I used to do a lot more juggling but got out of the habit. For awhile now I’ve been thinking about getting back into it.
About two months ago I was at a restaurant and there were some performers there. I started talking to them and one thing led to another and suddenly we were juggling together! It was so much fun.
There was a time when I thought about being a professional juggler / magician. There was a summer where I booked shows throughout Michigan and was starting to build up my performing business. I learned a lot from a friend who was a full time performer.
But now I want to get back into juggling but as a completely monetized-free hobby. It’s possible to do things just for fun!!!
I recently discovered a skill toy club that meets monthly less than 1/2 mile from my house (0.8 km). People do all sorts of things there like yo-yoing, juggling, poi, and other fun skills. I love living so close to things!
Also recently I got to lead a juggling workshop where I taught a bunch of people how to juggle. It was part of an event called “Hobby Hop”. The event was basically ‘speed dating for hobbies’ where attendees would switch to learn a different hobby every 10 minutes. I had juggling balls to give away at the end for people who wanted to continue learning at home and many people came and got them and wanted to continue learning. (Maybe an idea for a freeCodeCamp video course )
Here is another pic from my recent impromptu juggling meeting.
Yes, for the most part you learn once and then always know how. But sometimes it takes a minute or two to get things down again. Also, I forget some tricks I used to do.
I used to do a bit where I would let people choose three things for me to juggle from a lot of different items. Some popular choices where the “three prongs of doom” which was a garden tool, a pin cushion (which I said gave the risk of pins flying into my eyes), and a knife.
Very cool, @beaucarnes! Like @hbar1st mentioned, juggling is always something I wanted to learn. Not sure if I’d ever have the nerve to juggle any of the “three prongs of doom,” though.
Any tips for absolute beginners getting started? I’ve heard it can help to use scarves or other light fabrics to learn the basics. But I could see how you might develop bad habits by doing that, and how balls could be more predictible.
I’ve heard people suggest scarves but I think it is better to start with balls. But not tennis balls because those bounce too much. You can also used rolled up socks to learn.
First start with one and throw it back and forth. Make sure the ball goes just higher than your forehead and throwing with each hand is exactly mirrored. Then add a second ball where you throw each ball up one after the other, and make sure each ball goes the exact same height before catching. Practice that a whole lot, then you can add a third ball.
With three balls, always start throwing with the hand holding two balls.
Those are the basics but there are also other tips.
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