How to do the basic juggling trick "3-ball cascade"
This page shows you how to do "the 3-ball cascade," the most classic juggling trick. Throwing three balls in a crossing pattern is the foundation of almost everything else in juggling.
Getting ready: choose your balls
You can practice juggling with tennis balls, but many people give up because of the stress of chasing balls that scatter across the floor every time they drop.
From the very beginning, a juggling ball that sits well in your hand and doesn't roll away when dropped is the shortcut to getting better.
For beginners, we recommend the model called 'PM mini'.
- A smaller size that is easy to throw, even for beginners
- Washable, so you can play outdoors
- A satisfying feel on every catch, which makes practice fun
With just three balls, juggling becomes a hobby you can enjoy anytime, anywhere.
Step 1: Warm up with one ball
Hold a ball in your right hand and throw it to your left hand.
Throw it in an arc, peaking just above the top of your head.
Once your right hand feels comfortable, practice the same arc from your left hand to your right hand.
Step 2: Get used to the rhythm with two balls
Hold one ball in each hand.
Throw the ball in your right hand to your left hand, and before you catch it, throw the ball in your left hand to your right hand.
When you throw from your left hand, be careful to send it under the arc of the ball coming from your right hand.
Stop once you have caught both.
Practice until you can throw in a steady rhythm: right, then left.
*Once that feels easy, practice starting from your left hand too: left, then right.
Step 3: Finally, three balls
Hold two balls in your right hand and one in your left hand.
Throw one ball from your right hand to your left hand.
Before it comes down, throw the ball in your left hand to your right hand.
From there, combine the "right, then left" and "left, then right" you practiced in Step 2 and keep throwing alternately. That is the cascade.
Tips for getting better
- Rather than throwing yourself at three balls, go back to one ball and two balls (Step 1 and Step 2) again and again. It looks like a detour, but it is the fastest way forward.
- During Step 1 and Step 2, try letting the ball drop on purpose instead of catching it, and watch the height and path of your throw. Put your attention on the throw rather than the catch.
- Once you reach Step 3, we recommend "throw as many as you can, and stop before you drop". Building up the count little by little is the efficient way to learn.
This much is plenty at first. Two or three throws, then stop.
What matters is not rushing, and building each step carefully.
Practice a little every day and you could have it in a few days, or in about a month at a gentler pace.
Enjoy it the way you would a workout, and have fun with the practice!
Welcome to the world of juggling!
If you can do the cascade, you are already a juggler.
Keep going and enjoy the next tricks.
On the next page, we introduce a range of 3-ball juggling tricks!
