New Frontiers

The Guide contains impressive coverage about how and why to Juggle. This entry is for the wayward soul who is confident in his or her three-ball juggling skill, but desires a new challenge, or at least a new way to impress people. New props and greater numbers are great, and often necessary, to impress increasingly jaded specators. Most importantly, they increase the personal satisfaction derived from being slightly weirder than the nearest other intelligent lifeform.

Learning New Props

It is simply impossible to list everthing that can be recruited as a juggling prop. It could conceivably be much easier to list the very few things that aren't used as juggling props. But if that list were created, some foolish juggler would set out to disprove it, and no doubt, hold the Guide responsible for the consequences rendered by nature. Rather than create an exhaustive list, I will explain briefly the basic methods of adopting a new prop for yourself.

The first and most important step is to toss things around that you normally would not. Most objects are far more resistant to breaking than they look, and as you experiment you will find things with exciting aerodynamic properties. If you have a friend who juggles, or at least catches and throws well, toss things back and forth to eachother across the room. Eventually you will feel comfortable with the way your favorite objects behave in the air, and will be able to add them to your juggling cascade. Once you have begun throwing objects to your friend across the room, you will soon be ready to pass these objects back and forth while juggling.

Some objects will require special throws or catches. Light objects require more finesse and precision. Objects with handles¹ should be thrown end-over-end, timed to come down with the handle facing you when caught. Objects with relatively flat surfaces² are well suited to being caught on the back of your hand, similar to Contact Juggling. With durable objects you can take greater risks, such as bouncing them off your knee of foot, similar to a Hacky Sack

Be sure to become extra familiar with objects that you keep with you the most often. For example, it is priceless to intimately know the weight and behavior of your keys, wallet, cigarette lighter³, and your closest friends' keys, wallets and cigarette lighters. Since these are always with you, you can juggle them anywhere.

Juggling Greater Quantities

According to the book, Juggling for the Complete Klutz, the only combination of props and numbers that will consistently impress people is a rotation of eleven objects, seven of which are knives. Nonetheless, if you insist on juggling more objects than the next person, here are the basic techniques.

Any quantity can be done in a variety of different styles, but the core principles are the same. Every higher number of objects requires greater speed, sharper precision throws, and an increasing amount of patience. The techniques for learning to juggle even and odd numbers or objects are quite different. Many jugglers feel that learning to juggle even numbers does not help with the odd numbers at all.

The best way to learn to juggle even numbers of objects is to learn to juggle half that number in each hand, ambidextrously. To juggle four balls, learn to juggle two balls in just your right hand, and then learn to juggle two balls in your left hand. Then, paying no attention to probabilities or physics, do both at once. Now simply ignore any non-juggler friends you may have aquired and practice until you can juggle consistently. Don't be afraid to revert to practicing with one hand at a time. To juggle six, learn to juggle three in each hand, then combine, etc.

Juggling a higher odd number of balls starts with learning to do a flash with however many odd number of balls you can already do. To juggle five, first teach yourself to do a three ball flash. Juggle normally, then throw each ball one after another extra high, so that all three end up in the air at once. Now clap. If you can do this and successfully catch all three balls and continue juggling, you are ready to start learning five. Learn to do the three ball flash with consistent height and comfortable catches.

Now get three balls in your starting hand and two balls in the other. Throw each ball to the three ball flash height, taking turns between hands. Try to make five throws and then five catches. Count throws, and make every catch. When you consistently make five successful throws and catches, add a sixth and seventh throw. When you can make ten good throws and catches, you are officially able to juggle five balls.⁴

For seven balls, learn the five ball flash. Start with seven throws and seven catches. When you can make twice as many throws as the number of balls you are throwing, you have officially succeeded by most jugglers' standards.⁵

Trick Quality is No Substitute for Trick Quantity

Remember that non-jugglers are not impressed by the same tricks that impress jugglers. Simple variations in a three ball cascade often inspire more awe in an audience than juggling seven knives blindfolded. No matter how long it takes you to learn a prop or number of objects, it will only hold the audience's attention for a short time. Never pass up the opportunity to learn even the easiest tricks, and don't hesitate to add them to your preformances.