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Learning to Juggle
Feb. 20th, 2019 09:18 pmIt turns out that for me, juggling is not like riding a bike.
An old roommate and I spent hours and hours through many, many weeks and learned to juggle. But then my juggling balls were ruined and I didn't get more until recently and now I can't juggle anymore. So I'm going to learn again. In case you want to learn to juggle, let me teach you like some experts taught me.
Preparation
You're going to need something to juggle. Balls are easier than clubs, torches, knives, etc. You can start with lemons or whatever, but the ideal juggling balls do not roll and especially do not bounce. They just go thud, and then you don't chase them all over the room, you just pick them up. Some kind of bean-bag or hacky sack type of ball is good. Game stores (and the internet) also have official juggling balls. I made my first ones and really liked raw rice as a filler--except that rice is edible and thus attracts, uh, some kind of beings who can eat through fabric. If you make your own juggling balls, use dark-colored fabric so they look good longer. You also want a little heft to them--rolled up socks are a bit light.
It is also recommended that you stand facing a couch or bed so you don't have to bend over so far to pick up the balls. My friend and I also practiced sitting cross-legged, but your knees might get in the way a little bit.
Yes, you will drop the balls millions of times. That's okay, of course! (Well, maybe you're fantastically talented and can learn physical skills almost instantly. Still, you probably don't want a super bouncy ball.) Probably you will screw up in so many different hilarious ways that you will be adding laughter to your day. Extreme lack of coordination is pretty funny, if there aren't any bullies around.
One ball
Start with one ball. Juggling is about good throwing much more than it is about good catching. Your goal is to start with your arms L-shaped with your hands face-up in front of you and your elbows at your sides. Toss the ball using a small upward motion so that the ball goes in an arc past your eyes and then down into your other hand. Practice tossing from one had to the other and back until your throws are consistent and you no longer have to move your catching hand (or feet) to get to the ball to catch it.
This step may take a disturbingly long time. But keep practicing!
Two balls
Start with one ball in each hand. Toss one as usual, and when the ball reaches its apex on front of your eyes, toss the other ball. Now that hand is available to catch the first ball, so catch it. Then catch the second ball.
Alternate throwing with the right hand first and throwing with the left hand first. You need to be good at both!
If this starts getting too hilarious, go back to one ball for a while.
Three balls
Start with two balls in one hand and one ball in the other. Toss one of the balls from the hand with two balls and continue as with two balls. Every time you catch a ball, immediately throw it again.
For me, the key was to learn to panic by throwing. Yikes! A ball is coming! don't just drop the other ball or hang on to it--throw it! And then you work to improve these panic throws.
Technically, once you have caught three balls in a row, you have juggled!
At first, your throws tend to get worse and worse with each throw, but eventually, you can learn to just juggle indefinitely.
More Advice
My friend and I learned from people who really liked to juggle. They, in turn, learned from someone who loved to juggle so much that he started a juggling club when he went away to college. They were all members of the Texas Juggling Society, which is full of people who like to practice, learn, and teach juggling (and other related skills), and that's where they learned. (Me, I have a problem with asking for help, especially from strangers, so I never joined.)
I really liked learning from experts. And I really liked learning with my roommate. We both stank for so long, but I stank worse than her. Unfortunately, I practiced just a little bit more often and eventually caught up to her, after which apparently she was no longer motivated. :-(
My friend and I also had fun making more and more ridiculous juggling balls. We even made one of pentagons! A normal cube shape is fine, though.
Related Music Video
Back when I could juggle, I was always looking for good songs to juggle to. I only found two, and of those, I only remember one: Art of Noise's "Dragnet", a rather silly song.
Do any of y'all juggle? Have you tried learning? Do you have a favorite juggling song you would recommend?
An old roommate and I spent hours and hours through many, many weeks and learned to juggle. But then my juggling balls were ruined and I didn't get more until recently and now I can't juggle anymore. So I'm going to learn again. In case you want to learn to juggle, let me teach you like some experts taught me.
Preparation
You're going to need something to juggle. Balls are easier than clubs, torches, knives, etc. You can start with lemons or whatever, but the ideal juggling balls do not roll and especially do not bounce. They just go thud, and then you don't chase them all over the room, you just pick them up. Some kind of bean-bag or hacky sack type of ball is good. Game stores (and the internet) also have official juggling balls. I made my first ones and really liked raw rice as a filler--except that rice is edible and thus attracts, uh, some kind of beings who can eat through fabric. If you make your own juggling balls, use dark-colored fabric so they look good longer. You also want a little heft to them--rolled up socks are a bit light.
It is also recommended that you stand facing a couch or bed so you don't have to bend over so far to pick up the balls. My friend and I also practiced sitting cross-legged, but your knees might get in the way a little bit.
Yes, you will drop the balls millions of times. That's okay, of course! (Well, maybe you're fantastically talented and can learn physical skills almost instantly. Still, you probably don't want a super bouncy ball.) Probably you will screw up in so many different hilarious ways that you will be adding laughter to your day. Extreme lack of coordination is pretty funny, if there aren't any bullies around.
One ball
Start with one ball. Juggling is about good throwing much more than it is about good catching. Your goal is to start with your arms L-shaped with your hands face-up in front of you and your elbows at your sides. Toss the ball using a small upward motion so that the ball goes in an arc past your eyes and then down into your other hand. Practice tossing from one had to the other and back until your throws are consistent and you no longer have to move your catching hand (or feet) to get to the ball to catch it.
This step may take a disturbingly long time. But keep practicing!
Two balls
Start with one ball in each hand. Toss one as usual, and when the ball reaches its apex on front of your eyes, toss the other ball. Now that hand is available to catch the first ball, so catch it. Then catch the second ball.
Alternate throwing with the right hand first and throwing with the left hand first. You need to be good at both!
If this starts getting too hilarious, go back to one ball for a while.
Three balls
Start with two balls in one hand and one ball in the other. Toss one of the balls from the hand with two balls and continue as with two balls. Every time you catch a ball, immediately throw it again.
For me, the key was to learn to panic by throwing. Yikes! A ball is coming! don't just drop the other ball or hang on to it--throw it! And then you work to improve these panic throws.
Technically, once you have caught three balls in a row, you have juggled!
At first, your throws tend to get worse and worse with each throw, but eventually, you can learn to just juggle indefinitely.
More Advice
My friend and I learned from people who really liked to juggle. They, in turn, learned from someone who loved to juggle so much that he started a juggling club when he went away to college. They were all members of the Texas Juggling Society, which is full of people who like to practice, learn, and teach juggling (and other related skills), and that's where they learned. (Me, I have a problem with asking for help, especially from strangers, so I never joined.)
I really liked learning from experts. And I really liked learning with my roommate. We both stank for so long, but I stank worse than her. Unfortunately, I practiced just a little bit more often and eventually caught up to her, after which apparently she was no longer motivated. :-(
My friend and I also had fun making more and more ridiculous juggling balls. We even made one of pentagons! A normal cube shape is fine, though.
Related Music Video
Back when I could juggle, I was always looking for good songs to juggle to. I only found two, and of those, I only remember one: Art of Noise's "Dragnet", a rather silly song.
Do any of y'all juggle? Have you tried learning? Do you have a favorite juggling song you would recommend?