Beginners' Corner

^{(Last updated: 26th May 2003)}

So you're new to juggling? Don't worry - we'll have you started in no time.

So what is juggling all about?

The club isn't just for jugglers. Most juggling clubs have people who enjoy lots of different circus skills. Some of them can't actually juggle at all, but prefer unicycling, diablo, devilstick, or other hobbies. Often, people start on one skill, then see people doing other things at their local club and decide they like one of those better. The point is that you don't have to be a skilled juggler to enjoy a juggling club.

Is juggling difficult?

That all depends on what you want to learn. You could probably learn to juggle three balls in a day if you practise hard (yes, even you!) You don't need fantastic coordination or even any special equipment (oranges make pretty good juggling balls).

So getting started is pretty easy and then it's up to you where you want to take it. You could start learning some tricks with three balls - some of those would probably only take you a couple more days, but others could take weeks. Or you might want to get into juggling larger numbers - this gets much harder the more you do. Four balls takes a few weeks to learn, five can take many months, and above that it gets pretty hard. Lots of people find they prefer juggling other objects, like rings or clubs. Again, getting started with these is pretty easy, but there's lots of hard stuff you can learn too.

Other circus skills are similar, although some of them (like unicycling) can take a bit longer to get the hang of. But you really don't need any special talents to pick them up. Unicyclists fall over just like the rest of us!

Give it a try and see if you like it. It can be a great hobby, and a great way to meet people, especially if you get into 'passing' (juggling between two or more people).

So how do I juggle three balls?

A lot of people learn to juggle two balls when they're at school. They do this by throwing one in the air, then passng the other one straight from one hand to the other. This is actually a particular juggling pattern called a shower. It's an easy way to juggle two balls, but quite a hard way to juggle larger numbers, including three. Believe it or not, if you try to juggle three balls like this, your throwing hand has to do as much work as if it were juggling five balls in the cascade pattern you're about to learn. If you're interested in why this is, take a look at the Basic Juggling Theory section.

If you can already juggle three balls and don't know what to do next then take a look at the Juggling Tips section. Or better still come along to the club on a Thursday night and someone will be very happy to give you some ideas.

The Cascade

This is the 'standard' juggling pattern which you will see most often. All three balls are thrown in an arc from one hand to the other, all peaking at the same height, with a regular time between throws. This diagram shows the route followed by the balls.

If you can't juggle at all then you had best start with one ball, which is not as silly as it sounds.

The first ball

Stand or kneel in a comfortable position with your back straight. Don't try to do this sitting down - you won't have enough room to move your arms.
Take a ball in your stronger hand and throw it up and across so you can catch it in the other. It should peak at around eye-level, and you shouldn't need to lean or stretch your arm to catch it.
Throw the ball back again, and repeat.

While doing this, try not to watch the ball all the way to your hand - soon you'll be doing this with three balls, and you don't have three pairs of eyes! As you improve you'll be able to judge where the ball will land just by looking at the point where it peaks. Once you're comfortable with throwing and catching the ball in each hand, you can move on to two.

Adding the second ball

Take a ball in each hand.
Throw the ball in your stronger hand, just as you did before.
When it reaches the peak of it's flight, throw the ball in your other hand - it should pass underneath the incoming ball.
Catch the balls in turn.
Repeat the process, but alternate the start between your stronger and weaker hands.

Three balls

Take two balls in your stronger hand and one in the other.
Throw the first ball from your stronger hand, just as you did before. You may need to practise this to get a nice throw without releasing the other ball.
Throw the ball from your weaker hand just as you did when you had two (when the first ball reaches its peak).
Throw the last ball as the second ball reaches it's peak.
If you're still going, you should have caught the second ball again by the time the third one reaches its peak, in which case you throw it, and so on...

If you're amazingly well co-ordinated, you're now juggling a three ball cascade. More likely you just dropped the balls, or threw the third one over the other side of the room. This is perfectly normal - it takes practice to get all the throws right, and it seems really rushed at first. People find they have different problems - some can't find time to throw the third ball; some tend to throw forwards. The only real answer is to keep trying. It feels really awkward at first, but it probably won't take you as long as you expect to get it comfortable.

So Come Along!

Now you know how to do it, what are you waiting for? Get the directions and come along to the club - every Thursday evening, 7:30 till 9:30.

Do I need my own juggling kit?

We don't actually have any club equipment (we don't make a profit to buy any!) but many of the existing members bring along far more stuff than they could ever juggle (why oh why do we keep buying it?) They'll be quite happy to let you use some of theirs at the club, while you're deciding if juggling (or another skill) is for you. If you do decide to take it up then you'll probably want some equipment of your own. If you want to see what's available, we've included some links to juggling shops. It's worth trying out some different props before you buy to find out what suits you best.

I can juggle balls - what about clubs?

The basic pattern for clubs is exactly the same as balls. The difference is that you have to spin them. The club should do one full spin for each throw, landing back in the other hand with the handle towards you. Practise first throwing one club from one hand to the other, as you did when learning balls. Then try with two. Starting three can be a bit tricky at first because you have to throw two clubs from one hand. The key to this is getting the hold right. It's tempting to hold the club you're throwing first with the body on top and the handle underneath. This is called a circus grip - click here to see a picture of it. It's a perfectly valid hold, but you risk hitting yourself in the face with the club. It's probably better to learn to start with the clubs the other way round, in a normal grip - click here for a picture. This may seem unnatural at first, but it is easier in the long term, especially for passing. The circus grip is used for multiplex throws (throwing more than one club at the same time).

Common problems include:

Underspinning the clubs so you can't catch the handles - practise spinning them more!
Overspinning the clubs so you can't catch the handles - practise spinning them less!
Throwing too far forwards

In many cases these all come from a fear of hitting yourself with the clubs. You'll probably find you're holding your arms out at full length to keep the clubs away from your face - this is a very unnatural position to throw from. Try to overcome your fear and drop your arms lower - you'll have a more controlled throw and are probably less likely to hit yourself.

Hey, Mister, can you juggle fire / knives / chainsaws?

Juggling with all these things is possible, but don't try it without expert supervision. If you want to get into something like fire juggling, find someone who already knows how to do it to help you get started. Remember, when you see jugglers doing this they are using specialist juggling props, not ordinary items - do NOT attempt to juggle ordinary kitchen knives, real chainsaws, burning objects or anything sharp, hot, heavy or breakable - you will almost certainly hurt yourself!