Juggling is touted as peaceful meditation, but many people have discovered the joy of

aggressive juggling in the game of "Combat. "

From obscure origins in California around 1980, Combat has become an extremely popular feature of IJA conventions since Santa Barbara in 1982. Its popular appeal rests in its simple format, lack of rules and the fact that any one who can juggle three clubs can participate - at least for a second or two!

Gladiatorial in nature, Combat is a game of mass participation and singular victory .

To begin Combat, players form a circle and begin juggling clubs at the same time. The object is to maintain your juggle while disrupting the juggle of others. When you drop, you leave the fray. The last person juggling wins.

Games start and end quickly as the weak and unlucky droppers are quickly weeded out. There is rapid attrition in the beginning moments of each round as the circle

of players crash toward the center of the ring. But half the fun of the game is watching the title fights you didn't make from the sidelines.

For the final two person cIub­out, losers have reformed the circle in anticipation of the next round, and call for the two finalists to mix it up by pounding their clubs rhythmically on the floor. Once the victor emerges, his or her recognition lasts about a second, or as long as it takes everyone else to start another fray.

At the IJA Purchase convention, at least 200 jugglers played an endless series of sub-three-minute games over a period of more than four hours one night.

For most people, the attraction of Combat is the thrill of the game, rather than the thought of actually winning a round. Jim Fry at this year's convention put it this way, "I don't really care if ! win as long as I have a good kill ratio - at least three per game."

Particularly able jugglers can start with more than three clubs and use the extras as missiles to attack from afar.

Though the only rule mandates that you must leave the ring when you stop juggling, there is an informal code of ethics that prohibits "kamikaze" attacks and prohibits flagrant pounding of an opponents body.

Ben Decker claimed that the thrill of Combat is "addicting, like gambling." He commented, "You got out there thinking you'll do it this time. Some times you get closer to the end than others, and when you do you want to do it again."

Larry Merlo's winning strategy is movement and awareness. He said, "I move around a lot, try to never let anyone sneak up on me, and try to sneak up on other good players. "

Merlo's reputation makes him a target as well. Barry Bakalor remembered, "At the Purchase convention I watched 10 year-oid Anthony Gatto stalking Larry with blood in his eyes!"

The San Jose Juggling Society introduced Combat to the IJA at the 1982 convention  in Santa Barbara . "We've been doing it since 1980 at our weekly meetings," said Bakalor, "but I really don't know if people brought it back from the Fargo convention or if it came down from Santa. Barbara.  We called it Demolition Derby, but Combat seems to be the preferred name."

The game may seem dangerous, but few people receive other than bruises. There has been no call for safety equipment. It seems to be a backyard sport at this point.

Suggestions to codify the rules and create tournaments have also been ignored.  Jugglers have sought to create games of their activity for many years, and Combat has emerged as the most outstanding success in that quest. In its simplicity, it doesn't need judges or written rules. Where two or more club jugglers gather, Combat can flourish!