Glossary
- Cascade
- The simplest three-object juggling pattern. The hands throw alternately, with each throw crossing to the opposite side of the body. The objects travel in a sideways figure of eight.
- Body Plane
- An imaginary verical flat surface, passing through the juggler's body, and extending out on each side of the body, and also directly upwards.
- Outside Circles
- Describes the path travelled by a thrown object parallel to the body plane, where the object is moving outwards at the highest point of the throw. Drawing a clockwise circle in front of you with your right hand (or an anti-clockwise circle with your left hand) roughly describes an outside circle.
- Inside Circles
- Describes the path travelled by a thrown object parallel to the body plane, where the object is moving inwards at the highest point of the throw. Drawing an anti-clockwise circle in front of you with your right hand (or a clockwise circle with your left hand) roughly describes an inside circle.
- Singles, Doubles, Triples etc
- These terms simply refer to the number of rotations that a club completes between being thrown and caught again.
- Exchange
- This refers to the act of throwing up an object, in order to vacate the hand in which another incoming object may then be caught. The exchange forms the basis of almost every juggling pattern.
- Continuously
- When a trick is performed 'continuously' it means that every throw that the juggler makes includes that particular trick. For example, 'continuous under arm throws' means that every single throw travels under the arm.
- Reverse Cascade Throw
- A throw in which an exchange is made, and the thrown object travels over, rather than under, the incoming one.Logically enough, if you juggle continuous reverse cascade throws, the resulting pattern is called the Reverse Cascade.
- On One Side
- A trick is said to be performed 'on one side' if every throw from one hand includes the trick, with the other hand just making normal cascade throws.
- Juggler's Tennis
- This term most commonly refers to a three-ball trick in which two of the balls are thrown in the normal cascade manner, and the third is thrown back and forth over the top of the others using reverse cascade throws. The single ball moving over the top of the pattern has been likened to a tennis ball travelling over a net.
- Half Shower
- A pattern with a similar shape to a Shower, where the receiving hand actually throws the objects back in a small arc, rather than passing them straight across. A hald shower can be juggled with three balls by making reverse cascade throws with one hand, and regular cascade throws with the other.
- Wrist Circles
- A move in which the juggler swings a club in a small circle, using only the wrist - the elbow and shoulder do not need to move.
- Flash
- A trick in which all the objects are thrown rapidly into the air one after the other, so that both hands are left empty for a moment, before they are caught again and the pattern continues. This term can also be used to describe a juggling move in which each object is thrown and caught only one, for example 'an 11 ring flash' would mean that 11 rings were each thrown up in turn, and then caught again without continuing to juggle.
- Fake
- As you would expect, a 'fake' is a move which is intended to look like a particular trick, without the juggler actually doing it. For example, a fake under the leg throw might involve the juggler raising their leg, sticking the club underneath it, and making a throwing motion, without actually letting go of the club. Ironically, many fakes are harder than the tricks that they mimic, due to the unusual movements that they require.
- Clawed Catch
- A catch which is made with the palm facing downwards, the hand snatches down onto the object from above.
- Impossible Trick
- Sorry, there's no such thing.