Difficulty: 1 - Basic Juggling
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Prerequisite Skills: 2-in-one-hand
Watch Video - WMV - 0.6 MB
A.K.A. - 1-up 2-up
Columns is a pattern where the balls go straight up and down (in a column) without crossing each other. It's also a "synchronous" pattern. This means that both hands are moving together, throwing at the same time. This is different than the basic cascade pattern where the hands alternate throws.
Instructions:
First, you must be able to juggle two balls in one hand pretty solidly.
You can do that either in columns, in a fountain pattern (throw inside, catch outside), or a reverse fountain (throw outside, catch inside).
To perform the basic columns shown above, all you need it to be able to do two balls with your dominate hand, but eventually you'll need to be solid with both hands, so go ahead and practice with your non-dominate hand also.
You can also alternate the hand that throws the 1-up (above).
Once you've got two-in-one-hand solid, it's time to add the third ball. The third ball is in the hand not being used, so it's free to do just about anything. You can move the ball up and down without throwing it (called Fake Columns), or you can throw it up in sync with one of the other balls.
Variations:
Once you've mastered the basic columns pattern, the variations are unlimited. Since columns is a fairly easy pattern to juggle, you can play around with it and come up with all sorts of variations. Have fun.
