History

The first flaring in Joe & The Juice already started back in our very first bar. In 2003, Basse made a rule to only allow Pippo and Snoop to serve juice if the cup was grabbed from the top shelf and caught behind their back. The juice cups were made of glass back then, meaning most of the time the floor was covered in broken glass. Basse lived up to his own rule as well, which meant he would smash several glass cups before he served the juice.

We have always been very competitive in Joe & The Juice. The earliest evidence of this is our obsession with speed and measure. A long time before the first Show Off was held we had Speed Sessions. This was a competition for making 3-5 juice as fast and perfect as possible. It was always about finding out who was the fastest but we soon found new challenges within making juice that evolved it into the flair we know of today.

The first Show Off was held back in 2013. It was sort of a speed session but Juicers were also given points for best ambience and tricks. If you compare the tricks from 2013 to the level we are at now it is clear that the flaring has developed immensely and become deeply ingrained into our culture. The competition has grown even fiercer in 2017. With more wanting to be the next flair champion of their market to get the chance to compete at our Global Show Off event.

It takes a lot more than catching a cup behind the back to take home the trophy. The level is going up every year and it takes many hours of practice before even having a chance to win.

Mind-Set

A couple of things need to be considered when deciding you want to learn the art of flaring. Firstly, accept that becoming good at anything takes commitment. No one ever jumped into a new area and just nailed it from day 1. It takes many hours of practice before you finally get the nag of it. Ask yourself why you want to master flaring and then stick to it.

Muscle Memory

Before you start flaring, knowing about muscle memory will be an advantage for you. To master one trick or a move you need to land it 10.000 times successfully. The rule of 10.000 seems insurmountable to overcome and achieve so you need to accept that you cannot master the trick overnight. It takes a relentless practice of the same movement again and again for months before you master the trick. The reason why this works is that when a movement is repeated over time, long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum proficiency within the motor and memory systems. Examples of this would be walking, running, or bicycling – once you master it, you do not have to think of it to perform.

So, even though you have landed a trick once or twice, you still need to practice it continuously until you have successfully landed it 10.000.

Flair Philosophy

Simple but Effective

Flair is impressive because it shows skill and dedication but it is also the way the trick is performed that can really impress people. If it takes all your concentration and effort to produce a trick that looks shaky then it does not look as impressive as it could. What makes a good flair trick is confidence with a fast and effortless movement, just as an instinctive reaction. Sometimes simple quick tricks can look much more impressive than some advanced trick. It is the rigid movement with an effortless motion that really is the key to any flaring trick. Always keep this in mind when practicing or performing flair.

Linking Tricks to a Routine

Although a trick is performed successfully, it is only 1 trick. What really impresses, is when more than 1 trick can be linked up to a routine of several tricks. This can make basic flaring look dramatic because it fuses the tricks to a bigger trick. An example of this is ‘Cradle to Snatch ended with a Flip’. These three basic tricks done together with a smooth motion creates a routine. Try to mix and match different tricks to create new exciting flair and perhaps one day a trick will be named after you.

2 Types of Flair

It’s important to understand that there are 2 types of flaring, Flair in the bar and Flair at a Show Off competition.

1) Show Off Flair

The difference here is that you can be more innovative and free when performing flair at the Show Off because there are no guests drinking the juice you make. Another point is that no guests are waiting for the drink to be served, which gives time to perform more extensive tricks and link them up into a routine that takes a lot of experience to master.

2) In-Bar Flair

The flair that we have most frequently is the everyday flair in the bars. Here the flair needs to be efficient, meaning that every trick should have a purpose or suit the actual sequence of making a juice for waiting guests. For example, when grabbing the blender from the blender station you could make a ‘Switch’ to do it with style or if you need 3 ice cubes for a ‘DOC’ you could ’Ice Cubing’ all 3 into the blender and then move over to centrifuge and continue with the juice. With these examples, every trick moves you further in the process of making the actual juice. The point is that bar flaring should not compromise the waiting time for our guests.

How To Improve Your Flair

When you get a bit more into the flair universe you will experience times where 1 or more tricks are challenging for you to land. Don’t worry about that, it happens to everyone – even the Juicer who won the Global Show Off Competition. Here are some tips for you to use whenever you need advice for advancing in the art of flaring.

Analyze And Break Down Tricks

If you have difficulties landing a trick, stop up and break down the trick into smaller pieces to practice shorter sequences until it becomes second nature. Once mastered, gather all the sequences together again to perform as one full trick.

Not the Catch But the Throw / Flip

A trick is not performed successfully based on the catch that you make but rather your ability to make a good throw/flip. Most tricks start with a throw. That throw determines the success of the trick. If you make a bad throw you are more likely not to catch the blender but if you make a good throw then you have positioned the blender in the air so you are able to catch it successfully again. Keep this in mind when practicing new tricks.

Practise Advanced Tricks Through Routines

If you are reasonable in flaring but want to perform a more advanced trick, do so by creating a routine. Add some simple tricks to the start before leading into the trick, which you have issues with, as the last trick of the routine. This way you build your confidence up from landing all the tricks leading up to the difficult trick which you are actually practicing. This also creates flow and confidence in your overall flair. If you do not land the trick at the end it was still a successful practice for all the other tricks you did land. Another point is that while you work on a difficult trick you also improve the execution of your basic tricks and your ability to perform a routine, which can over time help you create your own flaring style. A win-win situation!

Make A Training Plan

To become more consistent in flaring you should plan in your training. The training plan always reminds you of your training, gives you focus, creates a serious approach but also sets the expectations for what you want to achieve with the flaring. A training plan is a crucial discipline when preparing to win a Show Off competition. Schedule in times of the day where you will practice a specific new trick for 10 minutes. Make sure to set achievable goals for these sessions such as, “land the trick successfully 5 times” or ”Successfully perform a 5-trick routine 5 times in a row”. Sometimes it can be difficult to link up tricks together so it is also something that you could put into your training session. 10 minutes every day will accumulate into many successful landings very quickly and expand your repertoire so you can separate yourself from the rest of the flaring Juicers. To keep yourself even sharper it is also important to schedule sessions where you practice basic as well as advanced tricks you’ve already mastered. This way you are continuously adding to your confidence level while getting closer to perfection through the ’10.000 Rule’.

The Tricks

To establish and cultivate the entire culture of flaring we have classified all tricks into 6 categories:

1) CUP TRICKS
– Heli-cuptor
– Behind the back

2) APPLE TRICKS
– Double funk

3) BLENDER TRICKS
– Flip
– Switch

4) ICE CUBE TRICKS
– Cradle
– Bucket
– Snatch
– Ice cubing

5) POURING TRICKS
– Split pour
– Elbow pour

6) OIL BOTTLE TRICKS
– Flanagan

This trick list will forever be updated whenever Juicers submit a trick into one of the 6 categories. These tricks will be named by the inventor and kept in the database to create a mutual understanding of what flaring is through the same lingo/language (name-calling the tricks). This way we can all construct the JOE & THE JUICE flair universe and continuously inspire each other by breaking the barriers and setting new standards for what is possible to do with a blender.

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