How To Dribble A Basketball

Today I'd like to talk about my main favorite part of all time in basketball.There's one thing that excites me the most about dribbling.It's the only thing that bugs my team mates whenever I got the ball.Guess what do I do with it?Dribble.I'll pass to them but it'd take seconds or minutes till I'm done with my dribbling.What's so fun and exciting about dribbling anyway?It's the rhythm that you get to hear each time the ball hits the ground.It's the rhythm on how you move and dance with the ball.It's how you confuse your opponent with your sick moves.Those are the things that made me so into dribbling.

When I play with my friends,I can't really see their excitement in basketball other than just to score and win.Where'e the fun part of that?Everybody can score but not everybody can dribble right?You have to be the one who makes the game exciting and fun!

If you've decided to be a dribbler right away after reading what I talked about above,well,here's some tips for you to start with!
1)Get a nice song or music,instrumental maybe,that makes you feel like move,in other words,dance.
2)Listen to that song and feel it!
3)Go to the court and play basketball alone,no supervisions.Just go there and dribble like crazy with  the music along.Now you don't really have to bring your MP3,Ipod,Ipad,Galaxy Tab,Droidpad,whatever they are as you dribble along.The music must've stucked into your head when you listened to it for the last time.
4)Keep doing the same thing with different kind of musics.
5)Watch videos on how basketballers dribble (with their sick moves).Suggestions?Hot Sauce,The Professor,Snake,Six Combo.

Well basically these are the things that I do!You can mark my words since it worked for me!There's no need to push yourself.Just relax.Get a music,and dribble,like crazy.

Allen Iverson with his Detroit Pistons jersey dribble-crossing a player from New Jersey Nets

Intensify Your Focus On The Rim-Part 1

I had an email from a newsletter writer recently explaining about ways to sharpen your shooting focus so that everytime you shoot,the ball would go 'swish' through the ring.He went into depth about the relationship between your focus and your complete awareness of the surrounding.What he meant was to put your total focus on the ring.Imagine as if there were no other thing (even air) exist except the ring itself.It's like putting yourself in another dimension.He also says to imagine as if the ring is a vacuum sucking your ball that you're about to shoot with projectile motion.

Wheww..I never knew basketball is this complicated...

Well at least that's what he told me.I got Part 2 of the email coming right up afterwards.Then I'll explain the whole thing to you guys alright!

How to Increase Basketball Game Performance

First of all,I want to apologize for not updating my blog for nearly 2 freaking weeks!I must have been out of my mind!I'm really sorry guys since I got a whole piece of crap to accomplish.What else?Assignments!Tests!2 freaking weeks of studying and research dude!

Above anything else,I'm back on track now.I got another week coming with my final exam before my Semester 1's holidays start.Yippee!I've brushed up my basketball skills too every now and then but I just kept on forgetting to record it.Looks like I broke my promise again!Oh well,there's always time :)

In today's post I would like to share with you guys about how you can increase your basketball game performance instantly with few simple techniques.Before I start,I would like to ask you,what makes an athlete excel?What do they do before a competition starts?What does Michael Jordan think and act before he shows himself on the NBA court?

As the old saying goes..."Practice makes perfect" and that is exactly how they did it.But why does "Practice makes perfect"?

It goes with two ways;

1)Preparing your body to be filled in with the adrenaline that you get to use during the game.
2)Preparing your mind to face the challenges that are both expected and unexpected.

...Prepare...

That's the keyword to every success you wish to achieve especially in basketball.You've got to prepare your body and mind before you start sweating yourself in the game.This comes perfectly with the crucial technique that I'm about to share with you guys,that is,warming up.Simple.

But why warming up?Isn't it something basic for all of us to know?Even my grandma warms up before she goes cookin'!

Well believe it or not,what you know now is only a small scope of knowledge of the whole warm up thing.Don't get confuse with the things that you learned from your PE.Now,I would like to share the massive,strong word there,benefits of doing warm ups before you start pushing the adrenaline around.

1) Increased body temperature-Decrease the chances of getting injuries by increasing the elasticity of muscles and joints.

2) Increased blood vessels' diameter-Blood flows easily making the heart to function effectively even in hard situations.

3) Mental preparation-Expect the unexpected.You'll get to focus more on the 'little things' that your opponent won't see.

4) Improved range of motion-Ever dream of doing the Slam Dunk even if you're short (just like me)?Well perhaps considering doing your warm ups again.

...and a whole lot more!

So we've come to a conclusion on how to do these warm ups.Bear in mind that these are not ordinary kind or warm ups that you see your friends doing,or maybe your PE teacher doing,or your dog doing,or your grandma doing before she goes cookin'...

Dynamic stretching and sport-specific drills are proven to be effective in enhancing your basketball game performance.Dynamic stretching is defined to be different and opposite of static stretching.It involves movement through the range of motion meaning that you get to move your body parts in motion without stretching it out foolishly.

1) Shoulder Circles-Stand shoulder-width apart,straighten your spine,raise arms to sides about ear-height,straighten elbows and start rotating 180 degrees,repeatedly.

2) Arm Crossovers-Stand shoulder-width apart,straighten your spine,swing arms 360 degree starting from the back initially and then cross them in front of your chest,repeatedly.

3) Hip Twists-Stand shoulder-width apart,straighten your spine,hands on your hips,start doing a circle with your hips,after you're done with one circle,twist your hips to the opposite direction once,with feet on ground,static.Keep doing this repeatedly,vice versa.

4) Cross Leg Swings-Face a wall,weigh yourself front making your body fall slightly forward,hands on the wall for support,then start swinging your right leg to your left,make sure your leg is straight while doing this.Then continue with your left leg with the same process,repeatedly.

