Hi, folks!

This year, the annual IJA Video Tutorial Contest drew 53 entries from 12 countries, spanning toss juggling, contact juggling, hooping, diabolo, rolling paper manipulation, knot throwing, and many other disciplines. That’s a watershed number of countries involved with this project, covering a huge range of disciplines! This year’s entries can all be seen on the IJA’s YouTube Channel.

Thanks to everyone who entered this contest! With your help, we’re making the juggling community an even friendlier place to be by encouraging skill-sharing and collaboration through the web. Many thanks also to the crack team of expert judges who volunteered their time to help assemble this list of winning videos! And, of course, many, many, many thanks to our generous sponsors, without whom the contest simply wouldn’t exist!

If you have enjoyed this contest, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the IJA’s Video Tutorial Contest. All proceeds go directly towards covering overhead costs and the development of the program in future years. Donations over $5 also receive a special gift! Donate now!

Without further ado, here are the winners of the 3rd Annual IJA Video Tutorial Contest!

–Thom

10. 3 Diabolos by Austin Bruckner (USA)

Santi – “I’m not an expert in diabolos, but I thought his technique was really good making his explanations very easy to follow, also he gave a lot of tips for common mistakes which I think has a thing lacking in most videos.”

Steve Ragatz – “Super clear and very valuable tutorial.”

Robin Chestnut – “Another tough move to explain, but well done.”

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9. Crossed Arm Box Thingy #2 by Jordan Campbell (USA)

Robin Chestnut – “Safari aside, this was a complex move, well explained and well demonstrated with good progressions. ”

Steve Hoggan – “Very pleasant to watch with fun surprises throughout. Clear explanations and positive vibes.”

Void – “Oh come on, you can’t even give your trick a name? Tsk. However, there was a good step-by-step breakdown of each stage, and tips for dos and don’ts. By the end of the video I felt like I had the trick clearly in my head, and could go off and learn it with a little persistence. The brief safari interludes were nice and short, which helped to break up the video in an interesting, but not too distracting, way. Good.”

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8. Partner Arm Weave Columns – Yuki Ueda (Canada)

Void – “Could have mentioned the timing of when to weave the arm. Although lacking differing angles and slomo shots, the one angle used was quite clear, and the whole pattern easily understood. Good.”

Steve Hoggan – “Great production value, simple and fun concept. A quick and interesting watch!”

Santi – “I loved this idea, simple enough for begginers and with lots of possibilities for advanced jugglers, and the explanation was very easy to follow.”

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7. Paper Helicopter Manipulation – Yuki Ueda (Canada)

Santi – “In fun factor this was my favorite video, the camera and edition are great, but I felt that it was a tutorial on how to fold the paper to make it fly, some tips on the actual manipulation of the papers and this video would’ve been at the top spots of my list.”

Paul Seward – “Gorgeously shot and edited. The folding is clearly illustrated, as are the possibilities.”

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6. Four Count Blind Passes – Brian Thompson (USA)

Paul Seward – “Possibly the clearest description of a passing trick I’ve seen in a long time. The solo prep work is useful, relevant and clearly explained. Nothing is over complicated.”

Santi – “Very clear tutorial on a subject that’s rarely seen in passing tutorials which usually are about patterns.”

Bill Berry – “Personable, inspiring, good teacher, funny.”

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5. Neck Shower – Vasil Magaranov (Bulgaria)

Santi – “I loved the simplicity and clearness of this one, very precise and helpful tips (like the use of the chair), and the lines in the edition and camera angles help a lot to make the position of the body and direction of throws very clear.”

Void – “Slightly disconcerting that the video was completely silent, but ultimately that didn’t matter. Covers all elements well, including building up from sitting to standing, 1 to 2 to 3 balls. Throw

positions and directions. All very clear and concise. Good.”

Steve Ragatz – “Innovative!”

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4. The Raditatical 7/8 Juggling Pattern – Bronkar Lee (USA)

Steve Ragatz – “Unique, excellent mastery of the technique, relevant content, though a bit obscure IMO”

Robin – “This video is a standout because Bronkar speaks so clearly and confidently about what he’s explaining. He introduces a new (new to me) idea (rhythmic juggling) and breaks it down nicely with a clear example of what he’s demonstrating. There’s no extra words and he has nice, that is nearly unnoticeable edits between speaking points. Plus he’s really sincere in what he’s teaching. I’d want to share this video. Good production, too.”

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3. The Triangle Wave (A 3-D 3-Ball Pattern) – Andrew Olson (USA)

Robin – “Again, a new concept that moved juggling forward, or at least into a different dimension.”

