juggling, one throw per page
Twenty-four lessons on what juggling is and why anyone can learn it, the three-ball cascade as the first pattern, the arc of a good throw, the two-ball exchange, hand position and the calm scoop catch, dwell time and the rhythm underneath, the flash and the run, dropping as normal, beanbags versus balls, scarves as the slow-motion teacher, the reverse cascade, the half-shower, two in one hand, columns, the four-ball fountain, siteswap at a glance, joggling, passing with a friend, performance nerves and sight lines, the honest limits, a first session of fifteen minutes, and teaching a friend.
One throw, one honest page. That's a lesson.
juggling, one throw per page
Twenty-four lessons on what juggling is and why anyone can learn it, the three-ball cascade as the first pattern, the arc of a good throw, the two-ball exchange, hand position and the calm scoop catch, dwell time and the rhythm underneath, the flash and the run, dropping as normal, beanbags versus balls, scarves as the slow-motion teacher, the reverse cascade, the half-shower, two in one hand, columns, the four-ball fountain, siteswap at a glance, joggling, passing with a friend, performance nerves and sight lines, the honest limits, a first session of fifteen minutes, and teaching a friend.
Set in Space Grotesk, Inter and JetBrains Mono (SIL Open Font License).
Every fact in this book is as the primary source states it, fetched and read during this build: the Wikipedia articles Juggling, Toss juggling, Cascade (juggling), Shower (juggling), Fountain (juggling), Flash (juggling), Juggling pattern, Juggling ball, Siteswap, Passing (juggling), Joggling, Juggling world records and Forms of juggling, all cached at build time and cited in each lesson's source line. General information about how juggling works, not advice. An honest no-demo book: no juggling was filmed and no photograph was staged by this machine; every juggling claim is stated as its source states it. Rituals stated as this book's own plan (the lesson order, the practice asks, the two-ball exchange drill, the fifteen minute first session, the teaching order for a friend, the drawing convention on these pages) are labeled as this book's plan. No product recommendations. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikipedia. No facts from Reddit, forums, vendor blogs or search engines.
Your purchase is for personal use only. You do not have redistribution rights: please do not share, resell, or republish this book or its pages.
© 2026 Steve Hodgkiss. All rights reserved. Personal use only; no redistribution rights.
Edition 1.0 · stevehodgkiss.net
Contents
Per the Wikipedia article Juggling, juggling is a physical skill involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art, or sport; the most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, throwing and catching objects in the air without the objects touching the ground; jugglers often refer to the objects they juggle as props, the most common being balls, clubs and rings; per the Wikipedia article Toss juggling, in 1990 it was estimated by the International Jugglers' Association that twenty-three percent of Americans can juggle a three-ball cascade; per the Wikipedia article Juggling again, according to an Oxford University study, juggling improves cerebral connectivity performance.
What juggling is
Juggling is a physical skill, the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The famous form is toss juggling: throwing and catching objects in the air, nothing touching the ground.
The objects are props, most often balls, clubs and rings. It is a skill, not a gift: in 1990 the IJA estimated twenty-three percent of Americans could juggle a cascade.
An Oxford University study found juggling improves cerebral connectivity.
Say the definition once this week: more objects than hands, nothing on the ground.
Per the Wikipedia article Cascade (juggling), in the cascade each caught object is transported again toward the body's midline for the next throw, the hands must move up and down when throwing and catching, the hands also take turns, and the crossing of the balls between the hands demands that one hand catches at the same rate that the other hand throws; per the Wikipedia article Toss juggling, juggling helps to develop quick reflexes and hand-eye coordination; calling catching the calmer half, and the scoop-catch drill of the hand travelling down with the ball, are this book's plan.
The calm catch
Catching is the calmer half, this book's plan for naming it. The source's picture is calm too: the caught ball is transported toward the body's midline for the next throw, hands taking turns, moving up and down.
The rhythm law underneath: one hand catches at the same rate that the other hand throws.
Juggling builds quick reflexes and hand-eye coordination, but the catch is a low scoop, this book's plan: the hand travels down with the ball.
Catch ten eye-height balls this week with a hand that gives downward, softly.
