Kae:Catches

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    [edit] Catches

    All contact juggling catches are based on the same method – you plot the approach of the ball to the catching limb, and when the ball is nearly in the right position, you move the limb to meet the ball, and then move the limb in the direction of the ball’s path at the ball’s speed, smoothly bringing them both to a halt. This can be seen in action by examining how you catch a ball in the open palm (without using your fingers). The ball comes down, and you bring the hand up to meet it. You match the speed of the ball with your hand, and bring them both to a smooth halt. This is a much more aesthetic catch in most cases than a gripping catch – one where the ball is caught between two or more opposing limbs (the fingers, the forearm and biceps, the feet, etc).

    [edit] Elbow Catch

    The Elbow Catch is an ideal way to start learning contact juggling catches. The area is easy to balance a ball on, and it can easily be moved up and down – the directions you will usually have to catch a ball in. First of all, you should practice without a ball. Put your catching arm directly out in front of you, palm up, elbow bent at about 150 degrees (almost, but not quite, straight) with the hand at a level just below the shoulder. Watch the elbow while you alternatively push the hand further out, and bring it back in. As you push the hand out, the elbow rises, and as you bring it back in, the elbow sinks. Now, place a ball in the palm of the same hand, and toss it in an arc about a foot high towards the elbow. As the ball approaches the elbow, straighten the arm to bring the elbow up to meet it. Just before the ball hits, start to bring the elbow back down, so the ball doesn’t just bounce right off again. Bring the elbow down at the same time as the ball. Bring the elbow to a halt, and balance the ball.

    [edit] Outside Elbow Catch

    If you place your arm in front of you as if to perform a Backarm Roll, the side of the elbow facing upwards is known as the “outside” side. The goal of this move is to catch the ball on a stable spot there. Some such spots are mentioned in the Backarm Roll section. If you raise the elbow while keeping the hand still, you can see how the elbow is to move when it is catching the ball. This method of catching is best used for catching balls tossed from the opposite side of the body. Toss from the opposite hand to the elbow, with the ball describing an arc with its apex about a foot higher than the elbow. As the ball approaches, lift the elbow up to meet it. Bring the elbow down, then, at the same speed as the ball, and slow it to a halt.

    [edit] Shoulder Catch

    This is done using the same method as the Head Catch, but is obviously much simpler because less caution is needed. There are two points at which you can hold the ball here, as pointed out in the Armroll To Shoulder Hold. The point below the clavicle is best for low tosses where you plan on leading the ball out with an Armroll. The point between the clavicle and trapezius is best for throws that are mostly vertical, or tosses from behind the back (a toss from behind the back to the Shoulder Hold is called “The Ungodly Jose”). Basically, a toss to the lower point is caught by leaning back at the same speed as the ball is moving. If you read what I’ve written about the Head Catch, you can use all the tips in there to help you with this (apart from furrowing your forehead, of course). The toss to the upper point is caught by raising your shoulder to meet the ball, and then dropping your whole body with the ball. You can help the catch, if you want, by leaning your head over to grip the ball between shoulder and jaw.

    [edit] Foot Catch

    This is easier to do in bare feet or wearing pumps or some similar tightly shaped footwear. It is best not to learn this while wearing shoes, boots, or runners (or “sneakers” as Merkins call them), as eventually, you will wear out the footwear, and when you replace it, you will have to learn all over again. This is easier to learn with a large ball and work your way down. I learned it with a soccer ball, and worked my way down through my trusty novelty tennis ball to a standard 2.5” acrylic. Drop the ball from about waist-high. It is best to drop from about 1.5 to 2 feet in front of the body to allow the leg room to maneuver – in order to lift the foot, the knee must be lifted. If it gets in the way, your ball will not reach the foot. As soon as you’ve dropped the ball, raise the foot to meet the ball, and then drop the foot at the same speed as the ball, bringing it to a halt. An ideal place to catch the ball is just behind the second and middle toes. Raise the toes to create a groove to hold the ball. It is a very good idea to spend some time, before attempting this, practicing balancing the ball on the foot. If you were wondering what could be done once you have the ball on your foot, I’d recommend watching some of Francis Brunn’s old videos. You can find some through the www.jugglingdb.com website. He used larger balls, but there is no reason why smaller balls can’t be used. One example from one of his videos is to roll the ball from the foot, up to the waist, then twist around to let the ball roll up the back and down one arm. You will need to be very flexible to perform that move, but as incentive, you will have the respect of the whole contact juggling community.

