Juggling Thread

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 11 Apr 2006 18:29

Thanks for that link, by the way.
I contacted the guy in charge, but they only meet one day a week and it's when I work

I'm hopefully getting a new job soon (interview tomorrow), so that will leave that day open if I quit my current job and I will be able to hook up with them, but for now no luck... He said they're the only club in the city too.

Anyway, does anyone have any videos of combos and "runs"? I have some basic patterns down, but my "shred" is all just really the same and it's not boring, because juggling is really fun, but it would be nice to get some ideas of what other people do. I'm watching a Jorden video, but his stuff is just way beyond my understanding.

Thanks

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 11 Apr 2006 20:49

This may or may not help, but the way I initially approached juggling "shred" was to figure out how to link all of my patterns and tricks on each side with Mill's Mess. I find Mill's to be a very, very versatile trick to base the rest of your shred out of, kind of like butterflies.

sniikeri · Post by **sniikeri** » 13 Apr 2006 09:15

I tried learning new patterns from different sites, but obviously the jugglers suck at designing websites (yellow text on black background, c'mon!). And I didn't even understand the half that was said there, so I gave up.
I can do some basic 3-ball stuff, don't really know their names. With 4 balls I can do the "2 in one hand" and I'm learning the 4-ball shower.

Please, make more juggling videos and tell what the patterns are called!

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 13 Apr 2006 12:26

Hey Lauri,

I found this site to be very useful when I first started juggling, I think it'll help you out.

http://homepage.mac.com/abramr/juggling/

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 13 Apr 2006 19:06

I also use the JuggleMaster Java. Here's a link to the download page:
http://www.free-dome.org/orr/PassingPag ... wnload.htm

I think I am at about the same level as you, Lauri.
My problem is I want to see how other people at this level make combos and which patterns to learn next (since I find that they aren't really organized in order of difficulty in any way...)

I started adding Eating Apples (for light eaters), but I thought it felt silly, so I asked my brother and he says it looks silly. The java demos don't help a lot of the time to help me understand how the moves are supposed to look

And my problem with 4-ball shower is that I have trouble making sure that the balls don't hit each other in midair -- this happens so much. I can get to, like, 40 tosses, but invariably after that the balls start hitting each other (especially with balls -- I usually use Mr. Sandman bags).

sniikeri · Post by **sniikeri** » 14 Apr 2006 08:23

Erik Chan wrote:And my problem with 4-ball shower is that I have trouble making sure that the balls don't hit each other in midair -- this happens so much. I can get to, like, 40 tosses, but invariably after that the balls start hitting each other (especially with balls -- I usually use Mr. Sandman bags).

I can't really do the 4-ball shower yet, only a couple of throws. My starting throws aren't that good yet.
If I do it clockwise I have 2 balls in each hand. I toss the other ball from my right hand, then quickly throw the two from the left hand and try to start doing the shower. I've probably got about 5 throws with best tries, it's a start.
I used to use Mr. Sandmans too when I started!

But then I got frustrated with them because they always went through my fingers. Since last Christmas I've been using real juggling balls that my sister gave me.

And thanks for the links, Erik and Sam, I'll check them now.
I've been thinking about making a little juggling vid with all my "moves", it'd be cool if other people would do these too.

EDIT:
Hey, I think I can do Mills Mess already! Or actually the way my hands/arms goes is similar but I kind of throw them differently.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 14 Apr 2006 16:27

Oh, I actually meant 4-ball fountain >_____<
I don't think I could do 4-ball shower. My flip 3-ball shower is really really weak. Do you toss really really high for 4-ball shower? I think I could do 3 in one hand (whatever that's called?), but I don't have a high enough ceiling for how high I would have to throw.

What 3-ball tricks can you do? Maybe it will give me an idea of what to do next. I can't do Mills Mess, I don't think.

sniikeri · Post by **sniikeri** » 15 Apr 2006 04:16

Erik Chan wrote:Oh, I actually meant 4-ball fountain >_____<
I don't think I could do 4-ball shower. My flip 3-ball shower is really really weak. Do you toss really really high for 4-ball shower? I think I could do 3 in one hand (whatever that's called?), but I don't have a high enough ceiling for how high I would have to throw.

Well, first I thought one had to toss the balls high, but because my room is in the upstairs I don't have a high ceiling either. I think you don't have to throw them that high if you learn to toss them really fast.

What 3-ball tricks can you do? Maybe it will give me an idea of what to do next. I can't do Mills Mess, I don't think.

