Thread: Juggling Tutorial Video by Gnome

I am comfortable with whatever you feel like posting.

Another question. How long did it take you to discover a near perfect rhythm? Sometimes it'll take me a couple tries before I get to eight or nine throws, while all the other times I'm only getting one or two. Usually I commit some of the common mistakes, like throwing it forward (I practice against my bed side so I don't step forward).

I think it took me about a week or so to be able to do it continuously. Progress is exponential, I think.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...35086938867623

If you take a look at my earliest juggling video, made about a month after I started (and I was still using tennis balls), you can see that I still wasn't very fluid, although I felt pretty comfortable.

I think there's a mechanical and an aesthetic portion of the learning process. First, you have to cement what you're trying to do in your head, so that you can run through it a few times. Then and only then can you really start to tweak it so it looks better.

It took a while to load up, but here's my second tutorial video.

It details some simple additions to the three-ball cascade: overhand throws, under-the-arm throws, and two balls in one hand. Hope it helps!

Would you mind if I post these videos onto another forum? There's a thread about juggling going around right now.

Originally Posted by Elis D.

Would you mind if I post these videos onto another forum? There's a thread about juggling going around right now.

Sure, go ahead! Could you send me a link to it, though? I'd be curious to check it out

PM sent, they can be pretty harsh though, it's a Free for All there, so be prepared for the possibility of getting ripped a new one lol.

Right on gnome, thanks. I slept on it, picked the balls up this morning and instantly got a good ten throws in. Then I got back from school and went even longer. One day and I'm already getting better.

I think it just takes time and practice so you can realize how to keep the rhythm going. I can now correct myself whenever I throw the ball too far, too short, or too high. I'll be learning how to do your tricks once I perfect the cascade.

Originally Posted by thegnome54

It took a while to load up, but here's my second tutorial video.

It details some simple additions to the three-ball cascade: overhand throws, under-the-arm throws, and two balls in one hand. Hope it helps!

Teach them one-up two ups. The Infinity is a fun beginner trick.

Originally Posted by Elis D.

PM sent, they can be pretty harsh though, it's a Free for All there, so be prepared for the possibility of getting ripped a new one lol.

Haha, that's alright. I've already managed to teach at least one person to juggle, so it's mission accomplished as far as I'm concerned

Originally Posted by CoLd BlooDed

Right on gnome, thanks. I slept on it, picked the balls up this morning and instantly got a good ten throws in. Then I got back from school and went even longer. One day and I'm already getting better.

I think it just takes time and practice so you can realize how to keep the rhythm going. I can now correct myself whenever I throw the ball too far, too short, or too high. I'll be learning how to do your tricks once I perfect the cascade.

That's great, CB! It really is like riding a bicycle. You actually get to the point where it's so regular, you can do it with your eyes closed! That's a fun trick to pull when people are watching you - I just turn my head and look over my shoulder, while I'm still juggling

Originally Posted by jhnnyman

Teach them one-up two ups. The Infinity is a fun beginner trick.

The three-ball cascade is definitely the place to start, pretty much everything is based on it afterwards. One-up two-up tricks require you to be able to do two in one hand consistently, so it's a more advanced trick.

I'd like a tutorial for this please.


Seriously, that's pretty cool that you're making tutorials! If you start making some for more advanced tricks that'd be awesome. I can cascade but that's it.

Ahh, now I just watched your second video! Very nice! I'm going to work on overhand later tonight.

Originally Posted by Stephent91

I'd like a tutorial for this please.

Haha, I love that video! That's what first inspired me to try with socks. I can now do everything he does in that video, save the three-in-one-hand bit. I'm still working on that, I can only do like five or six throws before it falls apart.

You can! That's amazing.

I got my teacher to play this on the projector in Latin because we both listen to a lot of the Beatles and Steely Dan and a bunch of that good music. And the song is Golden Slumbers.

Everybody in the class was jaw-dropped.

How long did it take you to get that good?

Originally Posted by Stephent91

How long did it take you to get that good?

I've been juggling for nine or ten months now, I think I'm just a natural (not to brag, but I did teach myself )
Here's a video of some of the hardest stuff I can currently do, to establish my credentials as a tutor

Very nice 5 ball! Is that hard to do? It looks amazing.

That's pretty good after 10 months it seems. I have no idea about how fast a normal person progresses though, so I wouldn't really know. I'm probably a natural also. I seem to be at nearly everything that is like this. Hand eye and foot eye coordination and timing.

Originally Posted by Stephent91

Very nice 5 ball! Is that hard to do? It looks amazing.

