JUGGLER'S WORKSHOP

In Juggler's Workshop we will try to present useful and interesting ideas for jugglers of all kinds, from beginners on up. Think of this as a series of convention workshops that you can attend without leaving your home.

We encourage your comments and will welcome contributions about anything that might be appropriate for a convention workshop, such as juggling technique, patterns, tricks, comedy, performance, etc. Please address your mail to: Juggler's Workshop, Palo Alto, CA, or contact the Juggler's Workshop editors: Martin Frost  or Michael Stillwell.

Hints on Club Passing

We'll start with some suggestions for novice club passers, to improve your pass­ing. Even experienced passers can benefit from these hints.

Stand with one foot somewhat forward of the other. The forward foot should be the one opposite your passing hand, or, if you're passing with both hands, the foot opposite your weaker passing hand. So if you're passing right handed, put your left foot forward. But if you're passing left handed or with both hands, you should probably put your right foot forward.

Throw every club from the knob, not from the middle of the handle. Your fingers should be around the handle with the base of your hand resting on the knob. Throwing from the knob makes the club spin more slowly and allows you to find a consistent hold on the club, which in turn helps make your passes consistent. It's not critical where you catch the club. But hold it loosely and, as you bring it down, let it slide until you reach the knob. At first this may take some mental effort, but it will become automatic. Try this with your selves too.

Before you pass a club, bring it down outside your leg - not in front of it. This technique works in combination with passing from the knob to allow you to use more arm and less wrist, and that makes the club spin more slowly. This is particularly important for long passes, but it helps keep any pattern under control. Don't pass from in front of your leg because such a pass moves outward as it approaches your partner and as a result is harder to throw accurately and harder to catch.

 

Whenever possible, watch your passes being caught, so that you can see if there are any problems. You don't have to watch your clubs all the way across. After all, you probably have to look for a club coming to you. Just look over at your pass after you've located the incoming club. This is very helpful in all patterns. Although you may find it hard to see your passes landing in more difficult patterns like seven or eight clubs, it's not impossible. It just takes practice quickly switching your focus between your throws and your partner's.

 

For passes that you can't watch land (e.g., dropbacks), try to get a consistent feel of the throws. Then have your partner tell you how they're landing. For dropbacks, you might look in a mirror or at the reflection in a window to see them land.

 

When. you've mastered passing every other and are trying learn to pass every club, first try passing "twosies": pass, pass, self. This is about half way between every other and every one in difficulty. The one self out of three throws give you a chance to recover from the two passes in a row. If one self is not quite enough recovery time, use two selves at first: pass, pass, self, self. These intermediate steps are useful with any trick that you're trying to learn to do on every throw, no matter how simple or advanced.

 

In a difficult pattern, keep your passes as slow as feasible to give yourself (and your partner) more time. For instance, in passing seven singles, throw slightly high singles that peak in the middle and drop down to your partner. Don't shoot them across really fast. That takes away any spare time you might have. Of course, after you've mastered a pattern, you can speed it up with faster throws to make it look as snappy as you want. But it's a lot easier to learn patterns with slower throws.