I'm still not sure if the "pattern I can do and believe to be Mills Mess" is Mills Mess, because when I do it it somehow feels different from the pattern on that Wildcat-website. [I just spent some more time thinking it and now I'm more than 50% sure that it really is Mills Mess.]
I'll try to explain it:
1. Can you do the crossed arm reverse cascade? Learn that first both sides.
2. Think about how you could switch the sides with the minimum number of throws.
3. I've usually tossed the balls pretty straight up and my arms have done work. There on the website the guy doesn't throw the balls that straight up (he kind of "cheats"

). When you've learnt it with the straight up throws try throwing them more horizontally.

I can do cascade/rev cascade, half shower bs (or bd = both directions?), clawing, half mess, 3-ball shower bd, box, crossed arm reverse cascade, some of these one-up two-ups and mixed patterns of crossed arm rev cascade, mills mess and half mess.
With two balls I can do all the three patterns from the website. With four balls I can do both fountains.
I'll try to make a video soon, it's pretty hard to describe these things just with typing.

I think I could learn more quite easily, but then there are stuff that are 'serious mind fuck', like the Burke's Barrage!

That really goes over my brain capacity, help would be appreciated.
Fake Mess looks cool too, I think I'll go to practise it now because I can't play footbag this weekend.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 15 Apr 2006 15:07

Yeah that's how I feel too.
When my finals are done after this weekend I will juggle more and make some videos. I was just trying crossed arm reverse cascade last night, I think and I completely understand what you mean about the horizontal throws -- I was doing the vertical too and it was silly. Actually I'm not sure if I do my chops properly... I don't know what is considered "clean".

Thanks for those tips. I'll try some more stuff.
I tried the box out of nowhere last night too and I think I could get it -- do you have any tips for that one, Lauri?

habitat · Post by **habitat** » 15 Apr 2006 20:11

i did the box for like 4 throws, it's tough.

I juggled a little bit the other day for the first time since I started this thread. It's great to hear others around my same level

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 16 Apr 2006 01:21

It's 4:30 in the morning and I can't sleep.
I had to try the box. I had to look on the java master thing to see how it actually works though, because I was just fooling around before. After a couple minutes of trying to figure it out I got 7 tosses

It just feels like shower, but instead of going all the way around you just keep going back and forth. I think it will be easier than shower once I get it down, since my flip shower is so bad, and that didn't seem to affect my flip hand toss for the box at all!
I found it easier when I started tossing higher, because at first my tosses would get increasingly lower and lower, because I was distracted by the distance I had to toss with the middle ball between hands. When I tossed higher it gave me time to concentrate on tossing the side balls straight up (instead of instinctively arching inward) and aiming my middle ball so that it doesn't miss my hand, and sometimes arch too much too.

I had a run with the box, shower both sides, cascade and reverse cascade, tennis (I think that's what it's called? It's like cascade but one ball keeps going over back and forth), chops, "mirage" each side, flash, 1up-2up (where two go straight up on either side, and then the centre one goes straight up, alternatively), and 1up-2up (basically the same, but the two outside balls cross over).
That's basically the extent of my consistant 3-ball tricks, so I was pretty happy after JUST learning the box (I think it was pretty deep midstring too -- I had to start with flip shower)

I think I'm going to work on Weave and Follow next. I still feel really lost, so any tips on what to try from what I can do would be really helpful.
Lauri: Is Half Shower just like Reverse Cascade but you cross under your arms every second rotation? I'm watching the java demonstration and I'm not sure what is going on.

sniikeri · Post by **sniikeri** » 16 Apr 2006 10:13

Erik Chan wrote:I think I'm going to work on Weave and Follow next. I still feel really lost, so any tips on what to try from what I can do would be really helpful.
Lauri: Is Half Shower just like Reverse Cascade but you cross under your arms every second rotation? I'm watching the java demonstration and I'm not sure what is going on.

Half Shower is like a mixture of Cascade and Reverse Cascade: the other hand does the normal throw and the other one does the Over the Top throw. Check out the Wildcats site: http://homepage.mac.com/abramr/juggling ... hower.html
As you can see, there's no crossing arms. If you can do Tennis, you can definitely do Half Shower too.

I think you got it with the Box, Erik.

I first learned the Shower bs and then trained the "switch the direction" -throw. The Box is 'switch the direction throws' back to back.

I don't know what Weave and Follow are... Inverted Shower is madness!

*Modified Un-Official Juggling Club

*

Anz · Post by **Anz** » 16 Apr 2006 11:35

Now that I found and read this whole thread I decided to start juggling

Let's see how do I get it started. Footbags are good enough to begin, right?

