Friday, December 9, 2011
Jugging Personality: Anthony Gatto
The man, the myth, the legend, Anthony Gatto. Some call him the best juggler in the world, some call him God. He happens to be the guy who was performing in Cirque de Soleil the day I went, and the guy who I give complete credit to for inspiring me to start juggling.
Gatto started performing when he was ten in Las Vegas, and hasn't stopped since. He also happens to hold 12 world records including longest time juggling 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 rings, 6 ,7 and 8 clubs and 7, 8 and 9 balls. Totally not a big deal. When you watch the video below you will understand that this man can not possibly be from this planet.
Anthony Gatto can be compared to Neo from the Matrix. They both have absurd amounts of skill in their field, and Anthony Gatto is most definitely The One in juggling terms. Neo can stop 12 bullets from simultaneously hitting his face, and Gatto can stop 12 balls from doing the same thing. Maybe they are brothers!
Again....Just watch the video and your mind will understand
Gatto started performing when he was ten in Las Vegas, and hasn't stopped since. He also happens to hold 12 world records including longest time juggling 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 rings, 6 ,7 and 8 clubs and 7, 8 and 9 balls. Totally not a big deal. When you watch the video below you will understand that this man can not possibly be from this planet.
Anthony Gatto can be compared to Neo from the Matrix. They both have absurd amounts of skill in their field, and Anthony Gatto is most definitely The One in juggling terms. Neo can stop 12 bullets from simultaneously hitting his face, and Gatto can stop 12 balls from doing the same thing. Maybe they are brothers!
Again....Just watch the video and your mind will understand
Juggling History: Combat
Combat is a juggling game, a very very fun juggling game. Combat, in its most typical form, consists of a number of players juggling three clubs each, attempting to interfere with other players' juggling, with the winner being the last to remain juggling three clubs — not necessarily those they started with. It gets very intense and very violent.
When you have 20 jugglers with clubs flailing around and clubs high in the air and clubs everywhere, people get hurt. But it is still fun. The point of the game is to throw one club high enough that you have time to take your other clubs and whack peoples clubs out of their hands. It may sound stupid, but if you watch the video below you will understand.
The idea of the public sphere was invented by Habermas and then reinvented by Aaron Barlow in terms of blogs. Well combat is like a jugglers public sphere, except people get severely injured and don't share any information. Oh, and to make things even more official there is a league MLC, Major League Combat.
Just watch the video...
When you have 20 jugglers with clubs flailing around and clubs high in the air and clubs everywhere, people get hurt. But it is still fun. The point of the game is to throw one club high enough that you have time to take your other clubs and whack peoples clubs out of their hands. It may sound stupid, but if you watch the video below you will understand.
The idea of the public sphere was invented by Habermas and then reinvented by Aaron Barlow in terms of blogs. Well combat is like a jugglers public sphere, except people get severely injured and don't share any information. Oh, and to make things even more official there is a league MLC, Major League Combat.
Just watch the video...
How to Juggle Three Clubs
Learning how to juggle clubs is like learning how to punch yourself in the face. It hurts 80% of the time. If you can comfortably juggle three balls for over 100 catches, then you are ready for clubs. In her book "Alone Together" Sherry Turkle talks about how High School students feel pressure from Facebook to fit in. Well, if you start juggling clubs, you will be in far too much pain to worry about Facebook, and so that problem will be solved!
My roommate, who I taught how to juggle the first week of school can now juggle three clubs for about 6 or so catches. Six catches with clubs is the equivalent of 50 catches with balls. yes, it is that much harder. Me and clubs have a love hate relationship, they are really fun to juggle, but I have lost the vision in my left eye.
I hope I am not discouraging anyone, I just want you all to be forewarned. Start with one, do it as many times as you can without dropping or hurting yourself, and slowly, very slowly go on to two or three. If you rush any of these steps your face and genitals will never forgive you.
My roommate, who I taught how to juggle the first week of school can now juggle three clubs for about 6 or so catches. Six catches with clubs is the equivalent of 50 catches with balls. yes, it is that much harder. Me and clubs have a love hate relationship, they are really fun to juggle, but I have lost the vision in my left eye.