Per the Wikipedia article Juggling ball, beanbags are the most common type of juggling ball, with an outer shell of vinyl or microfiber filled with millet, birdseed, plastic pellets or sand, generally 2.5 to 3 inches in diameter and 90 to 130 grams; beanbags are preferred by many jugglers because they do not bounce or roll when dropped and are caught the most easily; stage balls can be manufactured to a greater diameter than beanbags while keeping a manageable weight, and hold their shape and color better, but tend to roll away when dropped and are not commonly used during practice; silicone balls often cost 5 to 7 times more than beanbags or stage balls; juggling balls are usually the first props that beginners attempt to juggle with, and common balls such as tennis balls or baseballs can function as juggling balls for a beginning juggler; contact juggling, per the same article, is a form of juggling in which the juggler never throws the objects.
Beanbags first
The honest starter is the beanbag, the most common type of juggling ball: vinyl or microfiber over millet, birdseed or sand.
Sensible numbers: 2.5 to 3 inches across, 90 to 130 grams. They do not bounce or roll when dropped and are caught the most easily.
Stage balls hold shape and color better but roll away when dropped; silicone costs 5 to 7 times more. Tennis balls can serve.
Gather three before Friday, beanbags if possible, where you will walk past.
Per the Wikipedia article Cascade (juggling), the reverse cascade, or outside cascade, is a juggling pattern in which the props follow the same path as the cascade, but with time going backwards; one throws every ball with an outward instead of an inward scoop, and throws every ball over the incoming ball rather than under it; objects are caught near the middle of the pattern and thrown from the outside, causing each ball to pass above the ball previously thrown, so from the juggler's perspective the left hand moves clockwise and the right hand counterclockwise; the pattern is performed with an odd number of props and is generally considered more difficult to perform than the cascade, with a difficulty rating of 4 rather than 2 out of 10.
The reverse cascade
The reverse cascade, or outside cascade, follows the same path with time going backwards: an outward instead of an inward scoop, every ball over the incoming ball rather than under it.
Now you catch near the middle and throw from the outside; the hand circles reverse with you.
It is rated 4 out of 10 against the cascade's 2, still odd numbers only. Same three balls, one honest step up.
Throw five reverse scoops this week, over the incoming ball, and let the rest of the pattern wait.
Per the Wikipedia article Siteswap, siteswap, also called the Cambridge notation, is a numeric juggling notation used to describe or represent juggling patterns, where throws are represented by non-negative integers that specify the number of beats in the future when the object is thrown again; a three-ball cascade may be notated 3, while a shower may be notated 5 1; a 0 is a pause with an empty hand, a 1 is a quick pass straight across to the other hand, and a 2 is a momentary hold of an object; odd-numbered throws send the ball to the other hand, while even-numbered throws send the ball to the same hand; the number of balls used for the pattern is the average of the throw numbers, so 441 is a three-object pattern because 4+4+1 over 3 is 3, and 531 is given as a worked example of a valid pattern; the notation was invented by Paul Klimek in Santa Cruz, California in 1981 and developed at Caltech and Cambridge in 1985.
Siteswap at a glance
Siteswap is a numeric juggling notation: each digit counts the beats in the future when the object is thrown again. The cascade is 3; the shower 5 1.
Special throws: 0, an empty pause; 1, a pass straight across; 2, a momentary hold. Odd throws cross hands, even stay home.
Count balls by the average of the numbers: 441 and 531 average three.
Decode two words this week: what 3, 51, 441 and 531 mean, then check the averages.
Per the Wikipedia article Juggling, some jugglers use more dramatic objects such as knives, fire torches or chainsaws, and sport juggling competitions reward pure technical ability and give no extra credit for juggling with props such as knives or torches; per the Wikipedia article Forms of juggling, contact juggling usually uses crystal balls, actually acrylic or plastic; the limits drawn on these pages, that fire, knives and chainsaws belong to professionals with training, gear and distance, that hard props on hard floors make a red day, and that stairs, glass and a sleeping cat are no place for practice, are this book's plan.
The honest limits
The drama props are real: knives, fire torches or chainsaws are used by some jugglers. Competitions give them no extra credit; they reward pure technical ability.
Even the pretty ones bite: contact juggling's crystal balls are acrylic or plastic, hard and heavy.
This book's plan: fire and blades belong to professionals with training and distance. Your corner wants beanbags, a soft floor, no stairs, no glass.
Write your red list this week: the props you will not touch, and the two places you will never juggle.