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 16 Apr 2006 19:14

sniikeri wrote: Half Shower is like a mixture of Cascade and Reverse Cascade: the other hand does the normal throw and the other one does the Over the Top throw. Check out the Wildcats site: http://homepage.mac.com/abramr/juggling ... hower.html
As you can see, there's no crossing arms. If you can do Tennis, you can definitely do Half Shower too.

Seriously?
It looks way more complex in the video I watched. I can't watch the one you posted though, for some reason. I've been to that site before, and for some reason some videos work for me and some don't. So can you describe how regular Mills Mess works then? I always thought Mills Mess was some crazy trick, but if half mess is so simple how you describe it -- it is just as easy as tennis! -- then I can't wait to try Mill's!

sniikeri wrote:*Modified Un-Official Juggling Club *

Anssi: I juggle with mr sandman bags. I think I will buy juggling balls soon. Footbags are super small, and I've tried to juggle tennis balls and some food items, and I'm not used to it, so it's much harder to maneuver (because they are so much larger). But then I will be able to do, like, those tricks where you bounce the balls against each other. Plus I think juggling balls have a great feel. I tried somebody's once, and they feel good. Mr sandman bags tend to make my hands feel gritty and get sand all over my bedroom floor and bed

hacksterbator · Post by **hacksterbator** » 16 Apr 2006 19:40

you'll thank your self when you get juggling balls. i used to juggle with a revolution, a felix and a net bag, and my juggling improved imediately when i started using juggling balls, and my consistancy and progression improved seemingly over night.

oh, and if you come into the restauraunt that i work at and it's dead and i'm working the line, you might see me juggling (and perhaps breaking) cups! i like juggling unusual objects.

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 16 Apr 2006 20:41

Yeah, I didn't want to harp on you guys earlier, but now that someone else has said it, I will, too:

Get real juggling balls!!! Juggling with footbags is not the way to go. Your form with juggling will skyrocket if you juggle with an actual spherical object, or even big bean bags like Paul's Balls (what I use).

Also, I believe Justin is getting a camera within the week - what is this, the 10th time I've said this?

- so I'll try and get some footage of my juggling for you guys that have been wanting to see what some "stringing" looks like in terms of juggling.

Jorden · Post by **Jorden** » 16 Apr 2006 21:51

Hey guys,

I've been known to do a few tricks. Any requests? Filming sesh tomorrow.

All the best,
JM

sampotter · Post by **sampotter** » 16 Apr 2006 22:07

Let's see the latest stuff!! I'd love to see what you're up to in 3-ball. You are definitely my biggest drive to get better at 3-ball. Also, I'm not sure if you freestyle 4-ball or not, but if you do, I'd really like to see what you can do. I'm trying to hone my chops at that and it's difficult without being able to check out anything but the amazing Ben West.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 17 Apr 2006 08:47

I would love to see a whole bunch of basic tricks, like the ones I need to learn next. Maybe Mills Mess, and some others just beyond the difficulty of what Lauri and I are juggling right now.

Mostly I would love to see combos with tricks that we are doing and those others that are just a step above to give me an idea of what a real juggler does and how I can do fun stuff with my limited and basic tricks.

I'd also love to see more of your crazy juggling, but I can't even follow that stuff so it won't really help my game other than making want to get that good :p

Thanks Jorden

EDIT: I emailed the guy from that local club to ask where I could get some juggling balls and he, like a few other people, suggested that I just fill my tennis balls with rice or sand and tape them up. So I just did that and the first thing that I noticed is how much better they feel AND that my flip shower was IMMEDIATELY, like, 100% better!!! I think everything is easier, I tossed a couple contacts of the box and other stuff in the first couple minutes I tried them. I can't wait to get some real juggling balls some day.

I have a question: are there different balls that affect performance in different ways? And are juggling balls generally expensive? Would buying a set at a toy store be worth my while or will they just fall apart or something?

EDIT 2: Lauri are you sure Half Mess is half cascade and half reverse cascade? I couldn't watch the Mills Mess video on that Wildcat site, but for some reason the "step-by-step" videos below worked, and surely there is arm crossing. It doesn't seem to make sense that Half Mess would have none of that. It seems more like that Arches pattern, but with only 2 arches instead of one per ball (3). I will make some videos tomorrow, after exams -- maybe I am just doing it wrong?

From one hand I am tossing regular cascade (so inward, underhand) and with the other I am tossing reverse cascade (over and...not really "overhand" but moreso...) all tossing in the same direction. So it forms a sort of...boomerang shape in the air...

Jorden · Post by **Jorden** » 17 Apr 2006 19:03

Didn't get much juggling on tape. Too busy shredding.

I'll throw a video together with a crapload of novice tricks, with steps to follow tomorrow.

Laaaters.