This is an outline of the most popular forms of juggling as practiced by amateur, non-performing, hobby jugglers. This list is based on the current trends in the western world (Europe and North America) for ball, club and ring juggling, and is not exhastive. Jugglers do not consciously isolate their juggling into one of these categories; most jugglers will practice two or more forms, blurring the lines between them. This is the cascade pattern juggled with three fire torches (time-lapse photograph). ...

Some forms are commonly mixed, like Numbers and Patterns with balls. Others are rarely mixed, like Contact Numbers Passing.

Solo Juggling

Balls

Peter Bone juggling 9 balls

For the purposes of record keeping and ease of communication, the terms balls and beanbags are generally interchangeable in the juggling world. Peter Bone juggling 9 balls, photo by Luke Burrage This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Peter Bone juggling 9 balls, photo by Luke Burrage This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

Contact Juggling

Instead of throwing balls, a juggler may roll them over the hands and body. Usually “crystal” balls (actually acrylic or plastic) are used. There are two distinct forms.

A. Rolling one or two balls all over the hands, arms and body. B. Controlling three to eight balls, revolving them in stacks in the palms of the hands. Both forms often use the idea of "isolation". The impression is given of one ball being fixed in space and the juggler, or the other balls, moving around this stationary ball.

Also see Contact juggling Contact Juggling Contact juggling is the art of juggling without letting the balls leave contact with ones body. ...

Numbers Juggling

Always try to juggle one more ball, or try to get one more catch. Most people try to beat their own records though some are only interested in beating world records. There is no set number that “Numbers Juggling” starts as it depends on the skill of the juggler or the size of ball being juggled. Even so, the overriding thought of numbers jugglers is that they’ll be happy when they are able to juggle the next number or make the extra catch.

Pattern Juggling

- Juggle as many mathematically generated patterns as possible. Siteswap jugglers focus on aesthetic variations but also the longest patterns, the most complex patterns, or the patterns with the highest throws. Siteswap (also called Cambridge notation in the United Kingdom) is a notation used to describe juggling patterns. ...

Trick Juggling

Jugglers learn or make up as many tricks as they can and link them together in unique sequences. Usually the juggler focuses on: body throws, tricks with crossing arms, multiplexes (throwing two balls at once from the same hand), carrying balls around other balls and different styles of catching. Typically three, four or five balls are juggled. The juggler is generally stationary and only uses their hands.

Technical Juggling

Concentrating on usually four to seven balls, a technical juggler will work on a limited number of traditional tricks, not straying far from a basic skill set, but pushing themselves to the highest limits of their juggling capability. The skills are typically pirouettes, juggling above the head, backcrosses (throwing balls behind the back) and a few other types of body throws. Also popular is juggling with an object such as a club or pole balanced on the forehead, or ball being bounced on the head.

Full Body Juggling

Awareness that the whole body can be used for controlling or influencing the balls, including catches with the head, arms, back, legs and feet. A full body juggler may also be influenced by forms of dance and won’t stay still for very long, opting to move their feet, their stance, their posture and their orientation. There may be influences from contact juggling but most of the skills are based on throwing and catching.

Bounce Juggling

Using silicone or rubber balls, the balls are allowed to bounce off a hard surface, typically the floor, before catching again. There are a few distinct tricks with bouncing balls, mixing up different rhythms, speeds and types of throws, but most popular is numbers bouncing.

Football Juggling

Juggling footballs, basketballs, water polo balls or volley balls. The most classic skills are spinning balls, then stacking the spinning balls, bouncing balls on the head, shoulder, feet or floor. Elements of contact juggling are often mixed in, rolling the larger balls around the body.

Rings

Rings are less popular than balls and clubs. The main reasons are:

• they can be quite painful to catch, especially for beginners, as the very thin cross-section and hard plastic can act like blades.
• they are affected by very light winds, meaning they are usually juggled inside.

Numbers Jugglers

Rings lend themselves well to numbers juggling. They are easier to catch than balls and don’t collide as much as clubs. If they didn’t hurt juggler's hands so much they would be even more popular.

Trick Jugglers

Few people use rings to make up new tricks. Usually a juggler will do tricks that they have learned with balls or clubs, but using rings instead. Even so, inventing juggling tricks unique to rings is becoming more popular.

Technical Jugglers

Concentrating on five to seven rings. Again, mainly pirouettes, juggling above the head, backcrosses and invariably collecting all the rings over the head at the end.

Clubs

Jay Gilligan and Jouni Temonen, each practicing 5 club backcrosses.

