PATHWAYS TO JUGGLING shows how to get started in simple one-ball juggling, progressing to three balls and more; juggling with a partner; and then on to using rings, clubs, devil sticks, plates, diabolos and other objects.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Robert Irving has worked for "More Balls Than Most" for three years and runs their UK operation. Although his passport describes him as an International Accountant and his wife describes him as a "typical bean counter," he is actually a very interesting person (he says) and has been juggling for over 10 years. He has just managed to grasp the Three-ball Cascade and now considers himself and expert.
Mike Martins is the head demonstrator for "More Balls Than Most"'s corporate team. When let loose from this role he enjoys maintaining his street performance and is a regular in London's Covent Garden. He is also a leading performer in the Sci-Fi Circus Cabaret "Conspiracy" and his own performance troupe have supported such international acts as "Archaos."
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Juggling is a very special activity. We hesitate to use the word "skill" as the basic three-ball cascade is about as difficult to learn as is tying shoelaces and can be taught to young and old alike. Yet the enjoyment from this uncomplicated activity is without doubt out of all proportion to the level of difficulty. For onlookers it is also incredibly impressive -- even with only the very basic three balls. This book is about how to juggle, how to have a lot of fun, and how to look incredibly impressive.When we discussed the nature of this book, we decided that what was needed was not only how to tell you how to do something, but also to show you. This is a very visual book, something for which we have adopted the phrase "virtual video." We hope you will find it has attributes of both a book that can be used as a source of reference and a video that permits you to see how something should look as well as being told how to do it.
Juggling has permeated history, from the earliest records over 4,000 years ago, which showed that the Egyptians had developed this form of entertainment, through the Middle Ages, which defined the accepted look of a "jester," to modern times where no circus or visual performance is complete without at least one exponent of this art. And art it certainly is, although juggling is a unique activity in that, in learning it, it is the left side of the brain that works through the logical processes of how it all fits together, but it is the right side that finally takes over. Once this transference has taken place -- and only when this happens -- you can juggle without thinking about it and the artist in you can really get going. Most modern activities do not lend themselves to right-brain thinking, which makes juggling the unusual activity it is.
Juggling is a relaxing activity which can be used as a form of stress relief. Due to the actions necessary, it also gives much-needed movement to the neck and upper torso for those in sedentary jobs. It is also good for the eyes - they need exercise too!
But -- you have learned the three-ball cascade. What now? All your friends have been impressed but you have reached the stage where you are looking up old friends to whom you haven't yet shown your new-found skill (there we go again, sorry -- "activity"). And isn't it difficult to bring up the subject of juggling when you haven't yet asked about their girlfriend, job, or latest hobby? Or maybe you just feel there are greater challenges in life. There are -- and more importantly for you, some of them relate to juggling. This is also what this book is about: what shall I do next, now that I can juggle?
In juggling, as in life, choices are there to be made. These are not necessarily exclusive but humankind has found that specialization leads naturally to greater skill within that specialization. So it is with juggling. We have identified the major paths available to you, once you have mastered basic juggling -- although we are not saying that these are the only ones available, or that you should decide to do just one.
If balls are impressive, a solid-looking, weighty and highly decorated club, spinning and whirling through the air, is vastly more so. So the first path is to look beyond balls at the myriad options available in club juggling, starting with the basics, giving you some pointers in practicing club control, and then giving some practical tricks which can be used to both practice the skills you have learned and to utilize those skills in visually stimulating club juggling tricks.
But while juggling three of anything can be made to look more impressive than it really is, adding additional quantities of balls (or clubs) makes even the most basic pattern stunning. The second pathway is therefore to look into the realm of quantity juggling, the additional timing skills required and the patterns needed to juggle four, five, and more.
Many, many jugglers are in love with three balls. And the patterns that can be performed with just three balls are innumerable. The third pathway is concerned with some of the ways in which the basic three-ball cascade can be enhanced -- culminating (in this book at least) with the incredibly visual Mill's Mess.
And then, juggling is a joyous activity -- so why not share it? Juggling with a friend, passing and sharing the experience, is not only one of the truly rewarding ways of spending time, but also a massively entertaining spectacle. In Chapter 5 we introduce the basics of these skills, imparting some of the intricacies of timing and the patterns commonly used.
