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Back: Kae's Guide to Contact Juggling

Contents 1 Multi-ball Ball-Rolling 2 2b Folding Butterfly 3 2b Asymmetric Butterfly 4 2b Symmetric Butterfly 5 2b Back-Back Butterfly 6 2b Twirling Butterfly 7 2b Circle 8 2b Back-Palm Shower 9 2b Forearm Roll 10 2b Train 11 2b Backarm Roll Transfer 12 2b Simultaneous Back-Forearm and Fore-Backarm Rolling 13 3b Forearm Roll Cascade 14 3b Backarm Roll Transfer 15 3b Folding Cascade 16 3b Backarm Cascade 17 4b Circle 18 4b Backarm Cascade 19 2b Palmspin Escape 20 3b Palmspin Escape 21 4b Stack Escape 22 4b Flat Spin Escape 23 Combining Chest Rolls with Hand-Hand Passes

[edit] Multi-ball Ball-Rolling

Again, these moves are ordered by approximate difficulty. Don’t be afraid to try moves, which I might say are harder than others. What one person finds difficult, another might just breeze through.

[edit] 2b Folding Butterfly

This is probably the ideal introduction to 2b CJing. At all times, you are only moving one arm at a time, making it easier to control. Start with a ball in each palm. Both arms point out in front of you. Butterfly the right arm in so the cradle ends up resting at the left elbow. Butterfly the left arm in so it’s cradle ends up resting by the right elbow. Butterfly the left arm out to it’s original position. Butterfly the right arm out so it ends up in it’s original position. Now repeat on the other side. As you can see, the instructions are easy to follow. The move is very simple, but can look complex if you learn to do it smoothly and quickly.

You can make the move a bit more difficult for yourself (and speed it up a bit) by doing the same move in this way: Start with a ball in the left palm, arm pointing straight out. A ball is in the right cradle, hand at the left cradle. Butterfly the right arm so it ends up pointing straight out. At the same time, butterfly the left arm in so the cradle ends up at the right elbow. Butterfly the right arm in so the cradle ends up at the left elbow. Butterfly the right arm out so it ends up pointing straight out. Butterfly the left arm out so it’s pointing straight out. At the same time, fold the right arm back in so it ends in the starting position.

[edit] 2b Asymmetric Butterfly

Learn the second version of the 2b Folding Butterfly, and you’ve already performed the Asymmetric Butterfly. Start with a ball in the right palm, arm pointing out in front of you. The left ball is in it’s cradle, which is resting at the right elbow. Butterfly the left arm out so it matches the right arm’s starting position. At the same time, fold the right arm in so it’s cradle is resting on the left elbow. Now, do the same but in reverse. The reason you learn the 2b Folding Butterfly first is that after every Asymmetric Butterfly, you are given a small rest while the folding is completed.

[edit] 2b Symmetric Butterfly

This move should be simply a matter of performing a butterfly in both hands at the same time, but there are a few things that make that difficult. Because the Butterfly involves the elbow moving in front of the chest, having two moving at the same time poses problems; they tend to bump into each other if you try to make the Butterfly large, and the movement of the upper arms can feel very restricted if you don’t stretch your upper chest very often. To learn, start by learning with one ball in one hand, moving the other arm in the same way. Alternate which arm butterflies nearest the chest.

[edit] 2b Back-Back Butterfly

You will need to learn the 2b Symmetric butterfly in order to get this one. It is simple, though, so could probably be learned at the same time as the Symmetric butterfly. Start by placing a ball on each cradle, with the arms crossed. Butterfly both arms to palm position. Grab the right ball in a Thumb Hold, then butterfly the arms back, so the arms are crossed again, right arm in front, hands in Back-Back Pass position. Pass the left ball onto the right cradle, and butterfly both arms open so you have two balls in the right palm. Keep the original right-hand ball in its Thumb Hold. Butterfly the arms crossed again, this time with the right arm at the chest, and Back-Back Pass the ball back to the left cradle. Now, do the same steps with the left arm.

[edit] 2b Twirling Butterfly

This little move is an example of how to make a very tight contact-juggling move. In most cases, all the Twirling Butterfly moves can be done within a space of about a foot cubed. Start by learning the one ball version. Then, cross both hands at the wrist with the right hand on top, like in the starting position of the one ball version, but this time, place a ball on the right cradle and another on the left palm. Now, ‘simply’ butterfly them. You’ll see that it’s difficult to keep the movement smooth and keep the wrists together. To do that, you need to move slower.

