ContactJuggling.org

Spare · Joined: 11 May 2024 Posts: 195 Location: London

Just my two pennies worth...

I'm basically a CJing newbie. I've been at it for less than a year, and compared to pretty much every other active member on this site, I suck big time (or so it seems at least). But I don't care, because CJing is wicked. It looks slick, it's fun, it's challenging, and I really love doing it, no matter how many drops or shakey stalls and isolations frequent my practice sessions.

I don't know where CJing is going. I don't even know where I personally want to go with it. I think body rolling is wicked, I like body popping/isolation work (although other forms of dance with CJ inspire me little), and whilst I've only just been able to get into multiball, from watching other people and videos, it excites me.

I enjoy the fact that I'm so new to this just as these various styles are developing. It means I get to pick and choose what I like, or try it all. I try and copy everything I see, often to little avail, partially to gain a decent knowledge base of tricks, but mainly to gain a good understanding of how my body works in conjunction with the acryllics, the nature of isolation, etc.

I will happily "rip off" tricks from anyone I see. How else am I gonna learn? I do as much contact as I can, because I'm not going sit down one day and suddenly think "I've thought of an amazing new style/trick/idea!". If that ever happens, it will happen when I am practicing contact, practicing moves I have copied off other people.

Even though I'm new to this, I never shy away from something because it is difficult. In fact, I go for difficult stuff, because once you pull it off (just learnt chestrolls, hugely pleased with myself) you know you are improving, and it's a nice feeling.

simply_inexpugnable · Joined: 05 Dec 2024 Posts: 667 Location: Sammamish, WA, USA

Amen!

Complete and total concurrance.

I am basically in the same situation, except for the chestrolls, unfortunately (my goal for the summer), and I totally agree with the lucid and eloquent musings of Shifty.
_________________
If you aren't a part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

simply_inexpugnable · Joined: 05 Dec 2024 Posts: 667 Location: Sammamish, WA, USA

Wow, I'd love to read all this when I get the chance but right now I only have time to skim.

Kee in mind, my opinions are just that, opinions. And probably not valid at all, noting how little time I've spent contact juggling and forming (as Greg calls them) my own "esoteric philosophies."

Anyway,

silver · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2024 8:26 am Post subject:

i liked that post ben:-)

thanks
_________________
...create pointless acts of beauty.

Shyft · Joined: 05 Sep 2024 Posts: 3 Location: Gainesville

Ok, new direction first...because you're more likely to read the rest of my post that way. I get the impression you feel there are more (or at least more valuable) skills learned in large body rolling and/or moves with a static body. I'd disagree here. Dance and CJ is its own skill with elements of both.

You're a mathematician, I'm an engineer, to we can get a bit technical.It's all about the calculus. How difficult would it be to write a rough equation for a chestroll? Pick your axes right and its an ellipse. Even a full body roll: piecewise relatively simple equations. Check out the ball path on some of those dance and cj routines. FAR more complicated. Faster too. Suddenly you have to account for the balls inertia, your inertia, the relative movement of the ball, your center of mass, and whatever part of you is doing the rolling. What this all boils down to is that your butterfly, chestroll, armroll, or whatever is not the same trick as it is standing. The positions your body takes are different, and the forces you're applying to the ball are _very_ different.

It works the other way to. Dance moves aren't the same with a ball. You have to adapt the moves to give yourself the right planes to roll on. Imagine removing the ball from the cj and dance routines...what's left is certainly not the "classic" form of whatever style of dance chosen.

There's also the idea of freestyling like this. The ability to not only follow a beat, but to spontaneously link dance moves and cj moves in a way that keeps you in control (trust me, if you're dancing with a cj ball and you lose it...it can FLY like you wouldn't believe!). There's a can of worms not fully addressed in _either_ discipline on their own.

In the end you've got a skill set that contains adapted cj moves, altered dance moves, and a new set of challenges to overcome. To me, that makes cj and dance far more than "doing 2 things at the same time." I can walk and chew gun at the same time, but neither activity is changed by it, so I wouldn't call it its own skill.

