No problem, pull out the bail catch.

Yes, we all need at least one bail catch. Mine is the left hand scarecrow. I recall the moment I realized this was the case: it was in a competition, the wind was unpredictable, and I was on a brushing run when the wind puffed. The disc began to blow behind me and, BAM, without even thinking about it I reached back and caught a scarecrow. It happened before I even had time to panic. 

So now let’s find out, what is your bail catch? Don’t worry if you have more than one, as this poll is multiple choice.

What is Your Bail Catch?

[poll id=”55″]

In case you don’t know what these catches are, follow these links:

• Under the Leg
• Behind the Back
• Chair
• Lacer
• Flamingo
• Gitis
• ScareCrow
• Behind the Head
• Phlaud
• Triple Fake

This poll idea comes from Ayal Benin. In an earlier poll we learned what the ideal wind speed is for jamming. This question puts a different spin on the wind speed conversation. You see, we can’t really control the wind speed. Rather, we grab our discs, nails, and friends and head to the jam spot. When we arrive mother nature lets us know what she has planned. Sometimes there’s no wind, maybe it’s gusty, or maybe it’s a blow out. If we’re lucky it’s perfect. This variation in wind conditions is something that I rather enjoy. It allows me to explore new possibilities and push my skills to the absolute limits. I never want to arrive to the field and feel like I can’t play because the conditions are not right. I seek to be able to handle anything. With that said, of course, there certainly are limits. This poll is aimed to find just that, our limits.

Bonus points if you share a story about the craziest wind you’ve ever played in. Thanks, Ayal, for the idea. If you have poll ideas, leave them in the comments or send me a message here.

What is the Highest Wind Speed in Which You Are Comfortable Jamming

[poll id=”54″]

Photo By Kristýna Landová

The addiction to Freestyle Frisbee, or ZZZs disease, as Deaton calls it, is known to be incurable. Yet sometimes it goes dormant for long spans of time. In our interview with Arthur Coddington and Dave Lewis, we learned that they had each taken an extended break from Freestyle Frisbee before meeting and going on to be the dominant team that they were. 

My story is a little different. From the moment I caught ZZZs disease, I have never gone into remission. I was forced into a 1 year break from Freestyle due to a knee injury. The whole time I was feeling pangs of withdrawal. Still, though, I did take a break and enjoyed Freestyle all the more when I came back.

In this weeks poll, let’s find out how many of you have taken a break from Freestyle Frisbee. Extra credit if you tell us why you took the break in the comments below. This weeks question:

What is the Longest Break You’ve Taken from Freestyle Frisbee?

[poll id=”53″]