Friday 13 April 2012

Friday Review: Hacky Sacks

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When I saw e-mail asking for people to review Hacky Sacks it took me back to my childhood so I asked for some for the children to try out. I find it hard to believe that they were invented 40 years ago but I can't remember seeing them for over 20 in the UK.This is why Wham-O have started stocking them again so we can introduce them to our children.


My 8 and 5 year olds were very keen to try them out but I wasn't a very good teacher - I should have remembered how bad I was as a kid myself! I think I will show them this fab video I found on YouTube which is a basic tutorial:




As it stands it looks like we need to get out and get more practice as all they have managed so far is:

Missed...

Look mummy I can do this!

Oops...

See this trick is so easy I can do it again..

Nice leg action but where is the hacky sack?
I am sure that in no time at all we will all be up to the standards of the professionals:




Whilst we head off to practice I'll leave you with a few fascinating facts about Hacky Sacks:


Hacky Sack was invented by athletes Mike Marshall and John Stalbergers in 1972 as a training tool to exercise John's leg after a knee injury. Not only did John’s leg quickly recover, but kicking the footbag around turned out to be a brilliantly fun game to play too. Mike and John perfected the design and Hacky Sack was born. Hacky Sack joined the Wham-O line-up of iconic brands in 1983 (that's when I remember them from!).

These are the things we need to work on:

The Inside Kick:
Drop Hacky Sack in front of you. Use your inside foot to kick the Hacky Sack up straight up again. Now try kicking the Hacky Sack straight up alternating with each foot. How long can you keep going?

The Outside Kick:
Drop Hacky Sack to your side and kick it straight up with the outside of your foot. This move is more difficult and you need to angle your ankle to get it right.

The Stall:
Catch the falling Hacky Sack on the inside of your foot by matching its speed with a downward motion. The trick is to land the Hacky Sack without bouncing it or kicking it off again. Once you have mastered it, try dropping Hacky Sack by your side and catching it with the outward of your foot.

Toe Kick and Stall:
Drop the Hacky Sack further in front of you and try kicking and stalling it on your toes.

Hacky Sack Games:
Get your mates together and stand in a circle. Use your Hacky Sack skills to pass the footbag from player to player. The trick is to keep the bag from the ground as long as possible.

Get Fit:
Playing Hacky Sack for an hour burns around 240 calories, about the same calories as a fast food burger.

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