Alright, now to start off with I know that you guys must have answered
this question many times before. I have searched, but I have no found
anything specifically applicable to what I am asking.

Now, I've been juggling for....Well it started a couple of summers ago,
when I was taught the 3 ball cascade. I picked that up in less than a
week, and juggled pretty much all summer...and then tried the 5 ball
cascade, and after that I quit until about a week ago. Right now, I have
a moderately solid 4 ball async fountain(more than 50 catches), and a
fairly solid 5 ball flash. I can get around 6-7 cathes if I try very hard
every time, and it's improving by day. Now, right now I am juggling
tennis balls filled with rice. I know, it's horrible, and that's where I
come to my question...

I'm in the market for a professional quality ball that I can use for my
3-5 ball juggling. I have heard that beanbags are easier to practice
with, but do not look at good as a stage ball. Well, I have already made
my decision that I am not buying beanbags. If it's harder to perfect my 5
ball cascade with other balls, then at least it will be perfect, and not
sloppy. I have heard many different things about the Dube stage balls,
the Beard ones, Renegade stage balls, the Beard DX balls, and most other
kinds of stage balls. What I havent heard, or seen, is somewhat of a
comparison table or list of the pros vs. cons of each. What would be best
for my 3-5 ball juggling and tricks? What are the pros and cons of each,
compared to the pros and cons of the others?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this(and hopefully taking
the time to reply).

-GLICK

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

From:	staticjuggler
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	24 Jan 2005 01:27:11 GMT

Sorry to break it to you, but stage balls really suck. They roll all over
the freaking place
when dropped, and even the smallest collision in a pattern means instant
chaos.

I would suggest beanbags, even the crappy ones, over any stage balls,
because you
will learn at a much faster pace for 3-5 balls.

Or you could just get a set of some nice beanbags and stage balls, and
switch sets for
when you are performing or practicing.

I've also heard about DX Balls, which are supposed to be a beanbag/ball
combination
that have a dead bounce, and collisions aren't a big problem in a pattern,
like
beanbags, but they feel and look like stage balls. I don't know much about
them though,
I've never used them.

Hope I helped,

Static

www.staticjuggler.com

glick525 wrote:
> Alright, now to start off with I know that you guys must have answered
> this question many times before. I have searched, but I have no found
> anything specifically applicable to what I am asking.
>
> Now, I've been juggling for....Well it started a couple of summers ago,
> when I was taught the 3 ball cascade. I picked that up in less than a
> week, and juggled pretty much all summer...and then tried the 5 ball
> cascade, and after that I quit until about a week ago. Right now, I have
> a moderately solid 4 ball async fountain(more than 50 catches), and a
> fairly solid 5 ball flash. I can get around 6-7 cathes if I try very hard
> every time, and it's improving by day. Now, right now I am juggling
> tennis balls filled with rice. I know, it's horrible, and that's where I
> come to my question...
>
> I'm in the market for a professional quality ball that I can use for my
> 3-5 ball juggling. I have heard that beanbags are easier to practice
> with, but do not look at good as a stage ball. Well, I have already made
> my decision that I am not buying beanbags. If it's harder to perfect my 5
> ball cascade with other balls, then at least it will be perfect, and not
> sloppy. I have heard many different things about the Dube stage balls,
> the Beard ones, Renegade stage balls, the Beard DX balls, and most other
> kinds of stage balls. What I havent heard, or seen, is somewhat of a
> comparison table or list of the pros vs. cons of each. What would be best
> for my 3-5 ball juggling and tricks? What are the pros and cons of each,
> compared to the pros and cons of the others?
>
> Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this(and hopefully taking
> the time to reply).
>
> -GLICK
>
>
> ----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

From:	glick525
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	24 Jan 2005 01:36:41 GMT

Well, I've currently been using tennis balls, and sometimes tennis balls
filled with rice, so believe me, they go to the edge of my room, or far
enough outside(although i usually practice in the grass). And most of the
time, if they hit, the pattern is done. So, are stage balls any worse than
tennis balls? And also, considering there is less room for errors with
stage balls, wouldn't that just make my juggling better? Right now, I'm
either going to buy a stage ball, or a DX ball. I'm just looking for some
information and pros vs. cons on the different brands. Personal
experiences are very helpful, also.

