There is no prop more closely associated with juggling than the club. Balls are common objects and rings are not easily recognized by the general public as a juggling prop. Despite the club appearing after the use of balls (by thousands of years) and rings (by four or five decades, at least), it is the most iconic prop. It has also had the most variation during its 150 year history. I’ve written a great deal about the history and development of clubs in the past, but today I want to shine some light on ten of the most unique juggling clubs. They will be in no particular order.
However, I will state that I’m not going to go over every type and permutation of juggling clubs. I’ve already written about hollow wooden clubs, fiberglass clubs, wicker clubs, skeleton clubs, ball end clubs, cork clubs, foam clubs, multi-piece clubs, and many others. Here we’ll examine more oddball or rare examples.
Transformer Club
This is the prototype Transformer club made by innovative propmaker Jay Green. It becomes a torch when the top is unscrewed.
Jo Kamm Porcelain Club
This is a porcelain juggling club created by artist Jo Kamm. It’s a full-sized club and can be juggled. It will, however, break upon being dropped. These clubs were made as part of the art project Dangerous Games. Click here to see Jo’s porcelain props being juggled.
Crochet Club
This is a crocheted club made by Erica Kelch-Slesnick in 2014. It has a wooden dowel and is stuffed with plastic bags.
Two Handled Club
These are three double handled clubs made by Cabeza de Martillo of Chile. They allow the performer to catch either end or even juggling the middle as a ball.
Doug Couden Cross Sectional Club
This club was created by Doug Couden, an American juggler specializing in school assembly programs in the 1940s. It’s cross sectional body is quite unique.
Art Jennings Break Away Club
IJA Founding Father Art Jennings famously used this comedy break-away club in his “Bum Juggler” act from the 1930s to the mid-1950s. The club contains a spring which, when released, causes the club to break into thirteen pieces, attached to each other by a chain. Art made this club himself.
Jo Kamm Laser-Cut Club
This is a laser cut skeleton club designed and made by juggler and artist Jo Kamm.
3D-Printed Club
This was the first ever club with a 3D printed body. Made by Degge Jarvie in March of 2014.
Fabiano Stevanovich Club
This is a club used by Fabiano Stevanovich from Brazil. It is unique in its design.
Lucas Aguirre Giant Club
This is a giant solid wood juggling club made by Lucas Aguirre.
As you can see, there are many clubs designed with out of the box thinking. In Part 2, we’ll examine ten more unusual clubs.
David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).