Toss juggling

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This article focuses on one aspect of juggling. For a more general discussion of juggling, please see the main article: Juggling.
Juggling pair performing basic two-person "pass and feed" with clubs
Juggling pair performing basic two-person "pass and feed" with clubs

Toss juggling is the form of juggling which is most recognisable as 'juggling'. Toss juggling is at once: a performance art, a sport, a form of exercise and meditation, a recreational pursuit, and often simply child's play. For some devoted jugglers, it may even verge on being a religious experience.

In toss juggling, objects — such as balls, bean bags, fruit, clubs, etc. — are thrown or tossed into the air and caught. Multiple objects may be thrown in succession, so that at a given point, some are in the air, going up, some are falling back towards the juggler's hands, some are being caught and some are being thrown. Technically, toss juggling is a form of object manipulation.

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[edit] Performance

As a performance art, the juggler will display his or her skill at manipulation, quite often performing intricate maneuvers with the tossed objects, but usually limiting those tricks to ones that the juggler is confident of successfully accomplishing. Some of the tricks performed can be a fountain when juggling an even number of objects, where each hand juggles half the number of objects to itself. Another common pattern is the shower which refers to a toss pattern in which the balls follow each other in a rotary pattern, with each ball being thrown from the same hand, and each ball being caught with the opposite hand, then quickly passed to the throwing hand again. Instead of a fountain, when juggling an odd number of objects, the most common pattern a juggler may perform is a cascade — where balls are thrown from alternate hands, and caught in alternate hands.

[edit] Patterns and tricks

Main article: Juggling pattern

Besides the Cascade, (or Reverse Cascade), other toss patterns include the Box or Column, and any number of Multiplex patterns or Contact juggling tricks within the pattern.

There are also amusing stunts such as the Yo-yo and the Robot, which give the illusion that the balls are connected to each other or to the juggler's body. By adding elementary skills to any juggling pattern the pattern can be increased, incrementally, in complexity.

There are even wildly intricate patterns such as the Mills Mess invented by Steve Mills of The Dazzling Mills Family. For a given pattern any number of variants may occur to the juggler, for instance, Mills Mess has at least three well-known variants, produced by adding flourishes such as Chops, holds, stalls, and carries.

[edit] Sport

As a sport, juggling can be done competitively, with jugglers taking turns to try to best each other's abilities, or juggling together, in teams -- called passing. In passing, two or more jugglers will throw objects to each other, performing such feats as may be accomplished 'solo', but juggling more objects. Jason Garfield is a leader/initiator of the concept "Sport Juggling". This concept really took off in 2004 when he put together the World Juggling Federation competition. This is an annual event that, as of 2006, has been held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[edit] Passing and feeding

If three jugglers can each juggle three items, together they may readily juggle nine items. A variation on simple passing, called feeding is performed by two or more jugglers all tossing to one specific juggler -- called the feeder. The feeder is usually the juggler with the better-developed skill. In a 3-person feed, the feeder may pass on every second beat (called "solids" or "2-count") -- alternately passing to the other two jugglers, where every right hand throw is a pass, while they in turn pass back to him on "every others" (every fourth beat (sometimes called "4-count"), where every other right hand is a pass). Meanwhile all the balls not passed to the feeder are 'self-tossed' or thrown to oneself. Of course, a seemingly infinite variety of combinations of number of balls, number of jugglers, feeding directions or rhythms, etc. may be accomplished. Pass juggling helps to develop a better sense of rhythm.

[edit] Exercise and fitness

As exercise, juggling is a highly aerobic activity, increasing the heart rate and respiration. Juggling helps one to develop good hand-eye coordination, physical fitness and balance.

[edit] Reflexes

Juggling helps to develop quick reflexes, and in fact, jugglers develop "higher-order reflexes", reflexes not typically associated with normal human activity. These reflexes are formed through repetition of what are, at first, slowly-learned and difficult processes. As the various processes develop into reflexive actions, additional, more difficult or complex skills are 'layered' atop previous, well-developed skills. These new more complex skills eventually become more reflexive, and eventually, various unusual high order reflexes develop. An example is that, while catching a raw chicken's egg may be quite challenging to a novice juggler, a more skilled juggler might be able to easily catch — unbroken — an egg thrown towards him without warning.

[edit] Meditation

Paradoxically, the same processes that are well-known for exercising the body, can also be a very relaxing activity. As meditation, juggling a repeating pattern or patterns can take one's mind off the stresses they might encounter in their daily lives. Jugglers have described a phenomenon of near-disembodiment and tranquility which may come over them while juggling.[citation needed] The constant rising and falling of the objects, the regularity of the rhythms, can become almost hypnotic, and the attention of a juggler while tightly focused on the juggling pattern may seem to expand and even to "encompass the universe", yet it does not have the unwanted side-effects of drugs.

[edit] Recreation

As a recreational pursuit, juggling excels in many ways. Besides the previously-mentioned health benefits, any form of juggling is at its best when done socially. The equipment is inexpensive or free — though very costly equipment is also available — and easily portable. Juggling is great for "breaking the ice" at parties and other social gatherings [citation needed]. Jugglers are a friendly sort, usually, and are often very willing to help beginning jugglers with advice. Juggling conventions, clubs and other gatherings where jugglers congregate can be great places to meet and share the art of juggling, for experts novices and even 'non-jugglers' — who often find themselves doing some form of juggling themselves.

[edit] Common juggling patterns

Juggling three torches in a cascade pattern (time-lapse photograph)
Juggling three torches in a cascade pattern (time-lapse photograph)

One of the most basic three-ball patterns, the first trick a juggler normally learns, is the cascade. Below is a list of other common three-ball patterns.

[edit] References

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[edit] See also