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When
asked "What were the circumstances when you
started?" they responded that they were:
Circumstance
Percent
Self-taught
16
By
a friend
15
In
classes or workshops
8
Out
of a book
7
Taught
by a relative
6
Learned
for a role in a performance
2
Learned
through a juggling club
1
Other
situations
3
No
response
41
Do
you ever perform?
Where
Percent
Stage
33
In
the streets
32
In
homes
24
In
businesses
19
In
malls
18
In
night clubs
14
In
schools
7
Twenty-nine
percent charge a fee if they
can, and 21 percent pass the hat when it is appropriate. A
total of 29 (21 percent) reported being self-supporting for an
average of 3.8 years, and 12 more hope to become
self-supporting some day.
We
learned that 38 percent of all jugglers stretch and 24 percent
juggle slowly in simple patterns to warm up before practicing.
Of the 79 performers, 48 percent stretch and 42 percent juggle
before performing.
When
asked about other aspects of their physical lives, jugglers
are quite an athletic group. Seventy-six percent participate
in regular aerobic activity, and 47 percent meet the American
College of Sports Medicine's recommendation for weekly aerobic
exercise (at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise three times
a week). 81 jugglers averaged 4.2 hours of aerobic exercise.
Sixty-two percent stretch at least weekly, with 29 percent
stretching daily. All of these figures are above and beyond
the average 7.9 hours per week the average respondent juggles!
When
asked "Do you use juggling to help you deal with
emotional stress?" 60
percent said yes, 25 percent said no and
15 percent didn't respond. The positive respondents included
the following fill-inthe-blank answers: relaxing, or takes
my mind off things (32 percent), meditation (11 percent),
concentration (7 percent), aversion during finals or at work
(6 percent), and to relieve physical stress (5 percent) .
When
asked if they felt guilty if they didn't juggle regularly, an
amazing number answered "yes" if they didn't juggle
daily (20 percent), weekly (35 percent),
monthly (10 percent), and yearly (7 percent). Twenty-one
percent never feel guilty about not juggling.
When
asked what jugglers would like to learn about each other, the
majority wanted to know what occupations most other jugglers
pursued. Many wanted to learn exercises and practice routines
to help them learn new tricks and increase their numbers and
endurance juggling.
In
conclusion, we find an extremely high injury rate (71 percent)
among jugglers, but these injuries are almost entirely benign
in nature and self-limited in scope. The worrisome injuries
are the recurring tendonitis and overuse injuries which, if
repeated over the years, can lead to permanent disability.
With 63 percent of all injuries occurring to the hand, fingers
(especially the base of the index finger) and the wrist, it
would be interesting for jugglers to try to design a supple,
light-weight catching glove to use while practicing club
passing.
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