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Arm Roll - Rolling a hat along your arm.
Hold the hat in an inside grip, and from behind the head (duck a bit), release with a flick of the wrist.
The brim stays in front of the arm, whilst the crown rolls along it. The easy catch is palm-upwards. The hard, snazzy catch, which extends the roll a little bit, is palm downwards; let the brim roll over the thumb, and pinch-catch the brim between thumb & forefinger. Smile.
From the TricksWithHats archive
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04-12-2015
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Back Roll (One handed) - Rolling the hat across your back from one side to the other.
This trick is the one handed version of Back Rolls
Hold the had in an Inside grip, with the thumb in a straight line with the forearm.
Bend over at the waist, swing the arm across the body, and up under the armpit. Flick the wrist at the last moment to help with the spin. Look out to the side, and GRAB!
Haggis' Hot Tip: If you can get the hat to bounce
oll on the catching arm as it comes off of your back, this will slow things down a bit.
From the TricksWithHats archive
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04-12-2015
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Back Rolls - Bend forward and roll the hat across the back.
Hold the hat with the crown facing backwards in an inside grip. Bend the body forward from the waist and swing the hat across the body tucking the hand into the arm pit.Let the hat roll across the back, aiming for the opposite shoulder.
Turn the head to the right and watch the hat as it drops off the shoulder. Catch it in an inside grip with the left hand.
If the hat is difficult to catch then you are probably throwing it too hard.
Learn this trick with both hands, as it looks nice if you roll the hat back and forth across the back.
From the TricksWithHats archive
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1945
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04-12-2015
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Back tumble - Tumble the hat down your back and then up again.
Put the hat towards the back of your head. If you throw the head back you should be able to hit the brim with the back of the neck and have it roll down the back. As the hat rolls bend forwards from the waist to slow it down. Catch it in a inside grip with both hands.
Hold the hat still but move your hands so that they are at the front of the brim. Flick the hat so it rolls up the back. As you feel it on the shoulders put the head back to catch it.
Getting the timing right takes a lot of practice...be warned, this trick is difficult.
From the TricksWithHats archive
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04-12-2015
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Big Circles - Swing the hat round at arms length - and make it look good.
Hold the hat crown forward in an inside grip and swing it at arms length - twisting the wrist to keep the crown forward. At the top of the swing let go of the hat, untwist your wrist and recatch the hat in an inside grip, continue the swing and repeat as many times as you like.
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04-12-2015
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Coat Peg - Throw the hat up to an upstretched hand
Hold the hat in an inside grip at waist height and throw it with half a spin to the upstretched hand.
The key is to spread the fingers on your throwing hand as much as possible and hold your catching hand in a coat peg grip. The hat lands on your thumb like it's landing on a coatpeg.
From the TricksWithHats archive
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04-12-2015
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This trick is similar to the coatpeg drop but instead of dropping the hat and catching it behind your back, you catch it on your elbow.
Hold the hat in your right hand, and throw it up to a coatpeg catch in your left hand. Let go of the hat, and bend your left arm at the elbow, pointing your elbow upwards. Catch the hat on your elbow. To complete the move, straighten your arm and the hat will fall. The catch is similar to that in the wipe up
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04-12-2015
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Take a pinch grip at the front of the hat's crown and flick it up and forwards. Turn the hand round so the palm is facing forwards to catch the hat in another pinch grip at the back. After you've got a feel for this try doing it without looking at the hat.
Either place it straight back on the head or reverse the process to return it.
If you use a bowler hat make sure you take a really firm pinch to crease the top of the hat when removing it, otherwise you'll be left trying to catch the smooth round surface of the back of the hat.
Once you've mastered this one it's a trivial task to start by pinching the back of the hat and flicking it to a catch on the front.
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04-12-2015
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Hold the hat in an inside grip. Put the other arm out at an angle and twist the hand round so it faces backwards. Place the hat on the upper arm and let it roll down to a catch in another inside grip. Repeat as often as you like by alternating sides.
