Customer Reviews

Juggling for the Complete Klutz

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book will do what the liner notes suggest: teach a complete klutz how to juggle. By taking the book's instruction, someone who's never picked up a juggling ball in their lives can learn the basics quickly. The inclusion of bean bags adds significant value to the product. For a genuinely modest price, you can give someone the complete ability to start juggling immediately.

But it fails novice jugglers in at least two ways. Most importantly, it's not really made to be used while you're trying to juggle. It's too small to lay flat on a table. Other juggling books know that you need to read them WHILE you're juggling and so have either ring-bound them or made them magazine size. Also, I'm not crazy about the illustrations. Sometimes they're clear enough, but often, the black and white printing of line drawings doesn't really show you where your juggling objects should be in three dimensions.

Still, this fault is more than made up for by an engaging, clear writing style. The instructions are highly understandable, and the text is large enough to read from a distance. Thus, though I think the book could do with a few, essentially cosmetic changes, it's a great first step.

I received this book with the 3 beanbag cubes from my children for Christmas several years ago. Much to my surprise (and to their delight), I found that I was able to juggle using all of the cubes after about an hour of driving everyone crazy with constant cries of "Look out" or "I meant to do that". I would recommend this book to anyone. When you are juggling, you have to use all of your concentration, which is a great way to relieve stress and boredom, after which you will be able to go back to whatever task you were doing previously, with a clearer head.

Until I purchased this book and bean bags, I might've made two attempts in my life to juggle...for a total of maybe sixty seconds. Anyway, I purchased this book. I followed the book up till page 10. The exercise was to juggle just two balls. That's it. So for a minute or two almost every day, I practiced juggling 2 balls, which was surprisingly difficult. It's all about the toss, about timing, and about being patient and not panicking. Eventually, I got pretty decent and consistent. Today, around 10 days after receiving the book and balls, I decided to try the third ball. Didn't even bother to look at the book. And within a few tries, I was tossing all three balls around! No kidding. It was harder learning to toss the two balls than it was to incorporate the third ball.

I am a coordinated middle-aged Baby Boomer, so if you're in that category or younger, I dare you to give this a try.

I don't know if my experience is typical, but I would recommend to anyone that they focus on juggling just two balls for a while. It might be the most difficult part.

The book (at least the first 10 pages) was excellent. I will look into whatever the book has to offer after I get better at the juggling I have managed so far.

This is such a great book to learn to juggle with. One night i decided i wanted to be able to juggle so i bought this book. In a matter of days i had learned to juggle. It was GREAT. It does take practice, but if you put some effort into it you will get. I would highly recomend this book to anyone that wants to juggle.

Although I didn't actually learn how to juggle from this book, I have read it, and later went on to juggle professionally. So, coming from that perspective, I think this book is really as good a first juggling book as you can find. It's encouraging and fun, and does a solid job explaining the basics. The amount of people I've met who have learned to juggle from this book is pretty impressive. So I guess you might say that this book is the best thing to happen to juggling since the invention of the ball. Okay, that was going overboard - but this book is a good introduction to juggling and a great gift which people will appreciate for years to come.

This book is the best way to learn how to juggle. I've looked at other book's sections on learning the basics, but they don't compare to this book. After a very detailed section on learning the basics on how to juggle (with will take from hours to days to actually do), the book tells you how to do a few tricks, as well as juggling 4 balls, 5 balls, and clubs. And best of all, it comes with free juggling bean bags that are really well made (I still have mine 10 years later).

The only problem with the book is that once you learn everything in the book, there isn't any tips after that besides from telling you that anything works and be creative. I did learn how to do everything described in the book (besides from juggling 5 balls), and I found that once you learn everything in it, the Complete Juggler by Dave Finnigan is a nice book to teach you more stuff once you learn the basics from this book.

My husband and I bought this book (maybe an earlier revision) nearly 20 years ago and both learned to juggle. Since then, for curiousity's sake, I've compared other juggling books to this, and this would remain my recommendation for learning to juggle. You're taught step-by-step which is better for really learning. The juggling beanbags are a great size and feel, too. Juggling is a fun skill and is good for encouraging persistance, coordination, and concentration in kids (and adults!)

One night, I had a very strange dream. For a beauty pageant, I was juggling for a talent. Ever since that dream (About one week ago!) I knew juggling would be my talent.

So, at school (Just today, January 31st) I asked the librarian if she had any books on juggling. Juggling for the Complete Klutz was the only book she had. I knew that with a little pratice, I could become a talented juggler, just like in my strange dream.

As soon as I got home, I gathered three bouncy balls to use as balls. Juggling for the Complete Klutz has great instructions on doing basic juggles along with funny illustrations. As you get farther into the book, you will go on to even harder juggles. Even though I only got the book today, I can already do basic juggles, with only praticing for 20 minutes! Now, I'm sure that strange dream I had can come true.

I reccomend this book for anyone of any age. ((I am only 12!))

For the modest investment of this book you get all you need to become an honest to God juggler, amazing family and friends and risking breakables throughout the house. Seriously, the book teaches basic technique along with a few helpful hints from an experienced juggler. The text is easy to follow and the illustrations, both those for actual technique and those for entertainment, make it a fun read. It's suitable for children or adults who want to give juggling a try. Either you'll get hooked and move on, as I did, to learn other aspects of the juggling craft, or you'll have a fun book and three beanbag balls to play with however you want.

I did indeed enjoy this book. The subject is approached with humor and simplicity. However, I went into this thinking (as others have claimed) that I'd be juggling away within minutes or, at most, an hour or two. Not so. Four days later and I'm still trying to master the basic cascade. Maybe it's an age thing or maybe I truly am a klutz. Whatever the reason, this book with its set of beanbags will get you on the road to the basics of juggling but don't expect to be able to join the circus next week. It may take some time to learn the basics but it will happen with patience and persistence. This book will help in that with its quirky humor. However, to learn more advanced juggling you will need a book like "The Complete Juggler" by Dave Finnigan. For those of us in the world who need a little extra help, I would recommend starting with scarves instead of beanbags. I would definitely recommend this book as a gift. It would make a great stocking stuffer for pre-teens, teens and young adults.