Learning Through Patience and Perseverance

Gye Greene came home all excited today.

Since 2/11/05 -- no relation to the Twin Towers Explosion [which would be an excellent band name] -- he's been practicing juggling at work. Just a few minutes each day: around ten minutes most days, while he's waiting for his lunch to microwave in the tea room (i.e. for the Yanks, "the breakroom"), and sometimes one or two sessions of 2-3 minutes out in the hall, if he thinks of it, while he's waiting for something to compile. Just enough to maintain a semi-regular regimen of practice, but short enough doses to avoid frustration.

As he says it, he started off "totally stink-o" [a Grandpa Woode phrase], but is now "on the cusp... of competence."

GG started this up because he always wanted to learn how to juggle: A good party trick. His dad juggles, and GG says his younger brother (good athlete, good coordination), picked it up in just a few minutes. GG, on the other hand, tried on a number of occassions, but ended up frustrated.

But in February, while going through some boxes at home, he re-discovered the cube-shaped juggling beanbags that his mom made for him many years ago [square + squishy = don't roll away when you drop 'em]. Figured that it was a more productive use of time than reading a magazine while his lunch cooked, and that he'd **eventually** get it.


Apparently, the trick is to start with one ball (or bag), and toss it from one hand to the other. Minimize the distance your hands travel: you're striving for consistency, the ball always traveling in the same arc, landing in the same place. Very Zen: striving for perfection in a simple action, regardless of the outcome; thinking, but not thinking (or, not thinking too hard...). Stare with soft focus, controlling your coordination with your peripheral vision.

After you've "mastered"(?) one ball -- or are totally bored, at least for **that** session -- you progress to two balls. Two-thirds of a juggle: throw one into its arc towards the other hand; then when the first ball reaches its apex, throw the second ball, aiming for just inside the first ball. Catch both.

(Gye says all of this is based on the results of a quick Google search. For the 2/3 juggle [his term?], he added the innovation of alternating the "starting" hand.)

Finally, all three. This is just like the "2/3 juggle," except that you're catching at almost the same time as you're throwing.

Gye finds that the hardest part is to keep consistency in his throwing: when there's "incoming," his tendency is to wildly chuck the ball to clear his hand for the catch, rather than maintaining a good, clean throw.


Sometimes Gye keeps track of the number of "passes" he completes [his term? standard juggling term?], and sometimes he doesn't. He counts based on the number of catches, not throws.

Anyhow, the reason he was so jazzed was that, although the first few runs were wretched (says he), he managed to complete a ten to twelve-pass! Probably a new personal-best -- although he didn't start counting until partway through, when something "clicked."

But then he couldn't replicate it.

Not bad, though, for basically a month's work. He figures the lesson is that anyone can learn any old arcane skill or talent, with patience and perseverance.


Final comment: Once he masters -- or at least, gains competence -- in juggling, Gye says his next two endeavors will be learning to ride a unicycle, and regaining his leg flexibility (he used to do martial arts, but got lazy and stopped stretching when we moved to Australia -- so he has two years worth of "seize-up").

So -- what should **I** do? Learn French? :)