This video features some very cool manipulations with soccer balls. I’m not sure what I find more impressive, the fact that he can pull off that many patterns so flawlessly with such large balls, or the wicked stacked spinning moves he’s able maintain while also juggling. Wild!
Like many jugglers, I keep a juggling journal. The way mine is set up currently; I have all the props that I juggle listed, then have those broken down by number of objects. Under each of these subcategories, I list every pattern/trick that I can do that falls within those parameters (excluding obvious variations). This helps me keep track of what patterns I can do and when I learned them. It also helps to ensure that I don’t accidently forget about some tricks that I can do, but do not practice regularly. I think that in the future I might also start listing juggling festivals and events I attend, so that I can better keep track of what I have experienced with juggling over the years.
While I use my juggling journal mainly as a pattern inventory, there are different approaches to keeping a personal written juggling record. For instance, in Jason Garfield’s latest book, ‘JUGGLING: Fundamental Exercises and Practice Structure‘ most chapters conclude with a “Level Test” check sheet, where the reader checks off each move’s practice exercises, x number of catches reached (listed in increments), and logs the date as a means to better monitor their overall practice with that specific move. This method creates more of a practice log during the learning process of certain moves, and suggests different levels of proficiency to strive for if one so desires. Another approach would be to keep a list of certain moves that you wish to learn but cannot currently do, then check them off and record how you learned them as time passes. If you are feeling really ambitious, you could try the Matt Hall approach and attempt to learn one new trick a day for a year and keep track of the whole process.
Whatever your approach and format, a juggling journal can be a fun and easy way to keep track of your juggling, whether it be logging tricks you currently do, are learning, or someday wish to learn.
This video has been getting some attention for a few months now, but it NEEDS a mention here on Street Juggling. I guess it is inevitable that someone would eventually make a parkour/juggling video, and perhaps it already has been done, but even it is has, the sheer talent and creativity displayed in this video is breath taking. As if finding ways to juggle balls and cigar boxes while jumping around like a maniac wasn’t enough, this guy even adds card throwing, skateboarding, martial arts, and various other manipulations into the mix. This is seriously one of the best compiled displays of overall physical talent I have ever seen captured on video. Also interesting to note, the guy in the video isn’t even a performer, rather he’s a professional video game animator. Talk about a Renaissance Man!
Hey all!
I am new to this and am figuring out this new site as I write! My name is Rob and I juggle a lot. There you have it. It’s out in the open. I have been dealing with this special disorder for quite some time now, about 11 years to be exact. Juggling has taken me many places and introduced me to many people. What started out as a wonderful adventure has turned into a lifestyle that I would not trade for anything. I am always trying to connect to more jugglers and share/learn the art of prestidigitation.
I just moved back to Coeur D’alene, Idaho. This place makes me juggle like a madman, thus the moniker Madjuggler. I started a group called the Madjugglers and we travelled around the country and did street performing for a while here and there. The Madjugglers have a minimum requirement to join and that is that you have to juggle at least 7 balls. It doesn’t have to be a perfect pattern like Anthony Gatto or Thomas Dietz, but it just shows that you are seriously in love with juggling.
That was how it was at the beginning, but as I have grown in Juggling I have learned that you don’t neccessarily have to juggle 7 balls to be a good Juggler. In fact you could just juggle only 7 clubs and still be a good juggler! Just Kidding! I have seen many wonderful 3 ball jugglers that have captivated my attention and motivated me to keep on learning and loving this art.
I juggle everyday… pretty much. Currently I am throwing around 5 clubs with pretty good skill… no backcrosses yet Jason!… but I am getting over 100 throws consistently and I can Juggle 5 clubs on triples for about 30 throws. I’m working to learn 6 & 7 clubs by the time I go to the Portland Juggling Festival in September! Clubs are just one focus of my juggling and I think that If I talked about all of them at once this would be too long to read. This is my first post and I hope I can share with you cool things that happen to me each day as I practice, perform and perfect that which we all love to do!
It’s the return of Tuesday Thoughts! For now, Tuesday Thoughts will likely be more of a bi-weekly thing, but that may change in the future.
Every juggler has a story. I enjoy talking to other jugglers about what first got them into juggling, because their stories are usually pretty interesting and not just simply “oh I just decided to start juggling one day”. It’s almost always more than that.
Juggling in itself is esoteric enough that it usually requires a certain prompt in someone’s life before they decide to pursue it. The general populace knows what juggling is, but unlike many known recreational activities (sports, art, etc.) simply knowing what it is usually is not enough to peak an interest. More often than not, the transformation to juggler seems to involve a more personal experience: having a friend/family member that juggles, seeing or interacting with a juggler up close, finding an immersive old book on the subject, etc.
For me, I learn in college, slightly by accident. A girl I knew wanted to talk to me about a story she was writing for the school newspaper. Unfortunately, with the way our schedules conflicted, the only time we could meet on campus was during her meeting with the local juggling club. She invited me to the organization, and I initially said no, as I knew virtually nothing about juggling and thought it would be weird to go to a club that I had no interest in to talk to one of their members about something completely unrelated. I eventually caved and went to the club meeting. After we talked about the task at hand, the people at the club started trying to teach me how to juggle. They seemed like cool people, so I went back the next week…and the next…and the next…Pretty soon, I realize that I had somehow learned how to juggle. Two years later, I was on the student board for the juggling club. That club folded years ago, but it planted the seed. I am into juggling more than ever now.
