Difficulty: 3 - Intermediate Trick
Siteswap: (2x,4)(4,2x)
Prerequisite Skills: Shower, Columns
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A.K.A. - See Saw
Box is a synchronous pattern where all throws are made at right angles of each other. The result is a very rigid looking square pattern. There is a whole group of patterns and variations based off of this trick.
Instructions:
The Box may look like a very simple trick, but it's not it's not that easy to learn. When I first saw someone juggling a Box, I thought it looked so cool. But when I went home and tried to juggle it, I couldn't get it to work. It looked so simple and easy though. What the dillio?!?
Start by practicing with two balls. With one ball in each hand, throw the right-hand ball straight up in a column. While it is in the air, quickly throw the left-hand ball straight across into your right hand. Then quickly throw it right back to the left hand. All this before the first ball comes back down again into your right hand. Practice this on both sides.
Now you're ready to add the third ball. With two balls in your right hand, throw one straight up in a column. As it's coming down, throw the left-hand ball straight up in a column. Now you will have to get rid of the third ball (right hand) before the first ball lands, so you throw it straight across to your now vacant left hand. Catch the first ball (right hand) and throw it back up again. Now throw that bottom ball back across to the right hand, before the second ball lands (left hand). You will continue to "move the bottom ball out of the way" (back and forth), so that you can catch the down coming columns ball in each hand.
Make sure your throws are synchronous (thrown at the exact same time). This might be difficult at first, because the quick, straight across pass may interfere with your columns throw. With time and practice, your hand speed will increase enough to make this exchange easy.
Variations:
Double Box - This is a continuation of the regular box. Instead of just sending the bottom ball back across, let continue on through, and be the wall on the other side. This will result in two boxes side-by-side. To make this trick look good, you'll want to move your body so that the two boxes don't have to move position (middle throw always stays in the middle). You may notice that this pattern feels a lot like doing a 3-ball shower. It actually is the same thing as juggling a synchronous shower while constantly reversing its direction. (4x,2x)(4,2x)(2x,4x)(2x,4)
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Shuffle Switch Box - Shuffle Switch Box Here is a Box pattern with a quick shuffle switch underneath. The extra exchange requires some really fast hands.
(6,2x)(2x,2x)(2x,6)(2x,2x)
Advanced Box - This is probably one of the hardest 3-ball tricks there is. You have to make the first column throw high enough to throw a second ball underneath it in the same column, make a quick pass to and from that hand underneath with the third ball, then catch and get rid of that second column ball, all before the first column ball comes back down.
(2x,8)(2x,4)(0,2x)(8,2x)(4,2x)(2x,0)
Watch Video - WMV - 0.5 MB
