Olas
Other Tutorials:
- Siteswap: 3323[13]
- Difficulty (1-10): 6
- Prerequisites: Cascade
- Related Tricks: Compressed Olas
TWJ Club (text-based) Guillaume Riesen (video)
Olas is a rare but impressive
trick established by
Ola Löfberg that utilizes a unique revolving catch along with
quick multiplexes to create one of the most unique juggling patterns. Unfortunately,
due to its lack of mention in most juggling guides, Olas is a trick known to
relatively few jugglers, particularly when compared to patterns like the Mills
Mess and Rubenstein's Revenge.
To learn Olas, it is best to break the trick down into two
basic components, the catch and the multiplex. The odd revolving catch of
Olas is best learned by starting with two balls in your non-dominant hand.
Throw one into the air, as if in a Cascade pattern, and then claw catch it
with your dominant hand. Right as that catch is made, throw the the second
ball, and swing you dominant hand back around and claw catch that ball as
well.
Practice this catch until it is
second nature with both hands. The second part of Olas is the multiplex
throw, which may take some practice to master. If you aren't already
familiar with a multiplex throw, it is a throw in which you release two
balls simultaneously. In this case, one ball will be passed straight into
the other hand, while the second ball will be thrown to the other side as if
in a normal Cascade. Before any of this happens, you will also be making a
normal cascade throw with a ball in the other hand, which will travel over
the two multiplexed balls.
Again, practice this portion until you can perform it
smoothly and consistently. Now that you have learned both components, it is
time to put them together. Start by juggling a regular Cascade (this is the
easiest way to transition into Olas), and then make a claw catch on one of
the balls using your dominant and then do a revolving catch of the next
ball. You should now have two balls in you dominant hand, and one ball in
the other. Throw that ball out of your non-dominant hand as if in a Cascade,
and then perform a multiplex with the two balls in your dominant hand, just
like in the animation above. Resume a normal Cascade afterward.
Once you have mastered this pattern on both sides (as shown
in the animation), it is only a matter of removing the extra Cascade throws
in the middle, and you are juggling Olas. Instead of returning to a Cascade
after the multiplex, you are instead going to toss the passed ball back
across your body, and then claw catch the more lofty multiplex throw. Using
a revolving catch, you are going to then grab the ball thrown from your
other hand, and then multiplex again out of that end, repeating the pattern
on the other side of your body. If you are having a hard time visualizing
the continuation, watch the animation below closely,
paying particular attention to what happens after the multiplex throw (the
balls are colored for added clarity).