Reverse Factory

Other Tutorials:

Guillaume Riesen (video)

     The Reverse Factory is, as it sounds, a time-reversed variation of the Factory. Instead of raising a ball up and dropping it, you instead grab a ball out of the air and then carry it back down. This offers a very interesting twist on the original pattern, while still maintaining the same sense of rigidity and angularity.

    To begin learning the Reverse Factory, start with one ball in each hand. Rotate your dominant hand so that your palm is facing down, and then simultaneously make a vertical throw from each hand. Maintain the upward motion of your dominant hand and grab the ball thrown from your non-dominant hand as it reaches its peak. As the other ball descends, shift your dominant hand horizontally such that it returns to the dominant side of your body while still remaining up in the air, catching the other ball with your non-dominant hand as your dominant hand completes its motion.
    Practice this step extensively, so that it feels very natural. To add in the third ball, start with two balls in your non-dominant hand and one ball in your dominant. Make the same two throws that you did in the previous step and then perform the same horizontal carry, but before you catch the ball thrown from your dominant hand make a second vertical throw from your non-dominant hand at the same height and position as the first. This will clear space for your non-dominant hand to catch the ball thrown from your dominant hand at the start. At this point your dominant hand should have finished its horizontal shift and the ball just thrown from your non-dominant hand should be reaching its peak. As that ball descends you are going carry the ball in your dominant hand downward vertically at the same speed such that the two balls remain horizontally aligned. You will then catch the last ball with your non-dominant hand.
    Practice this until it is comfortable. For the last step you are going to make a third vertical throw from your non-dominant hand along the center of your body as the second ball thrown from your non-dominant hand descends toward it. This throw will then be caught by your non-dominant hand.
    You have just completed one full cycle of the Reverse Factory. To begin another cycle, simply make another set of simultaneous vertical throws and catch the middle ball with your non-dominant hand. The Reverse Factory is a rare yet fairly easy pattern to learn, good for a beginner who wants something more interesting.