Introduction
We have all seen jugglers at the circus, on television, and in videos on the Internet. If you have ever wanted to learn to juggle, keep on reading, it isn’t beyond your reach! This article will tell you everything you need to know to get started juggling. So keep on reading.
What You Will Need
When learning to juggle, there are only two things you need:
- Three juggling balls or beanbags. This article assumes you are using juggling balls.
- A place to practice
A Practice Area
Your practice area can be indoors or outdoors. If indoors, make sure there are high ceilings and there is nothing fragile in your immediate vicinity–when juggling balls start flying through the air, things can break.
What to Juggle
Choosing the right objects to juggle can mean the difference between an enjoyable learning experience and lots of frustration. For the beginner, there are three options:
- Beginner’s juggling balls can be purchased from a magic shop or online store.
- This article assumes you are using juggling balls.
- Beanbags are easy to catch, inexpensive, they don’t bounce or roll away, and you can get them at most toy stores.Tennis balls can be used and the bounce can be eliminated by filling them with sand and covering them with rubber.
Step 1: Posture
Standing with the proper posture is the first step in learning to juggle. Your posture is the starting point for every throw and every catch and can account for most mistakes made by beginners.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees should be slightly bent.Do not slouch.
- Hold your arms should be by your sides with your elbows bent. Your forearms should be parallel to the floor.
- Keep your eyes looking forward and slightly up.
Step 2: Juggling One Ball
The first skill to learn is juggling one ball with two hands. This will help you perfect two important skills: the throw and the catch.
The Throw
When throwing a ball, goal is to see it travel in a smooth upward arc and then fall into the other hand.Stand with good posture and one ball in your right hand.Imagine two points about a foot in front of you, floating a few inches above eye level and about eight inches apart. These will serve as reference points for your throw. Each hand will throw a ball toward the point on the opposite side.
- Throw the ball in your right hand. As you release the ball, do not let it roll off of the tips your fingers, as this puts too much spin on the ball and causes it too fly too far, too fast. The ball should feel as though it’s being launched directly from the palm of your hand.
- It should reach the top of its arch near the apple on the left side.
- Do not look down at your hands or to follow the ball with your eyes. Keep your eyes up. You will see it sail in and out of your field of vision. Allow it to fall into your hand.
The Catch
- Keep the muscles in your arm and hand relaxed.
- When the ball reaches the top of its arc and falls out of your field of vision, allow your hand to move to catch the ball.
- Do not reach up and pluck the ball out of the air. Allow the ball to fall down into your hand.
- Receive the ball into your hand as if you were catching an egg.
- As soon as you catch the ball, bring your hand and arm back their starting position before attempting to throw the ball again. If you have trouble, keep practicing and remember that accurate throws are the key to making good catches.
Step 3: Juggling Two Balls
The next step is juggle two balls. Stand with good posture and hold one ball in each hand.
- Throw the Ball 1 in your right hand toward the imaginary point on the left side.
- When Ball 1 reaches the top of its arc, throw Ball 2 toward the point on the other side. Ball 2 should pass underneath Ball 1 as it sails to the other side. Do not allow yourself to throw the ball straight across or reach over and drop it into your other hand.
- Keep your eyes up, let each ball pas out of your field of vision, and try to catch each ball, one after the other, as they fall into your hands.
Step 4: Juggling Three Balls
Now that you can juggle with two balls, it is time to start juggling three. You will stand holding two balls in your dominant hand, Ball 1 and Ball 3, and one ball in your subordinate hand, Ball 2.
- Throw Ball 1 from your dominant hand.
- When Ball 1 reaches the top of its arc, throw Ball 2 in your subordinate hand and catch ball one.
- When Ball 2 reaches the top of its arc, throw Ball 3 from your dominant hand and catch Ball 2.
- Catch Ball 3 in your subordinate hand.
- Practice until you are able to make three throws and three catches in a row. Then try again, but this time, when Ball 3 reaches the top of its arc, throw Ball 1 back into the air and start the cycle again.
Conclusion
Juggling is a skill anyone can learn. All it takes is a little time and effort. So go get some juggling balls and start practicing!