As a pattern, Martin's Madness is definitely off the beaten path. Fig, 4 shows the causal diagram of the 12-count cycle (four pairs of passes for the feeder). F is the feeder on the middle line, where each handacross is shown as a left-pointing arrow. You'll notice that Art (A) and Nathan (N) pass RRLL in the long run (as in Jim's 3-count), although one starts with two R passes and the other with two L passes. The feedees are essentially doing exactly Jim's 3-Count. Only difference is the start for the second feedee, who begins with a R self before the first L pass. Remember the feedees are passing straight, and the first feedee (N) is on the feeder's left. Fig. 5 shows where the feeder's first four passes go.

There is one potential collision problem here. It occurs on the first feedee's second L-R pass because the feeder has to throw an extreme diagonal L-L pass to the right feedee behind that L-R pass from the first feedee. To prevent the collision, the first feedee should make sure that that L-R pass is not short or inside. Also avoid throwing it from in front of the leg - throw from outside the leg for extra clearance.

 

I consider this a natural feeding extension of Jim's 3-Count, but you may decide the pattern's name is quite apt before long. The oddity here is that, because of the added handacross, the feeder makes seven throws while each feedee is doing six.

 

One quick note for the feeder. You're actually passing: R,L; L,R; L,R; R,L. All of the R,L pairs are extreme crossing passes to the outside hands of the feedees, while all the L,R pairs are virtually straight passes (though L- L and R-R) to the middle hands of the feedees. That is, you do outside-outside, middle-middle, middle-middle, outside-outside, and you always pass to the feedee on your left first in every pair. Not too hard - you just have to do a handacross every other pair.

 

If you have trouble with the handacross while feeding, try it without feeding, with just a few quick throws to get the feel of it. You can start with just one club, in your L hand. Have a partner pass a second club toward your L, and just before the incoming club arrives, hand your club to your R hand, then throw it back to your L as a normal self. That's the basic move. Try it with both hands.

 

For a little more feel of the real thing, start with two clubs in the R and one in the L. Now have someone throw you a L-R exactly as you make your first R-R pass.

 

After your R-R pass, throw a L-L (don't hurry yet) and then quickly hand your remaining club from R to L, and then throw it back to your R as a normal self. When it feels good, switch to doing this exercise with the other hand (start with two in the L). Next use this rhythm you've learned in the full blown feed - it should be easier now.

 

Once you can feed the full Madness, if you're very brave you can try to spice it up for the feedees, who, after all, are doing a simple Jim's 3-Count. All you have to do to bring them to life is to sometimes throw a straight pass instead of a diagonal. This is the Random Madness (and usually happens anyway by accident).

 

Unfortunately, changing the feedees pattern in this random way will change which hand of yours they throw to (unless they correct for each straight throw of yours by next throwing one diagonally). The Random Madness thus changes the rhythm that you've worked hard to learn. So I'm afraid that you may end up paying for the feedees' thrills here. Feel free also to add this random feeding technique (and rhythm destroyer) to the other' feeds described below - good luck!

 

Martin's Mildness

This is a variation of Martin's Madness. The only difference is that here the feeder throws straights and the feedees throw diagonals. This is easier for the feeder because straight passes are generally what people are most accustomed to throwing. Also, there is less of a collision problem here, although a slight such risk occurs on the feeder's second pass if the first feedee's first pass (R-L) is short or inside. The sequence of throws here is shown in Fig. 6 (which is just like Fig. 4 but with, on the feeder's line only, every R turned into an L and vice versa, and with the start shifted by three counts).

You'll notice that the feeder starts by passing R,L to the inside hands twice in a row, then L,R to the outside hands twice in a row. Steve Healy suggested the name for this pattern, which I do find mentally milder than Martin's Madness.

 

Mild Madness

This is a two-person variation suggested by Steve Healy in rec.juggling. Here one person does the feeder's role in Martin's Madness and the other does the feeder's role in Martin's Mildness. That is, one passes straight and one diagonally. For both, the sequence of throws, including handacrosses, is exactly the same as the feeder's sequence in the Madness or Mildness, namely: pass, pass, self; pass, pass, handacross, self. The two jugglers, however, start at different points in that sequence. Thus the handacrosses are out of phase, and during consecutive groups of three counts, the passers take turns doing the handacross. The straight passer has the first handacross, immediately after the first two passes (R, L,.handacross, self - see Fig. 7).

 

To establish a complete understanding of the pattern, do the Wild Mild Madness, which is just the Mild Madness but changing roles (between straight and diagonal passes) after every 12-count cycle (every eight passes). What happens if you switch every three counts?

 

Extended Madness

If you have more than three people and want to do Martin's Madness, you're in luck. It turns out that you can repeatedly add a new juggler next to a feeder in Martin's Madness in the same way that you can add to a normal feed (see Fig. 8). In both cases, the fourth person (D in Fig. 8) is added next to the original feeder (B), causing one of the feedees (C) to become a feeder. Then a fifth (E) can be added next to that new feeder (C), and so forth, ad infinitum. Each feeder feeds two people.

When Martin's Madness is thus extended, everyone on one side (A, C, E, ...) passes only straights, while everyone on the other side (B, D, F, ...) passes only diagonals. Everyone is a feeder except for one person on each end of the pattern - those two (A and F, for example) do a regular Jim's 3-Count (with diagonals if on the original feeder's side or straights if on the other side). All the feeders on the original feeder's side (B, D, F, ...) are in sync simultaneously feeding exactly Martin's Madness (diagonal passes).  Any feeders on the other side(A, C, E...) feed exactly Martin's Mildness (straight passes) in sync. Everyone starts at the same time by passing to the person slightly to their left, except that if the number of people is odd, the juggler who has no one to the left starts with a self.

 

The usual Madness and Mildness collision potentials exist. So the straight passers should pass long and a bit outside when passing a L-R to a feeder on the left. I

recommend, in fact, that all the straight passes should be made from outside the leg, but that is particularly important for all passes (R or L) going to the person on the left. Meanwhile, the diagonal passers should try to pass long and a bit outside when passing a R-R to a feeder on the left.