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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. In the video
clip below, you will see me demonstrating most
(not all) of the following tricks which are then described
in more detail on this page.
| 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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