5) Ankle Stress-Jump vertically without bending your legs,but only with your feet and ankle,repeatedly.Sounds tough?Sit and bounce your feet against the ground before you start.

That's it!Five things to do before you start playing on the court.Whether you realise it or not,all these five warm ups involve every part of your body to function.They prepare the adrenaline and space for blood to flow in every blood vessels you got in your body,increasing your basketball performance!Make sure you do all these fives daily to get that adrenaline going!

Ciao!

4 Street Basketball Tricks That I'm Practicing

It's been a busy week for me with loads of work to do!I got two tests coming right up on 22nd and 24th and hell I'm not ready as I should be!Plus,I got an assignment to accomplish,yet,I haven't done anything on that too!You know why?It's all because of basketball!I played basketball frequently these days,morning and evening and it made me hell tired and I end up sleeping early at night so you can see how tired was I.I'm so addicted to basketball that I pushed all of the important stuffs away and focus on one thing-basketball.Bet Michael Jordan would be proud to hear that,or maybe the uprising star,Kobe Bryant.Talking about Jordan,you really should watch his Nike commercials on Youtube.They're just so inspiring!Especially,the 'Break To Build' and 'Failure' one.

Well,anyway,what was my topic about in the first place?Oh yeah FOUR street basketball tricks that I'm practicing right now.2 of them are complicated (bet you can guess what are they now) and 2 other,simple.The complicated ones are...*drum rolls*...Never Flat and River Dance!Hell they are just so hard!But it's okay since I'm getting the hang of it anyway.I practised them all day long and kept doing the same mistakes but that's how I improved.Failures are not going to make me stop!The 2 other simple tricks are Shamgod and...I think I invented it myself for the other one.I'll show you in the future post since I'll be adding my own home made videos where you can see me practicing all the tricks mentioned.Plus,I'll be needing comments on the videos so just let me know what you think alright?See you in the next post!

Some Minor Changes

Hey guys!I've been feeling quite bored lately and since I got nothing to do (actually a lot),I thought of making some minor renovation to this blog a bit.Well,this is the result!Changed the header logo to a new one.I know it looks sucks but I'm just going to use that for some time now.I'll change it later on with a more attractive looking one :D.Plus,I even added a new page titled 'About' at the tab bar above.You can check it out if you want to know more about the purpose of the development of this blog.One more thing,please check my 'Basic Basketball Tricks-Never Flat' post again since it got a little bit of changes on step 4.My apology for that one!Thanks for reading today's little post guys!

Basic Basketball Tricks-Never Flat

I've been focusing on this basketball trick lately.It's called Never Flat and the purpose of this street basketball trick is ...to show off I guess?Well that's what I did to my opponent but there are times it didn't work so I had to cover it up with something else.Never Flat is actually a move created by a guy (not to mention his name here) and he got the name right after he was asked for the name for the trick.So...sorry guys if anybody out there had done this trick before but hasn't got any name for it because from now on,this will be the official name-Never Flat.Here's how to do it;

1)Dribble lightly in front of your opponent to get that self-confidence first.

2)Second,bring the ball under your legs to dribble under your legs...duhh.Now this is the time you should focus so as not to miss the ball.If not,you have to cover up with something else and redo it again.

3)Assume you're using with your right hand to start this,with your right foot at the front and left foot behind-while dribbling under your legs,once the ball is on your right hand,bounce it again for one more time on the floor,under your legs but hold it in place-with your right hand.Do not let the ball bounce back for your left hand to receive the ball,no.Just hold it on the floor,under your legs.

4)Quickly,roll the ball over to hit your left side of your right foot (at the tip of the toe) which is at the front.Roll the ball so that it would bounce upwards a bit.It's like you roll over a ball to the wall and it bounces back with two axis,the x and y so it kinda bounces back to the resultant vector or direction.You know what,just roll the ball to...the specific location I told you just now (the foot's toe) so that it bounces back.

5)Again,quickly,bring your left hand forward to catch the ball with your left hand before the ball bounces back on the floor.Just catch it and dribble again as if nothing happened...and you're good to go!

After you catch the ball with your left hand,there are various ways to continue it which you can either...make a tornado turn and dribble under your legs,dribble and pass or maybe with Shamgod and River Dance!

7 Fun Facts About Basketball!

I was browsing the featured posts on Innit (Glitterati's community from Nuffnang which you can visit here) and I saw a post from a random blogger that tells fun facts about her (yup a girl).Didn't give a damn about it but what attracted me was the phrase 'fun facts'.That gave me an idea about today's post!Plus,I didn't even know anything about the history or facts about basketball so i guess it's a prime time for me to check it out!Finally,I end up doing a quick research about it.So these are the fun facts about basketball that i found;

1)The model of basketball was created by James Naismith in December 1891.He tried to craft a sport that requires less body contact unlike rugby,football and hockey.

2)Slam dunks became illegal in 1967 due to judges' assumptions that it is considered as a jumping foul.Plus,slam dunks had wrecked so many backboards and basketball rims during those times until new and strong materials are used to reconstruct them.

3)The first basketball hoops ever are actually peach baskets with a hole at the bottom.

4)Backboards are created to prevent spectators watching the basketball game from behind to mess with the ball (guess the referee is just too annoyed with them).

5)National Basketball League (NBL) and Basketball Association of America (BAA) were combined to become today's National Basketball Association (NBA).

6)Three pointers were borrowed from the American Basketball Association (ABA) and to be instituted by NBA.

7)The first basketball ever created looked like a combination of a football and a rugby ball.Don't believe me?Check the picture below that I got from Google;

Well basically James Naismith created the design of the ball in the first place.See him holding his 'historic' invention below;

James Naismith

The Mastermind Behind Basketball

Originally,the ball was much smaller than the present since it was originated from a football.When time goes by,it evolved to a new grand shape with designs on it like the basketball that I've just bought from EchoPark which you can check it at my previous post here.