No juggling book would be complete without some reference to the many different types of equipment that can be juggled other than balls and clubs. A couple of hundred years ago the Western world was introduced by the Chinese to the Devil Stick and the Diabolo. in addition to using standard items, many jugglers become avid pyromaniacs, setting fire to anything they can lay their hands on, so we also include a small section on fire products and safety.
And finally, "performance" is the watchword of most jugglers -- amateur and professional alike -- so we have included a section on the development of routines, "business" to be included therein, and those vitally important aspects: the beginning and the end of a routine.
The enjoyment you derive is a personal experience. Only you can determine which of the above paths you want to tread. So try them all, and above all -- have fun!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptionally well-designed technical instruction,
This review is from: Pathways in Juggling: Learn how to juggle with balls, rings, clubs, devil sticks, diabolos and other objects (Paperback)
PATHWAYS IN JUGGLING will keep you occupied from first, tentative steps in three-ball juggling through more complicated work with diablos and devil sticks. It's appropriate for many different skill levels, from novice to advanced intermediate. After you've mastered all the book's knowledge, you'll be ready to perform impressively before public audiences.This learning process is made easier by the book's style. It's a very handsome, well-designed volume, whose instructive abilities are greatly enhanced by the use of full-color photographs. In many cases, the imagery is so clear, you don't absolutely need to read the accompanying text to understand how to perform the trick. Even so, each trick is carefully explained, and tips are liberally mixed in to help students overcome common problems. But for me, one of the best features is simply the book's size. PATHWAYS is a large enough volume to stay flat on a table, so you see the can glance at the photographs while holding your juggling objects. The large format also means the photographs are themselves large and easy to see from a distance. This saves tremendous time, and is certainly one of the strongest reasons I pull this volume before others when I want to practice. What's in this volume? You get six major sections, covering something on the order of 50 distinct tricks. First is an introduction to juggling three balls, followed by variations on three-ball juggling, club juggling, juggling more than three items, stealing and passing, and, finally, using devil sticks and diablos. The how-to sections are followed by the weakest part of the book: an all-too-brief discussion of equipment and a two-page section on performing in public. These last sections are almost wholly inadequate, in my view. Though the equipment section does introduce you to the basic tools of the trade, it does nothing to tell you how to get that equipment. While it may have been that the authors were trying to avoid appearing to endorse particular sales outlets, or maybe that they thought that listing specific addresses might have "dated" the book, their lack of specificity is truly woeful. Juggling outlets are not uniformly placed throughout the world, and some ideas of where to go for supplies would've been extremely helpful. Likewise, the equally scant section on performing doesn't go a long way to explaining how to put together an act. As far as it goes, it's a good enough essay, but it, too, is hardly explicit. In future editions, the authors would be well-served by including at least a "further reading/viewing" section to direct their students to examples of fine performance, so as to show ways that individual skills might be put together into a coherent whole. These two flaws aside, however, PATHWAYS IN JUGGLING is a highly recommendable work. If you have any aspiration of becoming a competent juggler with a deep repertoire, this is the book you want.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A better juggling book.,
By L. Thomas (Ames, IA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Pathways in Juggling: Learn how to juggle with balls, rings, clubs, devil sticks, diabolos and other objects (Paperback)
I rarely see this book reviewed on juggling sites, where everyone extoles the virtues of books no longer in print. I bought this one on a whim. Turns out it is one of the best juggling books I own. I am a pretty adept, casual 3 ball juggler. So I didn't get too much from the chapters on learnign the 3 ball cascade. However, those same chapters turned my friend an avid anti-juggling maniac into a juggling fiend. The author got past the blocks I never could in teaching her to juggle. (And I have taught more than a two dozen people the 3 ball cascasde.) What intersted me was the chapter on 5 balls (still working on it) and detailed instrucitons on juggling with clubs. I am also working on a 3 ball Mill's Mess. Definately worth a look see. The pictures are big and bright, the instructions are clear. I liked it.. it never makes it back to the bookshelf in my house... it is always on the coffee table because we are always looking at it for something or another.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice to look at, easy to understand,
By
This review is from: Pathways in Juggling: Learn how to juggle with balls, rings, clubs, devil sticks, diabolos and other objects (Paperback)
Contained the best explanation of Mill's Mess I've found. Easy to read with lots of color, I liked the pictures. Entertaining and useful.
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