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Imagine doing a juggling trick so fantastic that you just couldn't keep it to yourself, you just had to show some other people. Your only problem? You can only do it once every 50 tries and you can never do it at all when someone watches you. Your solution? Get a video camera, sit it on a tripod and film yourself until you get it, then upload it onto the internet to make everyone think you can do the trick every time try.
The thing is, we KNOW you can't do it every time you try! It's simple to tell, we just look at your reaction to pulling off that trick, your little personal celebration.
Now I like to watch video clips of people doing cool tricks. I have a broadband conection at home and even the biggest files zip onto my screen in no time, so I've probably seen more than the average juggling interweb geek. My problem is that I often know the trick that is going to be done and have seen it before so I find myself waiting for the end of the trick, ready to slot the personal celebration into one of the following categories. I'll describe them here and also give some tips on how to make these work for you when you catch that mean trick you want on camera for the first time...
- Let me punch the air!
One of the most simple personal celebrations, punching the air is a world wide recognised arm motion expressing victory or achievement. See:
11 ball flash with two handed punch in the air.
7 ball flash with two handed punch in the air. Bonus points for synchronised punching.
- Yay! I'm so good, let me jump for joy!
This is a very widespread celebration. To perfect this technique it seems you have to grin, say something we can't hear because there is no sound on the video, skip a bit, dance in front of the camera even. The key to it is to look as camp as possible. Good exaples of this personal celebration:
Some guy in Japan doing a 7 ring pull down, then mincing.
5 ball siteswap trick with star jump to finish. Bonus points for the gay pink t-shirt.
- I'm the MAN!
A popular personal celebration, usually consisting of a gritting of teeth, a frown on the forehead, a macho man flex of the muscles. To get this one down you have to have ATTITUDE. Normally accompanies tricks which are very hard, and you know it, so a little contempt for the viewer sometimes doesn't go amiss. See:
11 ball juggling with classic forcefull discarding of props (delayed due to mind catching up with difficulty of tick).
- Did anyone else see me do that?
Ok, so you just got your best new trick on camera for the first time, and there were other people in the room. Did they see you get it? Did they? You hope they did... but did they see you? No.
Lots of jumping will make sure people know you did something good, even if they didn't see it.
Slight look out of corner of the eye, then on with the planned ending for a stupid trick.
- I messed up the finish of the trick so I cut it off while still juggling!
The non-existant personal celebration. A premature end to a juggling video clip is often to cover up the fact that there was a drop shortly afterwards but that was the best the juggler could do at the time. See:
5 ball multiplex with the end of the 5 ball run cut off because of a drop.
5 club trick that is so hard I think we'll let him off.
- That was easier than I thought it would be!
The anticlimatic personal celebration. You set up a video camera and expect to be standing in front of it for ages, but you get your trick right much sooner than you ever imagined. You don't even realise you've done the trick, so you better check...
18 ball passing record with dual disbelief factor.
6 ball flash in one hand that was meant to take more than one attempt.
- I just got that trick right and you go and...
The trick goes right, you know you'll not be able to do it again that day, even if you bother trying. Your problem? For some reason the end of your trick is obscured by a factor completely out of your control, messing up your personal celebration of choice. See:
Someone walks past just as you flash 6 big clubs.
11 ball flash and someone hits the camera with a club as the last ball is caught.
A very recent video has been brought to my attention which has a personal celebration to shame all others. It has to be included here just to show how important the personal celebration can be. This one takes up about three quarters of the entire vide clip:
7 ball force bounce with many bonus points for the nod to camera, bow, jump for joy, fumble, attitude and subtle punching of the air. The thing is I think by the end it has moved away from a personal celebration to just pissing about in front of a camera.
So, there you go. Some of the more amusing ways to finish off your juggling video clip with personal celebrations. Go for the above, or plan something new.
But whatever you do, don't go for the effect that so many people strive to do; keep calm throughout the video, don't change facial expression, don't look at the camera and certainly never smile. This is to fool us all into thinking they do the trick ever day, time after time, no problemo mate. But we know better. Oh yes. If that's true, why not do it for an audience who can congratulate you at the time?
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