Getting Started

Last Modified: 2/19/21

This page covers:

• Overview of Bounce Juggling
• Types of Bounce Juggling
• What Balls to Use
• Where to Bounce
• How to Practice

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Bounce juggling is a variation of juggling when you throw balls against the floor rather than toss them in the air. You can do many of the same tricks with bounce juggling that you can do with toss juggling. There are some toss tricks that don’t work for bounce juggling. However, bounce juggling allows you to use the floor in creative ways and do tricks that would be more difficult or impossible with toss juggling. Both are really fun ways to juggle!

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There are two main types of bounce juggling. Remember that if you simply dropped a bounce juggling ball then it wouldn’t go back up to the same height because of friction. So, you need to do something to make sure that the ball comes back to the same height. There are two ways that you can do this. The easiest is called Lift Bounce. In Lift Bounce, the ball is gripped on its side, and you toss (“lift”) the ball slightly above where your RH originally started. The ball hits the ground on the left side and lands in your LH.

The other way is called Force Bounce. It’s more difficult than Lift Bounce but not terribly so. In Force Bounce, you grip the ball on its side in your RH, and you throw it down so that the ball hits the ground on the right side. The ball then bounces up to your LH. If you use juggling balls that were designed for bounce juggling, then you will not have to toss very high (for Lift Bounce) or throw it very hard (for Force Bounce).

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Check out this video to decide which bounce juggling balls are right for you:

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The next important thing to consider when you start bounce juggling is where you’re going to juggle. Specifically, you need a good floor to bounce juggle. The floor should be hard and smooth; if the ball lands on a crack or line in the floor then it will bounce unpredictably. Garage and tile floors are best if you’re inside. Cement works well but your juggling balls might get dirty. Personally, bounce juggling outside has never really bothered me because I simply wiped the balls down with a wet cloth and they were fine. However, if you have silicone balls you may prefer to juggling inside to protect your investment.

Also, be warned that when you’re bounce juggling, the balls will go everywhere when you mess up because of the collisions. If you’re inside, try to juggle where there are no valuables around and/or put up some barriers to make sure that you don’t hit anything important. If you are outside, try to juggle with grass around you on at least one side so you don’t have to chase them as far.

Now that you know the basics of how bounce juggling works, let’s talk about practicing.

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All juggling tricks are made up of smaller pieces. The key to learning tricks is to practice these smaller pieces until they are really solid. Then, you put these pieces together to make the final trick work. This guide will break down each trick and give you the steps that you need to succeed. Please don’t skip any steps! All of them are important to learning the trick.

Like other skill-based activities, it’s better to practice juggling for a few short sessions throughout the week rather than one marathon session once a week. Practicing several times helps the skills to sink in. Of course, your schedule and time constraints may vary, but try to shoot for three 10-minute sessions per week.

I once heard, “There’s a right way to practice juggling, and a fun way.” The “right” way means that you should only keep a pattern going (a.k.a. “run” a pattern) as long as you can do so comfortably. In other words, you should only throw another ball when you’re pretty sure that you can catch it. When the pattern begins to fall apart, you stop juggling. You try to end each pattern by catching all of the balls. Once you can consistently make X throws/catches, you slowly increment this number.

The “right” way makes a lot of sense. By slowly incrementing, you reinforce the proper technique and learn more efficiently. However, I’ve simply never found this method to be much fun. I usually prefer to run the pattern as long as I can, even when it starts to fall apart. I find it to be more challenging and exciting. I’ve probably haven’t progressed as quickly as I could have, but I still learned tricks! Your practice style is ultimately up to you. You can feel free to mix and match as well.

Now that you know what bounce juggling is and how to practice, it’s time to learn the cascade with Lift Bounce and Force Bounce! (Please learn both of them.)