Last updated on March 30th, 2021 at 11:54 pm
Juggling Scarves – A Beginners Guide
I’m guessing that you can’t juggle if you are reading this or maybe you just like scarves. Juggling scarves is one of easier ways to get started. In any case in this article you will learn to juggle scarves or at least the basics.
Juggling is a great skill to have whether you intend to turn it into a professional act or just to entertain your friends and family. We all need to have a party piece in our lockers, so let’s make scarf juggling yours.
The good thing about starting off with scarves is they are an easy way to learn the basics for all juggling. The slow nature of a scarf moving through the air should give you more time to react and learn a pattern or trick much quicker than other equipment.
You will be using many of the same patterns or tricks common across all the different types, be it balls, clubs or rings.
So in this beginners guide we will focus on the basics starting with throwing just one scarf and then on to two and finally three. Once we have got to grips three we can look at practising some of the most common patterns such as cascade, shower and columns.
As the art of juggling is very much a visual thing there will be several videos to help you understand what is required.
Where To Buy And Cost
Before we get started you are going to need to purchase a set of juggling scarves. You can of course support you local specialist juggling shop if you happen to have one nearby, however a quick search of online retailers will reveal a vast choice for you to choose from. You will note that the scarves will often be described as juggling / dance scarves it makes little difference.
So how much will you be paying? A quick look on Amazon at the time of writing shows you can pick up juggling scarves for around $9 or $10 / £7 or £9. These are good enough to get you started and hopefully interested, they come typically in packs with six different colours, so perfect for what we are doing here.
These are affiliate links, Amazon may share a small amount of revenue with us if you buy through one of these links. This has no effect on the price you pay.
Why The Different Colours?
You may wonder why they come in different colours. This is for good reason, firstly it simply makes for a far more visually impressive display for the audience. Think about it, the aim is to wow the crowd and different colours certainly add to that wow factor. Once you master juggling three scarves you are probably going to want to add more scarves and therefore more colours to your routine. The other important reason for having different colours is it is going to make learning to juggle them a whole lot easier for you to follow.
Time To Take Hold of Your Scarf
Take hold of one scarf and hold it in the centre or middle point of the scarf. Now as when learning to juggle with any object you need to practice throwing with just one to begin with. So throw with one hand and catch with the other. This will give you an idea of how the scarf moves through air and how much time it takes to get from one hand to the other. Practice throwing several times until you feel comfortable.
Next add a second scarf and begin throwing with one in each hand. Simply throw one scarf and throw the other scarf underneath it before it comes down catching each. Practice this until you have a nice flow and pattern.
To illustrate this take a look at this video courtesy of National Circus Project.
This video shows the basics of scarf juggling
- Video Source: National Circus Project YouTube Channel
Time To Step Things Up With Three Scarf Juggling
At this point you should now be comfortable juggling with two scarves and therefore ready to move on to three. That extra scarf is going to mean holding two in one hand in a way that will still give us access to begin throwing them.
This requires a visual aid to show you exactly how to achieve this, so back to the National Circus Project to demonstrate:
Now you have mastered the basics on to the exciting part 3 scarf juggling
Now It’s Time To Try A Few Juggling Tricks
Hopefully you have mastered the basics of juggling three scarves and are ready to start learning some juggling tricks or juggling patterns as they are known.
One Up Two Up
To start this trick you will be throwing first with the hand with two scarves beginning with the one pinched between finger and thumb. Throw that up the middle, follow that throw with the other two up the side, hence one up two up.
To give you an idea of how this looks take a look at the video below:
Now you can just about juggle with three, time to add some style or patterns to the act!
Congratulations you are now juggling scarves and can call yourself a juggler.
Once you have mastered this simple pattern you will probably want to learn more jugging tricks and patterns. Don’t worry I’ll be adding more tutorials soon so you can keep adding more tricks to your repertoire.
Still Struggling To Juggle Scarves?
Take a look at master juggler Niels Duinker as he gives a few pointers on how to learn to juggle scarves.
- Video Source: Niels Duinker YouTube Channel
Final Thoughts On Juggling Scarves
The main reason for this tutorial is to show you that juggling can be relatively easy to get into. Sure it requires plenty of practice at the very beginning but by using scarves it’s possibly the easiest way to become pretty competent reasonably quickly. You have a little bit more time to realise what is happening and unlike clubs or balls you are more likely to save a miss-juggle. The result? Not as much bending down to pick up the miss-juggled object.
The other main aim is to show how much fun juggling can be and just how creative it allows you to become. Learn a few patterns and then mix them up or add in more scarves and colours to create a cool looking visual experience.
A big thanks to National Circus Project and Niels Duinker for their great video tutorials they really do help make it look easy.
I hope this article has fired your passion and interest in learning how to juggle. Follow these tips and you will soon have mastered the basics, check back soon as I will add a next level guide in the coming weeks. Then you can really start to include some of the more complicated patterns / tricks.
Remember if you master one discipline of juggling be it scarves of whatever you can transfer that ability into another as the patterns are largely the same. That way you are only learning to deal with the new object and not starting all new patterns.
After a short while this could very well be your party piece!
Share Your Progress Via Video Links
Don’t forget if you wish to share your progress with us simply drop us a YouTube video link here and you may be featured on the site. In doing so the hope is you inspire others to take up juggling whatever kind, balls, rings etc..
If you want to juggle with balls you shouild see our guide Learn How To Juggle With Three Balls
Keep practicing, keep juggling scarves!
