5 Easiest Ways To Juggle Four Balls

Once you have learnt to juggle 2 or 3 balls it is time to learn the next step, which is juggling 4 balls at a time. At this stage you must be a intermediate juggler and know a thing or two about juggling.

Here Is The Easiest Way To Juggle Four Balls:

Learning to juggle 4 balls is definitely more difficult than say learning to juggle 3 at a time.

The easiest way to start juggling 4 balls is to:

juggle with 2 balls in each hand (this is called the fountain)

You practice this move in one hand with 2 balls, and once this is perfected you move onto the other hand.

You toss one ball and then toss the second when the first ball peaks.

In this guide we are going to go through step by step what to do and ways you can juggle 4 balls.

How To Juggle 4 Balls?

Juggling with three balls is definitely challenging for beginners, but when you’ve mastered those patterns and gained more confidence, four balls is the natural progression.

However, juggling four balls is quite different to juggling three, even though it is just one extra ball, so you will need to learn new patterns and work on your hand-eye coordination even more.

The easiest way to learn how to juggle four balls (since it’s an even number) is to juggle two in each hand (the fountain).

This will take a bit of work to perfect, but once you can juggle two in one hand, you can practice adding in the second hand with the other two balls.

To make these throws successful, you toss one ball and then toss the second when the first ball peaks.

That pattern is the simplest way to practice juggling with an even number of balls after spending so much time with just the three.

It will take a lot of concentration because you’ll need to do the same alternating throw pattern with both hands and adjust your stance according to what both hands are doing.

Getting these throws synchronised is difficult, but once you’ve perfected them and feel more comfortable juggling with four balls, you can move onto more complicated patterns.

Is It Easier To Juggle 4 Or 5 Balls?

Though the natural order of progression is three balls, then four, then five, some people actually find it easier to go straight from three to five.

This is because the number of balls is still odd, so the cascade pattern works the same, albeit with an extra two balls.

That number may seem intimidating at first if you’ve only used three so far, but you’ll already know how the sequencing of the pattern works.

However, working an additional two balls into the pattern means more balls to hold, more to throw and catch, and needing to have your eyes in five places at once.

If you’d find that to be overwhelming, you’re better off going from three balls to four.

Though you’ll need to learn new patterns and have to get used to an even number, you won’t feel as intimidated by the number.

It is typically easier to juggle four balls than five because you mainly need to work on the accuracy of your throws to make the patterns successful. After all, juggling is mostly muscle memory, so when you’ve worked out exactly when to throw and catch, you’ll quickly get comfortable juggling with four balls.

After advancing to four balls, five balls will seem less of a stretch because you’ll be comfortable using a higher number and you’ll still have the muscle memory retained from juggling with three balls to aid you in juggling with an odd number again.

How Do You Juggle A 4-ball Cascade?

Though the 3-ball cascade (and different variations of it) is a great juggling pattern, a 4-ball cascade is essentially impossible.

This is because juggling a cascade with an even number of balls disrupts the sequence of the pattern.

The 3-ball cascade is achieved by throwing one ball, throwing the second when the first peaks, catching the first in your empty hand and then throwing the third from your other hand when the second has peaked.

It sounds confusing, but that is the easiest sequence to learn when juggling with three balls.

You can juggle the same pattern with any other odd number of balls (five, seven, etc), but it is very hard to do with an even number. This is because the number of balls determines how many beats each ball must remain in the air before landing.

An even number of balls means that the ball thrown must stay in the air for an even number of beats. This number of beats requires it to land in the hand it was thrown from, which is not a traditional cascade.

Put simply, the first and third balls would always be thrown and caught with the left hand, while the second and fourth would be thrown and caught with the right, so no alternating hands as you do with a cascade.

However, you can technically juggle a 4-ball cascade, though it doesn’t use the traditional rules.

Instead, it includes an extra invisible ball, so you juggle the four balls with the timing of five and allow the balls to alternate hands. This will take time and practice, but it can be done.

How Do I Add A Fourth Ball To Juggle?

When adding the fourth ball, the first thing you need to remember is that you’ll need to be patient because you are essentially training yourself from the start again.

Of course, the hand-eye coordination, stance, and pivots that you’ll have worked on while juggling with three balls are essential, but you won’t be able to do patterns like the 3-ball cascade because using an even number changes the patterns up. Here is a good article on how to juggle 3 balls.

When adding a fourth ball, it is best to work on your weaker hand first.

When juggling with three balls, your hands work in tandem and support each other to an extent. With four balls, they need to work more independently.

Start by simply holding two balls in each hand to get used to the feeling. Then, practice each hand individually, throwing up one ball and then throwing the second when it peaks.

Keep practicing with just your weaker hand until you have got used to the sequence.

Practice your second hand exactly the same. Once you’ve mastered the pattern on individual hands, try the two at once.

By focussing on just two balls initially before bringing the four together, it should feel more fluid to add the fourth ball and you’ll barely even notice it.

What Are Some 4 ball juggling patterns?

Aside from the 4-ball fountain, there are other great 4 ball juggling patterns to learn. The first that you should try after mastering the fountain is an asynchronous fountain. You do this by throwing and releasing the balls at different times, so when you throw a ball from one hand, the other should be catching another.

The 4-ball shower is also a good choice. For this pattern, you start with two balls in each hand and throw them in a circular motion. So, throw a ball up from your left hand and then pass a ball from your right hand over to the left, continuing this sequence to achieve constant circular throws.

The Wimpy also requires two balls in each hand, though they switch hands during the pattern. Your hands work exactly the same, though mirrored, and move inside and outside in tandem. Throw balls up and catch them in the opposite hand, always throwing one higher than the other.

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