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04-12-2015
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Hold the hat by the brim in an outside grip with the crown facing forwards.
Swing your arm up infront of you, until your hand is about eye level, with the hat tilting slightly upwards. If you let go at the top of the swing, the hat's momentum should carry it through, and it will roll down your arm.
The movement that follows is similar to the one arm tumble. Look down your arm, tuck your chin in, and raise your arm slightly so that the hat rolls downhill and on to your head.
Once you can do that, try throwing the hat from your left hand, and using the right hand to guide it into a dynamic arm tumble.
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04-12-2015
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It's easier to spin a ball on your finger than a hat, so click here to learn to spin a ball first. Once you've got that solid it should be easy to transfer the skill over to your hat.
It's easier with a bowler as the hat will dent slightly and sit on the finger better.
00:09
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04-12-2015
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Hold the hat out in front of you, in an inside grip so that the brim is horizontal, and the crown is on top.
Pull back on the hat as you throw it, so that it floats, without spinning and catch it on your head. Here's what it looks like from the inside.
The key to the trick seems to be to keep the hat level, and pull it towards you as you let go. That and luck, and/or practice.
00:02
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04-12-2015
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After getting the hat to your foot (the knock to foot is the most common way, but there are plenty of others) you can hop and quickly remove your foot from the hat. Quickly get your throwing foot onto the ground and place the other foot inside the hat. As you can see from the video the hat stays fairly still and it's you that does all the movement.
This video of the hat being spun as it is thrown between the feet should give you some ideas for variations on this trick.
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04-12-2015
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This one is quite easy, assuming you can already do a forward roll from a standing position.
So, learn to do a forward roll from a standing position (get a gymnast to teach you :-) then put a hat on the floor in front of you, with the opening facing skywards and give it a go!
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04-12-2015
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Full arm roll - Roll the hat from hand to hand along outstretched arms
Hold the hat with the crown back in an outside grip in your outstretched right hand. Flick the hat so that it spins up onto the arm and rolls across the back of the neck (make sure the head is ducked forward out of the way) and down the other arm.
As the hat reaches the other wrist bend the hand up and catch it in a inside grip.
Make sure the arms are sloped so that the hat is always rolling "downhill", and practice, practice, practice - this is a difficult trick.
From the TricksWithHats archive
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1974
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04-12-2015
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Full arm roll (backhand release) - Roll the hat from hand to hand along outstretched arms
Hold the hat with the crown back in an inside grip in your outstretched right hand. Flick the hat so that it spins up out of the back of your hand onto the arm and rolls across the back of the neck (make sure the head is ducked forward out of the way) and down the other arm.
As the hat reaches the other wrist bend the hand up and catch it in a inside grip.
Make sure the arms are sloped so that the hat is always rolling "downhill", and practice, practice, practice - this is a difficult trick.
From the TricksWithHats archive
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06-12-2015
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Place your palm flat on the back of the head for a neck chop and knock the hat upwards with the little finger side of the hand.
A few tries and you will see how much force is required to get it to spin 3/4 and land on your foot. You need to flex your foot as much as possible to stop it slipping off.
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Hold the arm out to the side and move the head so that you are looking directly along the arm.
Use the neck chop to knock the hat and a let it roll down the arm. Catch it with an inside grip.
Raise the arm up and flick the hat back along it. Tuck the chin in beside the shoulder as the hat gets close and it will pop back onto the head.
The key to this trick is to move your arm so that the hat is always rolling "downhill".
00:03
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04-12-2015
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Onehanded, Continuous Tumbles - The hat keeps tumbling, in your hand, continuously, infinitely, forever, or at least until you stop.
This trick is an extension of the Tumble - so go learn that one now.
You'll notice that after you have performed a tumble, you are holding the hat the wrong way round to perform a second tumble immediately after it. This is where the extension comes in.
