Ancient foot coordination skills includedJuggling BowlsandKicking Balls.Juggling Bowlsis similar to present-dayJuggling Objects with Feet. In the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), people paid much attention to hand skills and thus foot coordination skills did not become an independent performance item.
In the pre-Qin period and the Han Dynasty,Cu Ju, which was originally used to train army cavaliers, fully displayed foot coordination skills. In ancient Chinese,Cumeans kick, andJumeans leather ball. However, this ball wasn't filled with air like it is today, but with feathers. It was so popular in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) that everyone from the emperor to the ordinary people liked it.
In most performances that show foot coordination skills, the performer lies on a small table or frame and uses both feet to juggle and toss various objects back and forth through the air. In the Song Dynasty, performers juggled and tossed objects such as vases, plates and bells and so on. No matter the shape or weight of the objects that found their way onto the feet of these performers, all were effortlessly juggled aloft into a wide variety of flying configurations.
Books such asRecording the Marvels of the Metrocapital,The Past Things in Martial Arts Circle, and so on have the recordation of foot coordination skills, and renowned artists included Ya Jinjiao, Shua Datou and Wu Yaozi, etc.
Today,Foot Jugglinghas become an indispensable part of Chinese acrobatics. In foot juggling with light objects, items such as parasols, wooden blocks, fans, mats, and gongs are used as props. InParasol Juggling, for instance, six parasols are opened and closed with feet while kept flying through the air. In foot juggling with heavy objects, the props become heavy and bulky.
Email to Friends
Print
Save