Actually there are more fun facts about basketball that you might be interested on but since they are too complex for you to understand so I decided to only add the basic stuffs here.If you are eager to learn more,well,just ask Uncle Google!

New Logo,New Ball

Just a random post guys.Made a new logo for AmirFikri.com and it turned out to be really small on the site.I just couldn't make it big since the theme that I chose for the site is static and unchangeable.Guess I have to choose a new theme for it afterwards :D.Here's my new logo!

 The word 'dot com' and 'street basketball' were supposed to be a bit dark.It looked better that way but since the background of the header of the theme is already dark,I had to change the colour to a lighter one.Well you can check how SMALL my logo is at my website here.

I still remember the last time I bought my first basketball.It was like...5 years ago to be exact?Quite long huh?Now the ball is gone,got stolen by a kid at the basketball court near my house.Saw him bringing it away.I didn't even care about it since I know it's time for the ball to 'move on'.Yeah hell it moved on.

Now I got a new one from EchoPark.Ever heard of that store?I'm very sure everybody,including my grandma,here at Malaysia heard of that store before...because I told her so!I bought it for RM59.90 and it was a limited edition one from the previous final AND1 game held at Times Square where The Professor came to watch and host the matches!Dayyum!Anyway,here's the picture of the ball.

'Streetball Is My Job',loving that quote!The ball's grip is just perfect!You can hold the ball with one hand,fingers down,palm untouched easily.This ball is original-bold that,imported from the overseas.The ball is limited so any basketball-collector out there who might want to check it out,you better hurry before the store keeper says 'we had run out of stock' :).

Basic Basketball Tricks-River Dance

This basketball trick bugged me a lot.You know why?I realised that when I started playing basketball,about 5 years ago,I kept on doing this movement and I didn't even know that it is quite the same as the River Dance!Actually it's not only me because along the past years,I've been observing many basketball noobs,who just started playing basketball,did the same thing!Maybe it's an accident by nature or just the way how noobs like me think?

Let's start with an introduction to River Dance first.This basketball trick is used to either 'play around' with your opponent or driving his or her attention.Right after that,you can take the opportunity to pass to your friend using your...foot?Sounds interesting?Let's get started!

1)Dribble lightly in front of your opponent.

2)Assume you're using your right hand for this,place the ball-with your right hand,onto your left foot.Now you might want to increase your left foot's height a bit to make it easier for you to do it.So now your left foot is a little bit on air,right foot on the ground,right hand holding the ball placed onto your left foot.Freeze.

3)The next move is compress your left foot and move it forward as if you're going to kick it front to your opponent,right hand still on the ball.Fake it hard so that your opponent would retreat a little bit.By this time,the ball might be on the air,without any support of your left foot.

4)Then,let the ball bounce on the floor,only one time.Quickly,move your right foot over the ball,you know,it's like as if you're going to kick the ball but end up you missed it so your right foot flew over-on top of the ball.Your left foot might receive the side-effect of this movement by lifting off the floor a bit.So now both of your foot is on air,floating for a split of a second.

5)In the middle of the air,both of your foot now is on air,quickly,since you only have this chance once in a split of a second-use your left foot which is behind your right foot by now,to kick the ball with your left foot's heel.The ball then would either go up high in the air or forward.You can use this opportunity to catch the ball back or just let it go to your team mate which I would call that 'pass with your foot'.

All 5 detailed steps for you to focus on!Like usual,it'll take a lot of practices for you to get the hang of it.This trick is suitable for the die-hard dribblers out there!Good luck! :)

Basic Basketball Tricks-Shamgod

Now what is Shamgod?Mainly,it is a form of a breakdown move in basketball where you fake your opponent with your initial-created-on-purpose situation and quickly changing it to cut in.It's actually not as easy as it sounds like because it takes a lot of practice than you can ever imagine.This move has been done by many street basketballers around the world and it is essential for you to know it too.Like other basketball moves too,you can manipulate on how are you going to perform it with your own creativity.Here are the basic steps;

1)Hold the ball with your two hands.Assume that you just received the ball after being passed from your team mate.You can position your foot casually by this point.Do it.It strengthens the effectiveness.

2)Now try to fake as if you just lost the ball from your hand-as if it slips out from your hand.You'd want to do this with only one hand.Assume you're using your right hand to fake it.Palm facing upwards at 45 degree direction to make it look more realistic.

3)Quickly.move your left foot to the direction of the ball,right foot on the ground,static,and 'steal' the ball as fast as you can with your left hand.I don't mean 'stealing' by catching it with your two hands,instead,dribble the ball to your left side with your left hand,as fast as possible.

4)Continue dribbling forward quickly passing over your opponent and...never look back.

Practise this move by focusing on your agility first.Try to get the ball to the opposite side as soon as you fake it.You can manipulate the way you want to perform this.As an example,you can start by dribbling lightly in front of your opponent and start faking as if the ball slipped or maybe purposely throw the ball between you two and launch the Shamgod directly!Depends on your creativity folks!

A Proper Understanding Between Your Team Mates

Hey there!I just went back from my school court playing basketball.Haven't been there for quite a long time.It was fun seeing my old friends gathering up to play basketball like we always do.Suddenly,an idea strucked me  as I was dribbling in front of my defender and trying to pass to my team mate,and guess what,he didn't get the chance to catch it.That is because,probably,the ball that I passed went too fast or either,he just could not catch it.From that point,I wondered that you got to match your style of basketball plays with your team mates in order to get the perfect 'rythm'.

