Peter Bone is a hobbyist juggler with extraordinary talents, holding the unofficial world records for 11 balls with 18 catches and 12 balls with 13 catches. In late 2005 he also become the first, and only known person to flash 13 balls, having only attempted this feat approximately 100 times before finding success.

Peter has been juggling for over ten years. After about six years of practice he was able to get long runs with 7 balls and qualify 9, although he had never considered trying more because he didn't think he would have much chance of success. He then started going to conventions and met people like Mark Thomas and Ben Beever (who is also a highly accomplished numbers juggler having flashed 12 balls) and soon realized that you didn't need to be hugely muscular or have been training hard since the age of three to perform such feats. Soon after he got some appropriate beanbags for numbers juggling he started working on 10+ balls, with great success.

Peter's main goals in numbers juggling are to qualify 11 balls and flash 13 balls more consistently. However, he also juggles clubs and likes to work on siteswaps as well as club balancing and head bouncing while juggling and many other tricks that he finds challenging. Finally, Peter agrees with Ben Beever in his belief that someone will flash 14 balls someday but not 15.

Colin E. - IJDb webmaster

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Whether you think a flash is proper juggling or not, it’s still a highly demanding physical and technical feat to flash a high number of balls. I think of it as being similar to the high jump or a similar athletic event – one short burst of energy and then you’ve either done it or you haven’t. This article is written for the purpose of flashing high numbers only and so a few of the tips may not be helpful if applied to other forms of juggling. The tips included cover training, technique for making the attempt and solidifying the flash.

1. Use some appropriate beanbags

Using the right beanbags makes a huge difference. Small under-filled suede beanbags are by far the best for flashing high numbers. You can hold a lot of them in your hands and they’re easy to collect. It’s important to find the optimum weight for you and the number of balls you’re trying to flash. Too big or heavy and you won’t be able to get them out fast enough. Too small or light and you won’t be able to make accurate throws. The percentage fill (or sagginess) is also an important factor as this determines how the balls feel in your hands.

Good under-filled beanbags are hard to come by. It’s important that the bag is round and even because the beanbag will return to this shape in the air and will therefore land in your hand the same way every time. One way to get hold of some is to adapt an existing suede beanbag (e.g. Henry’s) by removing some of the filling. If you have a sewing machine and good sewing skills then you could make your own. Dave Barnes is the expert in making these beanbags and has written a detailed guide on how to make them yourself.

2. Work on qualifying and making long runs with fewer balls

This will help improve throw accuracy and produce a more solid pattern. The more balls you’re flashing the more accurate the throws have to be to avoid collisions and to be able to collect them at the end.

3. Do weight training

The aim is not to develop large strong muscle but to develop lightweight fast muscle and to strengthen the tendons. This will not only increase your ability to flash more balls but will help prevent injuries like muscle strains or tendonitis (which is a high risk, especially when flashing 11+ balls). Use fairly light weights with a lot of reps at fairly high speed. Don’t try too much too soon.

4. Work on the triceps

It’s obvious that one of the main muscles to work on when weight training is the biceps (biceps curls, pull-ups, etc). It may not be quite so obvious that the triceps should be just as strong as the biceps for flashing 11+ balls. This is because the balls are light and the arm speed is high. Gravity and the force of the ball hitting the hand is therefore not enough to push the arm back down and so the tricep has to do most of the work. Some good exercises for working on the triceps are Press-ups, bench pressing, dips and tricep extensions.

5. Use wrist weights rather than weighted balls

It can be a good idea to combine weight exercises with juggling to work the exact muscles used when juggling. Wrist weights with light balls are a better option than weighted balls when training to flash high numbers. This is because it will work both the biceps and the triceps, whereas weighted balls will not work the triceps because the balls will force the hand back down on the catch. Using wrist weights is also the cheaper option because you only need 2 of them. Again, don’t try too much too soon – make sure you can do long runs of several minutes with each number before adding an extra ball.

6. Remove excess weight from the lower arms

Any superfluous weight will slow you down. Wear short sleeves, take off your watch / jewelry and work off any fat or excess muscle.

7. Work on general fitness

The fitter you are the more attempts you can make before getting tired and the more focused you will be on the job in hand. Do regular cardiovascular workouts like running, cycling and endurance juggling.

8. Do sprinting or other exercises to develop speed

It’s important to develop the right kind of fitness that enables you to convert large amounts of energy in a short amount of time. If you have problems achieving the required arm speed then try sprinting or other fast exercises / sports.

