Hi,

I'm not a very good juggler, but I have given some workshops to jugglers who are better than myself. The things discussed do not come from my own expertise, but are ways to think about things for beginners and experts alike. This is not a comprehensive discussion, nor is it complete (at all), but there is some here I think almost any juggler could appreciate and learn from.

This is an attempt to open jugglers up to new tricks and to self-creation. Some of the techniques are advanced, some are for beginners, but all are about expanding the repritoire of every juggler. Again, I am no expert. Most of the ideas here are things I can't do. This is just one way of thinking about how to create tricks.

The theory mostly applies to 3 balls, but not exclusively so. Basically, I break all tricks down to the components as I see them. These aren't the only components, but I work with them. However, the components could be used for other numbers (more or less), and other objects (clubs, rings, etc).

This is a very incomplete and rushed list, but again, there's a lot to be said.

I hope it helps...

1. Surfaces

You have an almost unlimited array of surfaces to work with in any trick. Try catching on, placing in or on, rolling on or bouncing off any of these surfaces. Then try them from other tricks:

Floor, toes, flat of foot, ankle, calve, knee, back of knee (great for placements), side of leg, between legs (lewd holds), stomach, chest, neck, chin, cheek, mouth, forehead, top of head, behind head, behind neck, back.

Body rolls (contact juggling) and head rolls are two very popular styles of body moves, but bounces, spins, placements and others are all possible. For example, try placing a ball on the head and letting it roll off. Then try throwing a ball and catching it on the head. Or how about RubensteinsRevenge with the "u" ball bounced off the leg... the possibilities for new tricks are functionally endless.

One that I do is a placement at the hinge of the knee while doing another placement (say under the chin). I could also do this as a catch out of a 3 ball multiplex.

2. How caught.

Now combine any of the above with the many kinds of catches (hand catches). Here are just a few, and you can look many of these up elsewhere (or else they are self explanitory).

PenguinCatch (not as hard as some think), fake penguins (like a sideways claw), ClawCatch, ForkCatch, BackOfTheHand, FingerTips, FistCatch, KnuckleCatches, OpenPalm, thumbs (more of a quick tap than a catch), two hands together or ReverseFlatOfHandCatch.

Imagine RubensteinsRevenge with all claws (often is done with just one), or with all knuckles (theoretically possible). Try CatchingTriplexes in penguins... it's hard, and very nice (ask bill berry), or BurkesBarrage with forks. Fists work well with chops, but it's very hard.

3. Where caught/thrown.

In my opinion, this is the biggest contrabution of 3B different ways. Maxim does a whole slew of behind the neck throws and catches that really have to be seen. Now combine some (or more) of the suggestions below with those above, and you have more new tricks:

Under the leg (catches and throws or alternating), behind the back (catches and throws, etc), behind the neck (etc), under arms, come up with more (experiment!)

4. Where are your hands? Where are the balls?

Are they crossed, uncrossed, crossing and uncrossing alternatively, are they over your head, up high, down low? This makes a world of difference, and it isn't just in presentation. Also, think of where the balls go. ThreeBallReverseCascade extremely wide (WideReverseCascade) and very high is a very different trick than small and low, and it shows. Also, drop-downs are often ignored... dropping a ball from the pattern with a sudden recovery can be weaved into a trick (not merely a stunt).

Try all the tricks you know with crossed arms. Can you do a crossed arm shower? What about EricsExtension (easily findable online)? Try MillsMess variations of any trick you do. What about crossed arm oy oys switching sides with each throw?

5. What kind of balls? What kind of surface?

To be very brief: Hard plastics can be bounced. Tin cans can be contact juggled. Silicones can be caught soft. Beanbags can be rolled. Experiment with different materials and different surfaces. I find bouncing hard plastics against a wall is hard, and can be manipulated for some great tricks. All balls can be stacked and manipulated like cigar boxes or other props.

6. Orbits/Carry's.

Carry's and Orbits make up a huge category all their own. They aren't just "fakes" thrown in with the "real" patterns. Here are a few of my favourites:

• OyOy switching to YoYo in one throw.
• One ball follows the one below back and forth across the pattern, then through.
• Fast weave around the inside and around the outside, switching back and forth.
• TheMachine (an orbit-style trick with drops. Looks nice behind the neck)
• The fast factory (carry/follow?).
• The really fast factory (looks kind of like a v, or a very low "statue of liberty)

Try combining these with the things above. Have you ever tried an all-clawed factory under the legs? Doing your orbits with fist rests or forks? With wall bounces? Try lots of experiments.

