The art of juggling has entertained audiences and challenged jugglers for thousands of years. Although it was once confined to vaudeville and music halls, today you can watch juggling competitions on television and see jugglers keep seemingly endless numbers of objects aloft. The term is not exclusive to objects thrown in the air, though. Everything from plate spinning to playing with devil sticks falls under the umbrella of juggling. In fact, you could define juggling as using feats of dexterity to manipulate one or more objects.

three-prop juggling
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Three-prop juggling

Original Video: Juggling in Action
Check out this original video and see some common patterns and tricks of three-ball juggling.

Most people tend to think of toss juggling when they hear the word "juggle." Toss juggling means the performer is throwing and catching at least one object more than the number of hands he's using. In other words, you can juggle two objects with one hand, but if you use both hands to juggle two objects, you're really just playing catch with yourself.

In this article, we'll primarily concentrate on toss juggling. We'll have a quick lesson on how to juggle three objects and look at the patterns almost all juggling sequences are based upon. We'll also look into the science behind juggling, including a glimpse into the surprisingly complex mathematical theories behind throwing stuff into the air and not letting it drop.

A Juggler's Glossary
You'll find a lot of juggling terms defined in this article, but before we get too far, here are some basics that everyone should know:
  • Props are what a juggler juggles. This can include balls, clubs, rings, torches, knives, chainsaws, cigar boxes, kittens and other objects.
  • To flash in juggling is to juggle one round of any pattern. Often, jugglers will flash a pattern (for example, the five-ball pattern) as a practice exercise.
  • A dead drop is when you drop an object that doesn't roll away, like a bean bag. Most beginners find dead-drop props much less frustrating to deal with in early juggling sessions.