Anyway, the big experiment is to see what kind of effect the P90X workout would have on my juggling. I have already been a part of my company’s “biggest loser” weight loss competition and finished first, so naturally my juggling skills have improved just from not having to move so much weight around! Oh, and yes, the competition was directed by a dietition, so none of us were on crazy liquid diets.

So, to begin, I have the set of 12 DVDs, my pull-up bar and my power blocks in the TV room and have completed the first 2 weeks of training. I’m very excited about this because I can feel the results right away, unlike with traditional weight lifting where I hope to see an effect on my juggling performance when my arms heal.

I’ll spare everyone a “before” picture. You all know what I look like.

At any rate, I’m in week 3 of 12 and today’s juggling practice was a win all over. 5 club double backcrosses, 9 catches back to a cascade several times. 9 ring runs in the 20′s several times. 7 clubs in the 20′s several times. A bonus 6 club fountain to backcrosses, score! Today felt great. Granted this is one of the only day’s I’ve had to postpone my morning P90X workout until the afternoon, so my arms and shoulders were fresh for juggling, but still it felt good to have some progress.

Every other morning the alarm rings at 5am, the only way I figured out how to fit it all in was to sleep less. Oh, and DVR everything because there’s no time for TV. I’m looking forward to week 4 where there’s no resistance training (rest week) and I can film some of this practice.

Until next time…

We got into a great conversation with Arsene, who waxed on about old Marcel Marceau stories. It even made him 5 minutes late for his own workshop, oops.  Sunday’s games were pretty light weight, there was a diablo toss-into-a-bucket contest, then the ever popular club gathering Sunday closer. Sunday was also a good day to break out the Yuri pole, and others came over to try to get in on the fun. Getting 2 bounces on that thing equals success.  It’s basically an inverted pendulum on crack. After a 10 minute warm up I finally got a controlled run. (After playing with that thing for years. Sad.)

Lots of people seemed to show up for the day’s workshops, including a beat-boxing one I understand. I chose to juggle hard-core as usual. Both Arsene and Vova gave me some advice and I needed to put it to good use while it was fresh in my mind. We had a nice 5 ball backcross breakout going, followed by a 5 club backcross breakout. That’s the beauty of a juggling festival, find someone who’s working on something that is interesting to you and go over and start swapping ideas. Everybody wins. Nobody joined me in head bouncing all weekend though. Its a lonely trick.

The best part about Tuesday after a full weekend juggling festival is that everything juggling is better. Sore, but better. Monday I just hit the weights to make up for the too-much-cardio weekend so today was the first full practice. Lots of tricks felt really solid all of a sudden. Sweet. 12 hours of practice in 3 days will do that to you.

There was one point where I was moving to a new spot for every run. Mind you I was practicing 10 rings and these kids kept finding there way under my feet. I didn’t want to introduce them to the sensation of ring-on-head just yet, even if they did sign the waver. I eventually found a sweet spot and landed 25 catches with 9 rings, and a fancy finish, so that made me happy. Happy enough to try 8 rings over head where I proceded to miss one and catch it with my face. Well, catch is too strong a word since it managed to split my lip. That was my signal that it was time to give up rings for the day.

Later on while nursing my injuries, Dan Holzman came over and completed our “old man corner”. I barely qualified in that group, but pushing 40 is apparently old enough to join.

Note: 2 hours of intense juggling makes you hungry enough to eat peanut butter, dispite the warning of others that it might be poisonous. I’m still here, so I guess that batch was OK.

After the gym it was time for Double Dave’s pizza then off to the public show. Dan MC-ed, so you know it was good. Actually this show rocked. Everything was good, great variety, great great talent. Rick is doing a write up for Juggle magazine so I’ll spare you the details. Highlights: Cate’s act as seen at IJA ’08, Noah on globe and multipi rolla-bolas, Arsene Dupin was so good my kid could barely catch his breath from laughing, Bronkar Lee taking beat-boxing to a new level, Pezzo closing with style. There was even a dog act, what a show!

