441 (Half-Box)
Other Tutorials:
The Half-Box is one of the first tricks jugglers learn
that includes a horizontal pass (the ball that goes directly between hands).
The pattern is almost universally known by its siteswap, and thus is usually
just called the 441. There have been attempts at giving it a name (some have
tried to call it Parallel Schizophrenic), but none of them have stuck. I
think the name Half-Box matches the trick quite nicely, as it is similar to
the normal Box, except slower and easier. This is not unlike the Half-Shower
and regular Shower patterns.
Regardless of the name, learning the Half-Box is fairly simple. Breaking the
pattern down, we can see that there are three main components: a Two-in-One
in the left hand, then a pass, then a Two-in-One in the right hand. Thus,
you should already be proficient at the Two-in-One in both hands, and also
be able to do a solid Cascade before attempting this trick.
To begin practicing, you are going to start with two balls—one in your left
and one in your right. Then, you are going to make one throw straight up (as
if doing a Two-in-One) from your dominant hand, and then right after that
you are going to make a horizontal pass from your non-dominant hand to your
now empty dominant hand. Then, you are going to make a second Two-in-One
throw with that ball you just passed, and then catch the first ball. And
finally, you are going to pass that first ball to your non-dominant and
catch the second ball. The balls should end up in a different hand than when
they started:
You are going to want to practice this in each hand, as it is the foundation
of the Half-Box. Once you can reliably perform these throws in both
directions, you are ready to link them together:
Now its just a matter of adding the third ball. Start with two balls in your
dominant hand, one ball in the other. Throw one ball from your dominant
hand, then throw the ball in your non-dominant hand. Right after you throw
that second ball, do a horizontal pass from your dominant hand to your
non-dominant hand, and then stop. You have just done one run of the
Half-Box:
All that's left is just to remove the pause and keep the pattern going. This
can be done by throwing another Two-in-One throw at the end of the flash,
and just repeating the cycle again:
And there you have it. Just keep adding in more and more cycles and
eventually you will be able to the Half-Box indefinitely. As the name
suggests, this trick is perfect for practicing the Box (though I personally
learned the Box first)but it can also be good training for the Shower
pattern.