JUGGLING – do the needful, write about it, simple

I knew there was a talk on juggling and wanted to experience the joy of juggling first hand in a semi-formal setting. I can say this – in the first 15 minutes of Michael Clark’s explanation, I was convinced that it is an art form that everyone should experience at least once.

I was curious as to when the journey began for Michael. He was kind enough to share that he started juggling at 9 years of age. When you start to juggle for the first time, it really helps to learn to throw well. The thought is that if you manage to control your throws well, your catches become very very easy.

In order to juggle well, you have to make sure that your good throws all traverse a sort of plane area in front of you – as though the object was in an invisible window in front of you.

Not only is juggling an art form that quickly makes you realize that both your arms are at odds with each other, there is a certain form of meditative quality about being able to control your body uniformly and consistently. Trust me, I’m not advocating that everyone becomes a juggler .. far from it, all I believe strongly in is experiencing the “how” of juggling through a master of the art – Michael Clark.

On a slightly humorous note, I’d like to inform the reader that Michael and his peer Ted were both shaking their heads in disbelief when I demonstrated to them that I know how to juggle two balls, but they were quick to correct me .. that indeed what I thought was juggling was actually passing the ball from one hand to the other. It was a night where I learned a lot, I hope that in the coming days I get to practice what Michael taught us to self-improve.

More photos here:

Michael Clark Juggles at SYN/HAK

Edit (2/25/2013):

Just watched the Quadrocopter Pole Acrobatics video.. I thought it reflected *exactly* what Michael explained to me about juggling a single ball from one hand to another. Let me embed here for you to watch: