Kae:Combining Toss and Contact-Juggling
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[edit] Combining Toss- and Contact-Juggling
The moves in this section could possibly be described as toss-juggling moves, but you won't find them in many toss-juggling books, as they each have a CJ streak. When creating a combination of toss and contact, it is good to take a fresh look at the toss move that you want to change – make a video of it or watch someone else do it, and mentally change one movement at a time into something involving contact juggling. In the rec.juggling archives (see www.juggling.org) you can find some descriptions of how people have combined contact and toss in the past – maybe pausing in the middle of a cascade to catch the tossed ball in a cradle and Chestroll it to the other hand before continuing, or rolling up the arm to the elbow and back before returning to the original move.
[edit] 2b Square
This move is most definitely a toss juggling move, but can be used effectively as part of a contact juggling routine. The effect is that two balls move simultaneously horizontally, then vertically – forming floor, roof, and sides of a box or “square”. Start with the right hand held shoulder-high in front of the right shoulder, with a ball held in the Thumb Hold (or just grab it normally, while learning). The left hand is held about waist high, palm up on the left with a ball in the palm. Bring both hands horizontally to their opposite sides, so the right hand is in front of the left shoulder, and the left hand is in front of the right side of the waist. Toss the left ball upwards so it will apex at shoulder height. The left ball is simply dropped. Quickly, move your hands back to the original positions, and catch the thrown and dropped balls. Now, you can repeat the movements. Someone on contactjuggling.org described this as part of the 3b toss juggling move The Factory. You could say that, but there are slight differences. The Factory is much more difficult, for one. I’d recommend learning the move in order to get this move down, though. The Factory holds some possibility for integration into CJ… I must work on that…
[edit] 2b Elbow Catch
You will have to be very good at the Elbow Catch before trying this. Start with a ball in the palm, and another in the elbow of the same arm. Bend the arm slightly and straighten it with a jerk, causing the ball at the elbow to be tossed in the air (hopefully, towards the hand – work on it). As the ball approaches the hand, toss the held ball towards the elbow, catching the already thrown ball. This is the basic throw and catch of toss juggling. Catch the tossed ball on the elbow.
[edit] 2b Elbow Catch Shower
This is simply a variation of the 2b Elbow Catch where the ball at the elbow is rolled to the palm instead of tossed. As the ball reaches the palm, toss the other ball towards the elbow with your fingertips. If you plan on doing this quickly (in preparation for the 3b version, for example), it may be best for you to practice catching the ball further up the arm than the elbow. If the ball lands on the bicep (which is not horizontal), it will naturally start the roll without you needing to do anything yourself.
[edit] 2b Elbow Toss Shower
This is the exact opposite of the 2b Elbow Catch Shower. Start with two balls in the palm. Roll one to the elbow, and immediately toss it back to the palm. Just before you catch it, start the other ball rolling to the elbow. This is quite a bit more difficult than the 2b Elbow Catch Shower, as tossing from the elbow involves the whole arm, where tossing from the palm only involves the fingers. I’m sure that with a lot of practice, this could be done with three balls, but have not managed it myself yet.
[edit] 3b Mill's Mess with Cradle
To learn this move, you should first learn toss juggling’s Mill’s Mess, which any experienced juggler will show you. I’ll go through the CJ version step by step, but you will find it a lot easier to learn if you already know the toss-juggling move, as all that is changed is that the ball is “stalled” at the end of each move. The images show the transfer in one direction – learn it in both (reverse the instructions to learn the other way). Start with a ball (b1) in your right cradle, a ball (b2) in the right Thumb Hold, and another (b3) in the left palm. The right hand should be crossed over the left. Uncross your arms, tossing b1 in the air sort-of towards your left. Cross your arms the other way, tossing b2 a bit further left than b1, and catching b1 just after tossing b2. Now make sure that your left hand has b3 in a Thumb Hold, and catch b2 in the cradle. I have found that the three-fingered cradle is best for this, as it absorbs the landing a bit better, reducing the ball's tendency to bounce straight off the hand. I have heard of some people who managed to put a butterfly somewhere in all that motion, but haven't figured out how to do that without coming up with a completely different move.
