Juggling is a very iconic activity that is both easy to learn and never ceases to amaze the general public. The truth is many of us will attempt to learn to juggle at some point in our lives, if only for a few minutes. Of course the problem is that it isn’t such a simple skill to learn, and requires a bit of dedication on top of the right approach.
OK, first off, start by finding 3 balls or small bean bags that aren’t particularly “bouncy”; after all, you’re going to drop them quite a bit while learning and you don’t want to have to be constantly chasing them do you?
Start off with only one ball, passing it up through the air in an arc back and forth between your two hands. The general idea is to make sure that you are able to pass the ball back and forth in a very smooth fashion.
Once you’ve got that under control, you can begin using two balls. With one ball in each hand, make each toss (release) correspond with the point of the highest arc of the other. In this way, you are always constantly passing the balls back and forth, but their releases are evenly spaced out.
Now comes the tricky part, which is juggling with three balls. Place two balls in your right hand and one in your left (individuals who are left-handed might want to reverse this arrangement). Arc one of the two balls in your right hand toward your left, as was the case with only two balls, once ball 1 is at its highest arcing point, you should arc the ball in your left hard in the other direction. As you are catching the first ball released with your left hand, you should arc the third ball (which is still in your right hand) toward the left hand. Naturally, before the third ball reaches your left hand you should already have released the first ball (now in the left hand) and so on and so forth.
Needless to say, juggling is a very difficult thing to master from a coordination standpoint, but with a little practice and patience you’ll reach your goal. Perhaps the easiest way to get a grip on how the juggling concept works is to watch a few YouTube videos which illustrate the basic motions required. Here’s one in slow motion. Good luck.
