Juggle 3 Bottles: Steps 3 & 4
Steps 3 & 4 are the final steps in learning how to juggle 3 bottles. Make sure you’ve got Step 1 and Step 2 down already and take your time. If this were easy, everybody would be doing it. But I promise you if you stick with it, and follow the lessons, you’ll be juggling 3 bottles before you know it.
Juggling Bottles: Step 2
Today’s lesson is Step 2 in our 5-step series that will teach you how to juggle 3 bottles. By now, you should be comfortable with Step 1 – learning how to throw a double across your body. With Step 2, we add the second bottle and work on the throws, catches, and timing.
The most important tips I have for learning Step 2 in juggling bottles:
• Make sure you are incredibly comfortable and consistent with Step 1. You should be able to consistently throw a double-spin, from right to left AND left to right at least 50 times in a row before you attempt Step 2. The height should be consistent, the rotation should be consistent, and you shouldn’t be reaching out for the bottle – it should be landing right in your hand. Step 1 is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of learning to juggle 3 bottles.
• When you’re ready to add the 2nd bottle, grip one firmly by the neck in each hand. Toss the first one exactly as you’ve been doing in Step 1. As the bottle hits it’s peak (the highest point of its arc), throw the other bottle just as you’ve been doing in Step 1, making sure it is slightly inside/under the bottle in the air.
• In order to avoid the bottles crashing into each other in mid-air, focus on throwing the 2nd bottle from a position slightly closer to the center of your body. Watch the video and look at my elbows as I juggle – they are constantly rotating in small circles. The catches are slightly to the outside (away from my body) and the throws are slightly to the inside (closer to my body).
• Don’t watch your hands; watch the bottles. Specifically, you should be watching the top portion of the path the bottles take when they fly through the air. Your eyes should be looking about 1 foot in front of you and almost 1 foot up.
• If you’re getting frustrated, try throwing the bottles and purposely drop them. As juggler’s say, “get a good throw and the catches will come.” So focus on your throws. Throw the first bottle, then the second bottle, and let both of them fall. Stand over your bed or a sofa so you can easily pick them up. Repeat this frequently. It will help you to improve your throws, learn the timing, and reduce your anxiety of the bottles getting away from you.
• The most common problem people have when they start juggling bottles at this step is keeping the throws from getting away from them. Usually, the 2nd bottle goes flying 5 feet away from you because you’re not used to spreading your focus between two objects. That’s cool; it’s part of the process. The goal – which you will achieve if you follow the video and the tips I’ve provided – is for each bottle to travel the same consistent path, equally high, equally far away, equally spinning, and caught in the same place every time.
• Try this drill: with a bottle in each hand, throw with your right hand first, then left. Once you catch them, begin throwing with your left hand first, then right. Continue going back and forth, starting with the opposite hand each time. This can be very difficult but is necessary and will help you smooth out your pattern.
• Once you are comfortable with the drill I mentioned in the previous bullet point, your goal is to perform this drill without pausing. As soon as you catch the first bottle, your arm dips a little while catching it, then launches its throw again quickly. When you do this properly, the bottles will “chase” each other and you will begin to understand the timing of where the 3rd bottle will go. In the video, you can see my open hand waving in the time/place where the 3rd bottle goes.
Lesson 100: Juggling Bottles
It’s time.
Today is January 1, 2014, and if you’ve been following along with Flair Bartending TV for the past year, it’s time to ring in the new year with our 100th lesson – it’s time to learn to juggle 3 bottles.
Learning to juggle bottles is going to be a 4-part series. The first video here is a quick intro, mostly meant to drive home the fact that if you’ve made it this far, it really is time to invest in some practice FlairCo bottles.
Once you’re ready to give juggling bottles a chance, here’s Step One. Practice it a lot more than you think you should. It’s the necessary first step in learning to juggle. Drill this all week; next week’s 2 videos will take you the rest of the way.
Flair Lesson #34: Repeating Circle Swipe Thru
This move can be a bit tricky, as it’s actually the first move we have that involves the 2 items in the air at the same time – which is technically considered juggling. Congratulations. Make sure you are comfortable with the Circle Swipe Thru before attempting this addition.
The difference between this flair move and the Circle Swipe Thru is the addition of the bottle toss and follow through of the tin toss at the end of the move. Easier said than done. In theory, the move is simple: at the end of the Circle Swipe Thru, just continue the momentum of the bottle and lift/toss it up and across your body, catching it in your left hand as you toss the tin in a similar trajectory and catch it in your right hand. As the bottle starts to descend towards your left (tin) hand, toss the tin up underneath the bottle letting it roll off your fingers. That’s it in theory – and truthfully, in practice – however, the reality of learning this move can be much more difficult.
The best advice I have for learning this move is Continue Reading » Flair Lesson #34: Repeating Circle Swipe Thru