The Cascade
The cascade is the simplest three ball juggling pattern & is
basically a figure of eight on its side. There are two ways to learn it.
One, pick up three balls & go for it. Or two, take things a step at
a time. Learning to juggle is tricky, but anyone can do it. Those
that think they will never juggle usually have the most fun, because
they are all the more amazed when they discover how easy it is. Just
have fun, don't force yourself to practice, if you have trouble with a
particular step don't be afraid of going back & practicing the
previous one again.
Step 1
Take one ball and throw it from hand to hand. Work on four things:
- Make sure each throw goes to the same height, approximately eye
level. Throws from the right hand should peak on the left side,
throws from the left hand should peak on the right.
- Don't reach up to grab the ball, wait for it to come down and catch it at waist level.
- Scoop your hands as you throw, make little clockwise circles with
your right hand and anticlockwise with your left. In the full
three ball cascade you will catch on the outside of the circle and throw from the inside. So start the habit early.
- Only throw in two dimensions: height and width, not depth. The
ball should travel up and down, side to side but NOT
towards or away from you.
Work on this until you can do this perfectly, with no forward or
backward movement and without moving your feet. Try clapping under
each throw, try clapping once behind your back then once in front, then
once behind, once in front and once behind again before making the
catch.
25 throws and catches without stopping or dropping
Then move on to...
Step 2
The next step is the exchange. Take two balls, one in each hand.
Using exactly the same throwing method from step1 throw from the right
hand, wait until it peaks on the left hand side and then throw
upwards from your left hand underneath the first ball.
DO NOT PASS THE SECOND BALL UNDER THE FIRST!!
Everyone does at first, it may be easier but it has nothing to do
with the three ball cascade. Passing under is a very hard habit to break
but there are several things you can do to solve the problem:
- Try starting from your weak hand first.
- Keep your head up and look at where you want to throw the balls.
- Physically tell yourself what to do by saying out loud, "UP,
UP" in time with your throws.
- Really exaggerate the scooping motion with your hands which will
force you to throw (the ball) up.
After stamping out the passing under problem most people tend to
throw the first ball with a nice scoop and then uncontrollably jerk
the second ball out of their hands. If you are starting with the right
hand, concentrate entirely on your left hand. Start your left hand scoop
as soon as the first ball has left your right hand, the timing should be
about right for you to make the left hand throw at the correct time when
the first ball peaks.
You will also probably find yourself throwing forward, to stop this
remember to scoop your arms, stand up straight, with your feet shoulder
width apart (many problems in juggling can be corrected by adjusting
your posture) and keep your head up.
Again, get this step perfect, starting with both hands alternately.
If you find it difficult throwing from your weak hand first try telling
yourself what to do again by saying out loud, "left, right"
or, "right, left". Get to the point where you can juggle,
"right, left, gap, left, right, gap..." without pause in a
smooth even rhythm. When you say gap, you should have one hand empty,
try snapping your fingers in the gap. In Step 3 the third ball will be
caught and thrown in that gap.
Be patient, when you can do this step smoothly 25 times without
stopping or dropping, proceed to...
Step 3
Almost there now. Pick up the third ball. You will start with two
balls in one hand and one in the other. To hold two balls in one hand,
grip one ball between your thumb, fore and middle fingers and one
between your ring and little finger and the butt of the thumb.
To start with, count out three throws starting with the hand that is
holding two. Throw the ball between your thumb, fore and middle
fingers first, then throw the second ball from the opposite hand
underneath ball 1 (just like the exchange in Step2) and then throw the
third ball from the starting hand under ball 2. Stop by catching two
balls in the opposite hand you started with. You have just completed
three throws of the cascade.
Now all you need to do is keep going. Simply throw each ball under
the one before. Just keep saying to yourself, "throw, throw, throw,
throw..." Go on to four throws, then five, then six, then...well
you're juggling!
Throwing forward will probably be your biggest problem. You may start
off on one side of the room & end up on the other. Try juggling
against a wall, (I recommend a smooth papered wall rather than bare
brick if you value your knuckles) the balls will simply bounce back into
the pattern. Try & reduce the number of throws that bounce off the
wall, when the number is zero you've solved the problem. Or flick your
fingers back into the palm of your hand as you throw, this will cause
the ball to curve back towards you.
Another common problem is known as 'Limp Lefts' (or 'Limp Rights' for
the lefties). This is where your dominant hand throws to the normal
height but your weak hand hardly throws the ball up an inch. This is not
because one hand is significantly weaker than the other but because your
weak side is 'thinking' slower. Concentrate on the scoop on your weak
side, just putting more physical effort in will only result in wild
throws and probably tire you out. Tell yourself to throw higher by
actually shouting when it comes to making the throw, "throw, THROW,
throw, THROW" (this genuinely helps, I'm not trying to make
you look stupid).
Keep practicing. Aim for a smooth scooping pattern, try not to jerk
your throws. Don't worry about little problems, they will iron
themselves out. You will find that correcting mistakes becomes easier
& easier until you can do it without thinking, then one day juggling
will be as natural as breathing.
25 throws and catches without stopping or dropping.
You can be one of us now, welcome to the JIVE Team!
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