Check out stories from:Return to March 1998 FPA Forum Home Page
When was the last time you busted a jam with a friend and did it in some unusual place? Or perhaps the event resulted in an unique experience. Did you turn a person onto freestyle, or network in other ways. The FPA wants some of your most unusual or unique anecdotes about a jam . “Jammin’ Journeys” will be a new piece in the online Forum that highlights freestylers exposing the general public to freestyle in special or unique venues. Hopefully, this will give you the incentive to go out and find these unusual circumstances to jam, to expose freestyle to potentially new jammers or even teach a potential jammer (“reach one to teach one”) and finally come back to share your scenarios with the jammers on the net. Judy Robbins
Check out stories from:
Arthur Coddington and Dave Murphy
Picture being invited to do a freestyle demonstration at the Boston Museum of Science in conjunction with their sports and science exposition. I guess it was somewhat memorable because Paul Kenney came up to me many years later at the FPA World Championships in Jacksonville FL to tell me that he had seen that particular demonstration in Boston! Or what about freestyling inside a ski lodge during ski season? We challenged skiers to airbrush the disc down a mountain while on skis! Todd Brodeur and Sunny Cade would probably be the best sources to ask how it felt juxtaposing the two sports. Finally, what about teaching a political big-wig? One Sunday afternoon, I was freestyling on the Boston Common and Senator John Kerry walked by me. I took the opportunity while delaying a disc to say , “Hey, Senator....ever do this on Capital Hill?” He giggled and asked how I did it. I put his nail on the spinning disc and gave him a taste of balancing the disc! Who knows if he shared that experience with his colleagues!
So now that you understand the premise, email The Forum (larryi@freestyledisc.org) some of your most memorable jamming journeys and perhaps your short story will be posted on the FPA Forum online. Keep 'em spinnin' and flyin', Judy Robbins
I just got back from Israel and I'm not sure but I think I did the first spinning gitus in the old city of Jerusalem inside the walls built by Sueleman the Great in the 1400's. I got it on video. There were a large group of young Jewish boys all decked out in black hats and the beginnings of curls hanging off their heads. I wanted to play at the wailing wall but it was quite a moving scene and the poodle had to show a little respect. I settled for writing a note on a Wright Life mini and sticking it in the wall. We'll see if I get my wish.
Larry and I jammed in front of the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg after WFDF. We thought we were going to get shot. Didn't get the video but Larry has pictures. Did a Big Gitus there, Larry was doing against the spin moves.
Arthur Coddington and Dave MurphyAll-Star brought Murf and me out to do a demo and world record attempt. Picked us up at the airport in a limo and everything. Murf and I attempted was a new record, an offshoot of the Maxi-Op record for most people participating in a co-op. Our variation was to do the most passes in a co-op. To be counted as a pass, the receiving player must do a restricted move before passing the disc back. Re-revs are allowed. The maxi-op record at that point was 42, so a minimum of 43 passes was required to establish the record. Murf and I did 50 passes on our first attempt. Later we took a few more attempts and bumped the record up to 100 passes. All-Star roped off an area for us to jam, video'd it and put it up on the big screen, had the local press out, interviewed us on the restaurant sound system, even made a commemorative Lid. And they ran lots of freestyle footage on their video monitors that day
I learned to spin a disc on my fingernail in college and "sort of" knew what freestyle was. I moved to Boston and got completely away from freestyle. I saw a flier describing a "Frisbee Freestyle Demonstration" taking place at the Boston Museum of Science. Since I could spin a disc, I went with the idea of showing off. Was I ever wrong. What they did blew me away. I talked to a lady (Judy as I found out later) and some skinny guy in baggy sweats (Rick Williams as I would also find out later). I specifically remember Rick showing me fake nails and a rim delay. I'd never seen that before. Since I felt they were out of my league, and the weather limited any development for someone as limited as I was, I never pursued it further. Well, I moved to Florida and the beach. I saw Bob Coleman play once, he took me under his wing so to speak and I caught the bug. I helped out in putting on the 95 FPA's specifically to meet all the great jammers. This is when I talked to Judy and Rick. I told them I only once had seen any freestyle in 10 years in Boston. I said Museum of Science, they said it was them. Small world!
Have I got Guerilla Jams stories to tell! The best ones are on TV, like the recent San Diego News piece that Dave Schiller and I got in November. Wow, did KUSI TV’s Mary Strong ever make us look good! When you get TV, your lucky if it’s not live. KUSI filmed and put together a piece for that evening that was incredible. It helped enhance our video resume. Next week, we’re up at Universal Studios for the Home and Family Show which airs live on the Family Channel Monday through Friday.
Media exposure creates opportunities to enhance sponsor relations. Each media spot has enabled us to get new clothing, shoes, shades and sometimes cash.
How did we get these opportunities? Both of these media opportunities came from a new national toy retailer that I've been working with, Zany Brainy. I've been doing demonstrations at the grand openings of their new stores in southern California and they have an aggressive plan to open 10 more stores in California this year. They have a publicist who sends out press releases and the media has been a result of those communications. I met the Zany Brainy management team at the Toy Fair in New York city in January of 1997 while working for Mattel: they already have over 50 stores on the east coast.
The last two appearances at Zany Brainy have been the best: I did hands-on instruction with the kids. I take the kids through four sections on freestyle inside the store. 1) the "alligator catch" , 2) the "Auerbach" method of trick passing, 3) the chest roll, 4) the nail delay with a small guitar pick on their finger and spin from the z-machine. We start the nail delay section with the Ripstinger (available at Discovering the World) and then move to the regular disc.
Who knows how big this opportunity will get for Spreading the Jam!
If you want more information about getting shows and publicity call Amy at (619) 223-3472, email artofdisc@juno.com, or write 864 Grand Ave, Box 475, San Diego, CA 92109.
I would like to thank everyone in the disc community for keeping the sport of my life alive in so many places. I was initiated into the sport by a man I knew only as SCOOTER , a silk screen artist/surfer I met while stationed at Schofield Barracks, HI (80-82). He was my mentor and showed me my first nail delay. I was flabbergasted with the things he could do with a Frisbee: air brush, tips, freestyle tricks and lets not forget the tooth delay .abalootly increbabal!!!!!!!! That was all she wrote, I had to learn how to do this stuff.
Thus started some of the happiest fun filled weekends of my life. Every weekend I would pack a bag, grab my discs, and head for north shore. It didn't matter that I was just a 19 yr. old hick from small-town West Virginia - Frisbee was my oyster and I was starved ! I was made to feel welcome at every beach on the island and was soon invited to play with the big boys.
My claim to fame was as a member of the island championship team 1982 STAR DISC ENTERPRISE and my FREESTYLE demonstration with partner Glen Bradley of Texas, at the Fellowship Games in front of 3,000 South Koreans. I'll never forget it, I still get goose flesh just writing about it. We ended our routine with a full field run of air brushing skills and every time one of us would hit the disc back up into the air you could hear 3,000 ohs then another tap & ahs it was incredible, it was if we were making the entire crowd & bleachers breath...... excuse me, I got a little omnipotent there but like I said , Frisbee has provided me with some of the most intense memories fun field weekends of my life. I am currently considering attending the worlds this year and would like to know of any one searching for a partner.