Hunter's House of Juggling


"We seek not to imitate the masters; rather, we seek what they sought."
--ancient proverb
Five clubs on Virginia Tech's Drillfield


The next time you find yourself keeping several objects moving through the air in a smooth pattern, stop and take a closer look. Do you have more objects than hands? If so, then you are juggling.

Why juggle? Well, that's not an easy question to answer. What is the meaning of life? No one really knows, but we can come up with some pursuits that we assume to be intrinsically worthwhile. I consider juggling to be one of them.

I am a level 18 juggler. What this means is that the number of balls I can juggle plus the number of clubs I can juggle plus the number of rings I can juggle is 18. To "juggle" or to "qualify" n objects means to get 2n catches. To "flash" n objects means to get n catches.

I first became interested in juggling during my third year of college, when someone I lived with showed me the three-ball cascade. It seemed absolutely impossible. A year later, I was doing it in one hand. Part of the magic of juggling is that what looks impossible today becomes second nature tomorrow. The sense of accomplishment is even enough to make up for the bruises from clubs and the cuts from rings.

You'll quickly discover that in order to learn a new pattern, it is not necessary for it to seem possible at first. It's not even necessary for you to understand exactly what's happening. Just practice for a while, then go to sleep. While you're sleeping, your brain tries to make some sense out of what your hands were doing. It compares the rhythm of the pattern you hope to achieve with the chaotic limb-flailing that actually happened, and then it corrects your throws without your even knowing it. After you practice enough, you'll have a slightly more powerful arsenal of things you can do that mesmerize the average person.

The desire to juggle has to be in your blood. If it's not, no juggler can ever make you see juggling the way they do. But if you want to juggle, nothing can stop you from learning, no matter how uncoordinated you may be. Pretty much anyone can learn a three-ball cascade in a few weeks, if not a few days. To get started, read the newsgroup rec.juggling and visit the Juggling Information Service.

Felix the cat juggles four mice with style.

Here are my records for ball, club, and ring juggling:

Number of Balls

Record

Prop Specs

3

28:20

Dubé Canadian lacrosse balls

4

3:36

2.2" Ultra-leather Fergies

5

1:24

2.2" Ultra-leather Fergies

6

77 catches

2.2" Ultra-leather Fergies

7

30 catches

2.2" Ultra-leather Fergies

8

12 catches

2.2" Ultra-leather Fergies

9

11 catches

2.2" Ultra-leather Fergies

Number of Clubs

Record

Prop Specs

3

22:19

7.7 ounce Dubé Euros

4

116 catches

7.7 ounce Dubé Euros

5

17 catches

7.7 ounce Dubé Euros

Number of Rings

Record

Prop Specs

3

5:36

Todd Smith Original rings

4

2:04

Todd Smith Original rings

5

84 catches

Todd Smith Original rings

6

14 catches

Todd Smith Original rings

7

7 catches

Todd Smith Original rings



Juggling Information Service

International Jugglers' Association