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Misc Page
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SO
WHAT ARE SHAKER CUPS?
Shaker cups are also called nesting cups,
as they are cups that are designed in such
a way so as you can catch (nest) one inside
the other. They are designed in such a way
as not to stick or wedge themselves together
when caught, so that the inside cup is ready
for release again. This is possibly the noisiest
prop in a jugglers bag, as these shaker cups
tend to be made from metal and make a huge
noise when they clatter together (which of
course is part of the fun of this prop!)
Terminology
In order to make sense of which cup
is which, I refer to a cup that is being held in
the hand as the “outer cup”, and a cup
which is nested inside an outer cone is referred
to as an “inner cup”.
The Basic Toss
Fit one cup inside another one. Keeping
a hold of the outer cup, flip the inner
cup so that it does one complete turn in
the air and then catch it inside the outer
cone once again. You can then try to make
the inner cone flip several times before
you catch it (this trick is known as doubles/triples/etc).
Try high and low throws also.
Once you can do this
comfortably, introduce a cone into your other
hand (you now have 3 cones). Now flip a cone
from one outer cone to the other. Think of the
outer cups as being extensions of your hand.
Get used to exactly how much spin you need to
put on an inner cup to make it land comfortably
inside an outer cup in either hand.
So what other tricks are there?
HOLD BACK
With 3 cups in one hand,
use your index finger to hold back the
second cup so that you only flick the
top cup. Take care not to trap your finger
though!
MULTIPLEX
With 3 cups in one hand, throw
both the inner cups, keeping the outer cup
in your hand. You will need to experiment
to find the right amount of spin to be able
to catch both cups in the same hand, and you
can then try catching one in the cup and one
in the other hand (which was empty!)
THROW
ALL 3 CUPS!
Try throwing all 3 cups
and catching them again! Use both hands to
catch them in, or try to just catch all 3
in your empty hand! This trick is fairly difficult
and looks impressive if you can master it!
£9.50 (each)
Shaker Cups
on sale from this website!
Made from aluminium with weighted
bottoms, these are the same traditional shape
as other shaker cups, so should be compatible.
Made in Britain, they're considerably cheaper
than imported ones, but unfortunately, still
just as noisy! 175 grams.
Take all the moves above and combine
them with lots of body throws (behind the back,
under the leg in all directions etc). You can also
experiment with your catching position such as turning
your hand round. If you know of any more tricks,
then please get in touch! I haven’t seen many
shaker cup routines out there, so I have done a
lot of reading and practicing my own skills, and
hope that you feel inspired to use this tricks page
as a starting point for your own shaker cup adventures!