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

From:	Guy G
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	Mon, 24 Jan 2005 10:03:03 +0000

glick525 wrote:
> Well, I've currently been using tennis balls, and sometimes tennis balls
> filled with rice, so believe me, they go to the edge of my room, or far
> enough outside(although i usually practice in the grass). And most of the
> time, if they hit, the pattern is done. So, are stage balls any worse than
> tennis balls? And also, considering there is less room for errors with
> stage balls, wouldn't that just make my juggling better? Right now, I'm
> either going to buy a stage ball, or a DX ball. I'm just looking for some
> information and pros vs. cons on the different brands. Personal
> experiences are very helpful, also.

I juggle DX balls. They're slightly harder to juggle than beanbags, but
they do give your pattern a nicer look. Put it this way:
You are determined not to get beanbags.
Everyone else is telling you not to get stage balls.
If you really don't want beanbags, but you don't want to ignore
everyone's advice, then it seems obvious you should go for DX balls.

Guy

But I'd still recommend beanbags for learning.

From:	NielsDuinker
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	24 Jan 2005 08:17:34 GMT

At the WJF convention I saw some jugglers (Ivan Pecel, Jason Kollum, and
some more) juggle Vladik style juggling balls. Viktor Kee is using the
same type of ball.
Look like stage balls and drop like beanbags.
I found them a bit strange since the ball is moving around the sand in it,
but they dont want to juggle anything else.
www.vladik.com

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

From:	erik_jernqvist
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	24 Jan 2005 09:54:48 GMT

NielsDuinker wrote:
> At the WJF convention I saw some jugglers (Ivan Pecel, Jason Kollum, and
> some more) juggle Vladik style juggling balls. Viktor Kee is using the
> same type of ball.
> Look like stage balls and drop like beanbags.
> I found them a bit strange since the ball is moving around the sand in it,
> but they dont want to juggle anything else.
> www.vladik.com

Hmmm... a hard hollow ball filled with sand...I've got something like that
and they're called:
Sandfilled Tennisball(tm)
Works like a charm. Put some tape on them of our choich and Tada! It looks
good, is good and you didn't even have to spend a dollar on each ball.
Comes in every colour tape comes in (so not just in yellow or white then).

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

From:	Guy G
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	Mon, 24 Jan 2005 10:23:52 +0000

erik_jernqvist wrote:
> NielsDuinker wrote:
>
>>At the WJF convention I saw some jugglers (Ivan Pecel, Jason Kollum, and
>>some more) juggle Vladik style juggling balls. Viktor Kee is using the
>>same type of ball.
>>Look like stage balls and drop like beanbags.
>>I found them a bit strange since the ball is moving around the sand in it,
>>but they dont want to juggle anything else.
>>www.vladik.com
>
>
> Hmmm... a hard hollow ball filled with sand...I've got something like that
> and they're called:
> Sandfilled Tennisball(tm)
> Works like a charm. Put some tape on them of our choich and Tada! It looks
> good, is good and you didn't even have to spend a dollar on each ball.
> Comes in every colour tape comes in (so not just in yellow or white then).

In my local pound shop, you can buy 12 rolls of electricians tape for a
pound. 2 rolls of each of the colours: Black, Blue, Red, Green, Yellow,
and White. So you can even get yellow or white!

From:	Adam
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	23 Jan 2005 22:03:08 -0800

Here's my personal experience. I was making progress with 5 beanbags
by last summer, and I decided I wanted to get a real juggling ball. I
decided to get Dube stage balls since they look cool and they would
make my juggling better since they require more precision than wimpy
beanbags. Sounds familar, huh? Well, I wasted my money. They look
ok, but they don't feel that good and they waste too much time because
they roll, and they start looking bad and scratched up right away. I
now realize that the idea of intentionally choosing a practice ball
that is harder to juggle hurts, not helps, my juggling. I have since
settled on a set of DX style balls (made by Passe Passe) and they are
great. Find the ball that is easiest for you to juggle and that stays
put when dropped, and practice with that ball. Ocasionally, juggle
balls that are harder for you and this will challenge you and help your
pattern. But don't spend $40 at Dube for a more challenging set of
balls, go to your toy store and pick out something cool to try
sometime.

