Lesson 1. The throw

You will notice that the throws from the left and right hands follow slighlty different arcs, as illustrated in the figure on the left. Easy isn't it? This same technique is used by jugglers to juggle 3 balls, 4 balls, 5, 6, 7 etc… although I doubt you feel very overwhelmed with your new found skill at this early stage. Practice this lesson over-and-over until you feel quite relaxed. And each throw is under control. When this happens it is time to move onto lesson 2.

Common Problems:

Reaching

This is a very common problem among learner jugglers, their eagerness causes them to reach up and seize the ball out of the air so that the ball stays airbourne for as short a time as possible. Stop it … now! Keep your catching hand at around waist height and let the ball come to you. There's no hurry. This should make the pattern much slower and believe me, when you are trying to keep 3 balls under your control, you will need all the extra milliseconds you can get!

Lunging

When juggling three balls, they should always move in a flat plane in front of you as illustrated in the diagram on the left. However, some beginners, … make that most beginners find that they have to move their hands forwards or backwards a bit in order to catch a stray throw. A small amount of movement is not a problem but if you find your body twisting in order to lunge for a catch, this will cause your problems later on. To remedy this problem, why not try juggling just in front of a wall? The wall will help you visualise the plane in which you should be juggling.