This December I will be turning 50 years old.  It doesn't bother me, really, but I am noticing that certain juggling tricks are getting harder or even impossible to do anymore.  Actually, I think these physical challenges are more due to repetitive motion injuries than age, but I guess they're not mutually exclusive.

After a few years of fighting with my new challenges, one day I a year or so ago I decided to try to adapt how I actually did some tricks.  I started to flair toss my machetes rather than toss them underhand.  I began starting cascading 5 different sized balls with my right hand rather than my left.  Many modifications actually have to do with my legs rather than my arms.  I began to see progress, and the recovery of routines I hadn't been performing, although not every trick.

Today was one of those troubleshooting practices, and, man, it made a difference.  I went under the leg with torches for the first time in years, as well as a series of double flips.  There were other steps forward as well.  It was very encouraging.

So the last couple of years have been a pretty significant step backwards skill-wise for me.  But, as I told a dear friend just today, a step backward isn't failure... It's part of the journey.