I’m now scarfing down a big breakfast to prepare for another knock-out day in the gym. I used my polar R5 watch to estimate the number of calories I burned yesterday. You ready for this? 2214! No wonder I slept like a baby. (and like an infant woke up starving) I burn about 500 on a 3 mile run, so a day of juggling festival is like running a half marathon.

I skimped on my warm up last night and just went to trying crazy stuff. 10 rings feels good, so I stopped after 3 tries and I’ll warm it up properly today. Noah was seen around the room on a globe juggling 5 clubs. That trick always looks crazy. Noah and Piqua Rick had really long props balanced on their heads, a 20 foot pole with a basket for catching balls on top, provided you can actually throw something that high. Also seen was the magic extend-o ball spinning fishing pole.

I promised someone a good 6 club backcrosses out of me, so I need to get busy today. Initially my fountain didn’t feel that good, but I did get a nice async into on-sync with a run after, so I think it’ll be there today.

Fire juggling was out at dusk by the clock tower. It looked like a lot of UTers came out to see. Most of the fire jugglers scared me, and not in a good way. Roy, however, was wisely wearing a helmet. It also made him look cool, as if he meant business. “My tricks are so awesome I need a helmet”. Well, Roy, you’re so awesome we all need shades. I saw someone warming up a flaming top, but I didn’t get to see it lit. What was cool was the first throw where all the extra fuel goes spraying out 15 feet in every direction. That’s entertainment!

I had to miss renegade to put my son to bed, but we’ll all be at the show so I can report on that tonight.

Well, it’s just a thought. I’d better get back to some actual ‘work’, playing with jQuery and SharePoint…

This is how 9 rings felt a couple years ago, with 11 catches being what I could count on every time and an occational run. Now yesterday I had between 25 and 30 catches with 9 and that feels like the norm now.

It would be really sweet if 30 catches with 10 became the norm someday. That would be video-worthy.

I was practicing over at the gym, trying to stay sharp before EJC starting in about 9 days.  I had already run through 4 to 9 balls and 4 to 10 rings and some headbouncing and found that I was running out of time and would not be able to give clubs a full warm up.  So, I picked up 3 and ran triple backcross throws until they felt automatic, then pickup up 5 and immediately went into triple backcrosses with 5 clubs. Now, I don’t normally count my throws, since I know what a good pattern is and isn’t, so there’s no need to split hairs and tell myself I did well because I had 2 more catches than yesterday.  I learned not to play that game with my psyche because some days you win and some days you lose. Today, however, if I had been counting I would have certainly lost count. The run started with a good 10 throws until I began to turn to the right slightly and my left hand started to throw too low. That’s when everything felt slowed down because I corrected the following throws, a little higher and more rounded across the back so as not to collide with the lower ones coming down. Then as the run continued I felt that groove where the rhythm was symmetrical and smooth and it felt like perfection.  I stayed in that space and basked in the glory for a while. It was effortless and free, like I was a witness to juggling, observing.

Funny thing is, a few moments later I noticed my brain starting to think again, then I had to stop the pattern. That’s kind of the way it goes with nirvana juggling, it only works when you’re not thinking about it, but just being there to witness it.  Another interesting sidebar, the experience only happens to me once with a new trick, then even if I run the trick better the next time, the feeling is gone.  You can only experience something new once I suppose, then its not new anymore.

It happened the first time I juggled 5 clubs with a club balanced on my forehead. Before it was always a struggle, then one time somehow the workings of my brain that control the balance and the hands truly separated, like I was suddenly 2 places at once and aware of both. There is nothing else like it on earth. Now the trick remains, with a ball bouncing on my head instead of a club even, but he experience is gone like a strange visitation from the juggling fairy.

So, its on to the next trick then… 6 club backcrosses!

Right now David Cain and Scott Slesnik are passing boomerangs. Its amusing but not video-worthy, sorry guys.  For myself its turning out to be a good day for juggling, my 6 rings with a headbounce has felt great from the start.  Oh wait, now there’s 3 boomerang passers. That’s “almost” video worthy.