[edit] 2b Circle

Despite seeming impossible when you first think of it, the 2-ball Circle is very easy. Start with both hands held palm up, a ball on each palm. The heels of the hands should be close together, like you’ve just passed one ball from palm-palm. Butterfly the right ball to the cradle, while mirroring the hand motion with the left hand, keeping the left ball in a thumb hold. The left hand goes in front of the right. You should now be in back-back pass position. Pass the cradle ball from the right hand to the left. You now have both balls in the left hand. Butterfly the hands back out so the cradle ball joins the other in the left palm. Immediately, palm-palm pass the original left ball to the right hand. You are now in the starting position again. The hardest part of this move is when you butterfly while holding a ball in both the cradle and palm – do you allow them to touch? That’s an aesthetic question, and is up to the individual performer. Personally, I don’t allow them to touch, but that makes the move trickier to get smooth.

[edit] 2b Back-Palm Shower

This little move is similar to the 2b Palm-Palm Shower, and looks harder than it is. Start with a ball in the right palm, and another in the left cradle. Cross the hands at the wrist as if you were going into a Back-Palm Pass. Back-Palm Pass the cradle ball to the palm of the right hand. Immediately, toss the palm ball over it so it is caught by the cradle of the right hand. You can repeat this over and over, or move into a Palm-Palm Shower and through that to a Back-Palm Shower in the opposite direction. I like to throw in a few rounds of this move when I am doing a 3b Back-Palm Mill’s Mess

[edit] 2b Forearm Roll

Start with a ball on each palm. The left hand’s fingertips touch the right elbow. The right arm is pointing straight out in front of the body. Roll the right ball towards the elbow. After starting the roll, roll the left ball towards it’s elbow. The right ball reaches the elbow, and is passed onto the left palm. You are then able to turn the left arm so it is pointing straight out. The original left ball reaches the left elbow as you are turning the arms, and you balance the ball on the elbow while completing the arm’s turn. Bring the right arm in so the hand touches the left elbow, and pass the elbow ball into the palm. From there, you are in a position to repeat the move with the opposite arm.

[edit] 2b Train

This move was created accidentally by Ferret. A “train”, in the CJ world, is any roll where 2 balls are rolled as one – one ball follows directly behind another. The original move was a forearm roll with two balls, but this can also “easily” (with practice) be done as a backarm roll, and I’m sure with enough time put in, a chestroll would be possible.

[edit] 2b Backarm Roll Transfer

This move is similar to the 2b Back-Palm Shower. It's almost a stretched out version. Start with a ball in the left cradle, arm parallel to the chest. Stretch the hand out a bit to the right. The left hand is held palm up, with a ball in the palm, stretched out under the left elbow, as if you'd just caught the ball off a left Backarm Roll. Now, roll the left-cradle ball down the backarm and off the elbow. Try to control it so it moves at an even speed. As the ball comes off, reach up to catch it with the right palm, and toss the palm ball over the dropping ball so it lands on the left elbow and rolls to the left cradle. You are now in a position to repeat the move again. To smooth the catch on the elbow, try to toss the ball so it never actually stops on the elbow. It lands already rolling for the cradle. This is accomplished by tossing so the highest the ball goes is just enough to bring it over the elbow. To make the move more symmetrical, and prepare for the three ball version, try this variation (it's great for practicing the move, as well!): Perform the 2b Backarm Roll Transfer as described above. When the move is complete, butterfly the left hand out so it goes palm up. bring the right hand around so it is almost parallel to the left. Continue the movement of the left hand towards the right, and butterfly the right hand over the left so you end up in the opposite of the starting position - right hand stretched out to the left, left hand under right elbow and stretched out to the right. Perform the 2b Backarm Roll Transfer again (opposite of above). Butterfly both arms back to the starting position again. This is a very smooth 2b move that is great for practicing your Backarm Rolls - especially those difficult rolls from the elbow to cradle.

