Juggling for the Complete Klutz

by John Cassidy (Editor), B.C. Rimbeaux (Editor)

This year our flagship title turns the big three-oh but, unlike the rest of us, it keeps getting better looking with age. We’ve spiffed up the outside with a shiny foil cover and reupholstered the juggling cubes in plush red velour. It’s the classic that made all the others possible.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, How To, Games, Sports, Humor, Childrens

88 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 1983

Reviews

[Peter Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been juggling on and off for many years.. and this is the book that got me started. In several short, easy lessons, this book should have you juggling (more or less), in under 15 minutes. It won't however tell you how to stop.
If this book is out of print, or not available on Amazon, it really is worth hunting down elsewhere. Get it from the States if you have to.

Comes complete with 3 juggling bean bags.

[Judah Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I first read this book when I was… 11? 12? And nowadays I’m about as confident a juggler as I know. I’ve met a surprising number of people who learned with this book as well! Definitely one of the best books on the topic that I’ve come across!

[Brian Koser · Rating 4 out of 5]

These bean bags are the best. The book is a little too jokey, but lays out the instructions well enough. Why didn't I pick this up a decade or two ago?

[Ben Benton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn’t know how to juggle and now I do, kinda!

[Siarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and funny with straightforward instructions and illustrations.

[Christine Schoen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can juggle now.

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juggling For the Complete Klutz by John Cassidy and B.C. Rimbeaux (Fontana Paperbacks 1983) (793.8) (3451).

This review is for a book I purchased and read in 1983 or 1984 but had forgotten about and had never reviewed. When I first ran across this volume, I was in graduate school and was working as a nurse's aide on a locked psychiatric unit at a large downtown hospital and needed something to do with my hands during down time.

When I worked on the day shift, I had no assigned duties other than to interact with the dozen-or-so patients to monitor behavior. On the overnight shift from 11:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning, my only chores were hourly peeks through the windows of the patients' bedrooms to make sure that the clients were asleep in their beds. Other than that, I was simply on stand-by in case a patient had a problem.

When the patients were asleep or otherwise occupied, I took up this little volume to learn the art of juggling. The book came with a set of three soft beanbag cubes which were just the right size to fit the palm of one's hand with which to practice the book's instructions. Why cubes? It immediately became apparent that cubes would not roll away when they fell to the floor. That becomes a HUGE deal if the prospective juggler is as incompetent as I proved to be.

The step-by-step instructions on how to master this art are thorough and extremely easy to follow. But this doesn't necessarily mean that everyone can learn to juggle. Notwithstanding the book's title, it is apparently impossible to teach manual dexterity to a complete klutz – a title which turned out to be an apt fit for this prospective juggler.

Yes, I eventually learned to juggle – sort of. After many hours of frustrating practice, I finally learned to keep three balls in the air...for maybe five or six tosses...every tenth try, if I got lucky.

Think you can do better?

My rating: 7.25/10, finished 8/8/20 (originally read in 1983) (3451). I purchased a brand-new PB copy of this book for the list price from a chain bookstore in 1983.

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[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first took up juggling in college, I believe, with tennis balls, and didn’t do a very good job at it. I continued awkwardly doing so on a sporadic basis, until I came across this little (78 pages) book, somewhere in the late 1970’s. It was a great epiphany, made me immediately realize what I was doing wrong. The book came with a mesh bag of three beanbags, making for great convenience. I was able to learn the basics fairly quickly and with a minimum of frustration. The instructions are given in in a very humorous, supportive manner, normalizing the fact that you’re going to drop whatever you’re juggling many times, and indeed the first instruction is to take all three balls in hand, throw them up in the air, and let them fall to the ground/bed/etc. That helped a great deal.

So I practiced a lot and became pretty good, amassing more equipment (baseballs, clubs (mmm, never really got the hang of keeping three of those infernal things in the air, but fun anyway), other sets of bags (I literally wore out those that came with the book, after repair, refilling, and resewing; I did keep them, empty, and they have a place of honor in my equipment), golf balls, etc. etc. (pretty easy to figure out what to get me for Christmas or my birthday, eh?)

Why all this background? Well, I took a too-long hiatus to do things like work and raise a family (well, did take by sons to the park where a local juggling club met for several years), and other distractions. Recently, my doctor told me I should do exercises with my shoulders and arms, so, at age 78, in addition to using weights, I dusted off my gym bag that had all that equipment in it and started in again. And believe me, it has been a steep learning curve getting back into it. A friend who is a professional-level juggler told me that it would be best to use something heavier than the beanbags to get some control, and lo and behold, several of the Scouts in my Troop attend high school with a Lacrosse team, and I arranged to purchase three of those balls. They are about the same size and weight as the much-more-expensive silicon balls specifically for juggling. It’s been a slow process, but it’s steady (those d*** clubs remain my nemesis).