Another example is like you intend to pass to your team mate using the backboard,the ball hit it and went perfectly with reflection directly to your team mate on the other side but then he stood there as if he wished the ball would not come to him.It's stupid right?That's what happened to me too just now!I was so frustrated that I gave up passing to my team mates and let them do the work.

Hence,it is important for each player in the team to get a perfect match of playing style.You must know and have a proper understanding between your team mates to get that balanced rythm.There's a simple way to do this and that is,play with them consistently!Slowly,you'll catch up and understand each other's signals in basketball games...and there goes the champion team!

The Big News!-AmirFikri.com

Remember the 'big news' I've been talking about in the earlier post?Well it's on now!AmirFikri.com is up!The website is under my own domain name,that is,Amir Fikri (now that's me!) and if you want to know what is the website all about,go visit the site and check my first post on 'Hello World!'.The site is still fresh and new so you can expect many features and improvements that will be included in the future.Do spread the words with your friends alright!Basically,the site's contents will be just the same as this blog's,ProHoopers.blogspot.com BUT,highlight that-I'll be adding more unique contents and surprises in my own site,AmirFikri.com.In a nutshell,both of this site's contents will not be exactly the same but you can expect AmirFikri.com to be more...fun!I'm not sure 'fun' is the right word,probably,'creative'...no.Anyway,I will still talk,discuss and share with you guys about street basketball in both sites!Don't forget to share this news!

P/S: I told you guys that this 'big news' might probably be announced officially in weeks later right?Well it turned out to be today because I've been working on it so much for the past few days until I realised that it is ready to be published!

Basketball Dribbling Tips

It is nearly 3.00 in the morning and I might go to bed by anytime now.Yet,there's one idea that had been bugging me all day long so I think I should just let it go and blog about it.I've been watching videos of how did the basketball pros dribble so well in front of their opponents.I mean,come to think about it,there are defenders in front of the dribbler,or the carrier of the ball and he or she should be afraid or scared being of being 'offended' by the defenders.You know,it's like animals protecting their territory so they try to become aggressive as much as possible but still,how could the attacker overcome this?

This example of metaphore is just the same as in the situation that consists of the basketball dribbler and the defender.How could the dribbler ever not become afraid and keep on trying to cut in and score?This exposes the first basketball dribbling tip,that is,instead of avoiding the defender,how about try to attack him or her?This can be done either by doing your streetball skills or tricks,or maybe,you know,try to scare the defender off by looking at the eyes-I mean it,angry eyes,serious eyes,aggressive eyes,whatever you might call it.

Second,'keep your head in the game!'...and yes,that's High School Musical's courtesy.What I meant by this is that always focus whenever you're on the court,holding the ball because by that point,all of your team mates,audience's hopes and fears are all in your hands.You determine the fate of your team so you better focus all the time!Focus for what?Openings!Try to find openings with your eyes eventhough they're small enough to squeeze a ball thorough because usually that is the best opening for you to either cut in or pass.Many basketballers don't really know about this so their expectations are always on the 'wide-big-obvious' openings.You can use these small openings to do tricks at your defender too.That small-tiny space is useful to move your defender to that location,lock him up because he got no place to go else,and cut in as fast as you could.That's tip number two!

Every basketballers have their strong hand probably their right hand or left hand that is used to shoot/dribble and vice versa for the weak one.Everyone has it including me but one thing you should know is that whenever you're in the game,dribbling,never ever show or expose your weak hand to your opponent.Why?Eventually,he or she will start to force you using your weak hand to dribble and by that time,swoosh,the ball is gone.One way to overcome this is balance your dribbling rythm by dribble with both of your hands and I don't mean by using your two hands at the same time to dribble because that would be a foul of course!What I meant is try to dribble with your weak hand too.Then,you can change it to your strong hand and on and on it goes-strong hand,weak hand,strong hand,weak hand,strong hand,weak hand.

Well I guess that's pretty much about it!Whenever you're dribbling,ALWAYS keep these three tips in your mind.You can mark my words of their effectiveness later :).Thank you for reading!Sweet dreams yaw!

Basketball Language Codes

What i meant by 'Basketball Language Codes' is your own specialized instruction or language to instruct your team mates with a followed game strategy.This type of language can be created among your team mates with your own desired style.It doesn'y has to be uniform as long as it is simple and understandable by everyone.

Why is it so important?Well you can't instruct your team mates by shouting out loud right?No.That would be a dumb thing to do since your opponents will know and they'll eventually overcome it directly.Usually,this 'language' is important during the offense stage where your team has to find an opening to score.You can either instruct them with your 'hand-movement-code' or whatever idea that you have.

You can also do this when your team is in the defense stage.This happens when...well as an example,(assume you're at the shooting guard post) you're facing forward,right hand on the front probably high up in the air to block any high-air ball passes and the left hand at the back to detect any opponent's body behind you.One or two of your opponent's team mates might be behind you-asking for a pass since they're open,and that is the function of your left hand.Once you've detected them, (you're not required to look back all the time since the ball carrier is at the front and it is important for you to keep an eye on him or her.Just a quick glance at the back would do) you can shout out loud 'HIGH POST' as for the shooting guard.If you're at the power forward position,then you can shout out loud 'LOW POST'.

This kind of language comes in various forms.You can shout out loud but make sure it is only understandable by your team mates,not your team mates.When you have done this many times,with this 'secret language code' thing,you'll realise that you wouldn't be needing it anymore since you can already read your team mates' movements just with thinking or 'eye-to-eye' communication.

...and Oh,I would like to infrom something!I got one big project coming right up probably in a few weeks!I won't be telling you guys now since it is just started.I'll announce its official pre-launch once it is accomplished in a future post.Stay in touch if you want to find more about its progress :).

