many folks still have a problem figuring out what my contribution to the wonderful world of martial arts is… LOL… out of boredom i wrote my own “draft” article in order to help give a proper perspective of where i am coming from with my ideals on juggling and the martial arts.
To most folks, juggling is passed off as a silly past time done to entertain children or perhaps to steal the spotlight at a party by juggling some beer bottles. Yet juggling is a profound art-form based on the simple concepts of physics and mathematics. The art of juggling has been around since the dawning of mankinds inherent intelligence - found throughout all history and within all cultures; from the palaces of the kings, to the midst of the paupers on the streets - there have, and will always be, the jugglers.
According to Professor Arthur Lewbel, the earliest known depiction of toss juggling is Egyptian, from the 15th Beni Hassan tomb of an unknown prince, dating from the Middle Kingdom Period between 1994-1781 B.C. In the Chinese book of Lie Zi, written during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.) and attributed to Lie Yukou, describes a Lan Zi from the state of Song in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) who was reknown for his ability of juggling seven swords. Juggling is also recorded in ancient Irish, Norse, Celtic, Hebrew, Anglo-saxon, Tibetan, Persian, Roman, Greek, and Aztec histories.
The art of juggling is as old as the martial arts, if not older and yet very rarely, if ever, do we hear or see the two in the same sentence. Juggling has been proven to improve reflex, response, manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination, speed, timing, depth perception, peripheral vision, mental clairity, mental focus, cardiovascular health, muscle tone, and relieves stress. Juggling has also been proven to work both sides of the brain simultaneously, thus increasing mental capacity, memory, and an overall general sense of well-being , which now classifies it also as a form of moving meditation. Recent scientific studies have also indicated that juggling also increases the size of ones grey matter by promoting tissue growth. A quick reflection on all these attributes, one should be able to see where the parallels begin to fall when comparing the complimentary action of juggling, to the practice of martial arts, which doesn’t end with the fact both were done on the streets to earn money in order to feed oneself and ones family as mediums of public entertainment - both capitalize on the strength of the mind to dictate the direction of the body.
Adding weight to the objects being juggled now adds another dimension to practice - weight training. Now you have all the wonderful benefits of classical weight training combined with the overwhelmingly beneficial aspects of juggling, which results in a variety of other benefits: finger/hand/grip strength, tendon and ligament conditioning, a more rigorous form of cardio, stamina, endurance, and a complete upper body workout, not to mention the amount of increased mental control exhibited to keep oneself from making smashingly painful mistakes. There is even the factor of the impact vibrations of the objects being juggled on the skeletal system of the hands and forearms - in this case we will take 9 lb iron balls, which would nearly parallel the concepts of palm striking a hard metal surface in order to build up resistance to greater amounts of force from impact by the strengthening of the muscles and bones in the hand, wrist, and arms - incorporating sound vibration effects on bone density adds yet another block in the foundational wall of martial arts “sciences”.
Now that a symbiotic relationship between the martial arts and the art of juggling has been brought to light, the application of juggling techniques into martial arts techniques can be further explored. We already are familiar with stationary juggling - this is the most basic kind - standing with very little lower body movement, but how about juggling iron balls sitting on one leg? while squatting in a deep horse? twisted in a lotus? perhaps we can juggle while walking in a circle? juggle while shifting thru stance work? On posts? how about juggling with co-ordinated breathing from any one of the seven breathing techniques? This gives a whole new dimension to both juggling and martial arts, but now one can explore a whole new relationship between the movements of the arms and their martial applicability.
Juggling uses circular motions of the hands, wrists, and arms to keep multiple objects in the air and moving. Tricks utilize a deviation from the circular motions and some are utilized by making the motion go straight. Basic juggling uses either inside or outside circles depending on the trick - circular movements are utilized in virtually every system of martial arts - strikes, blocks, parries, trappings, and
joint manipulations - all have a foundation in circular movements. Yet perhaps the most profound effect of juggling in relation to the martial arts is the “instant targetting system” that becomes second nature as a byproduct of juggling: the hands go where the eyes do not. A juggler develops a highly refined peripheral depth perception skill that allows for “blind catches”, where the eyes do not see the catching hand. In the end, the entire concept follows something along the lines of mr. miagi’s form of teaching in the movie “the karate kid”.
Applied to martial arts, the skill and ability developed thru juggling can lead to effectively accurate and precisely timed strikes and blocks, which is one of the keys to being successful in ones martial art ability. Other applications come from how the hands do the juggling - using only the first two fingers and your thumb helps specifically strengthen for mantis and eagle claws, along with all the intricate muscle mass of those particular hand positions. Claw juggling is another variation of juggling where one uses raking motions to catch and throw - using weighted iron balls increases the relative strength of these clawing motions when utilized in self defense. A key component of tiger styles is the strength of the arm unit in order to tear and rend flesh of an attackers exposed limb or skin - some people like to scoff at this, yet if one is attempting to gather a well-rounded aspect into the realm martial arts, one has to embrace the reality of what it was intended to be used for, which to say isn’t for duking it out in a cagefight under the control of a set of rules and regulations. What is impractical in todays percieved society, was a reality in yesterdays, and history has the uncanny knack of repeating itself, so it’s best not to be caught off guard.
The art of juggling is one of the most simplest forms of human maintainence - a mental meditation, a physical exercise, and a spiritual form of self expression. It is a manifestation of the power of 3, which is the root of 9(number of change); juggling is the reflection of harmonious change thru motion. Those who disagree may laugh at it, then perhaps they will violently oppress it, but eventually the truth of juggling will become known as being self-evident. If you don’t believe me, i guess you need to go and get your own set
of balls to play with. 
i hope that clears up some discrepancies and inspires some change…
