Tips On Five Balls

* Learn the four ball fountain first. (You've probably already done this, but I just thought I'd mention it anyway.) It'll help you get used to more objects in the air, and higher throws.
Of course, I made the occasional attempt at five balls throughout this time because when I'm stuck at something I feel I *should* be able to do (e.g. four balls), I find it has a relaxing effect to attempt something I know beyond a doubt that I can't do yet (e.g. five balls).

* Start practicing five balls in earnest at a time of the year when the weather is nice, and you have time to spare. If you get only a little bit of five ball practice every day - maybe just a few attempts - you might still find your progress more noticeable than if you have one long practice session once a week.

* A five ball cascade is only as fast as you make it. Honest! Try juggling a tall, slow three ball shower. I mean really slow and lazy. Somewhere well above head height. Make sure you are using an even tempo and asynchronous throws (5 1, in siteswap notation).
Now try that height and tempo with five balls. Make sure both hands throw to the same height. It *should* be more-or-less right, and if you get the timing right it will be a *lot* easier to continue the pattern past the first five throws.
A slower pattern also means you'll have a lot more time for error corrections. (You will make errors. Trust me.) This means you won't be able to see your hands, of course, but don't worry. If the throws are right, the catches will be easy. Eventually.

* Learn to accept slow progress. Remember all those problems you probably had with the three ball cascade? Well, guess what? You've just invited their big brothers and sisters. There will probably be days when you feel the five ball cascade isn't working at all. In that case, it probably won't help to force it. Try something else for a while instead.
I've been working on it for almost two years now, and it's still nowhere near as solid as I would like it. When the pattern works, it feels almost easy. When it doesn't... You might learn it faster, of course. Or slower. One of the drawbacks of having only a few other jugglers in your neighborhood is that you don't get much to compare to.

* Once the pattern starts working you should still keep an eye on those first five throws. If you find that you are consistently making the same error (in my case, the fourth throw was always too low, and I *still* throw the first ball forwards sometimes) work on correcting that. This might introduce new errors, but at least you have broken that particular habit.

* And finally, if you find that some advice doesn't work, or that some three- or four ball practice pattern is hopelessly difficult, don't be afraid to ignore them. It doesn't mean the advice was bad, or that the practice pattern was worthless. It just means that they weren't useful to you. At least not at this stage.

So is the pattern worth all this time and practice? I think so. Definitely. When the pattern works, there is a "wow! magic!" feeling to it which I haven't felt in any three or four ball pattern. Keep trying!

Torbjörn Andersson