Tips

Warm Up

Make Sure to warm up before you start to CJ it will protect your body for the long term.

Acrylics Can be microwaved

Hands cold?? This tip is Ian's. Place your acrylics in a bowl of water in your microwave and cook them till warm, but not boiling. They will stay warm for awhile.

Do not overdo it.

Only practice as long as your body feels comfortable with it. You can actually hurt yourself if you push too hard. As with any activity, stretch first, and stop when it gets uncomfortable.

Clear Your Mind, let your hands do the thinking.

A Palmspinning tip. Don't think about what you are doing. Allow your hands to work through the trick and learn what the moves feel like. You want to increase your muscle memory, not brain memory. Once it feels good, then esthetics will come shortly

Practice 30-60 minutes a day.....Blindfolded

This tip was given to me by a master of contact juggling, Ferret. The thinking is that Contact juggling isnt only visual, but tactile. You have to feel the ball and know where its going to go. Do this each day and your CJ will become much smoother, and less erratic.

The humble man presents himself with the most skill.

Anyone who sees you Contact Juggling already knows you posess a skill that is very amazing. Take this as a fact that you need not blow your own horn with comments like "I've been doing this for 50 years" Or "I can do this with 1 hand behind my back!" Some people may find that pompus and offensive. Simply saying comments like "This looks relaxing doesnt it" will suffice.

Roll with the punches from a heckler

Lets face it, what are you doing? Thats right, your playin with your balls. And you know there is always going to be that one Mr.funny man. "Hey look at that Kid, I bet his balls are slippery! HA HA HA" Well don't get mad, just join in and keep the comments comin. "Yes sir, My balls are very smooth, I rub them on a cotton wheel everynight.

Bare feet

Try not to practice bearfooted, because a dropped acrylic can be quite unforgiving if it lands on your toes. (-;

Work your weaker arm, twice as much as your strong one.

It never fails, someone always is asking, "How can I get my other hand up to speed?" The answer is simple.... Practice, Practice, Practice

Use an old woollen sock to carry your acrylics in

Using an old woollen sock to carry your acrylics in protects them from scratches caused by knocking about in the usual sacks. If you want to be extra protective, you could wrap each ball individually in a nylon sock, and wrap those balls two at a time in woollen socks.

Never leave an acrylic unattended - it can focus the sun and cause a fire.

While on a short back-garden picnic, I managed to burn three holes right through some cushions

Contact Juggling

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