Dr. Bob Woodburn

Reviews

Juggle Magazine has this to say about Dr. Bob's books:

This approach to teaching is simple and direct. Less talky than Klutz, more cartoony than Finnigan, each book quickly takes the beginner through the basics of the cascade, and then jumps right into tricks, games, numbers, and passing. No introspection, no cautionary tales, no tedious list of all the benefits and wonders that await, just simple instruction and clear graphics.

A little instructional magic is also applied: First, through pictures and testimonials, Dr. Bob establishes that he is a whiz at teaching. Then he states flat out that everybody he teaches learns how in minutes, and that the reader will too. And thereby Dr. Bob takes the burden of responsibility off the student, leaving him free to learn. This bouncy positive attitude continues throughout the book. Within a half-dozen pages the cascade is mastered. And in the same simple and direct manner, the next sixty or so pages in each book introduces all the fun stuff that makes juggling a never-ending joy and delight. It's all as easy as can be. The man clearly loves what he does. And he does it well.

Each book ends with a pitch for his services through Woodburn Life Balance Associates, Inc., where one can hire him to motivate and inspire greater happiness, achievement and "balance" in one's personal and business life. He does programs for conferences, businesses and executive teams that want to be motivated through learning to juggle.

All the usual tips are included in all the right places, with no superfluous handholding or unnecessary details to get in the way of learning. And Dr. Bob introduces one little cognitive learning trick that I particularly admire: initially faking the third-object throw. This is the universal solvent for your student's third-throw seizures, and is worth the price of the book alone, so I won't give you the details.

Cassidy's "Juggling for the Complete Klutz" has long been the U.S. model for simplicity and directness. Bob Woodburn's books are strong competition, and to my eye differ only in style and scope: more scope, and less hip stylishness; which is to say more of the unalloyed optimism that Canadians do so much better than their southern neighbors. And like the Klutz book, the Instant Juggling books are as close to personal instruction as you can get from paper and ink.

And from two 'instant' jugglers...

"Dr. Bob taught our management and sales team Business, Balance and the Art of Juggling. We had fun learning the art of juggling, but more importantly, understood the importance of the analogy to keeping your life in balance. After learning the basic juggling skill, I read his book and was able to easily improve my skill level while adding new tricks to my repertoire! A great tool for both one's personal and business life."

Issy Nockie

"I have recently purchased Dr. Bob's Instant Ring Juggling Book, which I think is great! I've been wanting to learn to juggle for a while...I couldn't believe how easy it was! It didn't even take a half an hour with your book. Thank you!"

Lucette Gacek