Warming Up by Steven Ragatz

Visualization and Juggling by Steven Ragatz

Numbers Training by Steven Ragatz

Throw height and rate by Steven Ragatz

Although most of the comments from the other posts are valid, there is one very important thing that hasn't been mentioned about chin/nose/forehead balances yet. Keep focused on your posture.

Make sure that you keep your neck extended. You want to watch the top of the balance with your eyes, not your face. You must keep your head tilted as far forward as possible and still see the front edge of what ever you are balancing. If you don't, the vertebrae in your neck compress and grind as you try to maintain the balance. Neck injuries are sure to result.

The same goes for ball balancing. Basically, there are two ways to balance a ball on the head. One is to balance it like a club or a stick - the other is to find a spot where it wants to sit and then keep still. Depending on the shape of your head and the type of ball you are using, the later may not be possible. My old partner had a flat head and could balance one with his eyes closed. I have a very round head and will never be able to just set a ball and have it stay in place without work. Consequently, I had to learn to balance it. By balancing, I mean that I have to constantly adjust to keep the ball in control.

You can work with both ball and stick and see how the two differ. Most importantly though, keep your neck lifted and don't tilt your head back any further than is absolutely necessary. Back straight and think that you are pushing the object up towards the sky, not letting the object push you down to the earth. Be vary careful, this trick is deceptively dangerous.

I have always preferred the forehead balance to the chin and nose for several reasons. The chin just doesn't look good. In general, sticking anything anywhere near your mouth is not an appealing thing for audiences. The nose has a comic look to it and you have to be careful if you are trying to get whatever you are trying to balance there placed quickly as it is easy to slip and stick it in your eye. The forehead allows me to keep my face tilted as far forward as possible, enabling me to see the juggling more easily and keep my face towards the audience. Also, with the balance on the head, the object, club, stick, pole, whatever, is not between my eyes and the juggle.

The forehead balance technique is very similar to bouncing a ball on the head. These two tricks can be trained at the same time for added reinforcement. Whenever possible, train similar tricks!

- Steve