I hope I am not discouraging anyone, I just want you all to be forewarned. Start with one, do it as many times as you can without dropping or hurting yourself, and slowly, very slowly go on to two or three. If you rush any of these steps your face and genitals will never forgive you.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Why Juggling=Good
We all know that juggling and hand-eye coordination have always gone hand in hand. No pun intended. But that is not the only positive affect on your body that you can receive from juggling. It has been proven multiple times that juggling leads to an increase in white matter and grey matter in your brain. White matter is one of the two components of the central nervous system. Not only does white matter increase, but your brain actually expands. A German study in 2004 of 24 non-jugglers showed that the half who juggled everyday for three months, came out with an "increase in gray matter in two areas of the brain involved in visual and motor activity, the mid-temporal area and the posterior intraparietal sulcus" (Medicalnewstoday.com).
Professor Sherry Turkle of MIT would certainly be pro-juggling if she heard that juggling not only gets you off the Internet, but makes your brain bigger. I'm going to go ahead and assume that Facebook does not do anything to help your brain. Probably neither does Google, Youtube, or those other sites that are often frequented online. EVERYONE SHOULD START JUGGLING. Our worries about the new age of technology and the Internet would be greatly diminished.
Juggling can be related to everything. Art's, Sports, Science, you name it and i'll find a way to incorporate juggling. On a side note it helped very greatly in getting me into college, nbd.
I will leave you with a quote from Jason Garfield, the President of the World Juggling Federation and my best friend.
"You call juggling a sport and people laugh, you call juggling an art and people laugh, when you say there is a juggle magazine people laugh a lot, you punch them in the face and they stop laughing"
Professor Sherry Turkle of MIT would certainly be pro-juggling if she heard that juggling not only gets you off the Internet, but makes your brain bigger. I'm going to go ahead and assume that Facebook does not do anything to help your brain. Probably neither does Google, Youtube, or those other sites that are often frequented online. EVERYONE SHOULD START JUGGLING. Our worries about the new age of technology and the Internet would be greatly diminished.
Juggling can be related to everything. Art's, Sports, Science, you name it and i'll find a way to incorporate juggling. On a side note it helped very greatly in getting me into college, nbd.
I will leave you with a quote from Jason Garfield, the President of the World Juggling Federation and my best friend.
"You call juggling a sport and people laugh, you call juggling an art and people laugh, when you say there is a juggle magazine people laugh a lot, you punch them in the face and they stop laughing"
Monday, November 21, 2011
How to Juggle: Five Balls
Okay, so apparently you are ready to juggle five balls. I highly doubt that, but who am I to judge. Someone out there must be ready so here goes. Five balls are hard. Really hard. If you can juggle five balls there is something wrong with you (that's me). Meaning you spent way too much time on one trick that is probably not worth the effort. And by effort, I mean at least 6 months of at least 2 hours of practice everyday. At least.
The only bright light in the learning of five ball juggling, is the tutorial above. The best juggling tutorial on Youtube by far. If you ask any juggler where they learned five balls, they will tell you "Steve's tutorial." (Steve is quite famous in the juggling community). In his tutorial, he goes over each step and what to do for each step. It is an amazing tutorial. If you do everything in this tutorial, and then add in 6-10 months of rigorous practice everyday, you will be juggling five balls, super easy stuff.
Mark Zuckerberg, the inventor of Facebook, spent many hours developing the social networking site that changed the world. He worked very hard and had to overcome many obstacles in order to achieve his goal. The same can be said for learning five ball juggling. Commitment and hard work can lead to anything you want it to, and both Mark and myself would both agree that it is worth it.
The only bright light in the learning of five ball juggling, is the tutorial above. The best juggling tutorial on Youtube by far. If you ask any juggler where they learned five balls, they will tell you "Steve's tutorial." (Steve is quite famous in the juggling community). In his tutorial, he goes over each step and what to do for each step. It is an amazing tutorial. If you do everything in this tutorial, and then add in 6-10 months of rigorous practice everyday, you will be juggling five balls, super easy stuff.