The Ultimate Fundamental:Basketball Shooting

There won't be any scores or cheers among the audience or crowds if neither of the players on the court don't know how to shoot right?That's the purpose of basketball-to score!That follows with the crucial skill that every basketball players should possess,that is,the shooting skill.It doesn't matter whether you're playing street basketball or not on the court,it is important for you to learn the proper fundamentals of shooting a basketball.Otherwise,you'd look dumb in front of everybody...and nobody wants that.

Firstly,bend your knees while standing.Don't bend too much.Just a slight bend that makes you feel the urge to jump.It's like bringing potential energy to your knees to be converted to kinetic energy as you jump.Make sure your foot is shoulder-width apart from each other.If you're shooting with the right hand,bring your right foot slightly ahead of your left foot.You will feel stabilized once you do this.Your body could endure more resistance as your position now is more deformed and strong than before.Vice versa if you're using left hand for shooting.Now you're done with your foot.Stick to that.



Next,if you're using your right hand to shoot,place your right hand at the back of the ball so that you would see your hand clearly.Make sure only the fingers are in contact with the surface of the ball and not your palm.The other hand,which is the left hand,is to be placed at the left side of the ball,fingers facing front but slightly upwards,about 20-30 degrees.Now bring the ball with your two hands-hands still placed at the location as told-in front of you between your chest and the chin.Bring the ball near to you,still between under your chest and chin but not too close!Probably,20cm to 30 cm apart.When you do this,you will realise that your right hand and left hand is bent and that is natural so stick to that form.This is the initial position before you launch and propel the ball outwards to shoot.



Then,this part  is where the potential energy stored at your legs and hands are converted to kinetic energy.Aim the ball where you want to shoot-at the rim of course,and push the ball outwards with your right hand.Your left hand is used to control the ball's position.Push the ball with your right hand with your estimated force so that the ball would end up at the rim and-the crucial part-flick your fingers a bit,your right hand's fingers of course,flick them downwards so that your wrist would end up with a 'dip' position like the 'Jordan's Dip'.Imagine you're putting the ball inside the hoop with your wrist,that would give you a clearer image of how to do it.Don't flick too hard since it would affect your shooting accuracy rather than perfecting it.Just a slight-natural flick would do.


You will realise that your body would eventually lifted apart a bit due to the potential energy stored at your legs.This happens if you do not intend to jump whilst shooting.If you do,then it would be something expected from you.


These are the fundamentals of a perfect shooting.The explanation is quite complex to understand since there are so many things that you need to practise to get that score!If you want to read more about the fundamentals of shooting,perhaps in depth and the various types of shooting,you can go to here and here.They are two different links so make sure you check them out!:)

Another Street Basketball Site

Another good news for you guys!Forums are always a good place for you to learn and discuss more about subjects yeah :).Well here it is again,another good news,www.howtoplaystreetball.com provides you tutorial videos on how you can learn skills or tricks about street basketball.The founder of the site is known as '2quick' who lives somewhere in United Kingdom.The site looks new so we can expect a lot more improvements on its configurations and set ups,not to mention its site contents too!

I've watched the video tutorials and mostly the videos are actually video uploads from Youtube.However,they're his own copyright videos so the originality is still there.The layouts of his tutorials is understandable and simple provided with the 'slow-motion' part of the video where you can watch it closely enough to learn the specific skill in depth.

More videos will be loaded soon so make sure you come and visit the site more often to stay in touch with updates.I'm thinking of contacting the owner,known as '2quick' for joint dealerships in making his site a better place for bballers to learn more about street basketball.See ya!

The Grand Lay Ups

I'm very sure most of you are familiar with lay ups,right?There are many manipulations that you can create with lay ups.You can do 360 degree lay up,the under leg lay up,the Alley-oop lay up and more.These lay ups can be performed with different kind of styles depending on your own creativity.However,there's one important key you have to always keep in mind so you can get them done successfully and perfectly.
The important key is-the jumping height.

In whatever styles of lay ups you want to do,you've got to jump high to perform them.This gives you a wide interval of time for you to perform the required move in order for the lay up of your own style to be accomplished.I know this might be something common among you already but it probably is not for the ones who have problems with jumping heights.As an example,me,since I'm a short guy so I can't really jump high enough to perform the lay up.

Well.there's a way to overcome this.I've done it before and I'm going to pass it on to you guys.Firstly,the 'touch-the-board' exercise.I've been doing this since I played for my high school for the past few years back then.All you have to do is stand right under the backboard and jump as high as you can.Make sure to set up a specific height that you want to reach.You can do it by trying to touch the lower part of the backboard first.Then once you've reached that part,you can move on to the next level of height,which probably be the lower part of the rim,where the screw of the rim is attached to the backboard and so forth.

The second exercise is quite the same as the first one.The different thing is-you have to run towards the backboard,jump and touch the aimed area.Run,jump and touch.As simple as ABC.

The third exercise is also the same as the first one.Just this time,you've got to hold the ball along.Hold the ball with one hand and the other to reach the aimed area.The same idea goes to the fourth exercise.Hold the ball with one hand,run,jump and touch the aimed area with the other hand.

As you progress along with these exercises,you'll realise how much far you've become.These exercises target specific muscles of your legs to strengthen and helps you to shift your weight upwards as much as you could to enhance you vertical jump's distance.Try them!They have worked wonders for me :).

Do leave a comment if you have questions regarding this post or ther posts.You can also request anything about street basketball just by leaving a comment below.Thank you :).

Play Freestyle Basketball Game Online!

Whoa I didn't expect this to come up!I was browsing the internet about 'street basketball' when suddenly my search end up on this website called www.freestyle.gamekiss.com.Wonder what's the website about?It's an official site of an online game where you can play street basketball with other people online!duhh...

Then,I checked the Youtube for their official trailer for the game and it turned out to be really cool.They use this 'comic-kind-of-graphic' in the game to provide realistic moves (kind of).Perhaps you can learn some moves from the game too?Here's the official trailer;



Now that's just the trailer,how about the gameplay?It should be better right?As for me,I would give it of 4/10 since the game doesn't include the full control of 'street basketball'.Still don't believe me?Well try to compare this...



...with your 'street basketball' plays in the outside world :D.Well it doesn't hurt to try it right?

Snake's Exciting News!

Well recently,Snake has been talking about this one 'exciting news' or a project that he has been working on with a freestylist called C-Stan at the FreestyleBasketball.Forumotion.net (a recommended forum that I mentioned earlier in my previous post where you can talk about street and freestyle basketball) and it turned out to be a freestyle video.In my opinion.the video is fantastic!The camera angle,the music that gives a different mood and the new kind of freestyle tricks fit perfectly in the video.Watch the video below and leave a comment about it;



So what do you think? :)

The Perfect Point Of Time

Doing tricks to your opponent is easy-if you know when to make the move.No matter how many skills and tricks you have learnt to use during games,you still can't launch them if the time of launching them is at the wrong point of time.This 'point of time' that I'm mentioning here is actually a very small interval of time.Probably,a near split of a second.This is to make your skills laid out perfectly!Basically,this comes in three simple steps;
1) Determination
2) Focus
3) Grasp it!

Determination

 Before anything starts,you must have the determination to do the trick onto your opponent.Make sure you are really determine to clown him or her.Determination activates your senses to focus,which is the next step,in grasping the right moment to launch the skill.Try to feel that how much you want to do it and imagine how would your team mates,audiences,watchers react once you launch them.It'll be cool right?Supposely they'll go 'WHOA!' and start to adore you.It's a good feeling.Zap!You are determined.

Focus

Now once you have the ball in your hand,probably dribbling,try to feel the pressure of your hand on the ball as much as you could.This makes it easier for you to handle the ball and feel as if it is a part of you.This way you would have a better chance of launching your trick without failing.One other way is look at your opponent's eyes.Since you can't wait for the right point of time,it's better and more effective if you create it by stealing your opponent's attention and there goes-the perfect point of time.Next,grasp it!

Grasp it!

You can't really see this point of time,but you sure can feel it.Feel it with your instict that it is there-just there right in front of you for you to grasp and launch your trick.Eventhough I mentioned earlier that this point of time is quite as near as a split of a second,it isn't that quick at all.You just have to feel.You'll know what I meant once you apply the methods I taught you here.

Once you get the hang of it,suddenly you'll realise that you can grasp it easily and as if everything around you went into a slow motion state.Cool huh?Well that's what happened to me,but of course there are times when I failed,parts that I need to brush up a bit!Come on!Try it!You'll be amazed!

Basic Basketball Tricks-Hypnotizer

lHey guys!Firstly,I want to apologize for not updating the blog for quite long.I've been busy with stuffs recently like studies and...you get the idea.I decided to go play bball with my friends at my campus' court after this,after not having my skills brushed for nearly 2 weeks i guess!Dayyum!How can I ever forget basketball?

I got 30 minutes to get this idea laid out so here it is,introducing,The Hypnotizer.

Now I know that some of you might know about this already but it's okay,just keep reading because you'll be surprised that there are more extensions than the knowledge that you have now,so stay in touch alright.Where was I just now?Oh yeah!

Doing the hypnotizer is not difficult at all.The main thing that you have to do is basically...well,hypnotize your opponent.


1) Dribble around until you are face to face with your opponent.


2 Make sure your body posture is low and dribble low.You have to make your opponent's body posture low too.


3) Quickly,bring the ball behind,to your back and throw the ball over your opponent's head...from your back.The ball has to go way up in the air so that your opponent won't notice that it's not at you anymore.



4) Go catch the ball or let your team mate catch it since you might have the intention to pass the ball to your team mate with hypnotizer.


You need to practice to be good at this.It may seem easy at first but still,once you get the hang of it,it'll be a piece of cake.You can try more combinations and combos on how are you going to fake or throw the ball over.Just be open-minded and think creatively.


This is an instructional video that I found from Youtube on how to do the hypnotizer;

Well I bet you haven't seen me playing basketball before right?Well I'm gonna share with you guys the skills and tricks that I have derived from the hypnotizer myself in the next post!Stay tune!

Ciao!

Hey,what's your name?

Wonder what does the above title about?It's a sign that you are being recognized by other players.I was in this situation many times before whenever I'm in a game with strangers.I played good,showed off some skills,tricked them and then only the conversation starts.Of course,this does not only happen to me but everyone else as well but it only happens to certain people who played well in a game.Recently,I was being asked for my name from this Palestine dude who's studying at my local university and he played good too.So whenever you're in a game with strangers,and after that,they ask for your name,at that point,you know you're the playmaker.

Just A Forum,Or Two

I thought it was time for me to spread mah wings a bit so I decided to join a forum or two about freestyle and street basketball.Forums are beneficial for you to create connections in the community,discuss your interests and expand your knowledge about it.Fortunately,I found three very good forum sites to join.
1)www.FreestyleBasketball.Forumotion.net
2)www.StreetBallTalk.com
3)www.StreetBall.com

These 3 are the top forums about freestyle and street basketball that I could ever find in the internet,especially the first one.The first forum site let you to discuss and share about events held or will be held,tricks and moves and even clips!The fun part is,you can 'battle' clips in the forum!Show off your skills there by posting a video of you street ballin and other people will do the same too.Just see who's the best!It's a great forum for you to indulge more of yourself in freestyle and street basketball.