Santi – “This one was one of the most original concepts, but I found it very slow at the beggining and when the dificult part of the explanation started he went very fast, some slow motion and slower explanations would’ve been very helpful and made this video higher on my list.”

Void – “At first, I thought the HAL voice was a gimmick (well, it IS a gimmick…), but I soon found it mesmeric. Also, at first, I thought the 3D pattern was a gimmicky mess, but as the explanation progressed, I understood what was going on. Also, the explanation was quite clear, so I’m sure I could learn this pattern very easily. I would have shown the pattern with 3 different colour balls at at least one stage though, to emphasise how the balls move through ‘triangle wave’. Original (to me, at least) and Very Good.”

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2. How to Throw a Knot in a Rope – Bri Crabtree (USA)

Void – “Good presentation, fun stye, and covers the elements of the trick well. Perhaps could have used a “possible problems” section, but otherwise, Good.”

Steve Hoggan – “Wonderful video, absolutely delightful to watch! I’m wondering now how it didn’t place higher in my top ten… perhaps I felt it could have had a bit more content, but because of it’s brevity, simple concept, and production/entertainment value, I can see this video being enjoyed by a much larger audience than just fellow object manipulators.”

Paul Seward – “Nicely shot, and the steps are easy to understand and follow. Good use of editing to show you where to hit the rope etc.”

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1. Mills Mess Variations – Tim Dresser (Canada)

Void – “Good use of slomo, and clear vocal instructions. On first watch, I found myself getting slightly lost on some of the tricks towards the end of the video, but perhaps that is because I’d not bothered to learn the early ones first. Could have been improved slightly by adding the text name of a trick onscreen, and by showing each trick at full speed before using slomo. However, overall, Very Good.”

Steve Hoggan – “Very relaxing to watch. Great verbals and visuals with superb production and quality content!”

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People’s Choice Award – Dylan Luke – The Factory (Australia)

Honorable Mentions

Several judges commented on videos that didn’t make the top 10. Here are some of the runners-up! (In no particular order.)

– Darren and Zack Roll Around by Darren and Zack – “…by Bill and Ted, err, I mean Darren and Zack. I enjoyed watching this one a lot. The fun presentation style was also backed up with step-by-step details on the trick too. Very Good.”

– Poi Fishtails by Noel Yee – “Very clear instruction with gentle enthusiasm and a very positive overall vibe. Great concept for a tutorial, and the concept was explained in depth. (I can’t believe I picked a poi video as my #1!!!)”

– A three club trick by Pieter-Jan – “An original trick. Appropriate use of slomo, fairly good breakdown of the stages of the trick. Good. (But, having tried the trick… Ouch!!)”

– Why Not by Matt Wise and Shotaro Makisumi – “Incredibly clear and concise information. The t-shirts were a nice touch, and a good example of how something very simple can add to the overall production quality.”

– 5 ball juggling for the 4 ball juggler by Patrick Fraser – “Good clear voiceover commentary, well explained. Perhaps the pace could have been slightly slower, but then there’s always “rewind”, so

I don’t mind that so much. Framing was a little too tight, as the catch/throw positions of the hands could not always be clearly seen. Variations 3 & 4 were a little rushed. However, overall, Quite Good.”

– How to Roll a Hoop by Kyle Johnson – “Very, very thorough instruction, with some subtleties that added greatly to the overall entertainment values.”

– Devilstick – Butterfly by Bravo Juggling – “Difficulty “Elemental”? I’m not sure about that, but it did build up well step-by-step from the basics. It would definitely have benefited from slomo shots (esp of the overhead shots), and perhaps some graphic arrows to emphasise the motions required. Good.” “Best production, clear instruction,

mastery of the trick, and relevant content.”

– Claymotion Building Blocks by Nathan Wakefield – “I particularly liked the format of this tutorial – introducing the basics of a broader concept without really focusing too much on any single trick. Very unique compared to standard ‘one-trick tutorials.'” “Very accessible, clear instruction, and presents a nice class of techniques.”

– Kansas City Juggling Club IJA Video Tutorial, Magic Gravity Ball Volume 1 by Kansas City Jugglers – “Wonderfully silly nonsense. I enjoyed it a lot, but no points for this comp.” “… the best laugh with their ball-on-a-stick sequence.” “Out of all the entries, I want to go hang out with the guys from Kansas more than anyone else!”

– Three Ball Eating and Vomiting Trick by Carey Pickford Jr. – ” …the best trick in the bunch, just not the best tutorial IMO… Great trick. Very good subject for a tutorial.”

–The Icelandic Shuffle in 45 Seconds by Beejay Joyer – “Short, sweet, killer ending. Made me laugh like a drain.”

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A huge thanks to all of our sponsors this year!