Moves

For some great advice on learning this basic move, try Ferret's First Five Steps and Marco's Workshop.

Start by holding the ball in the "cradle" - in my case that means the back of the hand, between the index and middle fingers. Some people lower the middle finger and hold between the index and ring. The arm should be parallel with your chest.

"Throw" the ball in an arc that ends with your hand palm-up, and the arm perpendicular to the chest. The hand should follow the ball's arc so it is always in contact (otherwise it wouldn't be "contact" juggling *g*). Try it a few times without worrying about the "contact" bit. Then throw lower until the ball is always touching the hand along the arc.

Now "throw" the ball back again. Make sure not to let your fingers curl, or the ball will be be caught in the curl and it won't go over the fingertips.

If you follow those instructions correctly, you should have what looks like an arc, stopping on either endpoint, and returning through the same path.

To make the movement smoother, you can swoop the ball as it reaches it's endpoints. My usual way of doing the movement is to visualize a figure eight on it's side, and try get the ball to follow it's curves.