Yet another contact juggling thread.

I was doing some contact the other day when this old lady asked me how the ball sticks to my hand.

I love it when that happens

I was doing some contact with a stage ball the other day, and I had some kids do exactly the same. I managed to convince them that there was a little hamster inside the ball and it was running all over my body!!

Was so funny!!

Ever had peeps ask if its done with magnets? Once joked that I had an electro-magnet relay system in my arm - they didn't get the joke <memo to self - being a science geek isn't always the way forward>

.... you mean thats not how its done? xxx

SSSSSSSHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - don't tell anyone will you

I really want to learn contact juggling...where do i start and which is the best ball to start with?

some help would be really great!!

and you want to do this course .

thank you!!

If you have small hands you can try filling a tennis ball with rice and then coating in electricians tape - alot cheeper than acrylic and easier to repair.

I see a lot of people asking what to use.
ummm... a contact juggling ball? thats what i use ^_^

Just kidding. Good on you for wanting to learn contacty skills Starpoi.
its a lot of fun and really rewarding.
it may take ages to learn but the mesmorised look on peoples faces when you do it is priceless ^3^

well i've ordered my ball. theres so many to choose from. think i'll wait till i can do it before i spash out on one of those spangly clear ones. Got the one cole suggested, thanks!

is the book with the black and white cover by james ernest worth getting?

I personally didn't find it helpful - but by the time I got the book I could already do all the moves described so that's probably why. However, the book does descibe the moves very well so it could be worth getting. I guess it depends on how you learn best - I would personally recommend watching videos featuring contact jugglers.

never seen 'the book' but cj.org has tonnes of videos of moves - all recently catergorised by number of balls.

you can then post on the forum if you need extra tips

other than learning palm isolations and multiball, i use a stage ball at the moment too - great for body rolls and it dosesn't make you cry when you drop.

4" acylic... one day


cole. x

Not only are the video's good for learning.

But they are oh so good to watch.

*whores over other peoples contacty skills*

i was thinking that!

Has your contact ball arrived yet starry?

...*wants to learn contact juggling* Too bad I'm only a silly, poor, american teen. Buying all them expensive videos and books is not something I'm looking forward to. *Curses McDonalds for employing teens* It's practically the only place we can get a job now! Well, there and any other fast food joint. Hopefully I can find a mentor in Contact juggling that way I don't flub up too much and lose interest, cause I know I'm not getting to England any time soon for that nifty class. *goes off to study free videos and lessons on contact juggling while using an orange to roll around as his hands are so big.*

Nyoooo.....

Poor Kodiac *pats*

Contact balls really arent THAT expensive. to learn you only need one of them and it will last "almost" forever. Even though dropping it will get it scratched and chipped

*chases my contact ball as it rolls down a hill hitting rocks on its way down*

Some people say its allright to learn contact with something equivalent to an acryllic ball. but i think its worth investing in a proper ball so that its not weird and you have to re-learn when you want to change to an acryllic later.

i say to all people. buy quality equipment. good props are worth the money

not yet
stupid royal mail

I learnt it all with an acrylic. I've only got my stage ball recently, but it does help to learn some stuff with.

Acrylics are much easier to learn isolations with, but body rolling is easier with a big stage ball.

I've been contact juggling for about 7 months now, and I can do quite a lot of the butterfly moves, chest rolls both ways, behind the neck roll and almost nailed the pirouette, various stalls, elbow transfers, quite a few isolations etc etc... believe the 'trick' to learning stuff is to slow it right down, oh, and practise. lots of it. The type of ball doesn't really make a difference, it's just personal preference.

the voice of reason

agree with all of what you just said mr the circus.

was well impressed with your skills at falmouth by the way.
watching you made me want to start learning the cage you know...
its getting closer but i'm still a *looooong* way off solid


cole. x

man!! *

Cages are a fun move. how are you getting on with it? Can you do prayer butterfly? That'll help you nail them.

When you do cages, your hands need to be in a bear claw sort of shape. When you roll the ball over, you'll want to give it a tiny throw in the air, just enough to take the weight of the ball off your hands, but stay in contact with the ball and roll it slowly over your fingers. you'll get it in no time.

I learned with hockey balls and then went on to making my own out of electricians tape foam balls and rice. The home made ones are better than anything else I've come across for learning stuff with since they are 217g in mass and 85mm in diameter - but I guess that's the same with any prop you make for yourself.

Basically acrylics have the perfect mass and stage balls have the perfect forgiveness i.e. they can be pressed into one another with comparable ease (unlike acrylics that slide off one another way too easily). If you are into multiball then acrylics are expensive. If you're into one ball then an acrylic is well worth the investment (although I still think a hockey ball is just as good to begin with and a fraction of the cost). However, when you are initially learning it is advisable to tape over your acrylic to avoid dents and scratches and take the tape off when you've mastered the basics, that way you won't cry early for a few months.

LTC - I'm going to invest in some monkey fists for some multiball fire CJ - next time we meet we'll play again right *fire multiball cages* will either be awesome or very painful!!! Since Falmouth I've been working much more on body rolls and elbow isolations - talking of Falmouth I'm going back there a week Tuesday with my A-level students.

I am so glad there are lots of people here with contacty skills.
i was attracted to contact juggling because its an art where you have to be in 100% control all of the time.

There is nothing in the world as gracefull or as beautifull as a well perfomed contact routine.

DAMN YOU MOSCHEN!! DAMN YOU AND YOUR SKILLS *shakes fist*

*joins in the fist shaking fun*

Gelfling- if you wait til next falmouth, I promise i'll do my best to break that other old monkeyfist poi of mine so you can have a go at 2 ball contact. See if you set your arms on fire then you can decide whether you want to do multiball fire CJ?
Also I'm going to be niggling at people to teach me some CJ stuff (tho it'll be basic cos I'm fairly rubbish). Cup of tea/ some chocolate for a CJ lesson, anyone?