I was in 9th grade when I finally taught myself how to juggle. A friend of mine at Troy Jr. High School in Avon Lake, Ohio, could juggle and I wanted to learn. I watched him and studied the pattern and just started to practice as much as I could. As I practiced, I noticed my weak hand, left, was just horrible. My left hand wasn’t as strong as my right, so the ball would be tossed low and away from my body. To make matters worse, catching with my left hand was very difficult. So I decided to work my left hand more than my right. I always started with my left hand, therefore guaranteeing me that my left hand would get more tosses than my right. I also noticed that the balls I was using were spending more time on the floor than in my hand. Picking up the ball is the secret to learning to juggle, but chasing them all over the room is a waste of time. If I could eliminate all that wasted time, I would learn more every time I practiced. It didn’t take long for me to figure out a solution to all the problem. I started practicing over my mother’s bed. When the ball fell, they would land on the bed and I could immediately pick them up and start tossing them again. Wow, that method worked great.
So let’s get started... We already know that it is going to take time to learn and we want to work our weak hand more than our strong hand and wasted time is unproductive time. Get the three balls you want to learn with and place two in your weakest hand and one in the other hand. The cascade pattern to juggling looks like the number 8 turned sideways. You will toss one ball from the hand with two balls. That ball should pass across your face and peak around head height above the opposite shoulder. Once the ball starts to cross your face, you will start to toss a ball from the other hand. That ball should be leaving your hand when the first ball starts to peak. I call this first step, Up / Under. You toss one ball up to the other hand and the other hand tosses a ball under the first ball. Great, at this time we have one ball in our weak hand and two balls in the air. Not a problem!!!! The first ball is starting to come down from its’ peak just outside your shoulder of your strong hand. Great, just slide your strong hand over and down to catch the ball. The second ball tossed is now starting to peak towards your weak hand. That means what? That means your weak hand should toss a ball (remember, your weak hand started with two balls in it) UNDER the ball coming down. Once the left hand tosses the ball under the second ball tossed, your weak hand should slide over and down to catch the ball coming down. Now a ball is in the air going towards your strong hand. Your strong had says, GREAT, I will toss this ball I have in my hand back to the weak hand and go catch the ball landing on the outside. The pattern is never ending; you keep tossing one ball from one hand to the other hand. It is that simple... Well not that simple, you do have to spend hours practicing so your brain can work out the mechanics. Once your brain starts to learn the coordination, the timing and pattern, you will be juggling with ease. Remember, we all learn over time. If you keep practicing your time will come. Don’t quit!!!!!
I hope the above pointers help you learn to juggle. I am a visual learner, so it is always helpful for me to "see" what someone is teaching. I have made a 30-minute DVD on "How to Juggle" (BUY NOW)! This video will break things down step by step and give you methods to practice throwing and catching. It will also tackle the normal problems people incur while trying to learn to juggle. Good luck with juggling, it is a great hobby and great for coordination. (It also helps a child with a Learning Disability strengthen the pathways from each hemisphere of the brain, therefore improving a child’s ability to learn).
Video Tips on Juggling
Click on a video below to view highlights from Jim's instructional video on How to Juggle.
I was in 9th grade when I finally taught myself how to juggle. A friend of mine at Troy Jr. High School in Avon Lake, Ohio, could juggle and I wanted to learn. I watched him and studied the pattern and just started to practice as much as I could. As I practiced, I noticed my weak hand, left, was just horrible. My left hand wasn’t as strong as my right, so the ball would be tossed low and away from my body. To make matters worse, catching with my left hand was very difficult. So I decided to work my left hand more than my right. I always started with my left hand, therefore guaranteeing me that my left hand would get more tosses than my right. I also noticed that the balls I was using were spending more time on the floor than in my hand. Picking up the ball is the secret to learning to juggle, but chasing them all over the room is a waste of time. If I could eliminate all that wasted time, I would learn more every time I practiced. It didn’t take long for me to figure out a solution to all the problem. I started practicing over my mother’s bed. When the ball fell, they would land on the bed and I could immediately pick them up and start tossing them again. Wow, that method worked great.