9. Work out how to hold the balls in your hand

Find a system of holding and releasing the balls that works for you. Try to think of a method that allows you to release the balls quickly without too much rearranging of the balls in your hands. Don’t worry if your method is different as everyone seems to do it differently depending on the balls they use, hand size/shape, etc. Here’s my method of releasing 3 to 7 balls from one hand. I have 2 methods for holding 5 - for 9 I have the first ball on top but for 10 I don’t because it’s difficult to have a ball on top in both hands. With 7 there are 2 balls on top with the edge of the back one held down with my thumb.

10. Try to release the balls from the front of the hand

Throwing the balls from the fingers will cause the balls to go higher with less effort. This is because the ball is at a greater distance from the pivot (elbow, wrist) and therefore traveling faster at the point of release. The fingers also act as a kind of spring. You may need to review your method of holding and releasing the balls so that you can release the balls at the front of the hand first and then move the back ones forward. This technique can also be applied to qualifying and getting long runs.

11. Practice launching and collecting in one hand

This will help solidify the release. Throw the balls from one hand to the other. Start slowly and gradually increase the speed until you can launch them fast enough that the last ball is thrown just after the first ball is caught in the other hand (for odd numbers) or until you can catch them all in the same hand (for even numbers). You should eventually be able to release the balls accurately and collect them without thinking about it.

12. Practice with n-2 balls at the speed of n balls

This will help you develop and get a feel for the speed of n balls. You will need to do a low pattern so you will also get a feel for how tight the pattern will be. N balls will feel the same as this but in a higher pattern. Work on more than the flash to get a feel for the precise speed. It helps to do this just before an attempt at n balls so that you will have a good feel for the speed on your first attempt so that you don’t waste energy on too many warm-up attempts.

13. Practice with n-2 balls at the height of n balls

This will help you get a feel for the height and shape of the pattern. You can do this at the normal juggling speed for n-2 balls (try more than the flash) and you can also flash it at the speed of n balls. You could then clap your hands while the balls are in the air or simply mime the last 2 throws. Also, try starting with your weak hand.

14. Practice with n-1 balls in the pattern used for n balls

For example, if your goal is to flash 11 balls then try flashing 10 balls in the cascade pattern – with a hole. This will replicate the pattern and the speed of n balls but it will be slightly easier. Once you can do it try miming the last throw to make sure you have time to fit it in.

15. Work on each hand separately

With even numbers work on n/2 balls in each hand. Once you can do that try moving the other arm to simulate how flashing n balls will feel and try more throws than the flash. For odd numbers work on (n+1)/2 balls in each hand or juggling them in a snake or shower pattern. Work on both hands equally.

16. Get a feel for the first throw if you have balls balanced on top of the pile

When holding a large number of beanbags in each hand it is often necessary to balance one on top which is not in direct contact with the hand. It can be difficult to release this ball cleanly because it’s difficult to get a feel for how the ball is sitting on the pile and the direction it will go when released. To help this it can be a good idea to do small practice throws just before the launch to get a feel for the first throw. I like to do this by doing 2 small throws - one from each hand.

17. Relax shoulders and any other parts of the body that are not used for making the flash

All energy should be focused on the parts of the body that need it. Tension in other parts of the body will cause you to tighten up and slow you down. However, keep the abdominals tense as this gives good support to the upper body.

18. Keep upper arm movement to a minimum

Moving the arm at the shoulder slows you down a lot. Keeping the upper arm stationary and moving the arm at the elbow will give you much greater speed. You may find this slightly counter intuitive at first because you won’t be able to throw as high but you will gain more in speed than you’ll lose in height (see 19). Try to keep the upper arm vertical and release the ball when the forearm is horizontal so that the balls go straight up instead of backwards.

19. Speed rather than height

You may think that your best chance of succeeding in the flash is by launching the balls as high as you can to give yourself as much time as possible to throw them all. However, throwing at this height is very slow and you will find that you can get all the balls out in time easier with a lower pattern because you will gain more in speed than you lose in height. High throws are also less accurate. There is obviously a limit to this rule so you must find the optimum height for you.

20. Start fast

You may think that your best chance of doing the flash is to throw the first balls high and throw the others as fast as you can underneath. However, this will cause your first throws to be slow and it will also cause the balls to bunch up in the air and come down close together because the height of the balls is reducing. This will give you very little time to catch each ball. It’s a better idea to start fast and try to keep the height of the throws constant or maybe even increase the height of the throws slightly towards the end. This will enable you to get the balls out fast and keep the balls nicely spread out in the air. It’s amazing how putting just a little more effort into the speed at the start can save you a lot of effort towards the end.

