Combination juggling – Jongleur Guido van Hout


What can I do with the combination juggling download?

  • search systematicly for new juggling patterns
  • find transitions between moves
  • train your juggling in a varied way
  • challenge your coordination
  • you could apply it to other activities as suits you

How do I use the combination juggling download?

1) Choose 2, 3, 4 or 5 juggling elements you wish to work with and give each a number

Elements could be complete tricks, patterns or even longer sequences, like: 3 backcrosses, 441, or 6 throws of the mill’s mess. But for making new patterns it is best to keeop the elements as elementary (short) as possible like specific throws or moves: 1 backcross, 1 ball on the temple or 1 reverse cascade throw. It is important that you decide exactly on what your elements are. We will now combine these elements. With only five elements this combination juggling download gives over thousand unique combinations.

2) Look in the table for a combination of numbers and juggle it

This is a good moment to grab a print of your download. The download you will find here: combination juggling. In the first column you will see the text ‘2, 3, 4 of 5 elements’. This tells you in with row to look for sequences with a specific number of elements. Say we juggle 3 clubs and choose to work with the following three elements: under the arm (1), dip (2) and over the top (3). Notice that i gave them a number each. These number we will find back in the table.

Now we look at the table and choose the row which says ‘3 elements’ . In this row we will find all possible combinations with all three of our chosen throws  (up to a lengt of five throws). For example the first number combination we see is: 123. Then numbers refer to the elements we choose and number before. So in our case ‘123′ means: first an under the arm throw (our 1), then a dip throw (our 2) en then an over the top throw (our 3). We could repeat this combination, (alternating between left and right): 123 123 123 etc. In our case this results in a well known pattern: the Mill’s Mess.

As you see many more combinations are possible with just our three basic elements. Sometimes a specific transition seems impossible or feels unorganic. Then we can look for ways to make it work or flow and possibly create something interesting in the proces.

NB: the numbers in the table have nothing to do with the siteswap system.

Wish you a lot of fun with combination juggling!

Guido van Hout

ps. feel free to leave a comment, question, suggestion, remark, or anything related you wish to share