As I stated in the first Dream Tricks Challenge article, most jugglers have probably dreamed of doing or at least seeing certain juggling tricks that have never been accomplished before. Likewise, there are tricks that have been accomplished, but not on video that the public can see. Therefore, I’ve decided to use my position as a writer for eJuggle to challenge my fellow jugglers to video their attempts, and hopefully their successful attempts, at certain tricks. Below are the next ten tricks of which I would love to see video. If you do record yourself attempting or accomplishing any of these, post the video to youtube as an unlisted (not private) video and then email me the link at davidcainjuggler@hotmail.com or through facebook. In a month or two, I’ll write a follow-up article showing these videos and award some prizes to the most impressive submissions.
1. 5 club Blind / Scorpion Kick – While a number of jugglers, such as Mike Price (click here for video) and Luke Davies (click here for video), can drop a club off of a head balance and blind kick the club into a five club cascade, the trick requested here is more difficult and complicated. Here it is. Out of a five club cascade, one club is tossed over the head where it is scorpion kicked back into a cascade, with the other four clubs being juggled (not collected) during the toss, kick, and return. I’ve seen this trick done with 5 rings and have even done it myself with five balls, but I’m unaware of anyone doing it with five clubs.
2. 3 Club Bounce 360 – This is a trick that might require as much luck as skill. Out of a cascade of three clubs, all three clubs are bounced off the floor (lift or force bounce), during which the juggler does a 360. The clubs are then caught back into a cascade. This one has potential for a lot of variations, such as multiple stage 360s and going in and out of various patterns. If you get the standard version, don’t stop there. Go above and beyond!
3. 8 Ring Pancake Flash – This one is fairly self-explanatory. Out of an eight ring juggle, throw 8 pancake throws. Click here see Serge Ignatov flash 7 ring pancakes and click here to see Kathrin Wagner do the same. Below is a video of Tony Pezzo qualifying 7 ring pancakes.
4. 8 Ball Bounce To 8 In The Air – This one is going to be very, very tough. We’re looking for a run of 8 ball bouncing taken right into 8 balls juggling in the air. Below you can see videos of Eden Zak and Doug Sayers doing the 7 ball version of this trick.
5. 3 Diabolo 3 Up Front Roll – Again, this is fairly self-explanatory. Do three diabolos, toss all three up, do a front roll, and then catch all three back into a “juggle”. Click here to see Austin Bruckner do a very impressive two diabolo back flip.
6. Triple Ball Stack And Single Spin – This trick (doing a triple spin stack on one hand and a single ball spin on the other) was done by Marcell Valla, as you can see in the picture below. For one possible way of getting into this trick, watch the video that follows Marcell’s photo.
7. 5 Club Back Crosses With A Balance – Here we’re looking for a qualify of five club back crosses while maintaining a dynamic head balance (club, pole, etc.). Click here to see Benjamin Thompson do a flash of this trick.
8. 1 High 5 Low 6 Club 360 – For this trick, juggle 6 clubs, toss one high, toss the other five low, pirouette, catch the low five, and then catch the high throw back into 6 clubs. No problem!! To see the five club version of this trick, click here to see Benjamin Thompson’s version, here to see Daniel Ledel’s version, here to see Carey Pickford Jr.’s version, here to see Florian Canaval’s version (into 744), and here to see Jack Denger’s version into back crosses.
9. 3 Club Kickup Into 5 Clubs – Place 3 clubs on your foot and have one club in each hand. Kick up the three clubs and go into a five club cascade. Watch the Luke Wilson tutorial below to learn how to do the three club kickup if you don’t already know how.
10. Five Ball Shoulder Throws On Both Sides – The only person I’ve seen do this trick is Dick Franco. He showed it to me in his home in 1990. The balls stayed very low and it looked incredible. Keep in mind the difference between shoulder throws and back crosses. The balls come over the shoulder of the hand that throws them and crosses the body in front of the body rather than behind it. Click here to see Peter Davison do a great run of one sided 5 ball shoulder throws.
Leftover Tricks
There are three tricks from the previous Dream Tricks Challenge article that no one achieved. Here they are.
5 Club 5 Up Front Roll – This is perhaps the most difficult trick on this list, but it has been done before. Evgeni Biljauer was famous for performing a 5 club 3 up front roll in his act and doing the 5 up version in practice, but no video of it exists. To see the three up version, click here to see Biljauer’s version and click here to see Wes Peden do it. Below are videos of Vova Galchenko and Chris Hodge doing the three up version as well.
3 Devil Stick Cascade – This trick is specifically for devil sticks, not flower sticks. Nikki Sneep-Snijders has flashed this, which you can see below. The challenge is for a qualify of six “catches”.
5 Club Backcrosses In Singles – This challenge is to qualify five club backcrosses using nothing but single spins.
If you know someone that you think might be up to any of these challenges, please let them know about this project. Good luck and get to work!!
David Cain
David Cain is a professional juggler, juggling historian, and the owner of the world's only juggling museum, the Museum of Juggling History. He is a Guinness world record holder and 16 time IJA gold medalist. In addition to his juggling pursuits, David is a successful composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and singer as well as the author of twenty-six books. He and his children live in Middletown, OH (USA).