ND Juggling American Club

Discover the distinctive shape and feel of the traditional American club. Its broad body stands out on stage, whether you’re performing a three-club routine, exploring four-club tricks or juggling a five-club cascade.

The ND Juggling American Club was created to keep this style of club—and the knowledge behind it—alive. It brings generations of club-making experience into a modern design for today’s jugglers.

Club juggling developed in America in the late 1800s from the heavy “Indian clubs” used for exercise and club swinging. Club swinging itself featured in the Olympic Games in 1904 and 1932. As performers began presenting three- and four-club juggling acts, makers developed lighter clubs with hollow bodies and more consistent balance for toss juggling.

The broad American shape remained, giving these clubs their distinctive appearance and stage presence. That familiar shape also helps explain why non-jugglers still often call juggling clubs “bowling pins” today.

One of the pioneering makers was Edward Van Wyck in Ohio. Harry Lind continued his work, improving how the clubs were built and how their weight was distributed. Stu Raynolds then carried the tradition forward with carefully balanced fibreglass clubs.

Drawing on the knowledge of Raynolds and vaudeville performer Homer Stack, Albert Moreira ordered custom clubs from Raynolds for his sons, Albert and David Lucas. Each club’s balance, handling and length were chosen to suit the performer’s build and technique.

Moreira also performed with Nick Gatto, Anthony Gatto’s father, in the celebrated Los Gatos Trio. This shared knowledge helped shape the custom clubs Nick had made for Anthony, continuing the tradition of adapting the props to the performer.

Niels Duinker designed the American Club in the USA, drawing on his mechanical engineering background and regular feedback from juggling legend Albert Lucas. David Cain’s Museum of Juggling History in Ohio provided historical examples from its extensive collection of American clubs.

A short, slimmer section at the end of the handle, just below the knob, leaves room to add tape and adjust the club’s weight distribution. Enjoy the original balance or experiment with added weight to find the feel that suits your throwing style.

The slightly larger knob gives your hand more surface to work with during the release. For tricks such as backcrosses and Albert Throws, the knob can be the last part of the club to leave your hand. Its larger size helps you control the throw.

Carefully developed balance, combined with good technique, helps create the smooth, seemingly effortless style associated with American club juggling. The aim is the floating appearance seen in the club juggling of Bobby May, Albert Lucas and Anthony Gatto: graceful spins and unhurried throws that give the audience time to enjoy each movement.

At 517 mm long, this club is particularly suited to jugglers 175 cm and taller, especially for three- and four-club juggling.