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Tricks - Ball Juggling
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Can you do the
3 ball cascade?
I started off juggling by
learning the simple 3 Ball Cascade. If you
do not know how to do this trick, then go
to:
3 Ball Cascade page
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So you've mastered the 3 Ball Cascade... What next?
While doing the cascade as your main pattern, you
can attempt to add the following tricks:
| Reverse Cascade |
The opposite of
the Cascade. In the cascade, the balls are always
thrown underneath each other. In a reverse cascade,
every ball is thrown over the top of the previous
ball thrown. Imagine an open bucket at eye level
in the centre of your body. All the balls must
be thrown into this bucket and caught by the
opposite hand. |
| Reverse Arms |
The cascade pattern, but with your
arms reversed (your left arm is over at your right
hand side and vice versa). This trick is very
impressive once achieved (if done smoothly). Instead
of a cascade throw, you throw the ball under the
opposite arm, to be caught by that hand. |
| Juggler's Tennis
(aka Sunrise and Sunset) |
This is a trick that can be built
up gradually. What happens is that to begin with,
every ball thrown from one hand goes over the
top of the other two, which are just swapped from
hand to hand (in the normal cascade pattern).
Once this is mastered, you can then try just throwing
the same ball over the other two back and forth
(like a tennis match with the other two balls
as the net! - hence the name)! |
| Windmill |
Every throw from one hand is thrown
over the top of the other two (inside throw).
Every throw from the other hand is thrown under
the arm. It is vital to practice this trick in
both directions! The effect achieved is a smooth
circling pattern. |
| Clawing |
Juggling by catching and throwing
with the palm of your hands facing down. This
takes a bit of getting used to, so build up to
it by starting with one ball (and work through
the 3 ball cascade tutorial again)! Once you have
this smoothly, you can then make the trick seem
more out of control, by taking mad swipes at the
balls, and making your throwing more erratic! |
| Shower |
It took me ages to master this trick
(although some people say it is one of the easiest
tricks to learn!) One hand throws high to the
other hand, which passes to the first. In essence,
one hand does all the throws, and the other hand
makes all the catches. The balls travel in one
direction (a kind of triangle). To begin with,
just use two balls. Have them both in your dominant
hand, and throw them high and quickly (one after
the other). As soon as one ball lands in your
sub-dominant hand, pass it horizontally to your
dominant hand. When you feel ready to try three,
remember that this will take a lot of practice
to look smooth. Remember to throw high and accurately,
as you have no time to chase far-flung balls!
It is vital to master the shower in both directions. |
| Off the Wall |
Stand facing a wall, and instead of doing a
cascade pattern to yourself, bounce the cascade
pattern off the wall! Experiment with hard and
soft throws against the wall, and high and low
throws, and see what other tricks you can do! |
| Eating the
Apple |
Juggle a normal cascade, using two balls and
one apple. Every time the apple comes to your
strong hand, bring your hand to the mouth and
kiss the apple. Return your hand to its usual
position quickly and continue your cascade. To
have enough time to eat some of the apple, you
will have to temporarily do the TWO BALLS IN ONE
HAND trick using your weaker hand until the apple
is ready to be thrown again. Be careful!
Don’t force the apple into your mouth and
knock your teeth out! |
| Face |
Just like the Eating the Apple Trick, bring
a ball to your mouth but this time hold with your
teeth. Bring the other two balls up and hold them
over your eyes. Look around the room and hear
the laughter! |
If you repeatedly make a mistake at the same part
of a trick you are trying to learn, then stop juggling,
close your eyes and think through what you were trying
to achieve. Figure out what went wrong and how to
solve the problem, then have another try!
Columns/Yo-Yo's and several variations
| Columns |
Practice being
able to juggle two balls in one hand in a scale
pattern (balls are thrown straight up and down,
and do not cross over or under the other balls).
Now have the extra ball (in your other hand),
and throw it up at the same time (and at the
same height) as one of the other balls. |
| Yo-Yo/ Cheat |
Similar to yo-yo, except the extra
ball stays in your other hand, and you move your
hand (and the ball) up and down. Kids love this
trick! Once you have mastered this, you could
try weaving the ball (while in your hand) through
the 2 ball pattern. |
| High Arc |
Similar to yo-yo, except that when
1 ball comes down, the other two get thrown over
the top of each other (in an arc shape!) Obviously,
if you throw with the same amount of force with
each hand, the balls will collide (which is also
a good trick, if you can control it), so you will
need to throw one ball slightly higher than the
other one to prevent this. |
Starts, Pauses and Stops
Now that you have mastered the Cascade and some simple
tricks, the next thing to work on is how to start,
pause and stop your routine. Starting a routine can
be done flashily, casually or whatever (depends on
the audience). Pausing a routine mid-flow, gives the
audience a chance to applaud your efforts, and finishing
cleanly, will show the audience that your routine
is finished and that they should applaud loudly and
offer you untold wealth!
Starts
Most people just start by going straight into a cascade,
and then progressing from there. There are however
a number of ways to begin:
| 3 ball pickup |
This one is useful
(especially in snooker/pool halls when you want
to impress someone)! You simply have to practice
it well beforehand. Simply walk up to three
balls that are near each other, and throw them
up in the air quickly in succession, then start
juggling the cascade. Best to practice this
trick with normal balls on a soft carpet to
begin with! Start by throwing each ball really
high (to make sure you have time to catch and
throw them again) and pretty soon you will only
to throw the balls up a little to begin. |
| 3 ball flash |
Throw all three balls up in the air
really quickly, then grab two of the quickly,
and begin juggling! |
| 2 ball split |
Start with 2 balls in one hand, beside
each other (as opposed to in line with each other)
When you throw the balls up, they should split
(one ball should go up and straight down again,
whereas the other ball should go across towards
the other hand in a normal cascade pattern). |
Pauses
| Under Chin |
Juggle your 3 ball
cascade, then throw one slightly higher than
the rest. This will give you time to quickly
place a ball under your chin, and catch the
thrown ball. Look at the audience, and wait
for applause! If you are really good, you should
be able to throw a ball back up again and then
grab the ball under the chin and continue the
cascade! |
| Neck catch |
Difficult one to master 100% of the
time! Throw a ball straight up in the air (not
too high), then duck your head forward, and stretch
out your arms and lift them up slightly (this
helps form a gap for the ball to land in) and
it should land on your neck! This takes a lot
of practice. To get out of a neck catch, you have
to lower your head, and then flick your head back
up, to force the ball back up into the air. |
 Stops
To finish a routine, you should try to end with your
best trick, and catch the balls cleanly, so you are
ready to take a bow.
| Flash |
Just like starting
a routine, a flash can be used to finish one!
Simply throw all 3 balls high, and catch them!
If you are quick (and the floor allows it),
you can do a quick spin, or grab a hat for them
to fall into (the possibilities are endless). |
Body Bouncing
Once you have mastered all of the
above, you are now ready to introduce other parts
of your body into your routines! The possibilities
are endless, but here is one routine you could work
your way up to!:
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Bounce off left foot, then left
knee, then back of left hand, then left wrist,
then left elbow, the head the ball back into
the pattern, and work your way down the right
hand side (elbow, wrist, back of hand, knee,
foot).
What next?
If you have mastered all these tricks
and are ready to move on, then please let me know.
I will be happy to write more of the hundreds of tricks
that are possible with ball juggling. One good way
to reinforce what you have learned, is to teach others.
When you explain a trick, it sometimes helps to reinforce
it in your own mind (and you will therefore understand
the trick better!)
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