Toss juggling

Toss juggling is the most familiar form of juggling to most people. Objects – typically balls, clubs, or rings – are repeatedly thrown and caught in a variety of different patterns and styles.

The term "toss juggling" is only used by a very small subset of jugglers referring to "pure juggling" (throwing and catching juggling) in contrast to the wider range of circus skills usually associated with the term "juggling", such as diabolo, devilstick, cigar boxes, etc.

Patterns

The simplest form of toss juggling is the three-ball pattern cascade. Most jugglers learn this as their first pattern. The balls are thrown with alternating hands; the left hand throws from the left side to the right side and the right hand vice versa. When the ball from the left hand is at its topmost position, the right hand comes into play.

The cascade pattern is extendable to any odd number of objects; the only thing that changes is the frequency at which the balls have to be thrown. Usually the height of the pattern increases with an increasing number of balls, as a larger pattern allows a slower frequency.

For even numbers of objects, juggling in a cascade pattern is not possible continuously. The most basic pattern for even numbers is the fountain, throwing balls from the center to the outside on the same side. Basically, each hand juggles half the objects in a circle.

In a shower pattern, one hand does high throws, while the other hand catches and hands the objects across. Although much harder to juggle than a cascade or a fountain, this pattern is very simple to understand and is usually the pattern laymen assume is the standard pattern.