Every juggler has a story. What’s yours?
Imagine traveling to around 40 different countries in the span of one year. Now, imagine juggling in exotic locations within these counties and documenting it all on video. After all that, imagine finding the time to write and record an original song based on this experience and then using it to score the video which you have edited together. Got it? Well that’s exactly what Luke Burrage did with his travels from 2009 in this breathtaking video. Read more about his project here.
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.
:: Wes gets the top nod this week for “Counting Escalator Steps,” a Sakari-inspired (maybe?) mostly three-club video with some complex combinations and inspired body moving. Perhaps further off the radar is this video of Wes and Patrik Elmnert performing for the king and queen of Sweden in July.
:: There are so many editing styles I dislike in the final HOF “Juggler Hero,” that I’m almost deterred from recommending it. But the ball tricks included are unprecedented, so half-shield your eyes for Ori Roth and Bar Mualem.
:: “Das model,” a pole manipulation routine performed by Elena Shapoval (Ukraine) and directed by Taras Pozdnyakov is generating a lot of buzz at the forum. Other Pozdnyakov videos of note are here.
:: Ben Thompson juggles and balances like mad. Christof Buch, too. Whose tricks do you prefer?
:: Agency Franko has a slew of new videos up, perhaps most interestingly is a solid giant-triangles routine.
:: Gandini jugglers throw illuminated clubs.
:: CircusPrincess, an annual competition for female circus performers, is still accepting and posting routines. Nata Galkina’s anti-podist routine is now up, for example.
:: Does juggling cause back problems? I say yes. FORUM.
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.
:: If you haven’t crapped your pants by 2:40 in this video, please make sure your diaper is properly fastened at that point, because that’s when Ameron Rosvall goes really nuts. “Journey to the End of the Night,” is so good it made Wes scream in his bed. Don’t doubt it: there are never-before-seen body throws and combinations in this mostly three-club video.
:: Rueben’s routine is sweet. As he becomes more crisp and clear and discernible, his stuff will look so good. He also has a surprisingly so-so squeeze catch video out.
:: Maelle Vie is like the Missy Elliott of club swinging. I mean that wholly as a compliment. Thanks to the Ministry guys for linking us to her new video “Yesterday Didn’t Happen.” The sequence starting around 3:20 was really nice, among an overall fatiguing amount of awesomeness that left me thinking little more than Wow, it’s breezy out there.
:: Nathan Rae’s new video, “Juggling For Nelson,” is one of his most captivating. Also of note, he has written about cameras to be used for filming juggling.
:: Watch this EJC 2009 in Vitoria video, at least for the first two minutes of hat manipulation (and maybe for nothing more).
:: Most epic juggling video moment in recent history: See 1:17.
:: The Morning News, of Arkansas, featured their local jugglers.
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.http://streetjuggling.com/StreetBlog/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=1197
:: CircusPrincess is hosting its annual competition for female circus performers. The festival, annual since 2003, is accepting video submissions until Sept. 28. Already, at least four jugglers are among the competitors, including Audrey Decaillon, Frida Brinkmann, and Cate Flaherty. You get five votes and the popularity contest is already on. Thus far, Decaillon is the highlight for me, so watch her if you haven’t before..
:: Spencer Hearne is asking for comments on a 29-second club routine he posted. I’m newly acquainted with Spencer’s juggling and I really like the purpose he seems to bring to each throw. Not flawless, but hard to stop watching. Here’s a three-club routine. His profile.
:: Emman has a fun video up with cool bbb stuff and some solid five-ring juggling. Etc. Also, Emman’s favorites are worth keeping an eye on. To wit: this video (how only 56 views?).
:: Chris Hodge gives us a 5, 6, 7, 8-ball montage with backcrosses and pirouettes galore. Check out the mad series starting at 1:07.
:: Wes snippets (with an ode to Biljauer) and a brief one-shot bootleg.
:: Jay, too, posted a few snips of rhythmic juggling. Don’t miss his ultra-brief three-ball sequence.
:: Evsukevich juggles rings and some impressive mixed props.
:: David Ferman’s new video includes a five-club crotch throw flash.
Note: new tags are being worked into Best Catches posts for better topical archiving; by juggler’s name, etc.
Best Catches is a sifter for the unplugged, the lazy, and the busy. It’s a weekly roundup of the freshest juggling videos, forum topics, and blog posts – in short, it does a lot of work so you don’t have to.
:: “Ohio” is the newest video edited by Wes Peden, featuring: “Teruki Okamoto, Yuri Yamamura, and Patrik Elmnert rocking out the modern juggling in Jay Gilligan’s back yard after the Shoebox Tour … The music is by Pogo and Errand boy.”
:: The forum lights up with talk about numbers juggling world records and how to keep track of them on Wikipedia. Almost in response, Sam Hartford posts a video of a 12-ring flash.
:: Wim posted a terrific EJC 2009 video from Vitoria, Spain. Highlights include two balls kept aloft with the head, quirky three-club and three-ball work, and some six- and seven-club runs. Good music too.
:: Anthony Gatto has a new video with big numbers runs.
:: Thom and Alan pass in their fourth vid, featuring some six-club passing novelties and impressive numbers dabbling.
:: Marcus Monroe wrangles an alligator. A juggler tosses atop the Matterhorn.
:: The New York Times features a “skinny German juggle boy.”