[edit] 2b Simultaneous Back-Forearm and Fore-Backarm Rolling

It is possible, but difficult, to do both the Forearm to Backarm Roll and the Backarm to Forearm Roll at the same time. To do this, you should be very proficient at the Backarm-Forearm Roll and the Forearm-Backarm Roll. Proficient enough to perform both while butterflying a ball in the hand of the same arm at the same time. Start with two balls in the right palm. Roll one of them to the elbow, and Forearm to Backarm roll it, butterflying the other ball at the same time. Then, as it is reaching the cradle again, toss the cradled ball over the rolling ball so it continues rolling towards the elbow. Stop both balls at the elbow and cradle respectively. Backarm to Forearm Roll the elbow ball, butterflying the cradle ball to palm. As the rolling ball is reaching the palm, toss the palmed ball over it so it continues rolling towards the elbow. You know what to do from there. A “cheater” way of doing this is to not try rolling both at the same time – wait for whatever ball is rolling on the arm to arrive and stop at the hand before tossing the other ball over it. This will allow you the ease of only having to control one ball at a time (sort of), but with the satisfaction of having done a really difficult move. For an even easier version, don’t toss the balls over each other – simply palmspin them. On the cradle side, this is very difficult, but not impossible!

[edit] 3b Forearm Roll Cascade

This is an extension of the 2b Forearm Roll. It is done in almost exactly the same way. In fact, I originally called this simply a 3b Forearm Roll before noticing that the balls were cascading. Start with one ball in the right palm, another at the right elbow – the right arm pointing out from the body. A third ball is in the left palm, beside the right elbow. Roll the left ball towards the left elbow, passing the right elbow ball into the left palm to replace it. As the ball is rolling to the left elbow, bring the left arm so it is pointing out from the body, like the right arm’s starting position. The right arm comes in at the same time so it’s hand is beside the left elbow. That’s it! Just repeat the same movement with the arms reversed, and you are cascading using Forearm Rolls. This is more obvious if you use different coloured balls.

[edit] 3b Backarm Roll Transfer

Once you have learned the 2b Backarm Roll Transfer, the three ball version is a simple progression. Start as with the 2b Backarm Roll Transfer - a ball in the left cradle, and another in the right palm. Add a third, which starts in a left Thumb Hold. Do a 2b Backarm Roll Transfer. The thumbed ball is held still all the while - this makes the move even easier - you only move two balls at a time. To make this a proper three ball move, you should find some way of bringing the third ball into the mix. Luckily, the very act of making this move symmetrical does the job. The simplest way of reversing the positions of the balls and hands is to butterfly the left hand out, and palm-palm pass one of the left hand balls to the right hand, then butterfly the right hand so one of it?s balls goes to the cradle. You will end up in the opposite position as the start. From there, you simply repeat the above in the opposite direction. The way I prefer to swap the directions for this move is to butterfly the left hand well out to the left side. Turn the right hand over, so it's ball goes into a Thumb Hold. Now, roll one of the left hand balls down the forearm, and over the forearm onto the right cradle. Then, raise the right hand above the left elbow, while swinging the left arm round so the left hand goes into start position. When done smoothly, you can start the 2b Backarm Roll as the left arm is swinging into place. Makes it look smooth!

[edit] 3b Folding Cascade

This version of the Arm Roll cascades is much more obviously a cascade. In order to learn it, you must be comfortable passing a ball from the Elbow Hold to the Outside Elbow Hold. Start with a ball in the left Elbow Hold, another in the left Palm Hold, and a third in the right Elbow Hold. Forearm Roll the right ball to its palm. Butterfly the left hand to the right elbow. This also involves transferring the left Elbow Hold to the Outside Elbow Hold, so be careful! I found it is easier if you exaggerate the left elbow’s movement – you should be able to easily ignore the butterfly in order to concentrate on this (if not, you should be learning something different!). Pass the left cradled ball to the right Elbow Hold, and then butterfly the arm back to its original position. This involves a move from the Outside Elbow Hold to the Elbow Hold. Easier than last time, but still tricky – thankfully there are no other balls in the arm to think about! At that point, you are in the reverse of the beginning position, so simply start again but using the instructions for the opposite arms.

