Weighted Juggling Balls and One Of The Tricks Behind Juggling
If you have ever seen a juggling routine and wonder how they do all those catches on their bodies or those body tricks you should know that the juggler in question is probably using weighted juggling balls.
When doing these types of tricks and catches you can’t have a ball that bounces otherwise the trick wouldn’t work and you would be chasing balls all over the stage. Weighted juggling balls give you perfect control during your tricks.
What are they filled with? Traditionally, some are filled with very fine quartz sand. They are only partially filled which gives the ball a low center of gravity. The balls I found in my research for this article are made of a soft PVC shell and have very bright colors with either a matte or high-gloss finish on the outside of the ball.
If you do spinning tricks these balls do wobble a bit. If you do not want that to happen then you might have to learn how to stop spinning the balls when you juggle.
Other weighted balls that I came across were partially filled with liquid silicone. Also with a low center of gravity, these balls with the liquid inside are perfect for all kinds of tricks and because they are filled with liquid the wobble is eliminated.
If you have tried contact juggling with the partially filled balls and have either decided you do not like them or just can’t seem to get a handle on them then you can always try some acrylic juggling balls. These balls are solid acrylic and have a nice weighty feel in your hand. They may chip or crack over time with a lot of use.
There is a hybrid acrylic ball on the market that resists chipping and cracking so if you have found that your acrylics have gotten marred up after some time then you might want to replace them with these hybrids. The acrylics and hybrids all come in various colors for very visual tricks and juggling routines. The acrylics also can be lighted or even glow in the dark
The last type of weighted ball I found was just a plain hollow steel contact juggling ball. This ball is made of hollow construction and has a chrome finish. It is very highly polished and shiny. A lot like a Chinese therapy ball but without the bell. The shiny steel ball will let your audience really be able to see what you are doing.
All of these weighted juggling balls come in different sizes to fit nicely in your hand whether you have a big one or a small one. Some people like a bigger ball when they are doing contact juggling so they feel like they have more control and can manage the tricks and stops better. Not to mention your audience can see the bigger ball better.
If you are just starting out get yourself a good contact juggling DVD to learn easily what you need to learn. You might even find a DVD/ball combo to save a little money.