And in the midst of all this, it occurred to me that I no longer had the book! I felt that a review of basic juggling principles was needed, and besides, my equipment was incomplete without it. So off I went to the nearest used-book store, and now I again have my Juggling Bible. It’s gone through four editions, but the material remains the same.

As you might be able to guess, I would strongly recommend that, if you or someone in your family/friend group, etc., is thinking of taking up this fun hobby, get ‘em this little book. It’s about $15 and is available online or at a bookstore. Five big stars!

[Katrina Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I first ran into a copy of this book at a Library Book Sale. You know, how sometimes Libraries will remove old books that the Librarians curation stuff says might not be what they currently want in their libraries?

I do kind of want to read over all the educational material that Librarians have to read over in order to become Librarians one day. Though, it will likely involve stuff involving the Dewey Decimal system, and stuff Post-Dewey-Decimal System (there are two systems that look promising as replacements for the Dewey Decimal System, and its various issues)

Either way, I was not able to acquire that book at the Library Book Sale--but it seemed like a fairly decent book. So I've ordered a copy of it. Not the same edition as the library had

I do wonder if how "Old Fuddy Duddy" the illustrations look might have had it not as appealing towards Children. The images in the book are very much scream "Old Hippie" for their composition and appearance--and that might be a bit off putting to today's Aged Hippie population. Maybe also today's Youth as well, but who cares about them? =P

The instructions are fairly straight forward and well done. With it kind of repeating them in some places. However, in a way that involves a teacher seeing a student not quite hear an instruction, and repeating that one. There is some stuff that isn't repeated as often--but that doesn't appear to need to be repeated. Clearly a teacher has had to rangle several children for a few years, and has kind of gotten a feel for how the lessons tend to go poorly

There are even a few parts in the book that pointed out areas I am messing up with me practicing Juggling. In my whole goal of having my hand eye coordination not be literally the worst. I've got some Cup-Stacking stuff, I've got a Yo-Yo (soon to be Yo-Yo collection), I've got some Slingshots, I've got some decks of cards and I'm eyeing the crap out of some Devil Sticks. I've even got some coins to roll over my fingers. I intend to be able to have my hands be useful--and really really great at pulling off shenanigans

So yeah, this book is actually a helpful primer and decent source. Yeah, there are videos on the internet... but you cannot jump around in videos like you can in a book. Also the pictures are paused at the best point already--so you don't have to seek back and forth and--oops just missed the part, gotta go back... and oh Ad reel is being loaded in. Let's wait for the Ad to finish--and oh hey, the website decided to reload the entire video again

I highly recommend this book.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juggling for the Complete Klutz is an informative little book. It contains advice and technique to make you a juggler. It starts from the basics and moves on to juggling with five objects.

There is one unique aspect of this book, and that is the hole in the upper left corner. I believe that it is in there on purpose, but I don't know why. It is punched cleanly through the entire book, so it isn't an act of vandalism.

In any case, I don't have any bean bags, and I don't feel like starting with strange objects. I picked this book up from the library due to the novelty.

[Elizabeth Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

It got me a'jugglin.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was about 12 or 13, this book set me on a path...I certainly didn’t know it at the time, but it influenced my life in a fairly substantial way.

[Ellen Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how I learned how to juggle

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book works, but I hate the pictures.

[Kobie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaches you how to juggle, exactly what you want.

[Dawna]

I read the beginner section last year. Just read the rest today so I can mark it as read. I still need a ton of practice.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that I would give this book two and a half stars.

One of the things about The Klutz Book of Juggling that stands out most saliently in my mind is the surprisingly spare technical Juggling advice in its pages. All of the other beginning Juggling manuals that I've read put a definite emphasis on eventually teaching fairly advanced technique, presumably with the hope that the reader will be able to learn from the book for a long time after achieving the basic Three-Ball Cascade. John Cassidy, however, at the most teaches only a few simple Three-Club Tricks, as well as the Patterns for Four and Five Balls, before leaving further improvement in the hands of the reader.

The Klutz Book of Juggling, though, has proved over time to be the most widely successful Juggling book of them all. Its combination of clear, basic instruction and the ever-present wit of the author makes for a winning formula, one that is likely to amuse learning Jugglers even at those times when frustration would threaten to invade on one's progress. Because of the fact that the book will entertain even when progress has stalled, a learning Juggler is likely to keep after the task of learning to Juggle, and that is the highest goal to which any teaching guide for young beginning Jugglers can aspire.

