What are the opinions of some of you pros on this guy? I have watched the famous/infamous video many times, and enjoy reading the youtube comments. Many are framed in such away as to rip the guy, to say he sucks, that he is no Jason Garfield.. One person said if you know the word juggling you could do this act without drops, no problem.... Yeah, so... (To me Garfield seems like quite the jerk, but that's besides the point.-the "Criss Bliss dis" video doesn't seem so professional to me..)

The act is great, at least to me. But I get that he isn't a champion or anything. I have watched many Criss Angel/David Blaine videos on youtube to see the comments "Blaine is the best ever", or "Criss rules", etc. I try to explain that, while they might be good and are very popular right now, they are by no means "the best ever".

What I am trying to say is that while people say the same things on the Bliss video, I might say the same types of things on a Blaine video (albeit much more kindly). But does Bliss deserve all the criticism? In front of hundreds of people, perfectly timed to the music, it's a great video.


....I guess I don't have a point, just thoughts...


kevin

Chris is an average juggler, Jason is a world class juggler.

Right,
But Chris is a world class entertainer and Jason is an average entertainer. This topic has been discussed to death on just about every juggling related forum till we were all sick and tired of reading and hearing about it. The success and popularity of Chris Bliss' video has very little to do with his actual juggling skills. Does not take a genius to figure that one out. Jason failed to see that and thought that by putting one out with more balls, he would prove he is a better juggler. All he did was prove that he is a bigger ******. His video never even came anywhere close to the popularity and viral proportions of Chris's, and most people who saw his video came away with the same opinion of him as you did. Chris has had far more success as an entertainer than Jason could ever even dream of in his small little steroid ridden mind. Sad really... as I remember when Jason was just a punk little kid showing up at juggling conventions and trying to be as good as Anthony. Not much has changed if you really think about it.
AL aka S

Al, I understand that, but Jason seems like a world class some thing else... Basically my thoughts, Mr.Fettucini. Just wanted to know what those in the community thought.

You are right Steve, I remember when Jason won the juniors championship in 1987, he was a quiet young man who wanted to be the next Anthony.

I see this as indicative of an ongoing debate within the juggling community -- it is the juggling as entertainment vs. juggling as a sport. Bliss is an entertainer first; Garfield sees juggling as a sport.

I am not a juggler. I find sport juggling (more balls/clubs/etc.) to be boring for me to watch. I prefer juggling as entertainment.

I think one of the most formative experiences for me as a relatively new juggler was seeing two videos on rec.juggling within a couple of weeks. One video was a guy on a street doing tremendously skillfull juggling, with 7 balls, as people walked by without interest.

The other was a guy juggling KNIVES, yes, KNIVES*, and doing very very difficult tricks with 3 balls** and... guess what... they were ON FIRE and he was doing it with his BARE HANDS***. There were hundreds of people standing round.

I guess I came to some conclusions from that.



* Dube knife, £15, blunt.
** Can't remember the exact tricks, but on the same level as factory, and chops.
*** Fyrefli fire juggling balls, £50, safe to use without gloves.

I learned two things from watching both the Bliss and Garfield YouTubes 1) Bliss knows what he's doing. 2) Garfield has no clue.

Sorry to bring this topic back up, as it's probably been exhausted. I just felt like putting a word in since I haven't been around the Café in a good while.

Both of them are brilliant in two very different arenas. Chris is a great entertainer. He kept the audience amused with a well-thought-out routine that he obviously practiced to perfection. The audience loved it, and he certainly did the art, as well as all of us jugglers, justice with such a well-taken performance. Jason is cherished for his technical virtuosity. He is a skilled juggler that goes for the numbers, difficulty, etc. and it is obvious that some of the stunts he pulls are very demanding of him and his training. Don't get me wrong; this can also be very entertaining! Fact of the matter is, both Chris and Jason provide something that audiences all over enjoy.