*whew*

As for art. I don't cj for art. I do it to entertain myself and others, as you said. But not everything is done for entertainment. There is information communicated in some forms of what you call entertainment. Paintings intended to evoke emotions or tell stories, prose that gives morals or symbolizes things other than what the words literally mean, and yes, dance that is more than a collection of meaningless body positions. Art goes beyond entertainment in that it carries far more information than appears on the surface. I am hard pressed to think of any medium that can express more data than a poem. A few dozen words can convey life lessons, social commentary, romance...the list goes on. Entertainment is face value my friend, art is everything that is underneath.

Shyft
"The things most people call impossible is just stuff they haven't seen yet."

PS - go for the pogo-sticking, man. I would be _thrilled_ if someone got that down, not concerned about the future of the art. Highly technical, you'd certainly get some popped eyes from the audience members, original; if that's not progress I don't know what is.

PPS - it occurs to me, a whole of of what we recoginze as "progress" wasn't seen as such when it came up. Just because something seems nonsensical to a few (or even most) people, doesn't mean it isn't good.

Loves Christmas Day · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2024 12:00 pm Post subject:

I've done a mean isolation whilst on a giraffe uni (only cos the kids goaded me), anyone got a spare pogo stick..?!
_________________
Sausages and plants and goldfish and a can of worms

Colin · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2024 5:23 pm Post subject:

I recall someone in the bjc vid Silver made years ago. he was isolating and waving while on rollerblades. Actually who is that silver? It was pretty cool for back then.
_________________

With practice, Contact juggling is as good as a Ungody Sphereplay nose fight inside a post box

Durbs · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2024 5:41 pm Post subject:

silver · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2024 5:50 pm Post subject:

matt henem
_________________
...create pointless acts of beauty.

Morhandir · Joined: 05 Dec 2024 Posts: 88 Location: STL

The thing is - every single person on this site is going to have a different opinion about what they do/don't like in CJ.

But not everyone starts a thread criticising bits they don't like, and by your own admission, you use blunt language and are, I feel, quite rude at times. [/quote]

However, reading through this thread (since I didn't log in while it was really heated, and thus missed being in on the earlier stuff) has caused me to think about what I'm doing with cj a lot more...It is true that everyone here has very different ideas about what cj is, but it doesn't really get mentioned that much, and no one really talks that much about their individual views...maybe out of a belief that since no one agrees completely, there's no point to discussing it. For all the minor flaming that started off this thread, I'm really pleased to see a thread where people actually are seriously discussing what they think contact juggling is and what it should be. So good job to ncfiala on getting people fired up enough to have such a good discussion.

Durbs · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2024 7:13 pm Post subject:

oh yes - it's a good discussion, although for that purpose a "Where do you want to take your CJ?" post would've been nicer, as oppsed to attacking where others are taking theirs
_________________
"It's times like this I wish I'd listened to my mother"
"Why? What did she say?"
"I don't know, I wasn't listening"
~~~
www.burnttoast.co.uk

Colin · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2024 7:29 pm Post subject:

Yeah I kinda agree with you there Durbs. Though I think this discussion would not have been as good if someone didn't play the role Ncfiala did. Its obvious that some of the stuff he said hit soft spots. Otherwise I don't think I would have come on so strong.
_________________

With practice, Contact juggling is as good as a Ungody Sphereplay nose fight inside a post box

Saulie · Joined: 24 Aug 2024 Posts: 191 Location: Norfolk, VA

I think that as long as CJing is moving... Not in the scence of how the CJer actuall moves, but in the sence that we continue to progress with new ideas and foundations... I do not care where that leads... Weither it be Dance CJ in a theatre setting(which would be sweet), or CJing while on a pogo stick...

In fact... I am looking for a pogo stick... Just because that idea has STUCK IN MY HEAD!!! (but I am soon to purchase some poweriser jumping stilts!! OH YEAH!)

I think that the day we as the CJing community stop developing new ideas and foundations is a day that is truly sad indeed...

But... At least I can sit back and know with comfort that this CJ community will never succumb to that...

Saulie
solitoj@hotmail.com

Cameron · Joined: 02 Jul 2024 Posts: 865 Location: Toledo Ohio

Powerisers Rock I love mine =) hehe but damn are they tireing fast... LOL =) SUPER WORK OUT real quick...

daydream · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2024 9:21 pm Post subject:

everyone is entitled to shout their opinion - unfriendly or not.... I, for one, appreciate the honesty, and think the defensive behavior is a great statement of the fact that whatever direction everyone's going in, we certainly are passionate about it.

and marimite is grose
_________________