A Passion for Health and FitnessBy Steve "Danceman" Blough
One's BIG fondness for health and fitness must become one's passion for
health and fitness. Only in passion does one put forth the devotion and
attitude that is required to obtain an important goal. To acquire fitness
sometimes means we must change our lifestyle, and that is indeed a difficult
venture. Our habits are set forth at a very young age. We develop a taste for
certain foods and create limitations on exercise. Times change, ideas change --
but we tend to still be set in our ways. The plain truth is that we must change
too. Further, our bodies are forever on the move. What we used to do when we
were young does not work, as a rule, into our older ages. Change must be
sought and passion works in that goal. My passion is footbag because it is ever
changing and it works for a lifetime.
Some of you have already changed to the ever-changing sport of footbag
and some of you even have the passion. A lot of you out there have heard of "Hacky
Sack" and are not aware the sport is called footbag. "Hacky Sack"
is simply a registered trademark that is associated with the"Hacky Sack"
brand of footbag. If you are interested in obtaining a unique footbag for your
collection or are just a beginner looking for your first model, just
click here. or click on Footbags in the left menu.
Kicking games have been played for centuries around the world. Many
are played with weighted feathers, hollow reed balls, small wooden balls, and
feathered coins. I am sure there are thousands of foot games to be found or
rediscovered. My obsession with this foot game began many years ago at the age
of 33 -- kind of a late start but worth every minute. I have spent thousands
and thousands of hours perfecting my own unique style of movement -- Blougchi.
My college background is in fine arts: painting, drawing and sculpting the human
figure. This foot game became my rendering of the human figure in motion. I
was able to incorporate my two and three dimensional human figure studies into
dynamic four dimensions: human movement studies. Footbag is kind of a grand
painting to me -- an immense project in the study of artistic expression through
spontaneous movement. In the beginning, some of my friends pointed out that
entering this sport so late in life was ludicrous. Those same friends are now
bringing their families to the park to watch me kick and to kick themselves. I
am living proof that you can start this sport anytime. In fact, I regularly
kick in a circle with a man who started kicking in his 60's!!!
My introduction to this sport came in the form of a rice-filled, fabric
ball about two inches in diameter. A circus friend introduced me to the game
but gave me no instruction and left the area soon. Well, there I was. I was
bananas over a foot game and I knew nothing about it. I literally had to
explore all the possibilities on my own and did so assiduously. Since that time
I have kicked with Stallberger and others whose names you might know but,
frankly, I have gone beyond what they offered in instruction. What I have
learned I would like to pass on to you kickers out there -- novices to experts
-- who share my enthusiasm for this incredible sport. There is a paper, called
Bloughchi, which I wrote to show the benefits of
this sport, to detail the need for an attitude of NON-COMPETITION
in order to grow into a footbag dance person.
There are physio, psycho, social benefits (for young and old) that are
produced by the Bloughchi style of footbag dance. Also read "Footbag
Dance" online, a beginners' instruction book I wrote to start a kicker
off right. Kicking a footbag enhances whole body development, creates new
pathways in the brain, effects a synchronicity between the right and left brain,
and develops the eye muscles, along with providing a very entertaining fitness
regimen. If you have topics you would like to see discussed in this column or
have comments, please feel free to contact me by e-mail, regular mail, or phone.
|
