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Hold the hat by the brim with your left hand so that the crown of the hat is facing away from you. Take the stick in your right hand.
With a flick of your wrist, throw the hat up slightly so that it starts spinning anti-clockwise. As the hat descends, hit the brim with the stick slightly to the right of center, such that the stick curves slightly upwards and outwards. This will cause the hat to spin as it rises into the air. As it descends again, repeat the hitting action.
The idea of the basic spin is to keep the hat in the air by hitting it repeatedly with the stick in this manner. I find it helps if you look at the top portion of the inside of the hat.
Adjusting the spin rate and direction:
Hitting the hat nearer the center will give you a slower spin and more height, nearer the edge will give you a faster spin but less height. Obviously striking the left side of the brim will reverse the spin and cause the hat to go clockwise.
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:05
2847
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24-01-2015
[1]
Headstop Cascade - A three hat juggling pattern where each hat is thrown to the head.
This is a series of Throw To Heads, alternating hands, but immediately after you make the throw, you have to take off the hat on your head with the throwing hand.
00:00
1548
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04-12-2015
[0]
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.
00:06
1564
0
04-12-2015
[0]
One handed forward tumble - A one handed version of the forward tumble
First learn the forward tumble.
With practice you'll soon be able to quickly switch your grip and make it run one handed, as you can see in the video clip above.
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:03
1936
0
04-12-2015
[0]
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.
00:08
1801
0
06-12-2015
[0]
This is one of the videos that was filmed for our former site, TricksWithHats, which never went live. So it doesn't have a write-up and is presented here for posterity.
00:08
2336
0
06-12-2015
[0]
This is one of the videos that was filmed for our former site, TricksWithHats, which never went live. So it doesn't have a write-up and is presented here for posterity.
00:05
2057
0
06-12-2015
[0]
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.
00:06
2447
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15-03-2015
[0]
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
00:07
3182
1
24-01-2015
[1]
This is one of the videos that was filmed for our former site, TricksWithHats, which never went live. So it doesn't have a write-up and is presented here for posterity.
00:05
1245
0
15-03-2015
[0]
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
00:10
2692
0
06-12-2015
[0]
Thumb Spins - Spin the hat around your thumb
Hold the hat in an inside grip and spin it so the top of the brim stays in contact with the thumb. After a single spin catch it again in an inside grip.
Once you've mastered singles try longer spins. This trick is very versatile and can be used to add lots of flourishes. Try adding one in anywhere that you use an inside grip, or just throw one in with your hand outstretched or up above your head.
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:04
2019
0
15-03-2015
[0]
This is one of the videos that was filmed for our former site, TricksWithHats, which never went live. So it doesn't have a write-up and is presented here for posterity.
00:07
1759
0
06-12-2015
[0]
This is one of the videos that was filmed for our former site, TricksWithHats, which never went live. So it doesn't have a write-up and is presented here for posterity.
00:05
1620
0
06-12-2015
[0]
This is one of the videos that was filmed for our former site, TricksWithHats, which never went live. So it doesn't have a write-up and is presented here for posterity.
00:07
1808
0
06-12-2015
[0]
Twiddled Big Circles - A trickier but nicer version of Big Circles
Big Circles is a big, visual trick, but the grip change can be slightly ungainly. The twiddle that this trick adds gives a similar effect but has a smoother, if slightly more difficult, change.
Mike and LP disagree on the best way to do this - LP's way, shown in the video clip above, is to do a finger twiddle, as described in the Forward Twiddle when the hat is at the top of the circle. Mike uses a Thumb Spin to adjust the grip.
Try both and decide which feels more comfortable to you, there's little point getting both smooth as they look identical to anyone except a hat manipulation geek, and there aren't many of them in the world!
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:05
1813
0
15-03-2015
[0]
This is one of the videos that was filmed for our former site, TricksWithHats, which never went live. So it doesn't have a write-up and is presented here for posterity.
00:03
1742
0
15-03-2015
[0]
Place the inside of the elbow against the forehead and duck your head down out of the hat. The little drop to the side in the video clip is based on a move normally done with plates.
This trick links nicely to levitation.
00:04
1600
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04-12-2015
[0]
Hold the plate by it's edge and spin it so that the rim stays in contact with your thumb. After a single spin catch it again. Once you've mastered singles try longer spins. This trick is very versatile and can be used to add lots of flourishes.
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:03
1679
0
09-03-2015
[0]
Hold the plate by it's edge and spin it so that the rim stays in contact with your thumb. After a single spin catch it again. Once you've mastered singles try longer spins. This trick is very versatile and can be used to add lots of flourishes.
00:12
1385
0
09-03-2015
[0]
Slide the plate down your back and allow the plate to catch and stay in the back of your trousers. What comedy!
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:08
1679
0
09-03-2015
[0]
Start with plate flat on your right hand. Swing it in a full anti-clockwise circle, twisting your wrist over at the top so the plate finishes back in its original position with your shoulder and wrist twisted to support it. Reverse the move to unkink your arm.
It's also possible to stop the plate at the top of the circle and bring it back down the way it came.
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:03
1585
0
09-03-2015
[0]
Start with a normal right handed upward curl and as soon as the palm is facing forward at the top reach the left hand over and put it onto plate to the right of the right hand. Curl both hands round the front of the plate, which comes down in front of the belly, and then continue to bring the hands round to the back, pushing the plate back up to the left. Take the right hand off and do a left handed downward curl.
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:06
1623
0
09-03-2015
[0]
2 male Chinese acrobats performing with tridents. I do not know which troupe they are from.
This skill is sometimes called Fei-cha. It is a traditional Chinese acrobatic form. The tridents have loose elements at the head, which creates the characteristic jangling noise.
From a video titled Chinese Acrobatic Feats.
05:10
2258
0
04-09-2015
[0]
Solo female Chinese acrobat performing with tridents. I do not know which troupe she is from.
This skill is sometimes called Fei-cha. It is a traditional Chinese acrobatic form. The tridents have loose elements at the head, which creates the characteristic jangling noise.
From a video titled Beijing Magic Shows.
03:38
2464
0
04-09-2015
[0]
