Juggling is something I've done on and off all my life and every time I ever see any writing about it, it doesn't at all capture how juggling fits with me. Every time I read about it, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. I know I'm not, but I thought I'd share my views in case it helps someone want to pickup juggling in a different way.

Most writing on juggling talks about moves and repetition. You'll see the same terminology and approaches everwhere, site swap notation, cascades, messes, 1 hand, 2 hand, claws etc.

This can sometimes give the impression that when you're juggling, you're basically doing a move, or repeating a motion, or following a script, like being able to perform the specific move is the skill and achievement itself, but it's really, really not.

I think it's better to think of the balls as instruments. When you're reading and learning about juggling moves like cascades and messes and clawing, you're reading about chords on that instrument. If all you know is how to play individual chords, and the names of the chords and theoretical and technical ways to represent the chords, you're missing the point of knowing how to play an instrument.

Most of the time when I'm juggling, I'm in the same creative and expressive mindset and headspace as I am if I'm soloing on drums. Every move is a different move between a bunch of different moves based on wherever my mood takes me. It feels good and allegedly look impressive too.

I've tried to learn keyboard/piano so, so, so many times and it just doesn't stick with me, I struggle to retain the theory, I can't get the intuition, I never find myself in the zone after years and years of attempts and lessons. Drumming was the opposite though, I felt comfortable on it within months of having my kit with very, very little theoretical background. I consider myself a theoretical person, but juggling - like drumming - seems to be one of those few things for me where the theory makes it worse/harder/less intuitive/less fun for me.