Learning to juggle
I learnt to juggle the hard way. I was given a demonstration told how to throw the balls up, and left to get on with it. Fortunately I really wanted to learn. I struggled to keep the balls going, grabbing after them and contorting my body in tlie process. Nevertheless, it was great fun, and I persisted. After a few months practising for ten minutes a day I could keep three balls going and do a few tricks. Just as I was beginning to experiment I met a superb juggler who was also a patient teacher. He taught me many technical tricks and provided an excellent model. After a year and a half of intermetent practice I could do a reasonable routine with three and four balls and was working on five.
I realized that when juggling I was using about ten times more energy than necessary. Of course, I was already aware that continued practice made the whole process easier. 1 could certainly manage three balls with much less effort I could a year before. However, how the necessary effort had been reduced was a mystery.
The mystery began to clear as I became aware of what I was doing with myself in order to juggle. I observed that I supported myself by leaning on a stiffened left leg and that I overtensed in my neck, arms and shoulders while restricting my breathing, especially during difficult manoeuvres. In particular, I was struck by the amount of tension I created every time I caught a baII. These habits were obviously limiting my progress, and I was beginning to feel that certain tricks were beyond me. Maybe I’d reached the limit of my potential. Bad habits were not only blocking with my general functioning, but were also blocking my progress.
In order to experiment with my Use and to give my work on technique time to sink in, I stopped practising regularly for a few months. As soon as I started again, I noticed a subtle reduction in the amount of effort required. Perhaps I was only using about seven times more than I needed. When I tried to learn new variations, I was able to get a better 'feel' of what they might be like. Although my habit patterns were still present, their influence had diminished slightly. I became aware that I had always focused my attention on catching the balls rather than on throwing them. This helped to explain why I tensed up while catching.
I now began lo see the whole problem in the context of the Juggler’s ever present fear of dropping the balls. I had always tried to “get it right” by going directly for the end: catching the balls. Now I paid more attention to the process, to the throw, inhibiting any attempt to reach for the ball if it didn't land right m my hand, and soon I was juggling with my eyes closed.
The acid test was of course, public performance. More often than not I would revert to my old habits; but the quality of my of my juggling had nonetheless defineitely improved and my attitude to my fear of dropping the balls was changing. The feeling of panic that used to follow a drop could be controlled by a decision not to respond in a habitual way. Instead of rushing after the ball I would just stand there with a bemused look on my face. Usually the ball would bounce up and I could incorporate it into the rhythm of the act. There was always a member of the audience who said, 'He did that on purpose!' My ability to monitor performance was also increasing. Not only was I more in l with my juggling, but I was more aware of the crowd's reaction to my facial expression (grimaces and juggling just don't mix) and my own inner state. I seemed to be more 'centred'. This proved useful when I worked five nights a week as a 'court jester' in a restaurant specializing in 'medieval banquets'. The place was a juggler's nightmare: low ceilings, poor lighting, five hundred drunken tourists, and a bevy of harried 'wenches' and other performers with defective spatial awareness.
Teaching juggling
The problem of learning to juggle can be solved in much easier way than the one I originally employed. A typical first lesson begins with a demonstration .and warm-up session. I then give each pupil a ball and ask him to play with it and at the same time to direct his attention to the feel of the ball and the amount of energy he uses to throw it. I then have him throw the ball in various trajectories and observe the effect on his balance, and, most important, I encourage him to get used to dropping the ball and enjoying it.
With this help the students eventually realize that control and balance can best be obtained by keeping the balls within an imaginary box. I then demonstrate the best trajectory for throwing a ball from one hand to the other within the box and ask them to close their eyes and visualize themselves throwing the ball from hand to hand. When they begin to practise, I ask them to avoid reaching for the ball if it is thrown outside the box, as this allows them to retain their balance. The next stage involves throwing one ball from right to left and one from left to right, symmetrically, in staggered timing. I divide the class into pairs and ask them to practise for a few minutes. The pupil who is not juggling is asked to observe, for his own Benefit, the manifestations of his partner's Use (what is happening to the head-neck relationship, the breathing and so on). They are also responsible for picking up the balls when they drop. The juggler begins by tossing the balls up in sequence and letting them drop. After some practice, he experiments with catching the first ball while letting the second drop and then with catching the second while the first drops. His responsibility is to attend to the quality of his throw and to inhibit his habitual response to the dropping of the balls, which almost invariably involves lunging after them. If a pupil does this repeatedly he sacrifices whatever equilibrium he has and begins to juggle, 'set' to lunge. When a pupil learns inhibition he starts to see that it is necessary to pause between every few throws in order to find his equilibrium. While he waits for his partner to retrieve the balls he is asked to remember his visualization of what he wants to happen.
The biggest problem to overcome in teaching juggling is the pupils' fear of unfamiliar territory. All of them want to 'get it right' from the beginning. Except for a few extraordinary individuals, this is simply not possible. Balls have to be dropped in order to learn. But most people are afraid of dropping the balls. They think it makes them look silly. Attention to the process seems to short-circuit these fears and gets results. Working on these principles I have found almost everyone who stays the course has a good time, learns to juggle, and also learns something about how to learn anything.
Learning to ride the unicycle
The unicycle is guaranteed to stimulate anyone's fear of falling. Tlie rider is raised off the ground in a precarious balance; he can faII in three hundred and sixty directions! In order to ride properly, the cyclist must keep his bottom firmly on the seat, his upper body erect and his eyes looking forward. Unicycle riding requires in individual to go 'forward and up' The irony of learning to ride is that fear of falling results in the head being pulled back, which disturbs balance and inevitably causes a fall. When I first tried to get on a unicycle I fell off immediately. I soon discovered that I could stay up by supporting myself on a wall and, later, by using a broomstick as a cane. But when I tried to ride unsupported, my fear of falling quickly asserted itself. My inhibitory powers could not cope with the overwhelming Force of instinct, and I realized that I would have to overcome my fear in order to learn.
I set about doing this by giving up any idea of trying to stay up and instead practised falling off and enjoying it, believing that if I didn’t tense up I wouldn't get hurt. When I felt confident that could fall safely, I started thinking about staying up again, realizing that 1 had 'nothing to fear but fear itself’. Soon I was able to ride short distances
Body Learning ~
Michael Gelb
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Reply With QuoteOriginally Posted by Sparkles
This is something I've recently noticed myself doing and have called it "T-Rex arms" for want of a better way to describe it.
) is to comb your left arm over your own head when being lead into a throwaway whip (I think it's called) or similar pattern. Not only does it look aesthetically pleasing but it has the functional benefit of 
. 
, I think, is probably the route of all evil. I think it *is* because I'm anticipating, or maybe (subtely different) that I have 'anticipation', when being led off my left hand in particular - this is something I had not considered before. 
. Maybe I just need to relax and let my leader have a bit more control...
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. Anyway try it - let me know - I'm curious if there's an age limit 
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