Mad About Juggling

Let me start with some of the benefits of juggling. It is high on the laugh index. People are stressed out. Juggling helps us to relax and laugh. Relaxed happy people make the world a better place.

Since juggling is done with both hands, it stimulates both sides of our brain. It improves our reflexes, which is great for sports and other tasks involving coordination, like driving. It improves multitasking abilities, as jugglers are the gurus of multitasking. It breaks down class and gender barriers. People admire a C.E.O. that can chase after the juggling props just like everyone else. It boosts morale. It increases enthusiasm. It can be used as a moving meditation, a form of self-expression, and an art.

And if you are working on not smoking, it gives you something to do with your hands during those breaks where everyone else is lighting up.

The whole reason I joined hubs was to talk about my passions and share them with the world. One of my biggest passions is juggling. I learned it back in 1977 in my college days and it has served me well over the years. Remember I was a student when I learned, so being long on ambition but short on money, we first learned to juggle oranges. That was both hysterical and very very sticky. Now that I'm older and wiser, I recommend learning with beanbags, because when you drop them they don't roll away.

Try your local bookstore or magic shop. They almost always have a book or video that comes with juggling bean bags or scarves. Keep in mind the size of your hands and choose something that will fit in your hand. There are also websites that tell how to make balloon juggling balls, so you might want to do a search for that if you are a do-it-yourself type of person.

When I learned, the biggest problem was it was nearly impossible to meet another juggler (unless you grew up in a circus family) so it was hard to see if you were seeing the pattern of juggling well enough to learn it. Thankfully, the Internet has a plethora of juggling animations for both easy and hard tricks, so you should be able to find them with a little effort.

Good equipment is pricey though, so it's a good idea to start an 'equipment fund'. Or perhaps teach your friends to juggle and work on getting some wholesale discounts as a juggling club.

The best way to get ahead in juggling is frequent small practice sessions. Twenty minutes once or twice a day will get you a lot further than a 3 hour session every Saturday.

And before you reach for the knives, torches, and chainsaws, wait for a real life teacher with experience in dangerous props. Keep in mind there are many acts that have none of the dangerous props, because schools and events have become so safety concious.

Also be aware that there is toss juggling and contact juggling. In toss juggling things leave your hands and fly into the air. In contact juggling, they stay in touch with your skin most of the time if not all of the time. Both are great fun to learn. So go towards whatever appeals to you the most.

Nomadic Juggling Festival 2006

I just found out about it and it's going on this very moment in Pasadena CA. So if you live in the area, you can still go. It ends at 3 PM. It started last Thurs. http://nomadicjugglingfestival.com/

Add it to your calendar for next year and maybe you won't miss it like I just did.

Orange Jugglers

The Orange Jugglers will be moving to an indoor meeting at the Buena Park mall (CA). For updates see their yahoo group. http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/OrangeJugglers/

They are asking a couple of dollars per meeting to cover insurance.

I'm looking forward to it.