Mark Zuckerberg, the inventor of Facebook, spent many hours developing the social networking site that changed the world. He worked very hard and had to overcome many obstacles in order to achieve his goal. The same can be said for learning five ball juggling. Commitment and hard work can lead to anything you want it to, and both Mark and myself would both agree that it is worth it.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
How to Juggle: Four Balls
Stop reading this blog, and go back and master each of my previous tutorials.
Okay, If you are reading this hopefully you have achieved success with my previous posts, and are ready to learn how to juggle four balls. Four balls are not fun to learn, they are a lot different than three, and one more ball means a hell of a lot more frustration. The above tutorial is pretty good, and it is the same one that I used to learn four balls.
Four balls has one very big, very important difference from three. The balls do not cross. The four ball fountain differs from the three ball cascade, because you are juggling 2 balls in each hand without them ever crossing to the other hands. It is possible to juggle four balls in a crossing pattern, but that is much harder and way down the road. The fountain is the only way to have a symmetrical even pattern with four balls.
The most annoying thing when doing four is that the balls collide ALL THE TIME. The first week or so is going to suck, there will be a collision every 10 throws and it will be very frustrating. But don't give up, four balls are not impossible to learn and a lot easier to get comfortable with than five. If you don't believe me that you can juggle four balls, I will prove it. My roommate Chris, who learned how to juggle probably around the second week of school has already qualified four balls (8 throws and 8 catches). Yeah he may have the best teacher in the world, but still. You can do it too. If you are reading this, and are someone who is pretty comfortable with three balls but are having trouble with four, I will give you a few exercises. Juggle two balls in one hand, in both hands, until your hands fall off. If you can do that with complete ease, four will not be hard at all.
Robert Putnam, in his book "Bowling Alone" talks about how people have stopped doing social activities that benefit their environment. People don't join organizations, or do community service anymore. They are always on the internet. Juggling is a great way to give back. Nursing homes and hospitals love it when jugglers put on shows for patients, everyone loves juggling and it really puts a smile on peoples faces when you perform for them. So everyone go become a juggler join the Skidmore Juggling Club that I am in the midst of starting, and we can all help the world.
Peace
Monday, October 24, 2011
Juggling video of the week #2
This video is absurdly well made and I hiiiighly recommend you watch it, now!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
How to Juggle: Reverse Cascade
The reverse cascade is the same thing as the regular three ball cascade but backwards. If I were to juggle three balls normally and take a video of it, and then rewind the video, the result would be the reverse cascade. As soon as you are comfortable with juggling three balls normally, you are ready to start practicing the reverse cascade.
The tutorial above is not the best, but it is good enough to get the point across. In my experience, when I start to teach someone the reverse cascade they have a lot of trouble right away and get frustrated. If you have been following along with my posts, you know that all juggling tricks are frustrating at first. The difference with this one, is that people start to get a real feel for the trick within a few minutes. Once you can visualize what is going on, reverse cascade is no harder than normal cascade.
Start by juggling three balls normally, and with one of your hands throw an over throw, meaning throw it to the side and up so it goes over the other two balls. Let it land in your other hand and continue your normal juggling. This is usually a fairly simple exercise. Once you can do this comfortable with both your right and left hands, you are ready to move on. The next step is to throw constant over throws with one hand, which my friend Eddy demonstrates in the video above. This may be a little harder for some people, but again you will pick it up fairly quickly. After that, you are on your own. Start trying constant over throws with both hands, and that is the reverse cascade.
These days, people of all ages are addicted to their phones and computers. As Professor Turkle acknowledges people are tethered to the internet, and need to be connected at all times. Take a break from the rest of the world and grab some balls. Juggling is an activity for all ages, and it is a great way to relax, relieve stress, and get away from technology for just a little while. Instead of stalking your ex girlfriend or boyfriend tonight, learn the three ball reverse cascade!
I recently taught my roommate and suite mates how to juggle, and two of them are already getting confident with the reverse cascade. You can do it too!
If you really do wanna learn how to juggle, and are still having trouble with the cascade, please let me know in the comments and I will make sure that you are a three ball juggler by the end of the week.
The tutorial above is not the best, but it is good enough to get the point across. In my experience, when I start to teach someone the reverse cascade they have a lot of trouble right away and get frustrated. If you have been following along with my posts, you know that all juggling tricks are frustrating at first. The difference with this one, is that people start to get a real feel for the trick within a few minutes. Once you can visualize what is going on, reverse cascade is no harder than normal cascade.