That's pretty good after 10 months it seems. I have no idea about how fast a normal person progresses though, so I wouldn't really know. I'm probably a natural also. I seem to be at nearly everything that is like this. Hand eye and foot eye coordination and timing.

Thanks! Five balls is very hard when you start trying, it is very fast-paced and your throws need to be REALLY precise, otherwise the balls all hit, or you have to reach too far to make a catch, and the pattern breaks. It's quite tiring to make such high throws at such a pace, too, your arms take a bit of a beating if you practice it for a few hours.

I don't really know how fast a 'normal' person progresses, either, but I understand it takes some people years to learn five balls, so I think I'm doing pretty good

Alright, so it's my third day, and I can do the three ball cascade with ease. The overhand is cinch (both left and right) and I just did a couple successful attempts at the jugglers tennis. I can do the two ball one hand for a while.

Only one I have problems with is the underhand, but that'll come with time if I've already learned all of these.

Originally Posted by CoLd BlooDed

Alright, so it's my third day, and I can do the three ball cascade with ease. The overhand is cinch (both left and right) and I just did a couple successful attempts at the jugglers tennis. I can do the two ball one hand for a while.

Only one I have problems with is the underhand, but that'll come with time if I've already learned all of these.

Great job, CB! I was a little worried about the underhand throws, because I didn't really know how to explain them too well. The only thing I can really think to add is that you should make sure your strong hand throws the ball from under your weak hand at the same moment as the ball your weak hand just threw arcs over the middle of your body, then dart back to catch it. This timing scheme holds true for almost all three-ball juggling moves. Good luck with that!

I had a lot of stats homework tonight, and tomorrow is looking heavy too (physics). Friday afternoon I think I'll try to make a video outlining the yoyo-oyoy family as well as the one-up-two-ups. Those should keep you busy for a while, there are a ton of variations of both groups.

I'm really glad that you enjoy juggling and are advancing so well! Having students always give you renewed vigor

As for my own endeavors, check out this guy I've just discovered, he's phenomenal! I'm going to try to learn some of the tricks he's doing if I can, they're ridiculously cool!

This guy's been juggling since 1992, before you or I could probably walk very well, so don't feel bad haha. What an inspiration, though!

Okay, here's Friday's tutorial video: Introduction to the Yoyo and One-up-two-up families of tricks.


I call it an introduction because I really just explain the concepts and a few of the possible implementations. There are way too many of each type to cover all of the variations in great detail, and I think it's more fun to experiment and discover them yourself anyways.

Good luck, and have fun! Progress reports or feedback welcome!

Nice recent tutorial.

Your Mills Mess looks really smooth. Mine doesn't flow as much, and it's really choppy. Do you know why this might be?

PS that guy you posted above is outstanding. It's almost scary how good he is.

Originally Posted by jhnnyman

Nice recent tutorial.

Your Mills Mess looks really smooth. Mine doesn't flow as much, and it's really choppy. Do you know why this might be?

Thanks!

There are three things I try to concentrate on to do an effective mills mess:

1) Each ball should follow roughly the same arc as every other ball on any side. There are three throws from one side, three throws from the other side, etc. etc. - I try to concentrate and make sure that all three are making the same arc. This makes it look like a spinning wheel-type pattern.
(You can see that I wasn't quite successful in my avatar at this - the last ball thrown from either side has a slightly wider arc. But it's good enough.)

2) The catches need to be cradles. I try to keep the impacts of the balls on my hands very soft - in order to do this, I move my hands as close to the speed that the balls are going as I can before catching them. You can see this in my avatar, my hands will make quick changes in direction in order to match up more smoothly with the velocity of the next ball. This is kind of tricky, but you get used to it if you 'feel' the pattern enough.

3) "Slide the crooked ball". The first ball you throw on either side is throw from an arm above the other arm, I call this ball 'crooked' because the arm holding it slides over towards the crook of the other arm beneath it. I try to slide this ball over towards the other side as soon as I catch it, to help the pattern stay wide and make it look like the balls are 'snaking' across, back and forth.

Hope that helps!

I've always wanted to learn this. Thank you so much.

I think ill try too
TO YOUTUBE...

I've been practising for a couple of days now, but I can still only manage the three ball flash. When I try to do the fourth throw, I totally lose control. I can do the three ball flash no problem, and I don't think practising it any more will help.

Keep practicing. I thought the same thing before, but eventually you'll just toss the fourth throw and go, "Sweet!" Then it'll be five, then six, then you can go for as long as you want.

I'm getting better at the overhand, and still having some problems with the under-arm. I can do a sort of under-arm flash. I'll keep practicing!