41-1,p36

Kick Your Shoulder Pass

In every others, make a throw like a shoulder pass, but in the self throw time.

Unlike a pass, the shoulder throw should actually be short so that it drops in front of your right foot. Make it into a pass by kicking it to your partner.

Shoulder Surprise

After a pass in ever others, do a left hand de-multiplex, or buy right hand time any way you prefer. Then do a club swing with your right hand -- two small forward circles from your wrist with your hand low at the side of your body, using a ball and socket grip. To a person standing at your right it would appear as a clockwise movement centered in front of your hip pocket. Instead of a pass, let go of the club at the end of the second circle so that it sails up from behind your body and ends up after three spins being caught by your left hand.

This skill is founded on triple spin self throw instead of a pass. Do you understand this one? No? Well, no problem. Use it as food for thought to create your own similar combination!

Terminology

Most jugglers are confused about which end of a club is the top and which is the bottom. I like to think of the fat end as the bottom. This dates from the time when large diameter clubs were more common. Performers often parked their clubs on the floor, standing them up on the fat end. They wouldn't stay balanced if placed on the "top." Let's take an IJA vote and decide once and for all which ends are top and bottom. Send me a letter with your opinion on this matter, or with any other suggestions for this column.

(Jeff Napier is a juggler and businessman living in Phoenix, Oregon. He is author of the book "Six Club Passing." )

A Passing Game

by Michael Stillwell

The following is a fun game for experienced club passers, but I present it here as a method for teaching a beginner to pass.

First, face the beginner and using one club, teach him or her the basic passing

pattern. The beginner must understand that all clubs are caught with the left hand, thrown to the right, then passed to the partner's left.

Now stand as shown in the illustration and begin the passing lesson.

The two experienced jugglers pass six clubs, throwing every throw. After a time, number one throws a single club across the pattern to the beginner, who does a selfthrow, then returns the club exactly as in the first exercise. Juggler number one can now throw every sixth, club to the beginner for a while, then every fifth, every fourth, third, second, and finally, every club. With three experienced passers, number one can throw randomly to either receiver. It's fun to see how the pattern always comes together, provided that each person does self throws and never holds a space.