During the first tumble (which is a standard tumble), the hat rotates 1.5 times. The second tumble is similar, but the hat is thrown without a change in grip, it still does 1.5 spins, which means that it is now facing the same way as when you started!
Inorder to give yourself space for the second tumble, it feels like you need to throw it a tiny bit higher or faster.
Try to make it all flow together into a continuous movement, the hat shouldn't ever pause, the hand acts more as a guide to keep it rotating in the right direction.
A nice variation on this is to tumble the hat infront of you, switching hands between tumbles.
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06-12-2015
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Use a palm-up fork grip at the back of the hat and remove it, straightening the arm. As the arm straightens twist the wrist and take the ring finger off the brim. Spin the hat so that it moves between the middle and forefingers, then transfer the grip to the forefinger and thumb and continue the spin for as far as you can.
Reverse the "twiddle" to place it back on the head.
The main video clip for this trick doesn't show the fingers in any great detail. See the closeup version (120K mpeg) for a better view. For best results you might want to set your video player to loop the clip.
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15-03-2015
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Steve Rawlings showed me this trick in Birmingham and said that he used to do it in every show, but now that he's older (and a little rounder :-) he can't get it every time any more. Steve uses a china plate for this trick, but it works with hats too which is why it's here! :-)
Take the hat in your right hand, using an inside grip and hold it so that the crown of the hat is facing to the left.
Throw the hat virtically with some spin, and then do the following while the hat is in the air...
Put your right hand between your legs
Take the hand around the back of the right leg
Stand on your left leg and move the right hand & foot behind the left leg
Then, catch the descending hat in your right hand, from that position. Without falling over.
Top Tips: Practice the "tangle yourself up" bit first without the catch. Keep your eye on the hat as it decends, practice loads...
Luke Burrage managed to get this on video within 30 minutes. I've been trying for weeks and can't do it. It's pretty hard.
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15-03-2015
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The hatstand made its debut at chocfest 7, where I was compering. After a period of prototyping and refining, I built the version that worked. I demoed this a couple of times then it broke. I replaced the elastic and set it up for the big day, used it on stage and it worked, then broke next time I used it.
Be prepared to spend significant tinkering time in between uses, and for frequent breakdowns. That said, it's never let me down when I've needed it.
All in all I've found it a great way to get chicks[1], if you don't count the long evenings spent honing the design and strewing the house with geeky construction equipment, and the fact you'll be laughed out of most nightclubs if you go in wearing a topper. But on stage it works, and it has drawn admiring glances from fellow jugglers and even won us a bag full of croissants on one occasion.
Sweavo, June 2003
[1] facts may vary
From the TricksWithHats archive
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24-01-2015
[1]
The Shuffle - Another three hat juggling trick - this time it's the half shower
This is a variation of a jugglers' trick called the Half Shower.
Start with one hat on the head, and one in each hand, held in an outside grip. Throw one hat across the body, flat, with no spin. As soon as you've let go of this hat, take off the one on your head with your now-empty hand. The other hand slaps/places its hat onto the head, just in the nick of time to then catch the first (thrown) hat. You should now be back where you started.
The timing is a little odd for this one, but just remember "Throw.... take....place....catch", and you'll get it.
From the TricksWithHats archive
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06-12-2015
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Throw to Foot - Throw the hat to your foot as if it was a hatstand.
Hold the hat crown up above the shoulder with an inside grip.
Lift the leg and keep it straight, flexing the foot as much as you can. With a flick of the wrist throw the hat straight to the foot with a single spin.
This trick looks best if the throw is as straight as possible.
Foot to Head is a nice return trick from here.
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15-03-2015
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Hold your hat crown up in an inside grip with the fingers spread as wide as you can. Throw the hat gently towards your head with a bit of spin.
Look up towards the hat as it spins and move your body (and feet if necessary) so that your head is beneath it. As the hat lands, nod your head forward so that you are looking straight ahead.
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15-03-2015
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