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

So what do we do now? Deep down I know we all want to keep in shape. Additionally, we all have been thrust into a high technology maze. We are hurtled down the roads at high rates of speed. We fly through the air at hundreds of miles per hour. We are constantly bombarded by radio, television and microwaves. We are called upon to deal with computers/modems/internet, FAXes, answering machines, and other high tech devices, as well as to remember many numbers to go with all these things. The more quickly one thinks, moves and makes decisions, the more likely one will survive in this new world of technology.

In this fast paced age, we all have this in common -- a body that requires attention to stay in its best shape. What you do with your body is your choice. The catch is, you only get one body so your choices need to be good ones. Your body is your personal vehicle. It can run nearly perfectly or it can just be "PARKED". So, what are we really talking about? We're talking about building a body that not only looks good, but also a body that sees well, makes good decisions and moves efficiently and quickly. A well-tuned piece of equipment. There are a lot of alternatives for post high school sports or activities -- baseball, basketball and bowling leagues, running clubs, health clubs, etc. You can find almost anyting you desire but what used to be part of life (hard work, on a farm for instance) now must fit into one's budget and lifestyle. The bill of fare to keep fit often is not cheap. Extracurricular sports often require expensive rackets or paddles and balls, special clothing, large spaces, court accomodations and appointments. Also the time away from work and family that is required is hard to manage. WOW!! In this day and age it takes a highly motivated individual to keep in shape.

You know, sports activities reflect an individual's personality as well. What is really right for me or you may not be right for the other person. When the dust settles, it would seem to me that what is actually required today is an exercise or sport that has multiple benefits. It should produce excitement, engender a determining drive, inspire a vision to understand, and create a balance of the mind and body through a full range of technique or style. It also needs to be economical for most people. A successful fitness regime needs to produce excitement so that it is fun and enjoyable -- so that you look forward to doing it. Now it is fun to bowl, to play tennis, to golf, to play baseball and basketball, etc., etc. Exercise, on the other hand, generally becomes boring. Situps, push ups, jumping jacks and such are all robotic exercises and do not cause the excitement you feel on the basketball court, for instance, and thus they get boring. That is why it is so easy to skip exercises -- in no time it's left by the wayside. So, as you can see, the fun part is important. A determining drive is created when you see your own success or progression from one plateau to another of achievement in the sport or exercise you choose to do regularly. That excites you. It encourages hard work and that reveals many treasures and levels of satisfaction Inspiration for a vision means you see what is before you and accept the challenge. Then there is no fear or apprehension just a desire to reach the vision or goal. You CAN do it.

Traditional sports sometimes take a person on a magic carpet ride, to a goal of glory that is actualised -- that major leaguer for instance, who made the big time and the big dollars. But, in reality, not many people get there. So, a vision needs to be realistic and believable rather than glory oriented. In other words, you need a fun quest that does not drop you off by the wayside along the path to the goal. Then there is the balancing of the mind and the body. There are very few activities that deal with this balance, something we need very much today in this fast paced, highly technical world. Martial arts disciplines can achieve this -- so, an activity that creates a mind/body balance needs to have a martial arts kind of structure (formalized style). Adding this area of benefits desired from an activity or sport for fitness requires one to search for a unique form of movement, one that feeds upon itself, has its own growth and development within it. All the benefits discussed above for a fitness activity, can be achieved in a disciplined study of footbag kicking. Such a study of eye/foot discipline is indeed an important one, not only to a professional or amateur athlete but to the individual on the street or in the school yard.