Juggling

One follower, asked me to blog about the skills involved in juggling. And, while not many of us will ever need to juggle balls, pins, poi or fire, there is a lot we can learn from juggling.

I think the biggest caveats (aside from the obvious: greater eye-hand coordination) we can get from learning to juggle are:

• sharpening attention skills
• sharpening metacognition
• gaining greater self concept/confidence

In other words, studying and practicing juggling teaches us to focus sharply and not be distracted, and to be keenly aware of what we are doing and how we are doing it.  [Granted once we become proficient jugglers, we no longer have to think about what we are doing, but while learning the skill, it most definitely sharpens our metacognition.] It also helps us focus and gain greater confidence in ourselves, and is an after-school project to consider seriously for our kids.

From chumpysclipart.com

Skills Needed for - and Gained From - Juggling:

• Attention - the juggler is always focusing on the ball or pin in the air and NOTHING else is interfering with that focus;
• eye-hand coordination - the juggler knows at all times which ball or pin he has released and where he will catch it; 
• cognition - knowing HOW and WHERE to throw the object so that it WILL land where expected;
• intrinsic awareness of weight and gravity - understanding the weight of the object about to be thrown, how hard to throw it and where to catch it - which can be learned with practice
• sensory integration - learning how to hold, touch and catch the objects;
• an awareness of timing, sequencing and patterns (patterns of throwing and catching, primarily) - which is learned and sharpened with practice
• patience and practice 

Juggling balls and pins can even teach you how to juggle life and its responsibilities. As the following video (by Jason Garfield professional juggler) demonstrates, there is more we can gain from learning to juggle than just throwing balls in the air:

Life Lessons Learned from Juggling:

1. "Break down learning to juggle into the most basic skills" -  do this with other looming projects.  Anything overwhelming can be broken into manageable parts.
2. "If you make a bad throw, don't continue.  Stop, regroup, gain good form. " Isn't that true with leaning just about anything?  Memory - muscle memory - any memory is important to gaining expertise.  You don't want that memory to be bad form.
3. When leaning to juggle, "stop, think about what you did, and do it again."  Another great learning technique.  In educational terms this would be called "metacognition"  being aware of your thinking and actions.  Very important to learning - anything.
4. "Just do it already, don't let the third ball control you"  Boy if I don't need that recorded in my head all the time.  So often juggling (projects, chores, responsibilities) seems so overwhelming.  The key, again is break it down into basic parts and don't let it control you!

While I have never really picked juggling up, one of my daughters did.  Aside from sharpening her attention to detail, she gained greater poise (as she had to stand and throw straighter) and greater self confidence. She found a peace-of-mind as she juggled and every so often she still juggles as an adult.

I recommend juggling as a tool and hobby to help build all sorts of important life skills.  What's your feeling/experience?