Footbag Kicking - Hacky Sack ^®
Is on the Rise Around the World!

"Footbag Dance" is for all who wish to join in a quest toward the understanding of the eye-foot relationship. Let this be the door to a new reality. Take your time and experience a new beginning. For the earth is yours and your feet are the key.

Introduction

Footbag Dance is a new consciousness in rhythmic movement, using one's body and the footbag to create beauty and grace within a new dimension of music and space.

The footbag is a small handstitched leather, or synthetic leather, ball about two inches in diameter. There are many different kinds of footbags being made, using various types of leather or synthetics . They have different fillers - polyethylene beads is most common. There are now footbags with sand filler. All footbags are round, except for stalling footbags which are mushy and flatten out, using unique types of patchwork to form their respective shapes. Whichever footbag you choose it will become an enjoyable thing to own, as you and your footbag's personality will become one. If a footbag is not readily available there is an alternative...you can fashion your own. My first footbag was made from an old pair of gloves. I stitched two pieces of leather together with nylon thread and filled it with rice. It worked...

The study of Footbag Dance will be dealing with an eye-foot consciousness as a discipline, much in the same way one masters a martial art. I have come upon several people who have related stories to me of eye-foot endeavors from other lands.

In Nepal a kicking game is played with a coin. This coin has a square hole in the center, through which goat hair is pulled to form a cushion on each side. The coin is kicked consecutively with only two basic kicks. The common name for most weighted kicking objects is a shuttlecock and is used predominately in the Far East. Indians in Southern Mexico kick a small wooden ball while running great distances. North American Indians were also well versed in the area of foot kicking.

The eye-foot development is quite new to Western man, and much needed. One's body has an inner need to be balanced. Learning to use feet like hands enhances balancing and centers one's consciousness.

In Footbag Dance the body learns the beauty of ballet, the rhythmic nature of modern dance, the discipline of martial arts, and the sheer motion and grace of gymnastics.

My endeavors have thrust me into thousands of hours of kicking. I have introduced Footbag Dance to hundreds of folks throughout the West Coast. My involvement with Footbag Dance started in a small Northern California town named Willits. Through my work there and my journeys afar, I have discovered much enjoyment and love of this new-found consciousness of Footbag Dance. My work with the children has led me to new heights of awareness. The young ones are so ready to try something new. There seems to be a magical attraction.

My own son River Owen and my daughter Meadow Jean both do very well. River put together as many as six consecutive dance kicks when he was a six-years-old and now because of his kicking skills he is a soccer coach. Meadow is well disciplined in her movements and was able to get a single kick every time at the age of four and she went on to being an outstanding soccer player during her school years. My other children, Spencer and Jordan also kick which has enhanced their other sports activities. My wife, Heather, now a retired kicker, won medals in the women's division at tournaments.

In my teachings of Footbag Dance I have felt something was missing. There always seemed to be so many questions and usually so little time. Much that is important does not seem to register right at first. What I shall do here is to give you some philosophy and basic skills in the art of Footbag Dance, a manual to learn by. I'm sure your enthusiasm will be as mine. I have included many illustrations for you to study. Practice, enjoy and remember you get more out of it as your put more into it.