(Feb 2009)
Thanks for subscribing to my mailing list. This is the first newsletter since August 2008 – my apologies, but as you will be able to read here, life has been very busy! Enjoy…
Expand Your 3 Ball Juggling Skills
This article is written for ball jugglers whether they only know a few tricks or hundreds! It is based on the notes sent to me by Bill Berry of the amazing Team Rootberry in 2007, as well as some insights from an excellent workshop ran by Haggis in 2008.
Stretch that Cascade! Do not move your feet at all during this exercise. Try juggling a cascade while doing each of the following, and you will start to see the cascade in a whole different light!
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Each of these variations in the simple cascade could be repeated with reverse cascade, reverse arms, and many other tricks, so repeat this exercise to improve your skills and expand your routines further!
Slow Isolations. Hold one ball in your hand. Try moving the ball with your wrist as loose as possible (as if you have a broken wrist). Now juggle two balls in one hand while demonstrating (as slowly as possible, and then try even slower) some fluid broken wrist movements with the ball in your other hand. Remember to repeat the trick with your weaker hand holding the ball!
Trick Isolations. While juggling two balls in your right hand, do some other trick with the ball in your left hand. This could be like a slow isolation (see above) or perhaps a throw under the leg and catch with the same hand. The left hand is doing a completely different trick and movement than the 2 ball juggle in the right hand. It is important to maintain a steady rhythm with the 2 ball juggle, otherwise these tricks can look very messy!
This article is just a starting point for improving even the simplest of ball juggling skills, and it could be repeated for different objects such as clubs and rings. I hope that you feel inspired to continue finding new and inventive ways of expanding your act! Please let me know how you get on and I would love to hear your ideas also! For further reading, you might want to try the excellent Ball Theory article on the JugglingDB website by Blake Speers, written in 1990.
New Contact Details
I am now relocated from Scotland to Rushden, Northamptonshire (East Midlands) having finally sold our house in Scotland! My sympathies with anyone else attempting to sell their house in this current economic climate! If you are nearby, then be sure and write to say hello (I have met up with quite a few subscribers already)! Here are my new contact details (email and mobile phone number remain the same).
OLD ADDRESS HAS NOW BEEN REMOVED! See Contact Page for up-to-date info
Phone 01933 356364
Mobile 07792 012395
Email steve@jugglingworld.biz
I am now available to consider all types of Juggling work especially in Northamptonshire and nearby regions such as Befordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire etc. You can find out more about what I have to offer by visiting the Juggler for Hire section of my website.
New Products and Stock Clearout
Lots of new items added since last newsletter including the excellent new range of Juggling equipment called Funtrix which arrived in the UK just in time for CHRISTmas! The range includes diabolos, devilsticks, juggling balls, poi, LED diabolo, LED balls and LED Poi. They are supplied in brightly coloured packaging and include a DVD of tricks, so they are especially ideal for beginners. Other new items include Make your own Bouncy Ball kit, Gelli Baff (makes the water turn gooey), backwards clock and the adorable Huge Silly Monster Puppet!
Milton Keynes Juggling Club
This is my local Juggling Club now that I have relocated to Northamptonshire. It is very popular and has been running for over 16yrs. They meet every Wednesday from 7 til10pm at Great Linford Memorial Hall, off Marsh Drive, near High Street, Great Linford. Cost is 2 pounds. For more details, you can contact the organiser Graham Patey at graham.patey@tiscali.co.uk or phone him on 01908 210264. Maybe see you there?
My Youtube Video Channel!
It is likely that the new website will stream the content from YouTube instead of relying on the current video player that some people have commented does not seem to work for them when viewing these clips on my website. Here is my new YouTube video channel where you can watch all 8 clips and if you enjoy them, then do consider rating it, and leaving a comment. My YouTube Video Channel.
You can also click on the SUBSCRIBE button on the top right of any video clip if you would like to be notified as soon as any more video clips are added. The great news is that the guy who did the excellent filming for my first 8 clips has now also moved to England and so I can hook up with him to make some more!
New Website Coming Soon!
Over the past few months, I have been working with a professional web design company called Kanyo to build my new website. It will feature a search facility, RSS feeds, social bookmarking, a brand new shopping cart, guestbook etc. I am currently working my way through all the text and photos on the current Jugglingworld website to update it and this is what is taking so long as there are well over 300 pages to go through! Not everything will carry across, as the idea is that the new site will be a lot less cluttered, but hopefully help people find the information they want a lot quicker!
I am aiming to launch the site around Summer 2009, and there will be more details in the next newsletter. If you have any ideas for what the new site should look like or any ideas for content that I should consider adding, then now is a great time to hear from you with all your thoughts.
God bless
Steve Thomson
Professional Juggler and Retailer
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