Start by juggling three balls normally, and with one of your hands throw an over throw, meaning throw it to the side and up so it goes over the other two balls. Let it land in your other hand and continue your normal juggling. This is usually a fairly simple exercise. Once you can do this comfortable with both your right and left hands, you are ready to move on. The next step is to throw constant over throws with one hand, which my friend Eddy demonstrates in the video above. This may be a little harder for some people, but again you will pick it up fairly quickly. After that, you are on your own. Start trying constant over throws with both hands, and that is the reverse cascade.
These days, people of all ages are addicted to their phones and computers. As Professor Turkle acknowledges people are tethered to the internet, and need to be connected at all times. Take a break from the rest of the world and grab some balls. Juggling is an activity for all ages, and it is a great way to relax, relieve stress, and get away from technology for just a little while. Instead of stalking your ex girlfriend or boyfriend tonight, learn the three ball reverse cascade!
I recently taught my roommate and suite mates how to juggle, and two of them are already getting confident with the reverse cascade. You can do it too!
If you really do wanna learn how to juggle, and are still having trouble with the cascade, please let me know in the comments and I will make sure that you are a three ball juggler by the end of the week.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
How to Juggle: "Mills Mess"
Mills Mess is a Juggling trick that was invented by Steve Mills. It is probably the most common three ball trick among jugglers. It is fairly difficult but once you have control of the three ball cascade it is time to start working on it. Everyone wants to learn mills mess right away because everyone thinks it looks really cool, and it does. Like blogging, mills mess looks very intimidating from the outside, but once you realize what it is all about, it's simple and it's awesome.
The tutorial above is the same tutorial that I watched when I was learning mills mess. Once you break it down it becomes much easier. Like everyone else, as soon as I saw this trick I immediately wanted to learn it. I watched countless different tutorials just on mills mess, and it took me a pretty long time to get comfortable with it. Like most juggling tricks, it is very frustrating, but it is absolutely worth the wait. Mills Mess is the trick that, once mastered, takes you from "being able to juggle" to being a juggler.
Everyone loves to watch Mills Mess, and it is an awesome feeling to be able to do it and to have people memorized by the complication and aesthetics of it. If you started juggling after my first posts, you are most likely not ready to learn mills mess yet, but keep this post in the back of your mind and come back to it once you have mastered the 3 ball cascade. Don't watch the video and assume you could never do it. That is what I thought and now I am working on 5 ball mills mess. Don't give up! And feel free to ask me any questions you think of. I have watched a lot of juggling videos and read a lot of material on juggling, so there is not a lot I can't answer.
Good luck and have fun!
The tutorial above is the same tutorial that I watched when I was learning mills mess. Once you break it down it becomes much easier. Like everyone else, as soon as I saw this trick I immediately wanted to learn it. I watched countless different tutorials just on mills mess, and it took me a pretty long time to get comfortable with it. Like most juggling tricks, it is very frustrating, but it is absolutely worth the wait. Mills Mess is the trick that, once mastered, takes you from "being able to juggle" to being a juggler.
Everyone loves to watch Mills Mess, and it is an awesome feeling to be able to do it and to have people memorized by the complication and aesthetics of it. If you started juggling after my first posts, you are most likely not ready to learn mills mess yet, but keep this post in the back of your mind and come back to it once you have mastered the 3 ball cascade. Don't watch the video and assume you could never do it. That is what I thought and now I am working on 5 ball mills mess. Don't give up! And feel free to ask me any questions you think of. I have watched a lot of juggling videos and read a lot of material on juggling, so there is not a lot I can't answer.
Good luck and have fun!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
How to Juggle Three Balls
Don't let the montage in the beginning freak you out. Jason Garfield is a freak. Relax and take a deep breadth, if you came here to learn how to juggle then you came to the right place. This is my favorite and I think most reliable three ball tutorial on YouTube. In my two years of juggling I have watched thousands of juggling tutorials, and I will be posting the ones that I know will be most helpful. If you watch and more importantly listen to the instructions, you will be able to do it.
