News

The Art of Balance: from Static to Dynamic and Beyond

One of the most striking visual aspects of such sports as acrobatics, rhythmic gymnastics, and contact juggling, is the astonishing degree of balance that performers and competitors display as they appear to glide effortlessly through their routines. And just as with any art, the more effortless it seems to the casual observer, the more work [...]

The Origins of Lightning Contact

Several times over the past few months, I’ve been asked to explain my perspective on what many artists call “contact juggling”, which generally involves specific hand and upper body movements in order to roll a ball around and over the body’s surface, and how it is different from my “Lightning Contact” learning method. To start [...]

From Lead to Gold: the Search for the Elixir

Someone recently told me that he had always been interested in alchemy, but that he had never found any literature on the subject that wasn’t fiction. It’s true that many of the texts at our disposal are either hard to find, or are so riddled with symbolic language and arcane formulae that it’s hard to [...]

What is a Fushigi Magic Gravity Ball?

The Fushigi magic gravity ball, or “contact ball” as it is most often called, was originally a transparent ball made of a very hard plastic such as acrylic or polycarbonate. While lighter than crystal balls, they can still break toes, laptops and expensive furniture. Recently appearing on the American contact juggling scene, the Fushigi brand [...]

Contact Juggling – Where the magic never leaves your hands…

… okay, actually, sometimes it does. And then forces you to chase it down before it rolls into the foot of a stranger, or careens off the head of a passing child. With time and effort, the ball begins to obey your will more often than not, and with each success, the magic of contact [...]

Snake-style Boxing – the Tai Chi Chuan of Ip Tai Tak

Presentation of the Yang family’s “Snake style” Tai Chi Chuan, also known as “Snake-style Boxing,” as taught in Europe by James Piotr Blaise: Style The Yang family possessed a secret art called “Snake-style Boxing”. This art was created by Yang Luchan, and jealously preserved by the Yang family for five generations. The Yang family taught [...]

Potential Health Benefits of Lightning Contact

Like many of its predecessors, the practice of Lightning Contact can bring a number of health benefits, including but not limited to the following:

• Release of nervous tension
• Increased concentration and focus
• Waking up without the use of stimulants