[edit] 3b Backarm Cascade

You will probably benefit hugely from learning the 2b Back-Back Shower before learning this move. You should also know the 2b Backarm Roll Transfer very well. Start with two balls in the right palm, held under the left elbow. The left hand is out to the right side with a ball in it’s cradle. Toss one of the right hand balls up onto the left elbow, and roll it towards the left cradle. Now, the fun begins! As the ball approaches the cradle, toss the already cradled ball over it so the rolling ball rolls into the cradle, and the tossed ball lands on the backarm and continues to the elbow. This is where the 2b Back-Back Shower experience is important. The rolling ball drops off the end of the backarm. As you reach to catch with the right hand, toss its held hand up onto the left elbow, so it starts rolling towards the left cradle. Sound familiar? This is where the experience with the 2b Backarm Roll Transfer comes in. Once you learn this well, try the four ball version…

[edit] 4b Circle

Simply put, the 4b Circle is a combination of palm-palm passes, symmetrical butterflies, and 2b Genie Rolls. Ferret said once that he had a four-ball version of the Circle. It possibly looks like this. This is not a true circle, though, as not all the balls go right through the circle. Start with a ball in each cradle and another in each Thumb Hold. The hands are held in back-back pass position - whichever you feel most comfortable with. From there, do a 2b Genie Roll. If you find these difficult, try back-back passing one ball so it passes onto the cradle of the other hand closer to it's fingers, then back-back pass the other ball over to the now empty cradle. One of the balls will be rolling the difficult way, so I recommend you leave that as the last to roll, allowing you to devote full concentration to it. Butterfly both hands so you end up with two balls in both hands. It looks good to palmspin for a moment there, and helps as well with the circle (without palmspinning, none of the balls will ever complete a circle). Palm-Palm Pass two of the balls, so you have an interchange. Maybe you'd like to add a second moment of palmspinning before going on to the next step. Butterfly back so you are in the starting position. I like to make the palm-palm pass and back-back passes in this move fleeting moments of contact between the hands. The majority of time is spent with the butterflies and palmspinning.

[edit] 4b Backarm Cascade

Make sure you know the 3b version of this well before attempting this. Once you do, though, its simple – it’s like a mixture of the 3b Backarm Cascade, and the 3b Backarm Roll Transfer. Start as before with the 3b version, with two balls in the right hand, held under the left elbow, and one ball in the left cradle, held out to the right. This time, though, also hold a ball in the left Thumb Hold. Toss a right hand ball onto the left elbow. Let that ball roll to the left cradle, then toss the left cradle ball over it so it rolls to the left elbow and drops off. Unlike the 3b Backarm Cascade, though, this time we don’t follow up the right hand catch with another repeat of the move. Instead, Swing the arms around, butterflying the left cradle ball so you end up with two palm balls in the left hand, and the right hand butterflies one ball into cradle, and the other into Thumb Hold. The swing ends with the left hand under the right elbow, and the right hand palm down out to the left. Repeat the moves mentioned, but with the arms reversed.Combining Ball Rolling and =Palmspinning= This section is mostly about moves combining ball-rolling and palmspinning, but there are also little pieces about going into ball-rolling from palmspinning, and vice-versa.

A simple way of combining ball rolling and palmspinning is to use three balls, and roll one of them while holding the others still (so you are only concentrating on one at a time). For example, try palmspinning three in the right hand. Pass one ball to the other palm, and butterfly the right hand so one ball goes to the Thumb Hold and the other is in the cradle. Now, roll that cradle ball up the arm and across the chest to the other cradle (which has it’s ball also in a Thumb Hold). Butterfly out, and pass the right ball into the left and start palmspinning again. Or, simpler still; palmspin three in the right hand. Forearm roll one to the elbow and pass to the left hand. Palmspin two in the right and one in the left for a moment. Pass another from the rigth to the left in the same way. Palmspin for a moment, then finish by passing the last ball the same way.

[edit] 2b Palmspin Escape

Starting with a 2b Palmspin, you roll one of the balls up the forearm to the elbow, and then roll it back down into the palmspin. This sounds simple, and is, really, after you’ve practiced it a while. You need to be smooth with your forearm rolls for this. It is easier to learn this from a pushing palmspin, as with a pulling palmspin, the ball you roll to the forearm will go over the base of the thumb, which could interfere with your balance. With a pushing palmspin the ball will go up via the heel of the hand, which is much smoother. With the 3b Palmspin Escape, the remaining two balls continue spinning while the escaped ball is rolling, but that is extremely difficult with the 2b Palmspin Escape, so just keep the remaining ball in the palm of the hand, waiting for the rolling ball to return. This affects the forearm roll, as you’ll have to be careful not to drop the palm ball when you make corrections in the other ball’s balance. When the rolling ball is returning, bring the palm ball to the front of the hand, at the little finger side, to make room for the rolling ball to slide directly into palmspinning position at the thumb side.

