Juggling is the skill that involves moving objects by throwing them for entertainment. The most common form of juggling is “toss juggling” in which a person (a juggler) throws (or tosses) objects up in the air, catches them, and tosses them up in the air again.  Another form of juggling is called “contact juggling” and this type of juggling is perfumed by manipulating various objects while the objects are in constant contact with the juggler’s body.  Juggling can be done with one or more objects and with one or more hands.  Sometimes two or more jugglers even work together throwing objects back and forth for one another to catch!  Jugglers refer to the objects that they juggle as “props.”  The most common props used by jugglers include: balls, beanbags (a small bag filled with dried beans and used for throwing in games) , rings, and clubs (a rounded stick-like structure that is bigger at one end than the other), but some very adventurous jugglers use objects like knives, torches (a burning stick), or small animals!  The word juggling in modern English comes from the word “jogelen” in Middle English, which meant: to entertain by performing tricks.

Jugglers have various methods and styles, but here are some of the most common varieties:

The gentleman juggler: The juggler who uses everyday objects such as hats, canes, plates, wine bottles, and cigars in their act.

Comedy juggling: This is when juggling skill is secondary to the comic character and jokes of the performer.

Sport themed juggling: In this instance the performers dress in sporting attire and juggle sports equipment such as tennis racquets, or footballs.

Traditional circus juggling: This is juggling that takes place within the circus arena and the juggling skill is presented with great skill and precision.  Chinese circus juggling uses mainly rings and badminton racquets, fantastic costumes, multiple numbers of jugglers, while Russian folk circus juggling often uses colorful costumes and characters, unique props and includes acrobatics.

Here is a how-to video on juggling if you are interested in learning this busking skill for yourself or if you are just interested in practice some of your English listening comprehension.  Good luck!

Are there any words in English in this post that you did not understand that you would like to know the definition for?  If so please leave a comment on this post letting me know which words you would like to know more about.