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Contact Juggling
is the ability to manipulate one or more balls
while they stay in contact with your body
the whole time. This usually involves the
ball rolling from one part of the body to
another in a smooth, flowing motion.
Any prop manipulation where the object stays
in contact with the body is called contact
juggling, so when you have been spinning a
pen between your fingers while bored at a
lecture or at work, you have been contact
juggling! The Harlem Globetrotters basketball
team have been entertaining people for decades
with their combination of basketball skills
and behind the neck rolls, arm rolls, spinning
balls on fingers etc. When they manipulate
the balls all over their body, this is also
a good example of what contact juggling is. |
Many peoples first glimpse of contact
juggling will have been in a film called “Labyrinth”
which starred David Bowie. It looked like David
Bowie was doing the tricks, but the hands actually
belonged to Michael Moschen who is the guy credited
with starting the whole contact juggling movement.
What do I need to do this?
PROPS: You will require
a ball that is at least slightly larger than a beanbag/normal
juggling ball. A plastic stage ball is ideal for
beginners. The ball should be hard and smooth (eg
not squishy) as it is going to be rolling around
parts of your body. You can of course use an acrylic
ball, but it is far easier and safer to practice
with a stage ball until you have at least mastered
the basics.
I would suggest that you will require
purchasing at least 2 balls. Once you have mastered
the butterfly, many of the tricks involve using
2 or more balls at the same time.
I am ready, so now what?
Your first trick is called the Butterfly.
It is the equivalent of a jugglers cascade in that
this is the first move that should be learned and
perfected before moving on to other tricks, and
it is the basis of a number of further tricks so
it is worth learning properly. Even this move is
difficult though, so take your time and don’t
get too discouraged if it takes weeks or even months
to master.
BUTTERFLY: This is a move where
the ball travels from your palm to the back of your
hand via your middle finger while your hand performs
a wave like motion.
The butterfly needs broken up into several parts.
The first part lets you practice the Starting and
Stopping positions of the final move.
- Pick up a ball in your favoured hand. Rest
it on the palm, with your fingers pointing outwards
(eg right handed people would point their hand
out to the right).
- Manipulate the ball. Let it roll around your
hand. This will get you used to the weight and
feel of the ball. Try a little throw, and make
sure that the catch is smooth and graceful.
- Change your hand so that it is facing palm
downwards and your fingers are pointing in the
opposite direction (your hand will be over the
other side of your body now!) Place the ball
on top of your hand in front of the first knuckle
of the middle finger so that it rests between
the ring and index fingers (the fingers on either
side of the middle finger). This grip is known
as the cradle and it is far easier to keep the
ball still if your middle finger is slightly
lower than the other two!
- Try to throw and catch the ball a few times
from this position. Not too high a throw!
The final move will be as smooth a transition as
possible between these 2 moves you have just practiced.
The next couple of exercises will help you work
on getting the butterfly perfected! The throws and
catches you are about to practice, will help you
get used to manipulating the ball, but the final
butterfly trick does not require the ball to be
in the air at all!
5) Now we need to get the timing right.
Try to throw the ball from one position to the other
(from the palm to the cradle). Don’t worry
about dropping the ball. This is bound to happen.
Just keep persevering!
6) Now try balancing the ball in your palm, roll
it to the top of your middle finger, throw it in
the air and then catch it in the cradle position.
7) Now try the same move but in reverse! Start with
your hand in the cradle position and roll it to
the top of your middle finger, throw it upwards
a little and catch it on the palm of your hand.
Final step is of course to perform
the butterfly without the ball being in the air
at all! If you get stuck on this part, then go back
and practice the previous 3 steps over and over
again.
8) In one smooth motion, roll the
ball from your palm to the cradle via the tip of
your middle finger and then back again.
Some tips for you:
• Many contact jugglers practice
their moves standing beside a bed. This means that
when the ball inevitably drops, it lands on a soft
surface within easy reaching distance. Other contact
jugglers prefer sitting on a gym mat or on the floor.
This also means that the ball isn’t going
to land on your toes from a great height!
• Practice with both hands. Once you have
learned the butterfly and all other moves using
one hand, learn it with the other.
• Teach other people how to do the moves you
learn. This will help re-enforce your knowledge
of the trick, and you will then have other people
to practice with!
So what other tricks are there?
| 2 Ball Palmspin |
This is perhaps the simplest contact
juggling move. It is simply moving 2 balls
in your hand in one direction (best to
go clockwise if you are using your right
hand, and anti-clockwise if using your
right hand). You may have done this move
before if you were ever given Chinese
Worry Balls as a present!
To make it a bit more difficult, try
rotating the balls as fast as you can,
and try to not let the balls touch each
other either.
HINT: Try not to curl
your fingers. A flat hand is a lot easier.
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| 3 Ball Palmspin: |
Just like the above trick, but with 3
balls instead of 2 rotating in your palm.
If you can hold 3 balls, then you can
definitely spin them, even if your hand
feels way too small! It just takes practice.
Think of it as a sliding puzzle. You need
to move one ball a little bit out to where
there is some space on your hand, and
then move the next ball forward a little
bit into the recently vacated gap. Keep
repeating this process until it becomes
smooth and you can speed it up.
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What Next?
• Why not try Pen Spinning,
or Staff Spinning?
• You could add a bit of contact juggling
into your normal juggling routines. For example,
you could do a butterfly or some palmspins in one
hand while juggling 2 balls using your other hand.
The next moves to learn with Contact
Juggling are called things like “Isolations,
the Cage, Transitions”. Type these words along
with “Contact Juggling trick” into your
favourite search engine and you should find out
more about the next moves.
Please contact me and let me know how you get on!
Further Information
Unlike all the other sections of the
tricks section, I can’t actually contact juggle!
I therefore pass you on to the best source for more
information on contact juggling. Please let me know
if this page has helped you in your quest to contact
juggle, and maybe one day I will decide to learn
this skilful art myself and post some further tricks
up for all to see!
www.contactjuggling.com
- this site is the hub for all contact jugglers.
It contains lots of links for further information,
and details the origins of contact juggling as well
as telling you lots more tricks!
Contact Juggling even has its own
definition on Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy!
www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A592742