[edit] 3b Palmspin Escape

This is a harder version of the 2-ball Palmspin Escape, and not because it involves 50% extra balls. The difficulty lies in the two balls you don’t ‘escape’ – what do you do with them? You can’t just leave them doing nothing while you roll a ball along the forearm! Well, you can, but it looks more impressive to keep them spinning as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened. This is what causes people to think of magic when they see contact juggling – that the balls seem to have a mind of their own, and all of them decide independent of each other what they are going to do at any moment. Because you keep the balls spinning, the tendons in the forearm move constantly, which makes the forearm roll much more difficult. The secret to bypassing this difficulty is to ignore the balls in the hand – after all, they’re only doing a 2-ball palmspin – even non-CJers can do that! Ignoring the spinning balls allows you to concentrate on the one ball that’s important – the rolling one. Your job is to get that ball safely up the forearm to the elbow, and back again – ideally pausing at the elbow a moment for effect. When you roll the ball back, judge the roll so it flows nicely into the pattern. The two balls in the palm should be at that moment held by two fingers each, with the thumb held aside so the rolling ball can flow in. Don’t pause the motion – allow the roll to smoothly carry through.

[edit] 4b Stack Escape

The roll in this is the simplest part – the hardest parts are figuring out how are you going to take a ball out of the stack, and how are you going to place it back in again. To take a ball from the stack is surprisingly simple – learn the 4b Collapse And Rebuild move. Collapse the stack, which will leave you with a diamond shape with the shortest axis leading from the forearm to the fingertips. Squeeze the diamond in, and make the back ball roll out of the palm – you can now spin the three remaining balls while doing your forearm roll with the escaped one. Another way of releasing a ball is to allow one of the bottom balls to “pop” out of the pattern onto the forearm, and the top ball to replace it in the base. This may cause problems as you try to control the falling top ball and the rolling ball at the same time – especially if you like to continue the spin. Bringing the ball back into the stack can be done in a few ways. One way is to stop the palmspin, and roll the spare ball quickly up the forearm so it hops up on top of the other three, then the spin can be restarted. This takes a bit of judgement, and the position of the palm balls needs to be in such a way that the hopping ball is not knocked aside as it tries to regain it’s position – try to get two balls near the wrist so they “guide” the ball into position. Another way is to roll the ball back up to the palm so you have a diamond shape (stop the spin when the ball reaches the other three). Lift the front ball so it becomes the top ball of a new stack. Then the stack spin can be continued.

[edit] 4b Flat Spin Escape

I would say that this is harder than the 4b Stack Escape only because the 4b Flat Spin is more difficult than the 4b Stack. Start with a 4b Flat Spin – AntiClockwise in the right or Clockwise in the left seem the easiest – then “simply” roll one of the balls out of the pattern (which reverts to 3b Palmspin), up the forearm and then back down to reform the 4b Flat Spin. As usual, this is more aesthetic with the palmspin continuing all throughout the move, but decide for yourself.

[edit] Combining Chest Rolls with Hand-Hand Passes

Michael Glenn (www.tryouttoys.com) does a lot of work in this area. The first time I saw him pass while Chest Rolling was when he started with a ball in the right hand, and a twirling fire-staff in the left. He started a Chestroll, and as the ball was traveling across the chest, he passed the twirling staff into the other hand, so the ball arrived at an empty hand. The key to this move is hidden in the paragraph above – “as the ball was traveling across the chest”. When the ball is traveling across the chest, the body controls it, not the arms, so you can do pretty much anything with the arms while the ball is still on the chest. A nicely done pass I saw recently (July 2024) was the passing of a 4stack from the left to the right hand, incorporating a chest roll. The stack was twirled in the left hand for a while, and then the top ball was dropped into a forearm roll. This ball was passed at the elbow to the right cradle, and straight into a Chestroll. As the ball traveled across the chest the remaining 3b pattern was passed immediately into the right hand. The remaining ball rolled down onto the now empty left arm, and the ball was passed from the cradle onto the 3b pattern. The pass of the 3b pattern was unfortunately not smooth, but the potential for the move was very apparent.