Clubs (sometimes called "pins" because they look like Bowling pins) are very popular with solo jugglers. Again, only the most popular forms of club juggling are listed. Image File history File links 5clubbackcrosses. ... Image File history File links 5clubbackcrosses. ... Bowling ball and two pins Ten-pin bowling lane Bowling is a game in which players attempt to score points by rolling a ball along a surface to either hit a target or knock down objects called pins. ...

Numbers Juggling

Most jugglers consider five clubs as the start of numbers clubs juggling. Due to clubs being much larger and heavier than balls, numbers club juggling is much, much harder and not so popular as numbers juggling with balls.

Trick Juggling

Lots of tricks are unique to clubs. The size and shape opens up possibilities with balances, rolls, flourishes, swings, slapbacks, wrong end catches and more. Most tricks are done with the juggler standing still and mostly using the hands and head.

Technical Juggling

Technical juggling focuses on three to five clubs. The set skills are pirouettes, juggling above the head, backcrosses, shoulder throws, and kickups. Also juggling with a balance or head bounce.

Club Swinging

Two clubs are swung about the body in different patterns, speeds, directions, planes and phases. Sometimes the clubs are thrown but are usually held all the time. Some toss jugglers don't consider club swinging to be "real juggling" as the props are not thrown and caught enough. Club swinging is also done with heavy wooden clubs as a form of exercise or fitness training. See Indian clubs. Toss juggling is the form of juggling which is most recognisable as juggling. Toss juggling is at once: a performance art, a sport, a form of exercise and meditation, a recreational pursuit, and often simply childs play. ... Marines exercising (attempting to do push-ups). ... Indian Clubs are a category of exercise equipment popular in the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States. ...

Multiple Person Juggling

Instead of juggling on their own, a juggler will often find a friend or two and throw props about as a pair or group.

Passing

Manuel and Christoph Mitasch, world record holding club passers.

Two or more jugglers share a juggling pattern between them, usually facing each other. Passing has lots of forms, usually practiced with clubs. Image File history File links Juggling_Clubs_Manuel_and_Christoph_Mitasch_8_club_passing. ... Image File history File links Juggling_Clubs_Manuel_and_Christoph_Mitasch_8_club_passing. ...

Numbers

Popular with clubs, rings and bouncing balls, but not so much with balls. A team of two jugglers who work hard together can often juggle more than twice as many clubs between them as each can juggle alone. Very few people do anything but numbers passing with rings and bouncing balls.

Tricks

Usually two jugglers concentrating on the unique trick opportunities presented while passing clubs. This is often based on a single pattern, like 6 club 2 count (throwing to someone else every two beats) or 4 count (passing every four beats), with the tricks thrown within the regular beats. The basic throws are things like tomahawks, shoulder throws, flats, early and late doubles, multiplexes, and many more. Also solo club juggling tricks can be mixed in between the passes.

Groups

Typically there is one feeder (who passes to everyone else) and two or more feedees (who only pass to a feeder). Popular formations are the triangle, the Y, the line, the square and the star. The juggling patterns are normally quite simple with complexity being added by jugglers turning or walking around within the group, changing from feedee to feeder and back again.

Patterns

Keeping things interesting by working out ever more complex series of passes (throwing the club to someone else), selves (throwing to yourself), holds (not throwing the club at all) and zips (grabbing the club out of one hand with your other). These are set over varying number of beats and are repeated by each juggler. The most basic patterns are like pass-self-self-self. At the more complex end are patterns with four jugglers each doing something like pass-zip-self-pass-pass-self-zip-pass all out of phase with each other. Of course, with more than two jugglers involved they must also know whom they are passing to on each beat.

Technical

Based on the traditional skill set mentioned in the solo club section. Usually passing six to nine clubs either face to face or back-to-back. Technical passing is very difficult so sequences usually have to be choreographed in advance for the tricks to work, unlike regular passing tricks.

Other Two-Person Forms of Juggling

Sharing

(sometimes called Buddy or Siamese Juggling) - Two jugglers stand side-by-side and juggle patterns that usually one person would do on their own, juggling the pattern in roughly equal halves. This can range from side-by-side numbers passing to very complex arm weaving patterns with only three balls. Sharing is most popular with balls.

Stealing

One person juggles a regular pattern. The other person steals all of the props and keeps the pattern going without a pause. Patterns can be stolen from in front, behind, above, below or from the side. This form of juggling is most popular with clubs and balls.

Takeouts

(sometimes also called Stealing) - Instead of stealing the whole pattern, one juggler can steal a single prop form another juggler and replace it with another prop, or the same prop a few beats later. This form of juggling is most popular with clubs and balls.

Synch

Popularized by juggler Thomas Dietz, this form of two person juggling involves two jugglers executing tricks simultaneously. This is visually impressive and difficult to do perfectly.