Fig. 3 shows where those five B throws go (note the one self from the left).

The first throw is quite unusual - the right hand throws a single to itself. This is only slightly tricky, being at the speed of a four-club solo singles pattern, but you only have to make one throw of that type at a time. I recommend making the throw go toward the outside of your pattern, to keep it out of the way of the following throw, which will be a straight pass.

 

After the first five throws, repeat the sequence mirror image (turn the L's into R's in the table above), starting with a L to L self (thrown outside) as your left hands begin to feed.

 

You may notice that the sequence actually alternates selves and passes: self, pass, self, pass, self (then it starts over with a self from the (other hand). But it also goes around the perimeter of four hands throwing to each one in turn, with the extra self from the other hand added when necessary in the middle. The left hand feeds back around the perimeter of hands in the opposite direction from the right hand.

 

The second pass of each half (count 4) is a diagonal pass. Be sure to throw it well outside, so that it doesn't collide with your partner's identical pass. You can throw it from in front of your leg to help avoid a collision.

 

The final self (count 5) sets you up to start the feed over with the other hand. Follow that self with a self thrown to the outside to be caught by the same hand, then continue with the straight normal pass from that hand, and go through the rest of the five-count sequence again.

 

Jim's Jam has a good rhythm. You'll master the pattern once your body feels and understands the rhythm. (This is true of most patterns. )

 

Jim's Jam, Cheating

You don't like that weird first throw in Jim's Jam? Or you forget to make it? No problem! This variation, which either or both partners can use at any time in Jim's Jam, solves your problem (or makes it worse!).

 

The variation only changes the first two counts of each half of the pattern. Instead of doing the outside self throw on count 1, do a normal self throw to the other hand. Then pass diagonally from that hand to your partner. This diagonal pass arrives in the same hand that your normal straight first Jim's Jam pass would have, so your partner doesn't care that you've cheated. Now complete this half with the normal last three throws: normal self, diagonal pass, normal self. Remember to throw all diagonal passes well outside, in case your partner is also passing diagonally then. Fig. 4 shows the first five throws for the cheating variation; the next five throws are just the    mirror image of these.

You can cheat like this in either or both halves of the pattern, as can your partner. You'll see that it doesn't change the fact that your five throws are: self, pass, self, pass, self. If you cheat continuously, you end each half-cycle with a normal self and start the next with another. As you do Jim's Jam, feel free to cheat now and then, either on just one side or on both in sequence (hey, when was the last time you. were given permission to cheat?). The nice thing is that if you accidentally throw a normal self instead of the outside self on count 1, you're still in business - just cheat by throwing a diagonal pass next.

 

Hey, instead of doing either normal self, how about throwing a straight double pass and omitting the self and the diagonal pass that would have followed it? This is an early double. You can throw a late diagonal double on count 2 in the normal version, or a late straight double on count 2 when cheating.

 

For a good mental challenge, try doing the following. Do the normal Jim's Jam for 10 counts (one cycle) and then do the cheating variation for 10 counts. But do this while your partner is out of phase with you, cheating when you're not and vice versa. Now you have a 20-count cycle - work up to getting five cycles in a row without making a mistake.

 

This cheating pattern is actually very similar to my Right-Right-Left-Left pattern, described in Juggler's Workshop, Summer 1992. The only difference is that here there is an extra initial self. That self has the effect of splitting the pattern into two mirror parts, each of which contains a cycle of the RRLL pattern (RRLL or LLRR).

 

The Pyramid

A couple of issues back, I described some patterns from the Madison Area Jugglers. Here's another one, by Michael Newton, one of their creative pattern folks. This pattern is relatively simple for three of the four people involved - the fourth has to pass to those first three while turning around.

 

The Pyramid has three people in a triangle, with a fourth person standing in the middle. Everyone gets to pass to everyone in a 6-beat sequence (12 counts, if we pass only right handed, which we'll assume here). Each of the corners does the same thing: three passes, then three selves. The passes are in a typewriter pattern - that is, you feed the three other people (from left to right - and then you do your three selves.

The person in the middle passes every other beat (a 4-count here), each time to a different person. In order to do that, the middle juggler turns almost continuously, in a counterclockwise direction, stopping only briefly if at all to exchange a club with each comer person faced.

 

Fig. 5 shows the formation and the sequence of passes for one comer. Each comer does the same sequence, but out of phase from other comers by two beats.

Fig. 6 shows the table of throws for all four jugglers. You'll notice that on each beat, two jugglers are exchanging a club and the other two are doing selves. This leads us to a variation, which I'll call the Great Pyramid because we get rid of two-thirds of the comers' selves.

 

The Great Pyramid

This is a more interesting (read challenging - though not terribly difficult) version of the Pyramid. Whenever the middle person in the Pyramid is passing to one person, the other two people are both doing selves. So, what the heck, let's let those two exchange a pass.

 

Because each comer adds two more passes (one to each of the other two comers, replacing two selves in the original pattern), each corner now does almost a continuous typewriter feed (feeds the other three people from left to right). The only exception is the one remaining self, which comes every other time you would be passing to the middle juggler. That is, the corners do the following sequence, with five passes and one self per six -More- beat cycle: left, middle, right; left, self, right. Of course, as always the corners are two beats out of phase from each other. Fig. 7 shows the new table of throws. The middle person's pattern is the same as in the basic Pyramid.

 

One hint: Make all inside passes long.  These are right handed passes thrown from a comer to the comer on your left. Long inside passes will facilitate the receiver's immediately subsequent pass, which goes to the other comer.

 

The Ultimate Pyramid

It's difficult to take out the final selves in the Great Pyramid, but it is possible if the middle person is able to rotate twice as fast as in the above variations. In this case, the middle rotates in the opposite direction (now clockwise) so that the middle person faces the comer who is doing a self at the same time as the middle. Now just replace all the pairs of simultaneous selves in Fig. 7 with an exchange between the two people involved (one of whom is always the middle person) and you have the Ultimate Pyramid. While the comers now do a true typewriter feed, the middle person has to rotate very fast and yet keep the clubs under control. Even this pattern is not difficult for the corners, unless they're getting horrible passes from the stressed middle juggler! So why not add, after each pass going comer to corner, left handed passes between the same comers. The comers then have a typewriter with added lefts (except to the middle): Pass-Pass (to left), Pass-Self (to middle), Pass-Pass (to right). The added lefts may actually make the pattern easier for the middle person, because they will tend to slow down the pattern for the comers (of course, you may also want to slow it down deliberately). Remember to make all inside passes very long - the rights to the comer on your left and the lefts to the comer on your right - otherwise you'll pull the receivers out of position and make their next throws difficult.

 

No, I don't recommend adding lefts with the middle in this fast turning version - that would gum up the works. Good luck.

 

By the way, if you do this exact pattern but without any passes between the corners (turn them into selves), you have the circle feed. The middle person feeds everyone on the outside. This by itself is fairly hard for the feeder if doing a 2-count with only three people on the outside. It's interesting how, when we permute a pattern further and further, we so often end up with a known pattern that we hadn't even considered.

 

If you have any comments or suggestions for Juggler's Workshop, write to: Juggler's Workshop, Palo Alto, CA or call Martin Frost.