Why We Hate Fushigi

My husband and I (but mostly him) do contact juggling. You may ask "What is contact juggling?" Well I will tell you the truth about contact juggling and Fushigi in one blog. How will I manage that? Well just read on.


The link below is to a video of the original contact juggler performing with a single ball. Before you call him a "Fushigiest" let me show you a bit of research.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX7xruR12YA&feature=related

Fushigi never claims to be the original acrylic ball or the inventors of the talent. As a matter of fact. On the first screen of the site there is a declaimer on the very bottom in small print. Oh and that's not the only reference they make to it...

https://www.fushigiball.com/Fushigi-FAQs.dtm

See if you can find it.

*gasp* and ANOTHER reference to Contact Juggling...

https://www.fushigiball.com/What-Is-Fushigi.dtm

In other words please stop calling them "Fushigiests". Many people spend and have spend years and even decades learning this trade and it is very insulting to them. They are contact jugglers.

Another thing is that the Fushigi doesn't defy gravity. The performer makes it appear so. Again take a look at the third link from the Fushigi site. It's an ILLUSION! For the people who are claiming that regular acrylic balls are using "false advertising" to sell their product. USE YOUR COMMON SENSE! An acrylic ball can't defy gravity. Nothing can! It's all the person holding the ball. If anyone is using false advertising it's Fushigi. At bare minimum it's misleading.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lUAunHu4CY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2Q35w46n80

Talented people like this actually use contact juggling to pay their bills. Because of Fushigi, people are losing their income. Audiences think it's all just a trick instead of seeing the skill that these people have.

HOWEVER, Fushigi does have some good things about it. Regular acrylic balls can start fires if they are left in the sun. Because of the chrome core of the Fushigi ball the risk is significantly lowered and the ball seems to be good quality.

I guess the moral of this blog is don't believe everything you see on TV.

Here is the Fushigi Youtube Channel: Take a CAREFUL look at what people are saying. After that be the judge for yourself.  http://www.youtube.com/user/FushigiBall

Now on to the history portion of the blog...

Contact juggling was formed in the early 80s by Michael Moschen. Instead of tossing the balls into the air they are rolled over the hands and body of the artist to create the illusion that they are floating. There are three main movement types.

1. Body Rolling means manipulating one or more props (usually balls) around the hands, arms, and body. Balance is required to hold the ball in various positions of control. This includes tricks such as headrolling and the Butterfly.

2. Palm Spinning means manipulating two or more balls in the open hand so that at least one ball is in motion. Balls may be in both hands or transferred between hands to form graceful and fluid patterns, including rotating a pyramid stack of 4 balls.

3. Isolation means manipulating a ball so that it appears to be suspended in place. Similar to sleight of hand magic or fixed-point mime techniques; the performers exploit the clear surface of the ball to hide any noticeable rotation, creating the effect that the ball is still while the performer moves around the ball. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_juggling)

Michael Moschen even made a covert appearance in the 1986 movie Labyrinth. When David Bowie's character is seen contact juggling it is actually Michael's hands. He stood behind David and did the tricks bind. However Michael did not have a name yet for this hypnotising art so in the credits of the movie it was called "crystal ball manipulation". Since then the art has gained popularity rapidly and will continue to do so especially with Fushigi on the scene. (If only they would mention it in the commercials.)