The second and third forum sites let you to do the same too except 'battle clipping'.You can post videos,pictures and other stuffs to share there.There are abundant of skills you can learn and share from those two.The last forum site has an advantage of its online store since you can buy and purchase basketball products there online.

In a nutshell,the first one stands out the most.My username for the first forum is 'amirfikri' so if you ever stumble upon my post or thread,just holla at me!

Out Of Bounce And The Professor

'Out Of Bounce' is actually a freestyle basketball team from Korea.I'm not sure whether they're good in matches but they sure are good when it comes to freestyle handling.These guys perform around the streets of Korea to promote their name and...well,for fun!Their style is somewhat like 'High School Musical' just that they're not hype like the HSMs.

They had achieved optimum basketball handling that's why they can do all these complicated and insane skills.It's not hard as long as you put your heart into basketball.Just keep on playing with your own style and before you know it,people will be trying to copy your skills,make you as an idol and...stuffs man.Take a glimpse of them here;

Now here's someone that I want to talk about.Nonetheless,he's...*drum rolls*...

The Professor!

He is most known with his 'speedy-weedy' basketball dribbles and his 'clowning' moves on his opponents.Well,suppose,not really but just that his passing and dribble skills made his name appear as the next 'streetball legend'!How's that?

Anyway,I forgot to tell you a little bit about his biography.His real name is Boucher,that is,Grayson Boucher.He played for McNary High School,Salem Academy and Chemeketa Community College before he moved up to the AND1 Mixtape Tour.Mostly,he developed his skills from watching Rafer Alston on the AND1 Mixtape's Volume 1 and Volume 2.He got into AND1 when he was playing at Portland's Memorial Coliseum,impressing tour players with his passing and dribbling skills.The name,'The Professor' was given by the MC Duke Tango describing Grayson as the only white player to play on the AND1 team.Watch his highlights here;

"I'll show you how to do this" XD

Recently,he came here to Malaysia for the AND1 finals at Times Square,Kuala Lumpur.I didn't get the chance to meet him because I was too busy with my studies!Ergh!Did I tell you that I'm a college student anyway?Yup,he got his own site right here,www.GraysonBoucher.net .Go there oftenly if you want to stay updated with him.Got plenty of things you can learn from there!I'm out!

The Ultimate Fundamental:Ball Handling

When you're playing freestyle basketball or much more known as 'street basketball',there's one thing that you should be a master of,that is,the ball handling.It doesn't matter if you're not good in shooting for scores in the game as long as you got this ultimate aspect that makes crowds gone crazy over your skills.You can do insane and crazy tricks to make your opponent confused and pass the ball to your team mate when you're done even if you can't shoot.Whether you realise it or not,you will still assumed as the 'playmaker' of the game!You do tricks,and people 'wowed' over you and that's it!You're in their idols' top lists!

However,it's not easy to handle the ball when there are opponents who kept on trying to steal it.That's why you have to practice.One way is to practice doing the ball handling drills.I found a very good video that teaches you to do the best ball handling drills in just 7 minutes a day!Here it is;

Also,you can watch this two videos here that I found from Youtube done by Snake (refer to my previous post) and Mad Skills (a freestylist from Youtube).Damn they're just insane!

Introducing-Snake

This dude that I've just found from Youtube is just amazing!I don't really know his real name but people called him 'Snake' and his username for Youtube is 'snakejmoney' so make sure you take a note for that because trust me,it'll be useful later on for you to learn his skills.He should go co-op with The Professor,Hot Sauce or the other known and famous street ballers out there.His skills are just mad,highlight that!Superbly stunning!Nonetheless,he's not the only basketball 'genius' out there.There are more to discover but he's totally one of them.I'm not promoting his name on the web or what,just that,I think you should take a look at his skills here.



He posted a lot more videos on Youtube though so you can check out on him there if you want to know a lot more.Just type his name in the Youtube search box and there will be lists of his videos.Not to mention that,he teaches people the freestyle basketball skills too!For free!Damn he's just generous man.You can watch his video tutorials from Youtube.Enjoy watching!

Basketball Reaction and Quickness Drills

There are times when the ball would slipped out from your hand or maybe times when you got hit by the ball on the head (Consider that you were fantasizing about something.Take that for not getting your head in the game!Courtesy:High School Musical).Plus,you would see the ball rose high up in the air and you know that instant it will land in your hands when suddenly,*poof*,the ball is gone,stolen by the opponent faster than you.These are the common things that usually happen to players in basketball matches.The reaction that you're about to act is slow and you realise that yourself and you tried to react faster but couldn't.You tried to act quick and fast but your body won't let you eventhough you tried very hard in doing so.Why did these things happened?Basically,it's because of your body position when you're about to move.You can't run or sprint towards the ball when you're standing straight right?One other thing about reacting fast is that you can't react fast when you're focusing on two things,might be the cheerleaders at the side or maybe your opponents who are not holding the ball.

In a nutshell,you can react faster by focusing on the ball for where it moves (not alone but by external force of course).Keep your eye on the ball throughout the game but still,at the same time,be cautious so as not to get tricked by the opponents since he or she might trick you with the body movement.Your primary zone of sight will be on the ball and the second,will be the opponent.Besides that,you can also move to the ball quickly by lowering your body a bit with your feet apart from each other in shoulder width.Make sure your toes face in front at the same time.This stance will assist you in getting a proper position for getting speed to move quickly.Once you move,remember to always keep your body level low and move by sliding your feet quickly.Practice this every time you play and you'll soon realise the positive changes in your speed and stability.

Getting the fundamentals sure are not enough for you to improve consistently.Drills can make you stay 'up to date' with your speed of reaction and body movement.Here's a video I stumbled upon on Youtube that shows you various drills that could improve your reaction and quickness in basketball.The video is made to slow motion for easy viewing.They use a tennis ball for the drills to make you more focused in the game.What a creative idea!Make sure you implement the drills showed in the video once you're done watching it!I'll start first!

