The Walkaround

This is more sharing than stealing, but you can dramatize it to look either way. Once you and your partner are adept at the slow steal, you can both continually re-steal the clubs.

 

After the first person has stolen two left hand clubs in the slow steal, the partner throws the last club under the first person's right arm and immediately moves around behind to the left to catch that very same last club with the left hand. That catch begins another slow steal and the roles have reversed.

 

Ater a second club is stolen by the partner, the first person makes a final throw under the partner's right arm and moves behind to catch that club in the left hand. In this walkaround, you each handle exactly two clubs every time you go around. You steal those two clubs with your left hand and throw them to your right hand. The third club is thrown around you by your partner - you don't touch it for the moment.

 

As you throw your last club around your partner, remember that you're throwing it to yourself, so make a throw you can easily catch, ignoring the other clubs. For a surprise, just put the club in your left hand behind your partner's back, or maybe make a sideways throw over both your heads to your left hand.

 

The walkaround can also be done with a fast steal, but naturally it is twice as fast, so you really have to move to do it continuously.

 

Sideways Variations

Be sure to try sideways steals and walkarounds from the right as well as the left, then try this combination: Steal a club from the left side and immediately return it to the pattern, as in the half steal. Quickly move behind your partner to the right side and steal that club again, this time with your right hand. Toss it back into the pattern and continually steal that one club from both right and left sides.

 

Another idea is to steal continuously from the left while your partner steals from the right. Make each steal as soon as possible. This is easy with slow steals but more fun with fast steals.

 

Face to Face Stealing

Here are a few different ways of stealing clubs when you're standing face to face with your partner. These are usually done in the fast-steal mode, stealing with both hands, because there's not a lot of room for both people to be throwing selves when you're standing close enough to do front takeaways. You can, of course, just steal one club, especially when learning these moves.

 

We'll describe three front takeaways, each named for how you move your hand vertically to do the steal: straight down, straight in and straight up. In starting all of these front steals, it helps to focus on the hand that will throw the first club you'll take. You can get the rhythm of that hand's movements and know when you need to start in order to catch the club it throws. This is especially true of the straight-down and straight-in steals.

Straight Down

In the straight-down steal, you reach diagonally toward your partner's right hand with your right hand (or left hand toward left hand). Reach out slightly high and come down quickly, palm facing down, onto the bulb of the club just as it leaves your partner's hand (see Fig. 2).

This leaves the club upside down in your hand. Quickly withdraw your hand and club to avoid getting hit by the next toss from the other hand. If you're going to take two clubs in a row, as you pull the first hand back, reach in high diagonally with the other hand and come down on the bulb of the second club. Pull that club out quickly to avoid the third club.

 

The timing is fairly tight. You must let the club coming from the left hand go by before you reach in and come down toward the right hand to take the first club. The second consecutive steal is easier since there is no club coming from the right (you've already stolen it). Also, since you take the clubs upside down, you have to correct with self throws of 1/2 or 1 1/2 spins.

 

In all of these front takeaways, it is very difficult to steal the third club like the first two. Usually you just let your partner throw the third one a little higher than normal so that you can catch it with 1/2 spin more than your partner would have used. This allows you to throw your first self to make room to catch the third club. With practice, you can make the third catch like the first two, if you throw the first self very early and then hurry.

 

Straight In

For the straight-in steal, the timing again must be precise. Like in the straight-down steal, you reach diagonally toward your partner's right hand with your right hand. But here come in slightly later, letting the club spin about a quarter revolution so that you can grab it just as the handle is pointing down ( Fig. 3). Reach quickly straight towards the throwing arm, about chest high with palm forward. Grab the club high on the handle, right side up in your hand, just after the bulb spins out of the way. If you make this move correctly, your hand will stop moving just before reaching the club, which will spin right into your palm. To take the very next club, pull the right hand back as you reach toward your partner's left hand with your left hand to grab the next club on the handle. The third club is most easily caught with a 1­1/2 spin "give away," as described above.

One word of caution: The straight-in steal can be dangerous. If you don't succeed in grabbing the club, you're very likely to knock it right toward your partner's face. You can minimize this possibility by making sure your hand is moving truly diagonally, toward your partner's hand, not toward the middle of the body. Also, be sure you grab the club instead of batting it. Try practicing at first with your partner juggling only one club in a cascade, and keep your eye on the club. Be careful!