Tweet
I found this a few months ago. It is a small part of a larger "Hack Alert" on Jason Garfield's website.
I wondered for a long time what other performers (jugglers or not) might think about it.
-Ryan
>WHO'S A HACK?
The following are routines that are too old to pinpoint who originally
created them. However, in the juggling community, if you are performing
these routines you are considered to be at least partly a hack.
The percentage of your entire act that is made up of hack material
determines the percentage of how much of a hack you are.
1. Juggling while eating an apple.
2. Passing around a volunteer and knocking something out of their mouth.
3. Juggling Chainsaws
4. Juggling Knives
5. Juggling fire (Torches)
Whereas these bits may be hack, some performers have created their own
lines to accompany the hack bits. In this case, some credit is given,
depending on how creative they have been with the old premise. However,
most jugglers have stolen the premise and the stock lines that go with
them or have stolen someone else's creative new lines to accompany the
old routine. It has become as easy as learning how to juggle 3 objects,
a beginners level, and then memorizing someone else's lines and you
too can be a hack juggler and work on cruise ships.
This is unacceptable.
Return to top of page
LIES/DECEIT/DECEPTION
Some performers lie about their accomplishments. Some will say that the world record for the most amount of balls juggled is 7 or even 5, so that they can give you the illusion that they can juggle the most objects and are important. Below are the current juggling records you should memorize:
Balls/ beanbags: 10 juggled, 12 flashed
Rings: 11 juggled 13 flashed (with gloves on)
Clubs (The things you think are bowling pins) 8 juggled
This website does not recognize the juggling or flashing of sticks.
Why not straws or slivers of hay? Let's draw the line somewhere.
Most hack jugglers juggle no more than 5 balls and 4 clubs. Most good jugglers perform the juggling of 7 balls, 7 rings and 5 clubs. An exceptional few perform 9-10 rings and 7 clubs. Nobody can juggle 30 balls. And tell your stupid kid that a million isn't possible either.
Myths that performers will try to get you to believe:
Juggling Fire is dangerous.
No, juggling while you are on fire is dangerous. Unless you douse yourself in gas before juggling, there is no risk of danger while juggling torches, even if you catch the torch on the wrong end. If you continue to hold it after you've caught it on the wrong end, that could hurt. So don't do that.
Juggling Knives is dangerous
Well, if you actually juggle sharp knifes or machettes, there is more of a danger factor than juggling torches. However, 99% of jugglers juggle dull knives which are almost safer to catch on the blade. If you are juggling sharp knives, unless you're a crappy juggler, juggling 3 or 4 knives is not any harder than juggling 3 or 4 clubs, hence is not dangerous. If someone were to juggle 5 sharp knives, depending on their skill level I may say, "That's kind of dangerous." But no less than 5.
Juggling chainsaws is dangerous.
If you go through the trouble to rig the trigger so that the chain is actually running while you juggle them, yeah, juggling chainsaws is dangerous, especially if you do 5. However, much like knives, jugglers who juggle chainsaws juggle them while the motor is running, but not the blade. Regardless, jugglers who juggle chainsaws are only doing so to compensate for their lack of technical ability and / or to lengthen their show with a standard crowd pleaser. It is more difficult to juggle three chainsaws than it is to juggle three clubs because they are usually heavier, but not harder than juggling 5 balls.
Juggling Bowling Balls is Hard and/or Dangerous
Only if you don't know how to juggle. Most jugglers juggle the lightest bowling balls on the planet, some have them custom made to be light. If benji holds more than 1.5 pounds at a time per hand his wrists snap like the wrist of a 5 year old boy with her hand stuck in the spokes of a Harly Davidson as it tests its 0-60. So juggling bowling balls is performed as if it is difficult, but it is not. Sorry.
To summarize, when you see a person juggling torches, knives, chainsaws, bowling balls or fruit, it is not dangerous, it is not difficult. They tell you so, and you believe it because I am not there to tell you otherwise. Ask them if juggling 7 balls or 5 clubs behind the back is more difficult than their stunts and tell me what they say. If they say no, they're lying. Also let me just add that a juggler who juggles dangerous props does not make a more skilled juggler, just one who doesn't want to practice anymore and would rather fool the audience into thinking that he is better than he is with the same skill level. I.E. A juggler juggles 3 clubs. Another juggler juggles 3 clubs with 8 ounce nuclear bombs attached to them. Same skill level.
