First of all, you're going to need to get three balls to juggle. DON'T use tennis balls because, while they can be juggled like most smallish objects, they tend to bounce out of your hand and are a bit large for learners. Different people prefer different sorts of juggling balls to each other, some people like heavy and hard, other people like light and hard, while others prefer soft and squashy. The point is, If I recommended what weight and how hard/
bout 30% of you. I, personally, like heavy, soft and squashy juggling balls, but you should try different so
rts for yourself and see what kinda juggling balls you prefer. What DOES matter, however, is where you buy them from, because some places sell juggling balls that will fall apart in a few months, while other places will sell balls that might last you for a few years, depending on how much you use them and how often you drop them. So, what I will do for you is give you a list of my top thr
ee sites to buy juggling stuff. In order from (in my opinion) best to not as good (remember, it's not always what the si
- fire toys (stocks tons of different stuff besides juggling balls. The juggling balls here start from 89p! Unless they've changed the price since I last checked...)
- juggling store.com (stock quite a lot of stuff besides juggling balls and have a rather long list of juggling balls available for purchase)
- juggle art (have a small but good range of juggling balls and some other things too)
Once you have your juggling balls you can go on to the next bit. You could use something like bean bags or tennis balls, however, while you wait for
your juggling balls to turn up. But I do advise buying some proper juggling balls as it will be easier by far.
*THE BASICS*
OK, you have your juggling balls (or substitute for them
if you don't have them yet) and are probably thinking "Now, how on earth am I meant to go about juggling. I've watched those professionals and it looks beyond my skills!". Sto
p thinking that, because when I started to juggle I could bar
ely catch a ball of any kind, let alone juggle three of them. Right then, I expect that you're expecting that you are about to learn how to juggle three balls in a circle. You're not. Juggling three balls in a circle is a trick referred to as shower. This guide will show you the proper way to juggle, called a cascade, where each ball is always thrown up instead of in a circle.
So, to start off drop two of your juggling balls onto the floor, a table or somewhere where you won't lose them. Now, throw your ball you're still holding in an arch from your left hand to your right hand and vice versa. Try to throw it so that its height is roughly the height of your nose. You should have found that fairly simple, if not keep practising. Now keep throwing it from left to right and right to left the same as before for about ten throws.
If each throw was the right height, then you're ready to move on. If not, keep practising until it is.
Now is where it begins to get a little bit harder. Pick up another of your juggling balls, so that you are know holding one ball in each hand. Like before, throw one of the balls you're holding, it doesn't matter which one, at the correct height. When it reaches the rough peak of the throw, throw the second ball, again making sure it is the right height, but make sure that the 2nd ball goes under the first one, so that they won't collide with
each other. Keep practicing this, making sure to start with the other hand each time, until you can get it right for about ten
goes in a row again, varying the hand you start with. When you have the hang of this, go on to the next paragraph.
Right then, this is the bit you've all been wanting to
get too, but is, unfortunately, also the hardest part about learning to juggle the three ball cascade. So, as you have probably already worked out, you now need to pick up your third juggling ball. Hold two in one hand, and one in the other. You can probably work out how to hold two in one hand but I'll tell ya anyway. You hold one ball between your thumb, pointing finger and middle finger. You hold the other by pressing your little finger and the finger next to it (I forgot it's name and can't be bothered to look it up) against the ball and pushing the ball against your hand. Here's a picture of what I mean.
Like in the last paragraph, you throw one ball at the correct height, then you throw the next ball at the correct height and catch the first one while then throwing the 3rd one at the right
height and catch the 2nd ball. Now catch the 3rd ball and STOP. Some people don't stop and try to carry on and complain when they drop the balls and get into a habit of dropping them. You have now just juggled one round. So, now that you have stopped you are going to
repeat the same process. Keep doing this until you're sure that you definitely have the hang of how to do it.
If you're reading this then I guess my guide has been working so far (which is good as this is my first guide). Now, like in the last paragraph, juggle one round but don't stop. Instead of doing three throws like before, we're going to do four throws. After the 3rd throw, throw the 1st ball (the one in the hand about to catch the 3rd ball) at the right time and height. Then catch the 3rd ball... then catch the ball you just threw. You have now juggled four throws. Continue like this, adding an extra throw when you get good enough until you reach twenty throws. If you can reach twenty twice in a row without having to walk forwards to catch the balls, then you can juggle the three ball cascade!
*A FEW TRICKS TO GET STARTED*
Now that you have the hang of juggling there will be a whole new world of tips and tricks open to you. You are going to want a whole library of tricks in your head, so here are two easy
and basic tricks to start you off.
1.) Flash: In this trick, the juggler will be juggling a three ball cascade, and will then throw one of the balls a lot higher than all the others, then catch it and continue his cascade.
How to do it: have yourself juggling a three ball cascade, then, with whichever ball is in your dominant hand, throw the ball straight upwards, higher than the rest, then when it comes down throw up the ball in the hand that flashed the ball and catch the flashed ball. Then catch the ball you just threw and start to juggle again.
2.) Over the top: In this trick the juggler will be juggling with 3 (or more) balls and then one of the balls will jump over the other 2 balls.
How to do it: like flash, you will be juggling with three balls and then throw one of the balls higher than the rest. Only this time, instead of throwing it straight up, throw it over to the other hand. While the higher ball is in the air, you should continue to try to juggle the two balls between your two hands.
*OTHER JUGGLING STUFF*
As you may have noticed while searching for some juggling balls, there are a lot of things out there that come under the juggling category, even though they are not actually "juggled". Here is a list with an explanation of what each thing is (I have probably missed some out as there are quite a lot) :
-Devil sticks/flower sticks -- flower sticks are two rubber sticks that you hold with your hands, and then another larger stick which is kept in the air by tapping with each of the hand-held sticks. Devil sticks are like this, only they are harder, faster and can look better.
-Diablo -- diablo is the shape of a large yo yo but isn't attached to a string. it is rolled along a string and thrown up into the air to be caught behind the back and the likes.
-Staff -- a large pole which is spun around the hands, back, head. It is also thrown up into the air spinning and the sort. Picture of staff -->
-Poi (pronounced poy) --poi are two balls on the end of chains. They are then spun round almost every part of the body and also spun to make patterns. Chinese martial artists sometimes used them as training weapons (not sure if they still do though).
-Unicycle -- very similar to a bike, but has only one wheel.
-Stilts -- poles applied to feet to appear much taller.
-Plate spinning -- although the name makes it obvious, it is a plate which is spun on the top of a pole.
*F.A.Q.*
This section is just a short list of questions I get asked a lot when I'm teaching people how to juggle:
Q: when I'm juggling the balls keep going forward and I end up having to run after them while I juggle. I just don't seem to be able to juggle standing still. How should I stop this happening?
A: This happened to me when I was learning to juggle as well. I found that if you just stand still, when a ball flies too far in front of you, just let it fall to the ground. Eventually, it will stop happening.
Q: When I'm trying to cascade with three balls I just can't get the hang of it at the start. Do you have any tips on different ways to start?
A: Try starting with your other hand. It doesn't matter which is your dominant hand, I'm right handed but I can't start with my right hand, I always start with my left one.
Q: Where would be a good place to practice juggling?
A: In the garden when it's dry or in a living room with all the ornaments and breakables moved away from you. I know from experience that doing it near breakables can end up costing you a lot of money...
Q: What is the Guinness record for the most balls juggled?
A: 12, or it might be 14 now, I can't quite remember. You'll have to look that one up.
If you have any questions then post them in the comments, although i can't guarantee an answer.
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