21. Not too fast

When trying a number that you’ve never tried before it can be tempting to put everything you’ve got into it and throw them as fast as you can. It may not be as fast as you think. Remember that the balls don’t all need to be in the air at the same time. You can catch the first ball before throwing the last one. Trying too hard will cause inaccurate throws and make the collect difficult.

22. Count the throws

Counting throws is mainly helpful to keep the rhythm and chart your progress when qualifying or making long runs with fewer balls. However, it can also be useful to count while flashing high numbers because it gives you a feel for how much time you have left to make the remaining throws. Counting every throw would be too fast so it’s easier to count throws from just one hand. You may find it useful to practice the count in your head as you visualize the pattern just before the attempt so that you get a feel for the required speed.

23. Not too narrow

For odd numbers don’t try to throw from the center of the body. Keep the elbows by the side of the body and point your forearms slightly outwards to give a fairly wide base to the pattern. Aim to cross the balls near the top of the pattern so that the trajectories cross at 90 degrees – or as close as you can get it. A wider base to the pattern will help avoid collisions. For even numbers it helps to start fairly wide and work inwards.

24. Don’t look at the top of the pattern

Looking straight up tends to impede arm speed and can cause you to lean backwards, which will result in the throws going backwards. You may find it helpful to look slightly lower but keeping the top of the pattern in your peripheral vision. This should only be applied to flashing high numbers. When running lower numbers it’s always best to look at the top of the pattern.

25. Don’t panic when you collect

When you’re trying to flash a number you haven’t done before and you’ve thrown them up well it’s tempting to panic and make wild grabs at the balls as you try harder to catch them. You will actually have much more chance of catching them if you just relax and let them fall into your hands as you would normally do with lower numbers. It also looks much better when you catch them in a relaxed way. Try not to think about catching each ball separately because your attention will be diverted from the other balls. Make sure you have practiced a method for collecting the balls so that you don’t have to think about it (see 11) – this will most probably be the same way you release them but in reverse.

26. Don’t over think

There can be a lot of things to think about at once when making an attempt. It’s important to work on improving one aspect at a time with fewer balls so that it becomes second nature when making the attempt. Try to visualize how the attempt will look and feel as a whole rather than repeating each aspect of the technique to yourself over and over.

27. Aim to succeed on your first attempt

Your first attempt is your best chance of successfully doing the flash because your arms will not be tired from previous attempts. Don’t waste it. Make sure you’re prepared for it by warming up and visualizing what you need to do.

28. Make attempts in groups of just a few tries with rest periods in-between

Making endless attempts without a break is not the best way to go about flashing high numbers. After a few attempts your arms will be tired and you will be less likely to succeed. You will also make yourself frustrated. By making attempts in groups of just a few tries with breaks in-between you can make much better use of your practice time. You can fill these breaks by practicing a less physically demanding trick with fewer balls. In this way you can keep the momentum of your session going and make several good attempts at flashing the high numbers.

29. Finish a session with a successful attempt

If you fail at flashing n balls then finish the session with a clean flash or qualify with n-1 or n-2 balls, or just any trick that you like and know you can do. This will be good for your confidence - and confidence is everything in juggling.

30. Attempt more throws than just the flash

Once you can do the flash fairly regularly it’s a logical progression to try to get more throws or even qualify it. Even if you just wanted to do the flash it’s a good idea to try more throws as it will help solidify the pattern. This is because it will force you to throw them at exactly the right speed and in a more even pattern. You will probably need to increase the height of the pattern slightly in order to make longer runs.

31. Attempt a flash with n+1 or n+2 balls

If you can flash n balls then you may find it helpful to try n+1 or even n+2 balls. This is a good idea even if you never want to be able to flash more than n balls because it will help solidify the n ball pattern. Physically, it will improve your pattern and arm speed so that when you go back to n balls it will seem less of an exertion. Psychologically, it will make n balls seem like less of a challenge (it’s often your assumption of the difficulty of a trick that is the main obstacle).

32. If you feel pain when you make an attempt stop practicing until the pain has gone

Continuing to practice the trick that caused the injury may make it worse. This may also be an indication that you need to work on strengthening the part of the body that was injured – but only after the injury has recovered.