[edit] 3b Back-Palm Mill’s Mess
After you’ve learned the 3b Mill’s Mess with Cradle, you will realize that it really is just a small extension that any toss juggler could do. Here is a slightly trickier one that can be performed very tightly and quickly. Start with a ball in the left cradle, another in a Thumb Hold in the left hand, and a third in the palm of the right hand. Both hands are in Back-Palm Pass position, with the right hand in front of the left. Back-Palm Pass the cradled ball (call it b1), and immediately toss the palm ball (b2) straight up and hold b1 in the palm. Uncross the hands, bringing the left hand face up so it’s ball (b3) is on top. b2 comes down and you toss b3 upwards before catching b2 in the palm and crossing the hands, right hand palm down, to catch b3 in the right cradle. The hands are now in the opposite Back-Palm Pass position, so you can immediately do the above movements again, in reverse. When I do the Back-Palm Passes in this move, I like to throw in a Back-Palm Shower or two before continuing with the rest of the move – it makes the move look more complex, and feels very nice. Another nice thing to do here, is to exaggerate the pass from Cradle to Palm, so the balls roll along the backarm from the cradle, and drop off the elbow. In that case, you could call the move the 3b Backarm Roll Mill’s Mess. Naturally, this move is a lot slower, and therefore probably easier to do.
[edit] 3b Mesh
Here's a little move that can be easily expanded on to make some very complex moves. I originally called it a Mesh because the movements reminded me of clockwork. I had a five-ball variation in mind, which would have looked very much like clockwork (and a bit like toss-juggling’s "5b multiplex cascade”). I'm not sure now that the five-ball version is possible, but you never know... Start with a ball in the Thumb Hold and cradle of the right hand, which is held about chest high. The left hand is held about stomach high, and holds a ball on the palm. Move the right hand in a butterfly-like motion so the cradle ball is brought into a Thumb Hold. The original Thumb Hold is thrown/dropped towards the left. It's difficult to control the dropping ball while performing the butterfly, but try to let it go at the last moment so it doesn't just drop straight down. As the ball drops, bring the left hand up to catch it, tossing it's own ball at the same time. The tossed ball is then caught by the right cradle, bringing you back to the starting position. In effect, you are moving all the balls around in a circle. After three Mesh movements, the balls are back in their original positions.
[edit] 3b Forearm Shower
This move is based on toss-juggling’s Shower. If you study a shower, you will see that the balls move in a circular fashion, with two tosses causing the pattern. The first toss is a high toss, which is the more visible one. The second is almost a direct pass from one hand to the other. This second toss can be replaced with a forearm roll. Start with your left arm extended in forearm roll position. Place two balls in the palm. The right hand should be next to the left arm’s elbow. Let one of the balls in the left palm roll down to the elbow and off into the right hand. As the ball is being passed from the left elbow to right hand, toss the ball that is already in the right hand up towards the left palm and catch the rolled ball. As the tossed ball is reaching the left palm, let the remaining ball there roll towards the elbow, which is where we started. At most, I’ve done this with three balls, but I’m sure it could be extended to four. After all, the only difference is the amount of balls in the air (and the added difficulty, of course).
[edit] 3b Baby Pass Shower
When you examine this move after you’ve learned it, you’ll see it’s just a variation of the Forearm Shower, with the tossing hand held on the opposite side of the arm. Start in Baby Pass position, left hand up by right upper arm, and right hand beside left’s elbow, right arm under left. Two balls are held in the left hand, and one in the right. Let one ball roll down the forearm from the right hand on into the left hand. As it arrives, toss the already held ball from the right hand up to the left hand. Catch the rolled ball. As the tossed ball comes to the left hand, roll the remaining ball down the arm, starting the loop all over again. As with the Forearm Shower, I’m certain it is possible to do this with more than three balls. It has the added difficulty of being cross-armed, but the potential is there.