Now let's start with this tutorial. Three balls, one more ball then you have hands. That may intimidate you, but don't let it. No matter who you are, no matter your level of "athletic" ability, you can juggle three balls. Go find some juggling balls, rolled up socks, scarves, or if you have to tennis balls. Watch this tutorial closely, and practice the techniques that he is showing you. If you don't get it at first, well that is supposed to happen so relax and try it again. It may take a few minutes to figure it out but be patient, because if you keep practicing it will click.
Out of all the people I have taught how to juggle, it took me by far the longest to learn. It is frustrating as anything, and I guarantee at least half of you will have thrown your props against the wall before the day is over. Stick with it, and give it a chance. Juggling is not just a cool party trick, it is so much more, and it won't take you long to realize how powerful a tool it can be. Like anything, juggling is hardest in the beginning. When Justin Hall was revolutionizing the internet and creating what we know now as blogging, he had to work hard in the beginning and his hard work turned into a huge audience. Watch this tutorial, get some balls, and work hard. I promise it will pay off.
---If you think you are getting the hang of it but want another tutorial, let me know in the comments and I will send you other good ones.
Good luck! Don't worry if your balls drop.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
An Introduction to Juggling
Juggling is a hobby, activity, art and sport. It can be used to relieve stress, improve hand eye coordination, get a work out, and countless others. Everyone wants to be able to juggle, but very few people believe they have the skills to do it. The first thing I will tell you, is that YOU can and will learn how to juggle if you legitimately want to. No previous skills are required. Over the following weeks I will be posting various tutorials, starting with three balls and moving onwards. If you have always wanted to juggle, now is your chance. Watch the videos, read my tips and I can guarantee that you will be juggling three balls in just a few days. I have taught many, many people how to juggle and I have yet to find someone unable to learn.
Juggling is very interesting in that it can never change. Sure, people can create new tricks and do things never done before, but the main ideas of the craft can never be manipulated or altered. Juggling meant the same thing during its earliest known usage in 1994 B.C as it does now. On the opposite spectrum, the distribution of information has been completely changed multiple times. Starting with a slab of rock with some writing on it, and ending with the World Wide Web, where billions of ideas are exchanged every second.
Juggling is a very powerful tool, and has changed my life. I started juggling two years ago after seeing an incredible juggler perform in Cirque De Soleil. I taught myself using Youtube tutorials, and have since gone on to juggle upwards of 8 balls and 5 clubs. My juggling skills are anything but natural. They are a result of hundreds of hours of practice, and true dedication. Obviously I don't expect readers of this blog to follow in my footsteps, but anyone who wants to will be able to juggle three balls, and with some practice the possibilities are endless.
I can't remember the last time I have been bored. When I have nothing to do I simply pick up a few balls and start juggling. It will never stop being fun for me, because I will never stop learning and never stop experimenting with new things. If you have ever seen someone juggling and thought to yourself, "I really wish I could do that," now is your chance. You can, and you will do it. All you need is a little bit of dedication, some practice, and a lot of balls.
Juggling is very interesting in that it can never change. Sure, people can create new tricks and do things never done before, but the main ideas of the craft can never be manipulated or altered. Juggling meant the same thing during its earliest known usage in 1994 B.C as it does now. On the opposite spectrum, the distribution of information has been completely changed multiple times. Starting with a slab of rock with some writing on it, and ending with the World Wide Web, where billions of ideas are exchanged every second.
Juggling is a very powerful tool, and has changed my life. I started juggling two years ago after seeing an incredible juggler perform in Cirque De Soleil. I taught myself using Youtube tutorials, and have since gone on to juggle upwards of 8 balls and 5 clubs. My juggling skills are anything but natural. They are a result of hundreds of hours of practice, and true dedication. Obviously I don't expect readers of this blog to follow in my footsteps, but anyone who wants to will be able to juggle three balls, and with some practice the possibilities are endless.
I can't remember the last time I have been bored. When I have nothing to do I simply pick up a few balls and start juggling. It will never stop being fun for me, because I will never stop learning and never stop experimenting with new things. If you have ever seen someone juggling and thought to yourself, "I really wish I could do that," now is your chance. You can, and you will do it. All you need is a little bit of dedication, some practice, and a lot of balls.
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