Misc, Products, Reviews, Viewpoint

….Fushigi….

February 14th, 2010 | Posted by Jonathan E.o.S

Fushigi

A new infomercial has popped up, you can check it out on youtube by just typing in “fushigi’ and “ball”. I refuse to try and post the video here. What fushigi actually is:

• A $20 three inch acrylic in a shiny box.

It is hard to put to words how I feel about fushigi. Honestly the guys over at contactjuggling.org have pretty much summed up how I’ve felt since seeing the video. You can follow the thread over at:

http://www.contactjuggling.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7708

I am disappointed that this is happening to the art form that sparked my passion and career in object manipulation.  I’m upset fo the most part at two things: first is the rebranding of contact juggling as “fushigi” and second the crushing blow to the spirit of cjing. There has also been some talk about the jugglers that where in the commercial; whether or not they were sell outs. I ain’t going to touch that one.
Now the whole rebranding thing really pisses me off. If it had been a company named “Fushigi” presenting an “acrylic ball” (putting this in the smallest type face possible) that was “perfect for a new craze hitting the world by storm, CJing! Look at the magical amazingness that you can do with the Fushigi ball.” But it wasn’t. In fact they named the ball itself fushigi and went so far as to try to give it the tag line The Magic Gravity Ball. To be far according to the voice of Fushigi over at the forums they are trying to move away from the magic gravity ball thing, but it’s still plastered every where on thei site. Any way the rebranding only has as much power as Fushigi has popularity. At present the likelihood of a child coming up to me and squealing “Mommy! Mommy! He’s Fushigi’ing! I seed that on T.V.” are slim to not. So I’ll reserve myself on this till the future.

But the very spirit of contact juggling has been attacked by Fushigi. There has always been a fine line when using acrylics. From my understanding Micheal Moschen created the routine “light” to honored the passing of a friend. The art form of contact juggling was uniquely created to give a physical representation of life. Till now I had always seen some underlying respect for cjing shared by every single juggler I have met. Fushigi breaks this bond I felt we all had. It isn’t about the commercialization of acrylics; every juggling site and store sells acrylics now. It is about respect and honor which Fushigi is completely lacking. They have made an effort by going on to the forums and speaking with the community, but it looks hollow to me.  Their websites even warns you to beware of imitators; like all other acrylic balls are knock-offs of Fushigi.

I don’t feel like I can ever use acrylics again and I am currently trying to get rid of mine. I’m not going to stop contact juggling; I can’t! I love juggling, it’s become my life. But I can’t pick up an acrylic. Fushigi has sucked the dignity out of acrylic contact juggling in hopes to siphon money off of uninformed people to create a new fad. The art has become a damned SHAM-WOW or a bloody Showtime Rotisserie, “Just Set It and Forget It!”. Fushigi “Magic Gravity Ball!” I for one am going over to firetoys and getting their cj stage ball.

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Viewpoint

Viewpoint: What Kind of Juggler are You?

April 1st, 2009 | Posted by guestblogger

“Your embarrassment nerves must have been severed at birth.”

This is what a friend said after he heard how I joggled during the 1996 Chicago Marathon. He took the fact that I didn’t understand what he meant as more evidence he was right. And maybe he is. I don’t embarrass easily.

In that first marathon, there was no intention to do much joggling. The plan was to hold the bean bags until the last half mile, then cross the finish line juggling. It was supposed to be an exclamation point at the finish of a grueling run. It was also supposed to be funny.

But the start of the race was crowded and slow, so I started juggling to amuse the people around me. People asked if I was going to do it the whole way and I glibly said, “Of course.” I hadn’t practiced joggling and was surprised how easy it was. So, I continued. I joggled on and off for 19 of the 26 miles, had only 4 drops and felt great at the end.

It was during that marathon I realized, I am a joggler. My arms, legs, and mind were programmed to joggle. The bean bags floated in front of me and were not moved by a series of catches and throws, but merely directed through their pattern by the unconscious movement of my hands. In the subsequent years, joggling became ingrained in my brain and is now a fundamental part of my psyche. I am a joggler.

What kind of juggler are you?

Discovering what you “are” is one of the most liberating things that can happen to you and has a number of benefits. For example…

• It gives your life focus and direction
• It motivates you to get better
• It inspires excellence
• It makes you impervious to embarrassment & criticism
• It makes you feel happy

You should spend some time figuring out what kind of juggler you are. Are you a numbers juggler compelled to qualify higher and higher numbers? Is the diabolo your thing, or is it devil sticks, clubs, rings, or poi? Are you a sport juggler? A comedian? A clown? Or maybe you’re a joggler too. Your specific answer doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have an answer and then embrace it. Feel it. Be the kind of juggler that you are. Don’t worry about what other people think. It’s a decision only you can make.

I feel fortunate for accidentally discovering my joggling prowess. I often felt disappointed in myself because there was nothing at which I was great. I’m an above average runner but not even close to being a good or great runner. I’m an above average juggler but my skills pale in comparison to “real” jugglers.

Joggling amplified my skills in both areas and gave me the opportunity to be great.

Do what you like

Yes, joggling might be ridiculous. It might be the kind of thing that people mock and scorn. But that is true of any type of juggling. The important thing is what you think of yourself when you do the type of juggling that inspires you.

Remember, you do not get to pick what you are good at but if you find it, no matter how silly, go out and be great!

Viewpoint is an irregular feature where we invite guest bloggers to pen their thoughts about what they feel strongly about. Doing this honors on this post is Perry Romanowski, a scientist, writer, and world record holding joggler. You can learn more about joggling and people who do it at Just Your Average Joggler.com

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Tags: joggler, joggling, Perry Romanowski