Juggling club
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Juggling clubs, or simply "Clubs" are a popular prop used by jugglers, either on their own—usually in sets of three or more—or in combination with other props such as balls or rings. A typical club is in the range of 50 to 70 cm (about 2 feet) long, is slim at the 'handle' and is weighted at the wider end. The definition of a club is somewhat ambiguous; sticks or rods are allowed under the current Juggling Information Service (JIS) rules for juggling world records.[1]
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[edit] Types
Juggling clubs are divided into categories based on two different facets of their construction. The first division is based on how the clubs are constructed:
Solid/one piece/unibody clubs are constructed out of one type of material (normally plastic) as a single piece (similar to the bowling pins found in bowling sets). One piece clubs are very durable and are cheaper than composite clubs. Despite these virtues, one piece clubs are not very popular among jugglers, who complain that they are hard on their hands and particularly painful to (accidentally) hit themselves with.
Composite clubs are actually hollow. This type of club is built by attaching the plastic body (itself composed of two parts - the head/bulb and the handle) to a dowel core. Since the plastic shell of the club's body can deform on impact, jugglers find them far less painful to catch (and be hit with).
The other substantial division in juggling clubs is based on the shape of the club. Euro clubs tend to run slim, and are normally identified as such. In contrast, American clubs are rarely referred to as such (one often hears them referred to as "wide bodied" clubs) and run wider than Euros.
[edit] Basic juggling
The most basic pattern of club juggling, as in ball juggling, is the cascade. Clubs are thrown from alternate hands; each passes underneath the other clubs and is caught in the opposite hand to the one from which it was thrown. At its simplest, each club rotates once per throw, the handle moving down and away from the throwing hand at first. However, double and triple spins are frequently performed, allowing the club to be thrown higher for more advanced patterns and to allow tricks such as pirouettes to be performed underneath.
It is also possible to throw "flats", which mean pushing the handle up as the club is thrown to prevent it spinning at all. Taken further, "reverse" throws can be thrown, causing the club to rotate in the opposite direction to normal. Although much more difficult, five-club cascades on reverse double-spins have been performed.
[edit] Passing
Clubs are the object of choice for passing between jugglers. Juggling clubs are much larger than balls, so they require less accuracy to catch when thrown by another person.
When making a pass to another juggler, the club usually completes one-half extra rotation than a self throw. This is because a passed club rotates in the opposite direction from a self throw. In passing clubs, the club rotates in the opposite direction as a rolling wheel. For a reverse throw the club rotates the same direction as a rolling wheel -- rolling in the same direction -- would rotate, such that the handle comes down into the catcher's upturned hand. In a 'normal' throw the hand catches the club with the hand turned palm downwards. This is opposite of the way a club is caught when thrown to oneself.
Beginning club passing is generally done with six clubs between two jugglers, each passing every fourth beat. The passes are made from one juggler's right hand to the other juggler's left hand, so the clubs travel perpendicular to both jugglers. This basic pattern is called four count or every-others. The four-count (pass - two - three - four, pass - two - three - four, pass - two - three - four) is well suited to juggling to music.
More advanced club passing can involve more objects, more jugglers and more intricate patterns. A notation for describing club passing patterns, called causal notation was developed by Martin Frost of the Stanford Juggling Research Institute.
[edit] Tricks
Most ball-juggling tricks can be performed with clubs, though they are generally more difficult because of the size of the clubs and because of the extra complexity added by their rotation. However, for tricks involving juggling a basic cascade under other constraints, such as while unicycling or blindfolded, club juggling is actually easier, given the lower accuracy required to make each catch.
[edit] Combat
Combat is a popular competitive group (club) juggling activity. A "last man standing" competition, the participating jugglers agree to maintain a base level of juggling (normally thre club cascade to include as many participants as possible) within a certain area. Participants who cannot maintain that level, or go out of bounds, have lost the round and are expected to remove themselves (and their clubs) from the competition area. Although participants are not allowed to deliberately come into contact with each other, they are allowed to use any juggling tricks they know to interfere with other participants' cascades (stealing a club out of another participant's cascade, in order to replace one's own dropped or discarded club, is a common tactic). Multiple rounds may be played, with the winner being the first to win a set number of rounds, or the person with the most wins at a set time
[edit] Records
The world record for most clubs juggled (i.e., longest time or most catches with each club at minimum being thrown and caught at least twice without dropping) is eight clubs for 16 catches, achieved by Anthony Gatto on august 30, 2006. The record for most clubs/sticks flashed (i.e., each prop thrown and caught only once) is nine, achieved by Bruce Tiemann in 1996 and since equalled by Scott Sorensen in 1997 and Chris Fowler in 2003.
[edit] Use in Rhythmic Gymnastics
Fundamental elements of a clubs routine in Rhythmic Gymnastics include mills and small circles, asymmetric movements, throwing and catching. The gymnast must show use of the clubs in both hands and in one hand.
