Essays

 

Juggling Foolishly by Barrett L. Dork

 

It seems to me that the proliferation of comedy clubs in our country this past decade must mean something. While some might suggest that these venues grew just because people like to laugh, I find something miss­ing in the explanation. After all, people like to laugh in the 70s, but finding a stand-up comic back then took some real work.

 

My own theory is that the clothing of the 70s was funny enough to dissipate our need for formal entertainment!

 

The sudden access to comedic energy, I feel, results from a desire for a kind of wisdom that carries not only some universal truth, but also enough seltzer in the bottle to wake up to the joy of simply living. This is a task for the Wise Fool.

 

In "Awakening the Heroes Within (Harper Collins, 1991), Carol Pearson describes the role of the fool in the "court" of the psyche. "The fool teaches us to let go of the need for power and goals and achievement so that we can live each day as it comes. (Though on) the boundary of society, the fool remains a positive force within it and says things to the King that no one else can."

The juggling community is formed by peo­ple seeking to express the fool in a particu­lar way, and our growth has run parallel to the comedy explosion.

 

Pearson suggests that everyone has within them a fool. This is a basic tenet of archetypal psychology. She point out that if this char­acter trait is not given some attention and a way of expressing itself, it will emerge in our behavior in an unplanned and negative form. This "shadow" fool is commonly sarcastic and vulgar. It does not laugh; it snorts.

 

Is it possible that the act of juggling is so authentic an expression of the Wise Fool that the baser elements of humor begin to diminish? Perhaps this is why some remarkably entertaining jugglers struggle to make it on the comedy circuit. The clubs seem to cater to a facet of the fool that is difficult to combine with the beautiful simplicity of our art.

 

In "Crazy Wisdom" (Ten Speed Press, 1990), Scoop Nisker splits the archetype of the fool into four expressions: The clown, displaying awkwardness of movement and the humor of human vulnerability; The Jester, using words to slay the fragile sophistication of society; The Trickster, characterized by ribald and outrageous acts; and The Fool, using words and behavior to express wisdom beyond ordinary understanding. Juggling may easily incorporate all of these.

 

Society's desire for the Wise Fool is to be expected as our world limps along, but comedy comes in many forms. When we see a sign advertising "com­edy" we approach with some trep­idation. When the sign says "comedy juggling," we grab our kids and run toward it.

 

What would it be like if Andrew Dice Clay became a juggler? Would this call to a full expres­sion of the Wise Fool cause him to clean up his act? Well, it is a fact that John Denver used to juggle on stage. Look at what happened to him!

 

It seems that when you lower yourself to pick up your props, you simultaneously raise your spirit. The Wise Fool within calls all of us. Jugglers heed the call.

 

Juggling and the Horse Stance  by John R. Hammen

 

I learned about the Horse Stance from martial arts books years before I learned juggling. As an exercise, it improves balance and strengthens feet, legs and back. In fights it is often a useful stance to have mastered. I have also found it invaluable in learning difficult juggling feats, such as juggling four and five clubs and chopsticking two sets of devil's sticks.

 

The Horse Stance is, as the name suggests, the stance or position the human body takes when riding a horse. The legs are spread, the knees are bent and the toes point forward. The trunk of the body must be straight and perpendicular to the ground.

 

The amount of knee bend and leg spread is variable. The rule is that one should not do it to the point of pulling ligaments or mus­cles. Inexperienced persons should spread their legs less than two feet and only bend the knees slightly. Experienced people may spread their legs up to three feet with the knees bent deeply.

 

You may do anything you want with. the rest of the body. The menu includes arm movements, breathing exercises or mental concentration and meditation. The impor­tant thing is to hold the Horse Stance for a few minutes. From the eventual pain comes steadier balance and stronger feet, legs and back. Skilled practitioners may hold it for up to an hour.

 

The Horse Stance is often the first of dozens of martial arts stances learned, and as much as six months may be spent on it alone. I have found it to be the only martial arts stance useful in juggling.

 

I don't use the Horse Stance with easier juggling maneuvers, but began using it to learn more difficult tricks. I had grave difficulty learning to juggle a set of devil's sticks in each hand simultaneously,  then one evening while practicing the Horse Stance it dawned on me that I could apply it to the two-handed devil stick chop­sticking. I did and was able to achieve some control. Within three months I was not only doing the trick, but was tossing the two devil sticks between hands.

 

Later I began learning four and five clubs. Likewise I found this maneuver difficult, but the Horse Stance simplified the matter by giving me more control. The Horse Stance enables the body to adjust to the vagaries of every throw since the legs and hips are in no way stiff.

 

Is my discovery original? I have seen many juggling photos and often noticed that the juggler is in the Horse Stance position. I suspect few are aware of it, but that they merely molded themselves into a position that gave them better control over their props. Conscious awareness of the point, however, certainly does no harm and may even help.

 

Recently at work I was assigned the task of safety coordinator. One thing on the agenda was teaching people how to avoid back pains. Naturally I recommended the Horse Stance as an exercise. Then I decided that after telling my professional colleagues this secret, I should certainly share it with my fellow jugglers.