How do you learn to juggle?

Answer 1

I would suggest starting with juggling scarves. They make it easy to learn the correct pattern in a slow controlled manner. Juggling for beginners is a good website that has info about juggling scarves.

If you want to jump directly to learning to juggle with balls as I did, there is an easy to follow guide at www.FirstStepHelpr.com/juggle.html

There is also an excellent (and inexpensive) book: The Little Book of Juggling by Richard Dingman that is very easy to follow and has good diagrams.

Answer 2

Contact juggling has a very steep learning curve, and many people begin learning it but stop after a short period of time. That said, if a reasonable time investment is put in to it, results follow. Acknowledging this and being prepared for slow initial progress is important.

To learn how to contact juggle, first you must have the appropriate props. If you've never tried it before, you may want to try a Lacrosse ball (or, if that's not available, a hockey ball). This allows you to try basic tricks without spending any significant money. Should you find yourself interested in it, the next step would be to buy a large stage ball (82mm and 100mm are popular choices) as well as and acrylic ball (75mm is a popular choice). Some people prefer to buy two acrylic balls: one for practise and one for performing. If you plan to perform contact juggling in the near future, that is probably the course of action you'd want to pursue; otherwise, one acrylic should be sufficient.

Normally, when learning a trick, you'll want to get it reasonably consistent with a stage ball, and then try it with an acrylic, ideally over a carpeted floor or a bed. Acrylics are nigh impossible to break, but they can scratch and scuff easily which makes isolation tricks lose their appeal. When practising body rolls larger balls are easier to use, so you may wish to learn them with a large ball (Basketball, volleyball, etc) and work your way down to your stage ball, and then the acrylic.