[Kathleen Garber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually the 30th Anniversary edition of Juggling for the Complete Klutz. It comes with three Juggling beanbag squares and a small book of information.

You'll find some good information in this book, not only on how to do the moves but also some information on how your brain gets confused when you are learning juggling.

After you learn the basics, you'll find information on juggling with more than one person, juggling with other objects, circle juggling and a few other fun ideas.

Since this is the 30th Anniversary the back two pages of the book is a little scrapbook with cover art from the first 5 editions of the book, some old photographs and letters and news clippings although you don't get to read them all.

There is at least one typo, "Road that last line again," but overall it's a cute and helpful book.

[George Deoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have three weird dreams in my life: to be a waiter, a juggler, and a writer.

When I saw this book in a bargain store, I remember my heart beating swiftly at the sight of it. After I bought it, I was thinking, "I'm gonna be the world's greatest juggler!"

The copy I bought did not have any bean bags because it is a second hand book. So I used my black socks and formed into a doughnut- like shape (which made my juggling harder because it bounces to much).

Learned a lot from the book overnight and I was able to juggle those three bouncy socks after 5 hours. I deeply recommend this book for starters.
But don't have the nerve to expect yourself to be the greatest juggler in the world through this book.

[Googz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick reading and very informative for anyone wishing to learn juggling. I had the beanbags that come with this book for years, but never had the book 'til recently. In addition to the requisite information on how to juggle with three objects, it goes into juggling four or five objects, including clubs, two-person juggling, and more. Plenty of tips and goofy drawings and a great sense of humor. Juggling is all about tons of practice...I think even the most un-coordinated people could do it (as do the authors here), you just need practice, practice, practice.

[Jorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you think you might want to learn to juggle, there is NO better book in the world. The pictures are clear and easy to follow, and the writing is helpful and funny. The accompanying juggling balls are perfectly sized and weighted, and easy to grab out of the air. Seriously, this is a damn good book. If you read this and you actually want to enough to put the effort in, you'll have no problem learning to juggle.

[Tip · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book that first taught me how to juggle. I bought it at a school book fair when I was in junior high. It came in a package with three bean bags that I first started practicing with. Its a fun book. Not the most technical and was easy enough for me to understand back then. It has a few illustrations to help. It will teach you a few things but doesn't go into to many advanced patterns. Just enough to start you off on your juggling hobby. A good beginner book thats a lot of fun.

[Honeythief · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from a friend as a 21st birthday gift. I was revising for my degree finals at the time, and going out into the backyard of our student house and practicing my juggling just about saved my sanity.

Juggling's great fun, and not nearly as hard as it looks, especially with this book to guide you.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my life goals was to learn how to juggle. In 1995, I had occasion to learn, much by accident. Soon after, I purchased this book to extend my ability. I never really extended my skills; I am competent with three balls, but nothing further.

Nevertheless, this book is entertaining and demonstrates what one needs to do to accomplish certain juggling moves.

[Yisroel · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was around ten years old, my 65 year old grandfather and I both taught ourselves how to juggle using this book exclusively. It breaks down the necessary steps to master in a very clear way. It has no bells and whistles, just the text and basic illustrations. The included beanbags are great. I also highly recommend the dubé beanbags, google them!

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, memories. I think this book presaged the "... for Dummies" series. This one came with three bean bags and features illustrations of a hippy and his sentient mouse friend. The hippy is learning to juggle, while the mouse merely watches in bemusement.

This book did help me; after innumerable tries I did finally learn to juggle, at least in a very basic way.

[Allan]

In lieu of a review, a confession: I've had this book in my house since the day it was published 14 years ago! and I still can't juggle! I cannot really blame the instruction in the book, humorous and succinct as it is I must be the Ultimate Klutz!

[Allan]

In lieu of a review, a confession: I've had this book in my house since the day it was published – 14 years ago! – and I still can't juggle! I cannot really blame the instruction in the book, humorous and succinct as it is – I must be the Ultimate Klutz!

[Patrick O'Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Aunt gave me this book when I was 11 years old and I learned how to juggle with it! I guess what I'm saying is that if you want your nephews to love you in the future, this book makes a great gift.

[Remo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con motivo de los bolos de malabarismos que me han prestado he retomado este libro que tenía en la estantería desde mis tiempos de USA. Es muy divertido y tiene muchas muestras de humor, americano pero humor al fin y al cabo. Grandes consejos para principiantes.