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Madquad

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Marc, I've professed my man-love for your flying countless times - I mean every word. :)

That being said, I gotta poke a brother... One of the things that I see in every serious European style of Rev flying are stops and clockwork at nearly every transition point but not so much fluid, ongoing, smooth transitions through similarly shaped maneuvers... I call this "running track", sort of like a Parkour runner - I know you do this too (not so much in the video above), but I was just curious what your thoughts are on this.

One of the things I'd pondered is a possible difference in perspective for some pilots, how they look at or connect with the kite, or... ?

If I had to describe the sense or identification I feel for my kite when flying solo, I'd have to say it's like a cross between skateboarding (ground work, tip work), Parkour (environment interaction), marionette puppetry (twitch, twitch, roll, shake it), basketball (build, go airborne and SLAM), an attack helicopter (speed, direction and orientation control) and aerial trapeze (transitions, inertia) - more, but that's enough romance - you get the idea. lol

Thoughts?

Smells like a great discussion coming. :)

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Here's 2c from the n00b peanut gallery....

When I'm practicing (even when just having fun and not taking it too seriously) I will, for example, fly squares in 2 or 3 different 'modes' so to speak. One is the would be line - stop - turn - stop - line - repeat .... one would be line - snap turn - hold - go - repeat .... the other would be a square with no stops - just maintain the pace thoughout the whole square while still keeping it sharp. I have a few more, but you get the picture...

In terms of my own style, I've basically taken elements from practically everyone and done my own thing with it. My preference is for things that are visually striking and appealing - for me it must look good to a casual observer who knows nothing. That's not to say I don't fly something technically challenging, because I certainly do (for numerous reasons) .... just that I like flying something visually striking.

What that ends up meaning is that a casual observer (and I've tested this with casual observers) get far more enjoyment out of something as simple as a dive stop or monkey bars than (say) a reverse octagon. The technical challenges and the shape is lost on them ... this is the age of instant gratification, extereme everything and as much style as possible .... and since that is who the audience is when not flying for yourself, that is also my preference.

The result of that is that things like Polo with all his wicked tip pivots (like a body popping dancer) looks very appealing. I've seen people that are more precise than Polo (and I openly admit I love his stuff and he's been a major influence on my flying), but his style has a lot of visual flair.

In my own experiments using 50' lines where I can see the peoples responses I get a big reaction out of things like monkey bars, snap 45 landings and anythign dramatic ... way more than anything else.

A classic example is a travelling bicycle vs doing a tip stand - cartwheel - tip stand - repeat right across the window. They are essentially the same thing, one just has a landing and pause in it ... yet I find the travelling bicycle more technically challenging to maintain and keep smooth. People don't even react to the travelling bicycle, but I usually get smiles and clear recognition in the tip sand version.

Like I said, I fly both styles and there are good reasons for both ... I just like visual flair over technical difficulty when expressing the art for an onlooker (including myself).

Just some thoughts from a sleep deprived guy down here in the bushes ... your mileage may vary ;)

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Thanks John,

No idea why there is that difference in flying style between European Pilots and Non-European Pilots.

You can see it also in the competition video's ...... difference in style between the continents.

Maybe it's all about influences too....Problem could be we never meet that much non-European pilots here.

In individual flying i prefer the more snappy/clockwork/stops style and in team flying the more fluid style although we are working these day to have that snappy style in our team too.

It also changes with the way i feel when flying....relaxed...full of energy...etc .Nice to put feeling in the kite...that's why i like these kites.

For me personally i like to fly every possible style...switch between the clockwork/stops style and the more fluid style.

I love to mix styles, i think we all do......we all copy the things we see and like.

(quote tommylurvebus "Always find some inspiration in your offerings")

Really new things are hard to find after 25 years i guess, most of the things are done already.

I Love your style, funny to see many are influenced by that. I love Polo's style too.

Much more great pilots where i find my inspiration:Guido.Steff Fermé, Chris Goff, Carl Robbertshaw, Watty ....too much to mention.

Mix these styles....and have fun...as said..i think we all do.

Discussion about style is hard, style is all a matter of taste..

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I had a similar discussion recently about the impact on observers!! Many things we as fliers find the simplest, also have the most appeal for the spectator!! Only those that fly see the real difficulty in some complex moves, the outsider has no idea of what we are trying to do! Kinda like the response to most dualie tricks - "Is there something wrong with that kite?" To the casual spectator, they get lost in things! Sometimes the simple, done well, moves the public more than fancy for fancy's sake!!

I think that this is behind the Rev's appeal - it almost always looks "normal" to the outsider!! Yes, it's capable of doing just about anything, but watching just a simple follow with a group in line, amazes most onlookers!! Start to twist things up and they think it's unreal that we can come out OK!

IMHO - K.I.S.S. for the outsiders!

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I have a story that pertains to this.

In my community, I have recently taken over a 70ft by 70ft area of grass that happens to be at a busy 4-way stop sign :) I'm out there one day, tearing it up (in my mind, anyways), on the '50s, when a lady pulls over in the bus parking area and motions for me. I walk over to her and smile and say hi, expecting her to ask me about the kite as many have since I began flying here. She tells me she used to make kites, and that I need to put tails on the verticals tips. I remark at how that would look great, and she tells me, "no, you need the tails because you are completely struggling to keep that kite upright and airborne." :lol::lol: I explained to her that its a stunt kite, and I was purposefully doing everything she saw. We both laughed about it, and she asked for a quick demo. I let her call out commands and flew where she said/pointed to. She enjoyed it very much but was too shy to give it a go when I offered her the chance to fly it.

Before she left, she told me I need to slow down the "fancy" tricks a bit and draw more shapes and it would look better to the folks driving by :/

Android OS ~ Tapatalk2

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