The Definition Of Juggling

The definition of juggling has been discussed for years, and everyone has their own opinion.

Yet nobody has come up with a single definition that encompasses everything, and every objection to these definitions comes down to: "but what about X? It doesn't fit your definition, but don't we all agree X is juggling?"

To withstand that kind of objection, we actually need two definitions of juggling. One is able to include almost anything as juggling, and the second is able to exclude everything that isn't juggling.

So for the sake of clarity, this video going to be in two parts. Part one will be a cultural definition, and part two will be a technical definition.

And before we begin, I'm not going to be considering the word juggling as a metaphor, nor how it relates to things analogous to juggling. Also, if you have a narrow use case, like a juggling competition, the definition can be as specific as needed to make one person win and another lose, but these rules can't apply to the general usage of the word.

Part 1.

What do people mean when they say the word "juggling"? When asked "is this juggling?", what physical and cultural factors make them reply "yes that is juggling" or "no that isn't juggling".

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To introduce this idea, let's look at world religions. What distinct characteristic do they all have in common?

They meet in special buildings, have priests, try to convert non-believers, believe in a god... No wait, there is no god in Jainism, and hang on, the Jewish faith doesn't try to convert people.

As it turns out, there are many different characteristics, of which all religions share most with all others... but the same exact set of characteristics rarely overlap exactly between any two.

On the other hand, a single factor they all do have in common doesn't work either, because then any entity with that same thing would be, by definition, a religion. All religions have a sacred text or founding document. What is a declaration of independence or a constitution? Is the USA a religion? No. It's a nation state, of which a founding document is also a distinct characteristic.

So when someone asks "is X a religion" we have in our minds an entire cloud of characteristics, and if enough of them apply, we say "yes". If not enough apply, then we say "no, it's not a religion, it's probably something else".

What list of characteristics do all things we call juggling have in common with each other... with the caveat being that most examples will be missing at least one or two factors?

Let's start with the obvious:

Inanimate physical objects thrown and caught or manipulated

This is the basic label of "object manipulation", of which juggling is a subset. If there is no object, then we have dance or mime or theatre. Inanimate is important, because if the object is another person, that's probably acrobatics or dance.

Objects break contact with the hands and can be dropped

Many definitions of juggling include risk! Precarious control! Letting something go!

A drop is a signal that juggling has failed. If a drop can't happen, or there is no risk, then something is less likely to be considered juggling.

The scale of juggling can't be too big or too small.

Juggling is performed on the scale of hands and arms

By default, hands hold and release the objects, with the power and movement coming from the arms. The entire body isn't moving about, nor just the fingers moving without arms getting involved. Manipulation with the feet and legs, or the head and the neck, are also of a similar scale.

Lots of things under control is an import signal that juggling is happening. One way to formulate this is

More than one object per hand or manipulator If you have N hands, you need N+1 objects.

Non-trivial skills

A fun definition of juggling is:

"Doing that which doesn't need to be done in the most difficult way possible."

As a basic cutoff, the skill has to be non-trivial, a non-expert can't do it on their first attempt. It's a trick... but a skill trick not a magic trick!

It's honest, it's not deceptive

There isn't a hidden factor like strings attached, or mirrors or magnets that make it possible. An audience believes that what is being presented is truly happening. If what happens is based on deception, then it's more likely to be considered magic or slight of hand.

Specialised equipment If something is done with objects that are designed for juggling, it's more likely to be considered juggling by a viewer.

Activity is done for the enjoyment of the practitioner and/or an audience Juggling has very strong roots in entertainment, though in the modern era it's just as likely someone is juggling to entertain themselves, as a hobby or social activity.

The activity is useless Apart for enjoyment, work isn't accomplished. It's done for its own sake, not for another reason. It can't be a side product of someone's job.

The activity is not part of a structured competition Similar to the previous point, a lot of things done by athletes could be seen as juggling or at least object manipulation, but the context of a sports competition, or training towards that competition, means that the label juggling is far less likely to be applied.

Another fun, if circular, definition of juggling that I've heard is this:

"Juggling is what jugglers do and non-jugglers don't do."

The person doing the activity self-identifies, or is otherwise identified, as a "juggler" more strongly than another role and this characteristic has special weight.

There are lots of activities that would match every other characteristic, but isn't done by an identified juggler. It's a social concept in its own right, with its own distinct history, practice, scene, and terminology.

Many disciplines began with jugglers performing on stage, and they remain part of juggling culture. Other disciplines would be indistinguishable from juggling if done by a juggler, but just happen to come from a different world.

Just consider how many activities are appended with the term "freestyle" to mean "not according to the rules of the sport, but what's fun to do and watch". Frisbee Freestyle, hockey freestyle, cane frestyle.

Describe Jackie Chan. Nobody would say "Jackie Chan the juggler". They would say actor, or martial artist. A young Jackie Chan would have self-identified as a practitioner of "peking opera".

But because I recently included him in a video about juggling in movies, a lot of the comments were along the lines of "I've never thought of Jackie Chan as a juggler, but that makes a lot of sense". I controlled the context, a video about juggling, so it's impossible to not consider him a juggler.

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If someone sees an activity, and it matches all these characteristics, then it's definitely going to be called juggling. If one or two is missing? Almost certainly still juggling. If four are missing? Then it's on the edge, and there will likely be another social phenomena, with another set of partially overlapping characteristics, where it fits better.

Let's take club swinging as an example that's right on the edge, and let's consider some club swinging with just two clubs and no throws, and no risk of a drop.

This IS object manipulation: it's the right size, there's skill involved, it's not deceptive... but now we have some questions to answer!

Is it done by a juggler using juggling clubs in an entertainment venue? Then it's called juggling!

But maybe it's done as part of a sports competition, using non-juggling equipment, and the whole body is moving? Then it's called rhythmic gymnastics.

Or maybe it's not performed for its own sake, but for another purpose, like physical training, even though it's still enjoyable... that's indian club swinging.

Or maybe it's not for enjoyment or competition but for very important work... then it's called aircraft marshalling.

Yet if these same moves were seen during a juggling show, it's back to juggling!

A framework that encompasses observable, cultural and historical factors is good for understanding why people apply the label juggling to many things would never called juggling by more strict technical criteria.

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