    [edit] Head Catch

    Bold textDo NOT practice this with a hard ball until you are certain you have it down with a softer one.Bold text Learn the Shoulder Catch first – it uses practically the same motions, and will give you practice in the technique needed. The head catch is one move where the direction of the ball’s throw is very important to decide before trying the catch. Remember that in order to successfully slow the ball to a halt, you must be able to move in the same direction as the ball. This will be difficult in the case of the head. For example, if you toss straight up, then the only way to bring the head down at the right speed is to use your whole body to move the head. This is difficult, but not impossible – don’t try it until you’ve learned a simpler way. We’ll start with the simpler way. The ball will be tossed from about one foot in front of the chest in an arc, which would end one foot behind the chest. The top of the forehead is at the apex of the arc’s path, which means that when the ball reaches the forehead, it will not be moving upwards anymore. The only speed you’ll have to match is it’s backwards motion. Before tossing for the first time, decide where you are going to catch the ball. Most people have a fairly flat forehead (except me… courtesy of some nasty falls in my past), so you should be able to balance the ball easily without too much correction. If you can’t find a suitable place to hold the ball, then try furrowing your brow and pressing your eyebrows in towards each other. This will cause your forehead muscles to bunch, making a cushion for the ball to sit on. Now that you have a place to stop the ball, we can start learning the catch. First of all, you should practice for a while holding the ball just before the chest, then bringing it up in a smooth slow arc to sit on the balance spot – holding it in your hand all the while. After you get this smooth and can keep the ball there for a while, try learning to bring the ball up and roll it into the balance point from an inch or so below it. Use your head to bring the ball under control. It is important to learn this at this point, as when you toss the ball for the first time, you will not have your hand to bring the ball under control. For the first toss, start again with the ball held just before the chest. Bring your hand up as usual, and then just as the hand is over the bridge of the nose, release the ball with a little push so it is tossed to the point just before the balance point and rolled into place. Gradually, you should be able to make the toss longer and longer as you lower the hand, until it’s straight from the chest. I have been told (I haven’t seen this yet) that Tony Duncan can toss a silicone ball straight from his foot to his forehead. I’m sure it is possible – I have seen Francis Brunn do it with a larger ball.

    [edit] Neck Catch

    This move is even more dangerous than the Head Catch; so make absolutely certain you can do it with a soft ball before moving onto a hard ball. You are best off learning with a large soft ball (trusty novelty tennis ball time…) before moving onto a small soft ball (trusty non-novelty tennis ball time…), and finally onto your regular ball. You must be aware of the dangers of this move before trying it. There was a 19th century performer who used to perform the neck catch with a cannonball. He died when he misjudged the toss and hit the back of his head with the ball. An acrylic is much lighter than a cannonball, but nevertheless, you should be careful. The back of the head is a dangerous area to mess around with, and the spine is not to be trifled with either, so make sure that you have other catches down well before you try this – to make sure you have the general catch method down pat. Another danger is that you cannot see what you are doing, but we can work around that. Starting with a large ball, toss it up six inches above your head so it would fall about a foot in front of your face. In fact, allow it to fall a few times to make sure you have it right. Now, try the toss again, but bend forward, keeping your head level, and bring your arms up. You keep your head level so the spine curves to catch the ball – not bounce it off, and your arms are brought up to bunch your shoulder muscles, creating an added cushion. If you have the distance right, then the ball will either land on your shoulders and neck, or bounce off them. If the ball hit your back, then throw the ball further forward – a foot and a half in front of the face, for example. If it hit your head, throw it closer to your face, or bow further forward after the toss. If the ball bounced off the neck, then you are not bowing fast enough, or you’re bowing too soon. The ball should clear the head just before you start your bow, and the bow should start off slow, move a bit faster as the ball approaches the neck, and slow to a halt after the ball has landed. You can bring the ball off the neck by either reversing the bow while leaning your head downwards then flicking it up, or by rolling down either of the arms. When you have the catch down with a large ball, try making the ball smaller and smaller until you think you’re ready for a hard one. Before catching with a hard ball, make sure you are completely confident with the catch. If you hesitate at all, then the catch will be wrong, and you may hurt yourself. Certainly, I wouldn’t like an acrylic slammed into the back of the head. You should be wary of it as well. Make sure you are doing a low catch before you try tossing higher up.

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