Juggling: My new Random Obsession

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 in: News

I only managed to go twice to the Beijing Juggling Club’s weekly meetings in Yugong Yishan–I wish I had learned about it earlier. The club is headed by Federico Moro, who runs the juggling side of Natooke, the little fixed gear bike/juggling shop I stumbled upon in the hutongs (owned by acrobatic cyclist Ines Brunn, Natooke is listed in City Weekend, along with an interview of Fede). I noticed they had some yo-yos at the store, but was also intrigued by all the juggling paraphernalia and asked more about the club. I went to my first meeting the following Monday, and had so much fun, I bought my first set of juggling balls. I was impressed by how many beginners were there; the club seems to draw newcomers all the way up to advanced professionals. Some people were struggling with the basics, while some were successfully keeping six balls or rings in the air. A few people were playing diabolo (also called Chinese yo-yo) or poi. Everyone was friendly and encouraging.

I always thought I could “juggle,” since I could do a simple cascade with three balls–pretty much what everyone pictures when they envision the word “juggling,” but the Beijing Juggling Club opened my eyes to the endless possibilities juggling offers. It isn’t just throwing three (or more) balls around; it doesn’t even require throwing. Here’s a compilation video of Federico and Ines from Natooke, doing what they do best.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FILzXyC4Q-o

Juggling boils down to object manipulation for entertaining effect, and when done correctly it’s mesmerizing. Not just for the audience, but for the juggler. It becomes a form of meditation; your focus narrows to the objects you’re manipulating, and everything else dissolves into the background. Juggling is such a vast field that new styles are being developed all the time. Balls, pins, knives, scarves and even chainsaws are used as props. Contact juggling, diabolo, devil sticks, baton twirling, even fire poi fall under the blanket term–the list goes on and on. 25 years later, the most famous example of contact juggling in popular culture is found in Jim Henson’s The Labyrinth. Most people seem surprised to discover that the hands manipulating the crystal ball are not David Bowie’s, but Michael Moschem’s

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U8fTAHxjdo&NR=1

Moschem is the man who first developed contact juggling and ushered in a whole new era of object manipulation. He spoke at TED a few years back, his work is impressive.

I started to pick up contact juggling in Beijing, learning a few tricks and new juggling patterns from Fede, a friendly guy who does what he loves, and shares that passion with others… you can’t help but respect him for it. He taught himself to balance a ball on his head riding the trans-Siberian railroad. “Contact juggling is made up of lines and points. It’s not enough to balance the ball on your body, you have to draw a picture for your audience.” His instructions were a mixture of practical and theoretical advice, encouraging me to discover things for myself. I’m going to try to hook up with jugglers in Japan to continue my practice.

My second and last time at the club was the night I found the wallet. I had a good practice and got to say goodbye to Federico and Ines. Catching a cab home was difficult, as it turned out to be Chinese Valentines’ Day. It took half an hour and some luck to flag one down. Turns out I got into the cab with the sleepiest driver in Beijing–I have never had a scarier cab experience than that night. We came to several near-stops on the freeway, as he was literally nodding off. I struggled to keep him awake with small talk; I asked if he had kids, to remind him that it wasn’t a very good time to get himself killed. I breathed a sigh of relief when we made it to the sushe, and I begged him to take a break for a power nap, because it was clear he needed it. He nodded and started to park the car, but when I took a few more steps towards the dorms he drove off, an accident waiting to happen. Well, at least I tried…

But yeah, juggling is great.

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