Fliktriks. Published in 1994 by Butterfingers in association with the Yorkshire Juggling Company. (Available in the US from Brian Dube.)

 

There are a dozen 48-page Fliktriks books, bound on the left side so that the right

thumb can flip through the pages to animate the cartoon character printed on each page. There is a second trick in each book printed on the opposite side of each page that you see by turning the book over and flipping again.

 

Artist Martin Bedford has cleverly drawn simple cartoon characters who are dressed a little differently for each trick. Each ball is marked differently to help the viewer follow it through the pattern. The cover of each book is drawn in full color, but the cartoons are black and white.

 

The one person tricks range from the three ball cascade to Mills Mess, Matt's Mess and Rubenstein's Revenge. There's also a two per­son Mill's Mess Duet and Flips.

It's more cumbersome to flip through the pages of Fliktriks than it is to hit the "play" and "rewind" buttons of a videotape player, and your hands are too full of book to practice at the same time you review the instructions. I did learn The Georgian Shuffie in a hurry, but found other tricks with which I was not fa­miliar difficult to figure out quickly.

 

I'd pick Fliktriks third as a learning tool behind 1) personal instruction and 2) videotape. But at least there's motion, so Fliktriks is a big step ahead of isolated illustrations or simple text. If you're looking for a way to learn some of tricks you've heard of but never seen, pick up a Fliktricks book and exercise your thumb as well as your arms!

 

VIDEOS

Reviews by Craig Turner

 

Club Juggling & Passing. Starring Haggis Mcleod. Western Eye T.V. Bristol, England, 1993. Running Time: Approximately 59 mins. (Available from Brian Dube $19.95)

 

Club Juggling & Passing is the most thorough video introduction to club juggling I have seen to date. With many varied color and graphic choices, extensive use of chromakey (where parts of figures can be erased for "invisible man" effects), and clever uses of backdrop imagery, this is a video that should stand the test of repeated viewing.

 

After a brief history of club styles and juggling, Mcleod cautions about repetitive stress symptoms and the use of good posture. Here, as in various spots throughout the tape, many friends of Mcleod are intercut to give us their insights and secrets in breaking down various techniques and tricks. This gives a lot of dialogue variety to the script and keeps the video moving.

 

Mcleod works smoothly through one, two, and three club juggling steps. Here we often view the clubs from overhead, an excellent idea to help the beginner visualize the pat­terns. Due to the precise angle, the camera gives us a feeling that we are in the pattern. Haggis shows numerous variations in size, patterns, timing, and so forth, all in an attempt to stabilize and clarify the patterns.

 

Following are numerous tricks with clubs: Double and Triple Spins, Two Clubs in One Hand, Under the leg, Back Crosses, Chin Rolls, Chin Balance, Finger Rolls, Flourishes, Kick Ups, Chops. He finishes off the individual patterns with four and five club basic patterns.

 

The last sequence really shows off the preparation that went into this video. Club passing includes lots of camera angles with an excellent breakdown of each step in the build-up to passing with partner. Included are trick throws to self and partner, such as Doubles, Triples, Flats, Tomahawk (a small sound glitch here makes it difficult to hear his description), Shoulder Throw, Albert Throw, Over Back.

 

This video is an excellent value and shows lots of care and thought in its presentation. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in basic to intermediate club juggling; you won't be disappointed.

 

The Complete Teach Yourself Juggling Video. Starring Haggis Mcleod. Western Eye Business T.v., Bristol, England, 1991. Running Time: Approximately 55 mins. (Available from Brian Dube $19.95)

 

There are not many basic juggling videos that walk you through all the elements of

cascade/trick ball juggling the way this one does. Its use of imaginative video effects and numerous changes of scene keep the viewer's interest, while at the same time breaking down many aspects of the patterns into easily-understood bits.

 

Starting with a montage of jugglers doing various tricks, Haggis Mcleod then enters and begins a short dissertation on the history of juggling. You get a good idea of his kooky, silly humor here, but it is never obnoxious or long­winded. Next he describes the best places to practice and good beginning stance (this is often overlooked in the videos I've seen).

 

The cascade is broken down into one, two, and three ball patterns, throws, catches and variations. McLeod does an excellent job here, showing us lots of angles and suggesting cures for common faults. I especially liked his development of the one ball throw patterns; these would be excellent for the less-coordinated beginner and could develop confidence quickly without unnecessarily complicating the numbers too soon.

 

McLeod follows with a brief demonstration of numbers from one to seven. Although the beginner won't be able to do this yet, McLeod's demonstration carefully sets up the building blocks of each pattern that lay the ground­work (airwork?) for what comes next. This is excellent future-pacing the student for more advanced work. This change-of-pace is followed with numerous tricks suitable for beginners/intermediates: passover, reverse cascade, high throws, two-in-one hand (columns, shower), chin trap, under leg throws, two­handed shower. He segues into more idiosyncratic stuff: the schizophrenic (two columns/one between), penguin (hands turned out w/ palm up), giraffe (Statue of Liberty), lying down, church windows (one/two alternating throws), and chops. He finishes with the four ball pattern.

 

With Pippa Tee, his assistant, Mcleod performs stealing and passing with some tricks included. The video finishes with the duo performing parts of their street act. This is a high-quality video (the studio shoots are well thought out and use the camera angles imaginatively) and the performers engaging and thorough. Good chromakey and graphics techniques make nice transitions in the flow of teaching. This is an excellent video for beginners and also teachers looking for new ways to convey the basics of ball juggling.