Point Guards

Point guards are basically responsible in offensive plays.They're most likely to be active around the court giving instructions to the team mates,passing and cutting in.They're more towards assisting the team to score for points rather than scoring on his own.In measurement of height,point guards are usually the shortest and fastest (in speed) of all.The main features of a point guard should have are;
1)Creative Thinking
2)Fast
3)High Stamina
3)Energetic
4)Skillful

Creative Thinking

In any game,there would be many kinds of strategies that would be used in either team for offensive and defensive purposes.Strategies such as full court press,half court press and man to man are by means the most common defense strategies ever exposed.Despite of all the strategies we know,there are more to expect in such cases.There will be times the team would panic because of the sudden change of strategy used by the opponent.At this point of time,the point guard must think fast and creatively to endure this problem from getting the team itself confused and scattered around foolishly.Once the solution is determined,the point guard has to instruct his team mates fast in order to act on them and stabilize the atmosphere again.In such occasions,it wouldn't be a surprise anymore to professional point guards like Allen Iverson,Jason Kidd,Magic Johnson for this type of confront since they're most likely prepared and ready with many back up plans.

Fast

In definition,speed for point guards are not just from the physical aspect but mentally too.Point guards are usually the 'smartest' player in the game since they have to think fast and act fast.Whenever a team of a point guard is leading stuck in a game,probably being guarded and marked by opponents,the point guard will find chances instead of waiting for them.This is the time when the power of luring comes into play.The point guard will eventually try to lure a player or two in order to open up spaces for his team mates to launch attacks and score.In other way,the point guard will instruct his team mates using the team's own coded communication language to help himself get an open space.Once open,there will be big chances of scoring.

High Stamina

Most basketball matches,especially full court will need this ability since there will be a lot of running throughout the game.Basketball isn't like football when all you have to do is just to wait for the ball to arrive or get close to your play zone,no.Players will have to move fast and strategically to find open spaces,lure opponents and not get crowded when trying to do a skill or two.In full court matches,all players have to go front during offense,depends on the strategy the team's using because some strategy requires one person to be at the back in case the ball is stolen by the opponent and they're planning to launch 'fast breaks'.The court is more like a playground for the players in the game for them to move here and there all the time.'Suicide' is one  type of drill you can use to increase your own stamina.

Energetic

Being energetic doesn't define as close as having high stamina.Energetic is more to having high determination to score and win the game.Here in Malaysia,I can see that Chineses who play basketball are more energetic than Malays.I've been observing how they play because usually they play better than Malays,including Indians (Malaysia have three main different races living together peacefully,Malay,Chinese and Indian).It takes high spirit and high determination for you to score continuously and not lose your guard to the opponent because opponents will eventually find a suitable time to strike,when you lose your guard,that is.So,it is important for you to have the determination so as to take the game seriously as if you're playing in NBA!

Skillful

This one is usually optional but it is most recommended that you practice this too.Why?Because if you don't have any skills,you'll look dumb at the court as if you don't know how to play basketball at all!Not just that,it is also important for you to practice it so that you can show off skills to your opponents to make them tricked or confused.Obviously,it'll be an advantage for you,as a point guard to create open spaces instead of finding it.If you just started playing basketball,don't worry since you'll be building and improving this aspect through time without you even knowing it.It's a natural being for you to learn it from the start.One way to start is observe the professional basketball players and try to copy their skills.Once you get the hang of it,you'll be creating your own signature skill,like Michael Jordan.

Allen Iverson

Jason Kidd

   Michael Jordan

The Basic Fundamentals Of Basketball

I was reading an article about 'The Basics Of Basketball' just now from http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/basics/basics.html and I can see how much did the author stressed on learning and practicing the basic fundamentals of basketball.He claimed that these fundamentals include the little things in basketball that will make us play better.In a nutshell,I agree with that.Most people tend to play basketball without paying attention to these fundamentals.What are these so-called fundamentals anyway?Mainly,they are;
1)Shooting
2)Passing
3)Dribbling
4)Rebounding
5)Defense
6)Offense
7)Screens
8)Fouls
9)Lay ups

Quite a lot eyh?No wonder many basketball players (bballers) neglect these small things since they're more excited in getting involved with the game without knowing these fundamentals.Basically,these are the things that will make you play better.

P/S:Note that I am not a professional basketball player myself but I am improving at the same time.My purpose for building this blog is to share everything I know about basketball and build a community of 'Bballers' from all stages whether they're newbies,amateurs or pros.Do inform me if some of the info that I post in here are wrong.I will try my best to share everything about basketball,correctively.See you later!:D

The Introduction

As an intro for this new blog,I'm just going to put out small views of the upcoming posts that will be included in here.Generally,I will be talking about basketball-my prime hobby.I started playing basketball when I was in form 2 (Malaysia).Well,not really.I was 'introduced' to basketball when I was in primary school,standard 5 I think.Then,I shifted to a boarding school far away from my house in another state/province.It was 1 year later until I'm reach 14 that I started to become 'a lil bit' serious with basketball.It was a coincidence when suddenly a basketball court was built at the park in front of my house (a project that finished for 2 months which I thought they were building futsal court).That's when my interest in basketball grew.So up to date,I've been playing basketball nearly for 4 years now but still,I,myself,admit,that I'm still not 'keng' or professional in this arena.My skills and knowledge in basketball are still very limited but improving at the same time.One thing about me is I am renowned with my 'one hand shoot' whether it's a 3-point or further.I'll post videos of me playing basketball in here too later on.Go Lakers!