what’s the ‘key’ from advancing from 3 to 4?
i also have been wondering
I can juggle 4 for a few seconds
Endless practice with two balls in one hand, but in both hands, but not at once…then endless practice with variations on the columns pattern with three balls, then endless practice with dropping the balls over and over.
bah, that sounds too hard.
Once your able to get 50 catches on command with two in each hand seperatly your ready to go up to four. I would recomend asynch first. Although I have found the half shower pattern to be the easiest even number pattern. For four balls the siteswap is 53.
I can juggle 2 balls in each hand for 50 catches (not at same time), but I can’t even come close to juggling 4 balls.
Are you supposed to be throwing with each hand at the same time or alternating?
It doesn’t matter. I find that when I alternate it’s easier. Also, just to start, keep the balls in close, but make sure they are going in a definite in to out circle.
That’s a pretty good breakdown of the process for many juggling skills! Don’t want to drop? Quit now!
Here’s my sequence:
- Practice two in one hand. Colums (vertical) and showers (circles).
- Practice two in the other hand. Since the “other” hand is usually your non-dominant hand, remember to spend more time on it and not the one that’s already good.
- For best results, your shower pattern should consist of outward throws from the center. The hardest part of the transition from 3 to 4 is learning to make these outward shower throws after always making inward (crossing) throws with three.
- When starting with four, I highly recommend synchronous throws, outward, in a pair of circles. It’s much easier to see what your pattern’s doing when you throw them at the same time. This will help you get the throws evened out, and not crossing into each others’ space.
Whatever pattern you start with, once you’ve got one the others are pretty easy to add to your repitoire.
Be young and juggle in a famous place
I posted this earlier in a different thread, but I couldn’t resist. After all I am one of the lamest riders here it’s fun to show I am good at something.
This is me juggling 4 in my left hand while holding 2 in my right. I was warming up before a street show in front of the Cabildo in Jackson square, New Orleans in '83.
Anyway, doing 4 is all about being good at 2 in one hand , in each hand. When you do it, make sure they stay on their own side, not in the center. Notice how the circle is on the left side. Then it’s as simple as doing both sides together.
But I never did get eight !
…so the two balls in your right hand never end up in your left hand??
No it doesn’t. You don’t really need to be good in 3 balls to get to 4 balls, just be really REALLY proficient in 2 ball juggling in both hands. Oh, and you don’t even need to be able to do columns and cascade well. Just be sure that you’re catching well and aren’t throwing your balls too far off (so your hands don’t have to move to your sides to compensate and throw you off balance).
how very interesting…
This is how it should look
Study every move
perfect! thanks
Exactly…that is correct as long as you stick with the simple 4 ball sync or async shower patterns.
I am not convinced, as is John F, that sync is any easier than async to learn, and, unless you get the pairs of throws very even: almost as a mirror image, it looks fairly untidy.
Fair to mention too, that 4 is a LOT harder than 3. Probably because with 3, timing does not really matter, you can thorw without much consideration of a steady beat throw, throw, throw, throw etc. With 4, especially with async patterns, you need to be far more precise with your timings.
As well as 2 in 1 hand, practice other 3 ball tricks that have catches in the same hand as the throwing hand. 1 up/2 up, or 441, 4440, even 423 are all useful in teaching the vertical throw, and to give an idea of heights to aim for.
I would leave 53 for a while, it requires the two hands to do completely different throws from each other.
Nao
The best trick to learn
Is three in one hand. Throw the 2 up quick in a circle, and juggle that way, throw-throw-space, throw-throw-space. Then toss the third ball into the space and do three in one hand circle.
If you learn to do three in one hand circles in each hand, 4 and 5 balls will be easy.
Surely not: that is the juggling equivalent of taking flying lessons in concorde when your aim is a hot air balloon trip.
Taken to the ultimate why not just practice 13 balls…once you get it, then 5, 6, and 7 will be easy.
Yes indeed; if you can do 3 in each hand easily then 4 balls will also be easy, but to learn 3 in one hand is much much harder than 4 balls for someone who to date has only done simple 3 ball stuff. Some people, well capable of 4 ball shower, will never get three balls in one hand.
Nao
As someone who is currently between being able to juggle 2 in each hand individually and being able to juggle 4 consistently for more than a dozen throws, I think sync is better suited for learning. I think the untidy look is a benefit because I can easily see what I’m doing wrong.
I have a harder time getting my hands perfectly synchronized, so when I try to, but they’re not, it just messes me up…and that’s why I’m better at asynchronized, because it’s like being off by a little, but on purpose. Which is really weird, but so is juggling in the first place…
hey michael, do you want to unicycle in about 20 minutes with Jeremy and I?