Box
Other Tutorials:
- Siteswap: (4,2x)(2x,4)
- Difficulty (1-10): 6
- Prerequisites: 441 (Half-Box), Shower
- Related Tricks: Luke's Shuffle, N-Box
The Box is a challenging and unique trick. The
simultaneous vertical and horizontal throws are fun to juggle, and the
Box can be very effective when performing for an audience. Before starting
to practice the trick, you are going to want to be able to juggle the
Half-Box and Shower patterns.
Breaking the trick down, we can see that the Box is really quite simple. It
behaves like a see-saw (this in fact another name for the pattern), with two
balls alternating in the air and one ball being swapped between hands.
Therefore, learning the trick is fairly simple. Start with two balls, one in
each hand. Throw one ball straight up, and at the exact same time make a
horizontal pass from the other hand. Then, as that first ball is coming back
down, you are going to pass the second ball back to its original hand,
leaving a space for the first ball to be caught.
Make sure you master those two throws, as they form the backbone of the Box.
Once you have perfected this step on both sides, you can connect them
together.
Now all that's left is to add the third ball. Starting with two balls in
your dominant hand, make one throw vertically, and then wait until it is
about to land back in your hand. Just before that, make a vertical throw
from your other hand and pass the second ball to that now empty hand. This
will clear up space for the first ball to land back into your dominant hand.
There you have it. To continue the pattern, just keep passing the balls back
and forth. The Box is one of those tricks that is technically very simple,
but takes a long time to perfect due to the precise timing. Odds are that
this will be the first trick that you won't just get in one day. It may take
many days or even weeks of practice to be able to perform the pattern for
large amounts of time.