7. Reachovers/Unders

The key to most reachovers and unders is throwing one ball up on the outside and then snagging it with the other hand, so that the snagging hand has to cross across the pattern. It all depends on how the outside ball is caught and how it is pulled through to the other side. Some examples:

ReachOvers, ReachUnder, The follow (or Reach-over-overs), Reach-throughs, Snaps (a reachover variation thrown from inside the pattern to outside, not the other way around).

I believe reverse-time MillsMess is a reach-under variation. In 3-b, many reachovers are done around the neck. They can also be done in any of the ways mentioned above.

8. How many thrown at once?

I love multiplexes. I also love simultaneous tricks, like mills simultaneous (every second throw is done with two throws at once from either side) or simultaneous half-shower. One up 2-up is a great trick (try forks and penguins as suggested OneUpTwoUpVariations), and there are some wonderful SiteSwap variations. Here are some simple multiplex suggestions:

2 or 3, split or stacked. When 3 or 2 balls split vertically, the higher ball can be on the inside or the outside, and can be caught in a reachover. Triplexes can be caught in one hand in a plethora of places, and thrown as well. Try throwing a 3 ball split behind the neck or catch a 3 ball collect under the leg in a penguin or even in a claw (theoretically possible). Experiment. There are tonnes of multiplexes out there.

9. How many in each hand?

Slightly different than the above, many tricks are made simply through changing the hands-to-balls ratio. Sometimes, just holding 2 balls and doing tricks with one (say palm-spinning 2 while doing complex throws) can be interesting, as can increasing the number or changing the n-balls in one hand style. Some examples (I have seen all of these):

• 2 in one hand circles.
• 2 in one hand columns (for examples of these, see TwoInOneHand).
• 2 in one hand tennis (one goes back and forth over top while the other hops up and down below).
• 2 in one hand orbits (very fast).
• 3 circles, collumns, one-up-two-up, 2 low 1 high, 3-in-one mess (all three balls follow one another).

Think of your own!

10. Siteswap.

If you know SiteSwap here are a few nice ones that can be mixed with other tricks (they do many siteswap messes in 3B):

• 531 (a favourite of many) - See FiveThreeOne.
• 441 (try the one behind the back, or neck, or geeze, just about anywhere) - see FourFourOne.
• 423 (a simple one) - see FourTwoThree.

SiteSwap 1's can punch up a lot of tricks. If you know much about slams, it's just a 1, really, thrown in at an angle. Try various slam variations. The box, extended box, upside down box and putting the lid on the box are all very nice.

Also flashing 2 and moving the 1 around different body parts is quite fun and not fully explored.

A two ball shower? Why not? 531 has this shower in it. One thrown very high, while the other two are showered very quickly. I like doing a MillsMess with a very quick 2 ball shower on either side. It's a very fast move. The 5 can also be transformed into a placement, such as a stall on the head, if you can run the stall just long enough.

Now combine all the above (body moves, rolls as stalls, etc) with all the siteswaps you can imagine, and you have a show only a juggler could love!

11. Flourishes

This is a fairly arbitrary amalgous category. Basically, flourishes are often emphasised with clubs and not with balls, but many ball flourishes can embelish tricks. Some examples:

• Curl and Reverse Curl (hard to explain here, but there are many places to read about these) -- these can be easily done in between high throws or while doing two in one hand.
• Ball Spinning (much easier with large soft balls than small plastics, but both are theoretically possible, and great for mixing in with other tricks).
• Side-sweeps -- Chops combines a side-sweep with an under the arm throw. The sweeps are broad to look more impressive. Other tricks can be done with these same sweeps of the arm, including a slow cascade.
• "Punches" and "Swimming" -- You can move your arms outward in a sweep between throws... it looks like... uh... fistfighting or swimming.

12. Body Movement

Some routines depend almost exclusively on body movement... not the hands or the balls (the balls often stay in a cacade or a flash), but the rest of the body. Bobby may did many forward rolls and sommersaults, Jason Garfield does multiple pirouettes, Jay Gilligan does many sudden movements, and goes up and down and through a jungle gym, Some other examples:

1/2, 1/4, single and multiple pirouettes, backflips, catweels (try catching a ball between the feet while cartwheeling), side rolls, sitting down and standing up, laying down, dodging (with bounce balls), kicks, jumps, climbing, handstands, following the pattern with the body, dance, mime, martial arts, facial expressions.

13. Some debris:

Collisions (intentional), catching balls on other balls, kickups, other footbag tricks, optical illusions, etc.

Don't forget to combine ALL these things for a spectacular show!