by John Carroll

Created on: July 31, 2010

How to Juggle: a guide to learning a valuable new talent.

I first learned how to juggle a few years back, when juggling club was the only appealing after school activity at the school I was going to. I think that finding a local juggling club is the best first step you could take towards learning juggling as it can really boost your learning experience, because you have the support of others, and later on when you get good, you can perform passing. (passing can vary hugely, which makes it much more fun than juggling solo. Variables include passer location, pass timing, and object. (objects include juggling balls, clubs, rings, etc.))Oh and they might have proper weighted juggling balls, saving you some cash. (these things are expensive, most around $10 - $20 EACH!)

Equipment 

Anything in a ball shape, should fit comfortably in your hand. (eg. tennis balls, preferably bean bags, they don't roll, simplifying the pick up process)

That's it!

How to Start! 

Start with just one ball, and pass from hand to hand, throwing the ball *up* to about the height of your forehead. You would NOT believe how many people come to me and ask for help, and they show me how they are getting along, and they pass the ball from hand to hand across their torso, with no arch at all. This is NOT the correct way to do it.

After you think you've got it down, move on to two. 

One ball in each hand.

Throw the ball in your dominant hand to around the height of your forehead, putting an arch into it so that it will sail into your other hand.

At the apex of the arch, throw the second ball. This will open your hand to catch the first ball.

You should be doing your patter like this: Throw, throw, catch, catch. Throw, throw, catch, catch. Repeat.

Remember: before you move on, practice, practice, practice! most people find three harder than two, and MUCH harder than one.

We come to a crossroads here. You can move on to training for four balls, or continue onto three. Four balls is very hard, but does require another pattern, which is two balls in one hand. Skip the three ball part to the beginning of the four ball section if you want to learn two balls in one hand, or continue down the page for the guide on three balls.

Three Balls

Start with two balls in your dominant hand, one in your other.

Throw one ball from your dominant hand, and when it reaches it's apex, throw the single ball from your non-dominant hand so you can catch the first ball.

When the second ball reaches it's apex,

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