How to juggle 3 balls

Did you ever want to juggle?
Here you can learn how to juggle, with this minimal but efficient tutorial, that will guide you to juggle 3 balls.

Video with didactic juggling exercises to learn to juggle 3 balls cascade

Why I made a video to learn how to juggle?

This last few days I meet a lot of people while training outside that ask me how to juggle, so after teaching them, I decided to make a short but consistent video about how to learn to juggle 3 balls.

In this video I resume the best method that I’ve seen to teach someone how to juggle, I used it lots of times in workshops or with random people that I meet, and it really works.

I cannot avoid to mention Oscar Dieguez, Carampa’s Circus School juggling teacher, that teach me a lot, and his juggling learning methodology was astonishing.

I made a video where you can see what I’m talking about. I hope you enjoy it and learn to juggle with it.

In this video you can learn how to juggle from 1 ball to 3 balls, you will find a lot of educative patterns that wide you to juggle!

Don’t you have juggling balls?
Here you can learn how to make a juggling balls

How to juggle step by step, for beginners

Exercises with one ball : launching into a new dimension

• Hold a single ball in your dominant hand, elbows bent at 90 degrees and palms facing upwards.
• To throw the ball, move your forearm upward, avoiding the wrist or whole arm motion.
• Both elbows should remain beside your hips. The throw should reach eye level at its peak and be angled to land precisely in your weaker hand’s waiting palm.
• When catching, do not reach out for the ball; let it fall into your hand. If the throw is off-center, adjust your body position to move towards the ball instead of catching it uncomfortably.

Exercises with 2 balls : The art of exchange

After learning the basic throw, we’ll add a second ball and learn the exchange – a fundamental juggling move where two balls swap places.

• Hold two balls (preferably of different colors) – one in each hand. Begin by throwing the first ball (we will use the orange) from your dominant handd.
• Once the ball peaks in its trajectory, toss the second ball (the yellow) from your weaker hand “beneath” the first ball (inverse throw). The trajectories should not be identical, as this could result in a mid-air collision, but should be adjusted to the catching hand side.
• Catch the first ball (orange) with your non-dominant hand and the second ball (yellow) with your dominant hand.

Practice the basic exchange with two balls, and after try to hold the pattern

This is the exchange. You can also switch sides: throwing the first ball from your weaker hand followed by the second throw from your dominant hand. Once you feel comfortable with the exchange on both sides, you’re ready to take on the cascade.

Now, let’s try to start with two balls in one hand.

Exercises with 3 balls : Reigniting the flame

Before to try to maintain 3 balls as long as you can, try to do only 3 catches, and when you will be solid with 3, try to do 5 catches. Remember to always start every time with each hand.

Now, it’s time for the main event! Grab three balls – two in your dominant hand and one in the other hand.

• Hold the two balls so that you grasp one (orange) with your thumb, index, and middle finger, and the other (green) with your ring finger and pinkie.
• Launch the first ball (orange) from your dominant hand.
• As with the exchange, throw the second ball (yellow) from your non dominant hand when the first ball (orange) is at eye level.
• Catch the first ball (orange) with your weaker hand.
• When the second ball (yellow) is at eye level, throw the third ball (green) from your dominant hand. This is similar to the exchange, but on the opposite side.
• Catch the second ball (yellow) with your dominant hand. Close the pattern and, start from the other side.

Once you have this solid, you can try to add more throws and caches as I said in the beginning of the Step 3.

I hope that with all this information you achieve to juggle, and start to practice this art form.

All this animations where made with JugglingLab.