One is more nervous than the other,
and so is his audience.
I wondered for a long time what other performers (jugglers or not) might think about it.
-Ryan
>WHO'S A HACK?
The following are routines that are too old to pinpoint who originally
created them. However, in the juggling community, if you are performing
these routines you are considered to be at least partly a hack.
The percentage of your entire act that is made up of hack material
determines the percentage of how much of a hack you are.
1. Juggling while eating an apple.
2. Passing around a volunteer and knocking something out of their mouth.
3. Juggling Chainsaws
4. Juggling Knives
5. Juggling fire (Torches)
Whereas these bits may be hack, some performers have created their own
lines to accompany the hack bits. In this case, some credit is given,
depending on how creative they have been with the old premise. However,
most jugglers have stolen the premise and the stock lines that go with
them or have stolen someone else's creative new lines to accompany the
old routine. It has become as easy as learning how to juggle 3 objects,
a beginners level, and then memorizing someone else's lines and you
too can be a hack juggler and work on cruise ships.
This is unacceptable.
Return to top of page
LIES/DECEIT/DECEPTION
Some performers lie about their accomplishments. Some will say that the world record for the most amount of balls juggled is 7 or even 5, so that they can give you the illusion that they can juggle the most objects and are important. Below are the current juggling records you should memorize:
Balls/ beanbags: 10 juggled, 12 flashed
Rings: 11 juggled 13 flashed (with gloves on)
Clubs (The things you think are bowling pins) 8 juggled
This website does not recognize the juggling or flashing of sticks.
Why not straws or slivers of hay? Let's draw the line somewhere.
Most hack jugglers juggle no more than 5 balls and 4 clubs. Most good jugglers perform the juggling of 7 balls, 7 rings and 5 clubs. An exceptional few perform 9-10 rings and 7 clubs. Nobody can juggle 30 balls. And tell your stupid kid that a million isn't possible either.
Myths that performers will try to get you to believe:
Juggling Fire is dangerous.
No, juggling while you are on fire is dangerous. Unless you douse yourself in gas before juggling, there is no risk of danger while juggling torches, even if you catch the torch on the wrong end. If you continue to hold it after you've caught it on the wrong end, that could hurt. So don't do that.
Juggling Knives is dangerous
Well, if you actually juggle sharp knifes or machettes, there is more of a danger factor than juggling torches. However, 99% of jugglers juggle dull knives which are almost safer to catch on the blade. If you are juggling sharp knives, unless you're a crappy juggler, juggling 3 or 4 knives is not any harder than juggling 3 or 4 clubs, hence is not dangerous. If someone were to juggle 5 sharp knives, depending on their skill level I may say, "That's kind of dangerous." But no less than 5.
Juggling chainsaws is dangerous.
If you go through the trouble to rig the trigger so that the chain is actually running while you juggle them, yeah, juggling chainsaws is dangerous, especially if you do 5. However, much like knives, jugglers who juggle chainsaws juggle them while the motor is running, but not the blade. Regardless, jugglers who juggle chainsaws are only doing so to compensate for their lack of technical ability and / or to lengthen their show with a standard crowd pleaser. It is more difficult to juggle three chainsaws than it is to juggle three clubs because they are usually heavier, but not harder than juggling 5 balls.
Juggling Bowling Balls is Hard and/or Dangerous
Only if you don't know how to juggle. Most jugglers juggle the lightest bowling balls on the planet, some have them custom made to be light. If benji holds more than 1.5 pounds at a time per hand his wrists snap like the wrist of a 5 year old boy with her hand stuck in the spokes of a Harly Davidson as it tests its 0-60. So juggling bowling balls is performed as if it is difficult, but it is not. Sorry.
To summarize, when you see a person juggling torches, knives, chainsaws, bowling balls or fruit, it is not dangerous, it is not difficult. They tell you so, and you believe it because I am not there to tell you otherwise. Ask them if juggling 7 balls or 5 clubs behind the back is more difficult than their stunts and tell me what they say. If they say no, they're lying. Also let me just add that a juggler who juggles dangerous props does not make a more skilled juggler, just one who doesn't want to practice anymore and would rather fool the audience into thinking that he is better than he is with the same skill level. I.E. A juggler juggles 3 clubs. Another juggler juggles 3 clubs with 8 ounce nuclear bombs attached to them. Same skill level.
One is more nervous than the other,
and so is his audience.
(emoticon to indicate humour).
Comment