Kinaesthetic intelligence - the secret to juggling

Abu Dhabi: According to self-taught juggler George Swan, the key to successful juggling besides practice, is learning the basic motion of throwing one ball from one hand to the other in a figure eight motion.

The trick to the three-ball cascade he said however, is to throw up from the middle of the abdomen towards the shoulders opposite to the hand in which you have the ball in a figure of eight motion.

“There is a V shape from the middle of your abdomen at the bottom and up to both shoulders. That is the path you need to trace constantly when juggling,” he says. “It is all about the up/down motion.”

However, once the brain learns the technique, the rest should come automatically – with lots of practice – he adds. “Your hands will automatically catch the balls as you continue to develop your kinaesthetic intelligence.”

Author Susan Wright defines bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence in her book the Arts, Young Children and Learning, as the ability to solve problems or fashion products using one’s body. Highly developed bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is exhibited by people such as dancers, athletes, surgeons, artisans, and musicians.

The characteristics of bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence include:

Using one’s body in highly differentiated and skilled ways, for expressive and goal-directed purposes.

Working skillfully with objects, both those that involve the fine motor movements of one’s fingers and hands and those that exploit gross motor movements of the body.

Controlling bodily motions and the capacity to handle objects.