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"My First Lesson"
by Rich ShumakerBefore you start you will need a ball.
So check out this information about balls.
I recommend that you start with a lacrosse ball.
There are several other balls that will work just fine.
They include Stage Balls(specifically Mister Babache 80mm - 100mm)
Weighted Tennis Balls(weight the tennis ball by filling it and then reclosing it)
I started with an orange.
Now that you have a ball you want to place it in the cradle on the back of your hand.
To make a cradle depress your middle finger. This will create a 3 finger cradle.
Place the ball in the trough that forms on the back of the hand.
This was the way I was taught in my first lesson to make a cradle.
There are several other cradles that can be made. I will try to go over those in a future lesson.
Pointers before you start Step One:
1. Try to practice low or over a bed.
2. Try to practice with both hands.
3. Don't skip steps. 1 then 2 then 3. Even if you are on 3 still start at 1 then go to 2 and then to 3. I always go back to step 1 a few times a week. Or I try to use it in finding new balance points or playing around with a new move.
4. Catch the ball with Control. Try not to bat the ball around.
Step One
Throw and Catch on the back of the hand.Throw the ball about eye height.
Step Two
Throw and Catch in a Plane.Imagine a brick wall in front of you.
Now throw and catch the ball in that brick wall plane.
From the back of the hand to the palm.
Step Three
Roll, Throw, Catch.Roll the ball off of the tips of your fingers on the back of your hand.
Throw it in the air
Catch it in the palm of your hand.
Roll from the palm of your hand off the tips of your fingers.
Throw it.
Catch it on the back of the hand.
As you continue to do this your throws and catchs will come lower and lower.
Until one day it is a smooth roll over the finger tips.
The Back to Back Transfer
NOTE: Make sure to start the back to back transfer the day you start Step One.
Hold the ball in the cradle of one hand.
Roll the ball down the back of your hand towards the wrist.
Have the ball trasfer from one hand to the other near the wrist.
Now roll the ball up into the cradle on the other back of the hand.
Make sure the ball is travelling forward.
The ball should always roll forward for 2 reasons
1. When you move your hand out of the way if you are going backward the audience loses site of the ball for a split second.
2. If the ball went backwards you could run out of room and hit your body.
James Ernest taught me this first lesson.
Thanks James.
Over the years I have added and taken things away from the basic lesson.
In case my text is a little to cryptic for you and you need some pictures I have created this lesson into a video. The lesson is in .mov format so you will need quicktime to make it work. I have it zipped as well to make your download smaller but also to make it easier to get if you are on a 56k modem. The lesson was also converted to an MP3 with no video.
My First Lesson
This lesson is a bit more that the 4 steps above. Hopefully it will help you on your Contact Juggling way.
My First Lesson In a ZIP
My First Lesson Audio In MP3
Thanks for stopping by
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