Juggle Trouble

Might I suggest starting with one bag? When you are happy with that
work up to two, then three. Practice wil pay off, and in the meantime,
if you are sick of picking bags up off the floor, practice in front of a
bed (less distance to bend down to pick them up) or take your shoes and
socks off and practice picking bags up with your feet. If the bag
flying to the other side of the room really bugs you, practice facing a
corner and you'll have a shorter distance to walk to pick it up.

It also helps to concentrate on getting the throws right in the
beginning and to worry about the catches later. Sounds silly, but once
you get your throws more accurate the catches become much easier.

Jayne

--
Jayne ZA - Learning to ride on a Coker

Being a statistician means never having to say you're certain

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another tip is on i use when i find balls flying away from me when
learning new tricks is to practice on a chair. This way your less
likly* to chase after the ball when you throw it forward so i think it
helps you to progress* quicker too.

--
juggling_guy
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practice in front of a wall till you can though it in the right
direction. You just need to get past the mentle block in your brain
saying this is crazy and just wanting to through it any where.

--
Tim - Coker user

"He's on a unicycle we'll never catch him now!" -Fred from Scooby Doo
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Follow Jayne's advice.

Use something heavier, around a half kilo to a kilo, until you have the
throws down right. (by the way, this is an excellent physical therapy
excercise for old guys with rotator-cuff injuries...) You're going for
a smooth, scooping motion - catch down near the waist, just outside a
vertical line from your shoulder joint, let the hand dip a bit during
the scoop, then flick it up just offset from your belly button. The
heavier objects force you to learn good form.

Don't move up (from one to two) until you can do 20-30 throws in a row
with your eyes shut. Don't move up if you have to reach out or up to
catch any of the throws. Don't move up until you naturally use the same
smooth, scooping motion for light things that you have to use for the
heavy stuff.

I didn't realize the importance of good scoops and spent years (off and
on) trying to juggle. I spent about a month (5-10 minutes most
mornings) learning good scoops and juggling came fairly easy after that.

--
cyberbellum - Level 1.0 rider!

I was standing in the park wondering why frisbees get bigger as they get
closer. Then it hit me.
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cyberbellum said:

*Don't move up (from one to two) until you can do 20-30 throws in a
row with your eyes shut. Don't move up if you have to reach out or up
to catch any of the throws. Don't move up until you naturally use the
same smooth, scooping motion for light things that you have to use for
the heavy stuff. *

Can you seriously do the throws and catches with your eyes shut? For
what it's worth, the important thing is that you *can* throw comfortably
and consistently... I 'd say that being able to do it with your eyes
shut is completely optional. I've been juggling for about five years,
and while doing it without eyes is cool, it's definitely not needed in
the learning process (I still can't do it, although I have not put in a
lot of practice time)

On a similar note though, the habit that you do want to pick up is being
able to catch the balls by looking only at the top of their paths. When
most people juggle, they only need to look at where the balls reach
their maximum heights. Give that a try in combination with the catching
and throwing suggestions that have already been given.

--
Sipid Malapropism
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I can juggle with my eyes shut; when I was practicing it daily I was
getting close to managing mills mess with no vision.

However, I agree that it's unnecessary in the learning process, even
with one or two balls.

The throws with eyes shut are much lower than throws with eyes open,
it's a very tight pattern cos if you throw them higher you can't catch
them.

As for learning, a really good tip that's already been given is to focus
on getting the throws right, rather than the catches- this applies at
all levels and in other types of juggling, such as passing clubs with a
partner.

Also, on the subject of eyes; when you can do the 3 balls fairly
consistently, it's good to start 'looking through the pattern' rather
than fixating on the balls.

ie look at the wall beyond- this is great preparation for getting into
passing, but will also improve your individual juggling.

Main thing is to stick with it, practice a few minutes every day or so-
as the months roll by you'll be amazed at how the slow, steady progress
builds up.

--
onewheeldave - Semi Skilled Unicyclist

"He's also been known to indulge in a spot of flame juggling - but it's
the Muni that really fires him up."

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Thanks all, that all sounds good.

But when you say "concentrate on the throws" do you mean just make it a
good throw like with the scoop? Wouldn't it also entail a toss to the
other hand. So I wouldn't need to worry about catches if the throw was
good it would make it into my hand, right?

--
PopeSamXVI - Resident Hogwasher/Hornswaggler

Karol Jozef Wojtyla Forever!

I really am the president of my own fan club. www.samhunterfanclub.tk
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PopeSamXVI said:

*But when you say "concentrate on the throws" do you mean just make it
a good throw like with the scoop? Wouldn't it also entail a toss to
the other hand. So I wouldn't need to worry about catches if the throw
was good it would make it into my hand, right? *

EXACTLY - the more on target your throws are the easier the catches
become. When you start with 2 bags (or balls) it helps to say
throw-throw-catch-catch as you do the same to overcome that initial
instinct to get them out of your hands as quickly as possible. When you
move up to three, just say throw-throw-throw. Your hands have to be
empty so you can catch the ball that's coming down and throw it up
again. Remember that extra high throws may give you the impression that
you have more time to catch the ball, but for a beginner they are much
harder to control and you'll have more wayward drops.

To check your progress, try and see where you drop. If your throws are
on target your bags (or balls) should land close to your feet. I could
tell I was making progress with my juggling when I no longer had to
leave the room to pick up my drops. Cats are also a good measure of
juggling success. If they stay in the room when they see you with
juggling stuff then you're getting better.

I also find it helps to practice for a set time and then take a break.
Set a timer for 10 minutes or so and PRACTICE. Repeat every day and
you'll see progress. As you get better increase the time or try
something new for 10 minutes and practice old tricks for 10 minutes.
That's enough time to get some work in without getting TOTALLY
frustrated at how little progress you are making.

Jayne

--
Jayne ZA - Learning to ride on a Coker

Being a statistician means never having to say you're certain

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Sipid Malapropism said:

*
Can you seriously do the throws and catches with your eyes shut? *

Yeah, on single tosses almost 100%. Juggling came really hard for me;
by the time I could get a steady 3 ball cascade my single throws and
catches had become that good. I still had a few semi-wild throws but my
catching hand had them under control by reflex.

But point taken that it isn't necessary for everyone to get that good at
throws to juggle.

--
cyberbellum - Level 1.0 rider!

I was standing in the park wondering why frisbees get bigger as they get
closer. Then it hit me.
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