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Forward Twiddle - Twiddle the hat off the head and back on. It's got comedy potential too! Allegedly.
Use a palm-up fork grip on both sides the hat, and lift it off the head. Remove the ring fingers from the brim and twist the hat between the fore and middle fingers. Stop the spin by gripping the brim between the fore fingers and thumb.
Reverse the process to return the hat to the head.
You can get an easy laugh by getting the return part wrong and pretending to hit yourself in the face.
Jon Lockwood (of Mushy Pea Juggling fame, now working as with "Company of Fools") did lots of hat workshops at juggling conventions in the mid to late 1990's and started Mike and LP out on the hat road. This was often the first trick he taught...so it's Jon and this trick that ultimately led to the creation of this site. Thanks Jon!
From the TricksWithHats archive
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1802
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15-03-2015
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cool trick + random routine
01:07
2375
1
02-10-2012
[3]
Footage from a short session trying some of the more challenging tricks I can do complete with little subtitles that pop up as the tricks occur. Fun fun. :)<br>The music is a piece of junk that I made in garage band - Enjoy!
02:26
3590
2
21-06-2010
[3]
Four tricks by Mike Moore
01:44
1779
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05-05-2018
[2]
A taste of what to expect from the full length "Tricks With Hats" video - now available as a download from www.greenvideo.co.uk/hats
03:34
10472
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27-06-2007
[2]
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
00:04
1969
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04-12-2015
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Backseat - A pair of throws and catches that Mike discovered while sitting in the back of a car.
Grab the side of a hat in a pinch grip, and carry it down in front of you so the crown is downwards. Flick it up so it spins 360 degrees, and catch it in another pinch grip at the back of the hat. Quickly push it up and forward, spinning the hat 180 degrees and catch in a pinch grip once again.
Stick it back on your head.
To perform the trick most effectively aim for one slick movement rather than two separate parts.
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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Can Opener - Literally flipping your lid!
Reach over your shoulder and head, and hold the hat in an inverted pinch grip
Flick the wrist upwards and release the hat, which will execute a perfect single spin (honest). Coat-peg catch above your head.
Minus five style points if you have to look...
Plus 10 points if you can catch the hat on your head blind, and without the coat-peg grip.
From the TricksWithHats archive
00:09
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04-12-2015
[0]
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
00:04
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04-12-2015
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A nice variation on the Coat Peg.
Hold the hat in an inside grip at waist height and throw it upwards with half a spin.
As the hat flies upwards quickly stick your throwing hand up in the air and catch it.
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.
00:03
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04-12-2015
[0]
First do the coatpeg with your left hand. Then drop the hat straight down, and catch it with the right hand behind the back.
Place it back on the head.
00:05
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04-12-2015
[0]
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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At some point, your hat will end up on the floor and you'll want it back in your hand. You could just bend down and pick it up (boring!), use a normal foot to head (less boring, but relatively easy) or you could use this little move... (Far more studly way to kick a hat :-)
Place the hat on the floor, to your left, crown downwards and the opening tilting slightly towards you.
Point your right toe, and bring it behind your left leg. Place your right toe into the opening of the hat, and give it a quick upwards flick. With luck (and practice :-) you can make the hat jump up into your left hand.
Top tip: If the hat isn't quite in the right position, you can use your right foot to move it around a bit before kicking.
Bonus points: Do it without falling over about 20 times whilst filming the damn clip for your website...
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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.
00:06
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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
1650
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06-12-2015
[0]
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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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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3054
1
24-01-2015
[1]
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
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1853
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15-03-2015
[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
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1644
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15-03-2015
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While walking forward grip the front of the brim (using any grip you like) with the right hand and the back of the hat with the left. Stop when your right foot is forward and lift up onto the toes. Hold the hat still above the head and pivot round so the left foot and hand are now in front of you. You can continue walking or turn back and forth on the spot.
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15-03-2015
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Place the back of one hand against the front of the crown and the palm of the other hand against the back of the hat. Lift the hat off and roll the hands round each other so that the hat tumbles through one complete spin as you carry the hat down to waist level.
Reverse the process to return the hat to the head.
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15-03-2015
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