I'm following up on the Something list. If you're not subscribed
already, you probably should, since it's where threads like this that
get a bit off topic end up going.
On Dec 4, 2006, at 3:28 PM, miyu wrote:
I would like to see if anyone could let me know some good sources
for trying to learn contact juggling. I have the book which is
awesome but I find it difficult to learn from books. I have gotten
a basic windshield wiper motion down but I'm not having any success
passing from hand to hand which keeps me from getting any sort of
butterfly going. Some other sources for information would be nice.
It would be even nicer if there was anyone near me who was a CJer.
I personally learned from the book, plus whatever videos I could find
online. The websites I found most useful were contactjuggling.com and
contactjuggling.org. I've heard good things about Greg Maldonado's
Contact Juggling videos, so if you want something more concrete than
the book, you might want to try those.
The real key, I've found, to doing a lot of the tricks is to learn
stalls on different parts of your body. For instance, the basic
windshield wiper is just moving from a front of the hand stall to a
back of the hand stall. In order to learn stalls, practice jut
putting the ball on that part of your body and holding it there,
while moving your body around and trying not to drop the ball. Once
you can hold it there, without it rolling away, try maybe tossing the
ball up and down in the air a bit.
Then, once you can do that, try rolling the ball from one stall
position to another. This is hard, and can take a lot of practice.
The best way to look at it is as moving your hand & arm under the
ball, rather than rolling the ball over your hand or arm. You can
also get some practice with the rolls by just rolling it past the
stall point onto your other hand, for instance rolling it from the
back of your right hand, down the back of your arm, and off your
elbow, where your left hand is waiting to catch it.