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Originally appeared in APeX Attack #2 (August 1998)  Tricks of the
Trade
By Brad Farmer
"How do you do those wonderful things?" The question
echoes through our ears wherever we roam. "Could I be able
to what you do?" The answer is no. Most people simply aren't
holy enough or nearly talented enough to do what we do. It really
takes a special breed, and quite frankly, we don't need the competition.
JUST KIDDING! There is nothing special about the two of
us that many, many other people don't also have. Contrary to
popular belief, we are not a special breed of superhumans. We
feel that we have been extremely lucky and very blessed to be
in the position we are now in. We now understand better what
the Apostle Paul might have meant when he wrote, "God
has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise."
(1 Cor 1:27) I beleive that it is the vocation of all Christians
to evangelize in some way. Each individual must discern what
his or her particular gifts and talents are, and then utilize
the gift that they are to this world to carry out the will of
God and carry forth His Word. It's very different for everyone.
"How did you learn to juggle like that?" is a very
commonly asked question. Well, I (Brad) learned the basics from
my parish Youth Minister, Jim Zeirden (Casper, WY) when I was
in junior high school. (I learned with tennis balls.) Once I
learned everything he knew how to do, I was hooked and wanted
to learn more. I went to the local library and found a book on
juggling and learned some from it. In the back of the book were
addresses of several equipment vendors to whom I wrote and got
catalogs from. From these resources I got different and better
books. So, mostly, I've learned from books. Only in recent years
have I really been exposed to many other jugglers. I've learned
some from them, and a bit from watching videos, but for the most
part I learned from books on my own. In high school, I taught
Gene the basics. He then learned from people at a juggling club
in Chevy Chase, MD while he attended school in DC, and he also
has learned a great deal from various books. In every case, the
hardest part of juggling is not learning the "how to"
of new tricks, its having the patience and persistence to put
in
the time to practice. The real skills of a juggler are not an
extra amount of inborn coordination. The true skills of a juggler
are patience and perseverence. If you are interested in learning
how to juggle, here are a few suggested resources... Juggling
for the Complete Klutz is an easy to find and easy to follow
beginners book that comes with three beenbags. Look for it at
any Waldenbooks or many other book stores and toy stores. Two
of the best books on the market are The Encyclopedia of Ball
Juggling and The Compendium of Club Juggling, both
by Charlie Dancey (an English chap) and published by Butterfingers
Press. Just look up "juggling" on the web and I'm sure
you'll be able to find them. (If not, write to me and I will
personally hook you up!)
(Read this next sentence out loud.) A large portion of prayer,
practice, and perseverence help pave the path to possible perfection
in a plethera of particular performance plans. Tune in next time
for more "Tricks of the Trade" (like how we go about
writing our material).
Note: APeX now sells juggling bean bags which come with
instructions as well as a juggler's reflection on prayer. Please
see our merchandise page
for more information. |