For instance, even though I learned to juggle 5 with beanbags, last
night in the grocery store I juggled 5 limes (1st time ever) for about
20 catches with a clean finish, no problem. I was able to do this
because beanbags efficiently taught me the pattern, but I would still
be learning 5 if I had tried to learn with limes. I also consistently
work on trying to juggle 5 mini basket balls (about 5 inch diameter?)
to help my precision. 5 rings has helped my 5 balls some too probably,
as well as tricks with 5 balls. Even though I can do 5 balls for 4+
minutes, I still spend 98% of my time practicing with my DX balls
instead of choosing something "harder."

I've said a lot, but you seem to be hard headed about stage balls
despite some good advice against them from people who know more than
me. Keep in mind that it's common for beginners, due to a sense of
over convidence, to think that a harder ball will give them more
precision in the long run. Also keep in mind that you are about 0.5%
of the way to learning to juggle 5 balls consistently for any amount of
time, so something that stays put when dropped will pay off big, as in
months less of practice time. So get some medium sized beanbags or DX
balls, and consider nothing else. Months from now when you have 5
balls pretty solid, then you can practice with harder objects and this
will indeed help your precision.

Note that on Feb 4-6 there is a juggling festival in Atlanta, GA.
http://www.atlantajugglers.org/gh05.htm Might be worth the drive as
they will have vendors with equipment and lots of jugglers doing stuff
and able to help you out. If you can only make one day go Saturday
since that's the day of the competition and longest gym hours.
hope this helped

Adam

From:	glick525
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	24 Jan 2005 00:26:04 GMT

Oh yes, and I forgot one thing. Mainly the reason I am turning to you
guys for this question is because I live in Palm Beach, FL. Now, there is
no real juggling specific shop around my area(closest I believe is
Tallessee), and the only juggling clubs that I would be able to try things
out at are a good hour+ away. Just wanted to let you guys know that...

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

From:	Brett Sheets
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	24 Jan 2005 01:50:32 GMT

glick525 wrote:
> Oh yes, and I forgot one thing. Mainly the reason I am turning to you
> guys for this question is because I live in Palm Beach, FL. Now, there is
> no real juggling specific shop around my area(closest I believe is
> Tallessee), and the only juggling clubs that I would be able to try things
> out at are a good hour+ away. Just wanted to let you guys know that...
>
>
>
> ----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

I have a 4 set of stage balls and i dont juggle them at all. If you are
just converting from tennis balls then i highly dont recommend using stage
balls. Stage balls are for the stage. And beginners dont perform very
often. Since you be dropping a lot, use beanbags. They have no bounce and
they dont roll. They are much easier to handle, and much easier to learn
with. Trust me, you dont want to start with stage balls. Although they are
slightly better than tennis balls, beanbags are what most people use.
Beanbags are the common understanding of what a ball is ( like a default
prop). They also have plenty of visual appeal.

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

From:	juggle-boy
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	24 Jan 2005 03:51:14 GMT

I would go with dx balls

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----

From:	FreeJuggler
Subject:	Re: Stage Balls
Date:	24 Jan 2005 03:58:00 GMT

Brett Sheets wrote:
> I have a 4 set of stage balls and i dont juggle them at all. If you are
> just converting from tennis balls then i highly dont recommend using stage
> balls. Stage balls are for the stage. And beginners dont perform very
> often. Since you be dropping a lot, use beanbags. They have no bounce and
> they dont roll. They are much easier to handle, and much easier to learn
> with. Trust me, you dont want to start with stage balls. Although they are
> slightly better than tennis balls, beanbags are what most people use.
> Beanbags are the common understanding of what a ball is ( like a default
> prop). They also have plenty of visual appeal.

I've got to back Brett up. As a beginner, you
want to maximize the efficiency of your
practice time. Chasing balls that are rolling
around on the ground is not efficient.
Remember, Gatto's dad picked up his
drops for him!

If you want to have really good form use
beanbags (actually get a bunch of extras
so that you can wait to pick up drops) and
then work on strict form. Garfield recommends
getting a flash perfect 10 times in a row
before working on a flash + 1.

This is too strict for my personality (but then
Garfield is much better than I am!) but the
idea is right. If you're really worried about
form, get big beanbags that will collide more
often if you think that will force you to adopt
better form. There will always be time for you
to get stage balls for performing when you're
to the point where you want to perfect a routine
and you hardly drop when practicing it.

FreeJuggler

----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----