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JUGGLER'S WORKSHOP

Would you like to vary the pace of your routine?

CLUB BALANCING is the perfect way to add a dramatic pause to any show. In this issue we'll cover balancingfor beginners and some real challenges for the more experienced.

Basic Balancing

First let's talk about balancing. Here are two things to remember.

1. The balance is easiest if you watch the very top of the object.

2. Longer objects are easier to balance than shorter ones.

For initial balancing practice, you can start with a broom. Hold it vertically with the sweeping end at the top and try to balance the broom on the palm of your hand (Fig. 1). Remember to look at the highest part of the broom. That's the part that will move the most if the balance starts to fail, so you get the best feedback by focusing there. If you have trouble with this, it's probably because you're not looking up at the top.

Now try a shorter object. Saw off about a foot of the broom. Each time you shorten the object, the balancing becomes a little harder because you have to react just a little faster to prevent a fall. But each time, your brain will adapt and figure out what to do. You don't have to consciously think, "OK, when it leans this way I move my hand this way." Just practice and it will come (but watch the top). Practice balancing with each hand.

You should soon be able to balance a club on either palm. Try moving your hand around in very tiny amounts to get accustomed to how the club reacts. There's no use proceeding until you can balance a club well in your hand.

Balancing a Club on a Club

Next hold one club in your right hand and balance another club on it with the knob down as shown in Fig. 2. This balance isn't much different from the palm balance, but play with it until it's easy. It helps to hold the club far up on the handle, or even just above the handle. Learn this balance with each hand. Use clubs with rubber knobs and ends or the clubs will slip.

Also try balancing the club with the knob up. We'll refer to the end opposite the knob as the "fat end," so place the fat end of one club onto a club in yo r hand and balance it there, as in Fig. 3.

Now, what we want to do is to get into a cIub-on-cIub balance from a regular cascade. We'll explain two ways. They're both good but one is fairly easy and the other is fairly difficult. We'll cover the easy way first. If you are trying the hard way in a show and you miss, you can always use the easy way as a backup and probably even get a laugh out of it.

The Easy Way: The Set-Balance

The easy move is called the set-balance because you set one club onto the other with your hand. We'll break this into a few steps to make. it easy to learn.

Start by juggling three clubs in a regular cascade. Throw a double spin from your right hand to your left but for now don't catch it, just let it fall to the ground. As that club is in the air, take the club you hold in your left hand and place it onto the one in your right hand (see Fig. 4) and balance it there. Your left hand is now free to return and catch the double except that by now that club is probably on the ground.