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A Decade of Juggling for the Masses

Klutz Enterprises and The Juggling Institute Mark Ten Years of Bringing Juggling to the People

Entrepreneurial Cassidy Finds Favor with Klutzes - by Russ Kaufmann

1987 marked the 10th anniversary of the first publishing of "Juggling for the Complete Klutz." The humorous small book, less than 70 pages long, was a bestseller overnight. In the past ten years it has profoundly changed the life of the author, John Cassidy, and brought wide public recognition to juggling.

The book evolved almost by accident. Driving to Stanford University for his second year of college, Cassidy learned juggling from a hitchhiker he picked up.

After graduation with a degree in English, Cassidy packed his bags and headed for a job with CARE in Bangladesh. He got some rubber balls as a goingaway present and found plenty of time to practice overseas. His students learned auto mechanics and juggling in addition to more traditional subjects.

Back in the states, Cassidy taught remedial reading class in Mountain Views, Calif. As a way to curb truancy, he handed out a five-page lesson on juggling to his students. It got their attention, curbed truancy dramatically, and served as the first draft to the world's most popular "how to juggle" book. .

Besides teaching, Cassidy and friends were rafting guides. As they taught clients to juggle, they realized there was an untapped potential of people out there who wanted to learn the art.

Four people collaborated on the first edition of "Juggling for the Complete Klutz" - Cassidy, B.C. Rimbeaux (a fellow guide and college pal), Darrell Hack (bookkeeper), and Diane Waller (illustrator) .

Complete with three basic beanbags, the book has been reprinted 20 times and sold over 1-million copies. It made the New York Times best-seller list in 1977, and continues to sell well at the rate of about 4,000 copies per month!

It assures readers that learning how to juggle is actually a painless process that almost anyone can learn. As the back cover says, "If you can scramble an egg, find reverse in a Volkswagen or stumble onto the light switch in the bathroom at night... you can learn how to juggle."

There are four steps in the Klutz demystification of juggling:

1) The Drop. Throw all three into the air and let them hit the ground without trying to catch them. Practice the drop until the novelty wears off.

2) The Toss. Toss one bag in easy arcs as high as your eyes and wide as your body

from hand to hand.

3) The Exchange. This is the big step.

4) TheJug. Take a deep breath and pick up all three bags. Starting with the twobag hand, give one of the bags a good toss.

As it's moving toward your other hand, do an exchange, and then another as the second bag goes in the air.

After the how-to-juggle lesson, there are sections on special problems and advanced juggling techniques.

Entrepreneur Cassidy keeps very busy in Klutz Enterprise. No longer working out of his house, Cassidy has an office and seven employees. He markets his wares in a 15-page catalogue called "The Flying Apparatus Catalogue." It has juggling equipment and other fun fliers such as bubble makers, kites and pogo sticks. Prices range from $2 for a juggling bag to $495 for a deluxe Roulandt recumbent bicycle.

He sells several other how-to books based on the juggling book's successful formula, including one on boomerangs (complete with boomerang), Aerobie flying ring (complete with ring), footbag (with sack), "making knots (with colorcoded nylon cord), jump rope (with jump rope), harmonica (with harmonica) and guitar (sorry, no guitar included).

"Juggling for the Complete Klutz" was the springboard to success for Cassidy. He continues to search for new items for his catalogue and contemplates new topics all the time. Recently his wife contributed with her book of holler-along songs for kids. It's a safe bet that Klutz Enterprise is well-established and will continue to provide entertaining and unusual items in the future.