Sources for Small Contact Juggling Balls

I found some sources for the small balls that can be used for contact juggling or “finger qigong”. It was just a matter of trying some google searches until I got the right terms.

This search finally got some results. It looks like Acuspheres or Reflex Balls are terms that work. These seem to have chimes in them, so not for practicing late at night if you have roommates or neighbors.

You can also get acrylics of any size from 1/4 inch to 3 inch from Tap Plastics.

I tried Google Products and found some stone spheres. These 2 inch steel spheres look good, too.

If you have any sources that you like, please comment!

Contact Juggling Balls

I was wondering where to buy balls like those in the Finger QiGong posts.

It just occurred to me to look up snooker balls, since I remembered that snooker is played with slightly smaller balls than used in standard pool (billiards).

Interestingly, they seem to come in different sizes, unlike billiard balls. I haven’t tried them, but I would assume that they are smooth surfaced, and could be used. I’ll have to wander down to the local pool hall, and check.

More on Finger QiGong

I followed links from the video in the last post and found http://www.fingerdynamik.de. I don’t speak German, but Google Translate is getting better and better.

I don’t see any info on where to buy the balls that he is using, so I guess I’ll have to email him. If you have any ideas on good place to get balls for contact juggling, leave a comment.

Finger QiGong

I just ran across a demo of what was called “Finger QiGong” on youtube.

It seems to be a form of contact juggling (this example, not QiGong, of course). It’s rather cool. Rather than the 3 inch/ 75 mm speres that seem to be common for multiball contact, they look like about 2 inch or 5 cm spheres, and they are rolling pretty fast. Check it out.

Another interesting part is that the balls seem to have chimes in them, adding an almost music element.

Another video in the series:

There seem to be a few videos of this type, so search youtube, and see what you find. If you find anything particularly good, post a link in the comments!

Palm Spinning

Part of the reason I created this blog was to have a place to track my progress with contact juggling.

Today’s achievement is that I can now do a two ball spin without the balls touching each other. It’s not particularly pretty, but it works, and they don’t click against each other (if I’m slow and careful, at least).

I”m only able to do this with an “outward” spin, so far (that is, the ball on my fingers is moving out, so the ball on the heel of my palm is moving toward the center.

My plan is to follow the advice in Multiball Contact and try to really master the basics before rushing on. So, I’m going to keep practicing with this for a while, until it feels smooth and controlled.

SphereCamp is coming

I see that TryOutToys has updated the information for this year’s Sphere Camps. I really hope to get to go to at least one of them.

I haven’t been yet, has anyone else?

Juggling Builds Brain Cells

There’s an article on juggling today on reuters new service. It says (among other things) that juggling builds up your cerebral cortex.

Cool. I could use a few more brain cells.

Learning to Juggle

The Freakonomics blog has an article about “Deliberate Practice”. I thought I’d explain how that, and other sources are changing the way I’m learning to contact juggle.

Deliberate practice is not really a new idea. It boils down to: lots of practice, with attention and feedback.

I’d always wondered, when learning a physical skills, if I was better off  just doing the activity, or break the activity into pieces, and master the pieces. Do I play tennis, or practice my backhand?

I’ve also wondered whether it was better to just do lots of practice, or to practice slowly and carefully. Do I just hit a bunch of balls, or hit one, and think about where it went, and how it worked?

Usually I tended towards doing the whole activity, and lots of casual practice. Which probably explains why I learned many things slowly, as that’s exactly wrong according to studies. Dammit!

Practice slowly and carefully, get it perfect (or at least solid), then get faster. And take the individual pieces and master them. When you have them, the whole will be easier.

My last post talked about the various ways to move a ball in multiball contact juggling. I’m breaking the methods down, so I can work on each one. In theory, this should help.

We’ll see if I learn faster this way!

How to Move the Ball in Palm Spinning in Contact Juggling

I’m trying to figure out how many techniques I can find to move the ball when I’m doing a palm spin.

Just so we are clear what I mean by palm spin, this video starts with a two ball palm spin.

When I first started with multiball, all I knew how to do was push the ball with a finger. That’s pretty limiting, but, as I did more, I realized there were a bunch more techniques I could use.

There’s a reference in Drew’s book to wrapping your finger over the ball and pulling , but my fingers didn’t seem long enough for that to work. It turns out that they are (barely) in some positions, just not the first ones that I tried. Just to note, I have a 9 1/2 inch, or 24 cm, spread from little finger tip to thumb tip, and am using 3 inch / 75 mm acrylic balls.

One of the most useful techniques I’ve found so far is to push with the other ball. I usually use this to move a ball that is on the heel of my palm (that’s the part away from the fingers).

I sometimes find myself pinching the ball between two fingers (commonly the first and third fingers). I tend to do this more when trying a palm spin without letting the balls touch. This is done with the sides of the finger tips.

You can also flex your palm slightly to move the ball. For example, if you move your thumb toward your palm, without raising your thumb, the base of the thumb can push the ball. You can get a similar, but smaller, effect by moving your fingers

You can also move the ball by tilting your whole hand, but I think that’s not a good technique, as it will affect everything in your hand. I just list it to be complete.

In list form:

1. Push with a finger
2. Wrap finger over the ball and pull
3. Push with the other ball
4. Pinch between fingers
5. Flex your palm
6. Tilt (bad)

Can anyone think of other techniques? I’d like to learn more ways to move the ball. The more tools you have, the more things you can do.

Multiball

I’ve been playing with multiball a little lately. I’m not very good, as it’s only been a few weeks.

I’ve been working my way through Drew Batchelor’s book

It’s slow going, but it’s always good to learn new things. It makes you more patient when you are teaching people things that you have been doing for twenty years.

So far, I can spin two balls in each hand, silently (no clicks), in either direction. The silently part took a few days. Doing both hands at once was not hard after than.

I now _can_ palmspin three in either hand, but I don’t do it well. Today I did one full revolution (left hand) without a click, but I’m still very slow, and not fluid yet.

I’m going slowly, because long practice sessions leave my hands sore, so I’m avoiding that. And yes, per Drew’s advice, I do warm up first.

I wish there were a contact juggling club somewhere around here, but all I’ve found is places that do clubs.