Siteswapping
is aerial sculpting using a mathematic system
to juggle the balls
If
you are familiar with siteswaps and you want
to skip to the technical nitty gritty, see
the links below.
If you are looking for a specific trick, do
a search using the keyword "Siteswap".
Otherwise, read on.
Before you can juggle siteswaps, you need
an explanation of the some of the basic lingo:
BASIC
LINGO
If you are juggling 3 balls in a standard
Cascade pattern, this is a 3.
If you are juggling 4 balls in a standard
Fountain pattern, this is a 4.
If you are juggling 5 balls in a standard
Cascade pattern, this is a 5.
If you are juggling 6 balls in a standard
Fountain pattern, this is a 6. Etc.
PATTERNS
Siteswaps are written as a series of numbers.
For example, If you were to juggle a 345 pattern
(aka 534) starting with your right hand, you
would throw
a 3 with your right hand,
a 4 with your left hand,
a 5 with your right hand,
(starting over now)
a 3 with your left hand,
a 4 with your right hand,
a 5 with your left hand and so on.
(You would need to start with 3 balls in the
right hand to do this trick or you would need
to "Enter" the trick with another
siteswap throw or two)
The
siteswaps 7571 and 757515 produce the following
technically difficult 5 ball patterns:
|
|
The
1 1/2 Shower
7571 |
The
alternative 1 1/2 Shower
757515 |
PERIODS
This simply indicates how long the siteswap
is - for instance, 423, 441, and 774 are all
period 3 siteswaps.
MULTIPLEXES
[3,5] indicates that you need to throw two
balls with the same hand at the same time
- in this case, a crossing column Multiplex.
Multiplex
Averaging: Add up all the #s, divide by #
of throw times, not # of balls thrown. e.g.,
in the 5-ball multiplex [23], divide 2+3 by
1, not by 2. Valid pattern: # of balls landing
at a given time is the same as the # of balls
being thrown.
Here
is some information that I found on a website
that is no longer online:
MAKING
YOUR OWN SITESWAPS
The
first and easiest way to find new siteswaps
is the substitute equivilant numbers in a
common pattern.
For example, the pattern 7333 can be made
into 7441, because the 441 is equivilant to
the 333.
This usually works, but you still should check
it to make sure that no two throws land on
the same beat.
Using this method, the valid patterns are
7126, 7333, 7423, 7441, 7522, and 7531.
You can also add a four on the end to all
of these patterns to make them travel in both
directions.
Another
way to make your own siteswap patterns is
to combine two patterns.
For example, 441+531=441531. You can add another
3 to the end to make it easier.
The third way to make a siteswap is to add
a number to the pattern. This number must
be the numerical value of how many balls there
is in the original pattern so that the numerical
average remains the same.
This way doesn't always work, so it's best
to check it. For example, you can't add a
3 to 504 or 612, nor can you add a 4 to 6055
or 62345.
Adding a number to an even numbered siteswap
usually gives you a tougher pattern, but makes
it look much better, while adding a number
to an odd-numbered siteswap lessens the difficulty
and makes the pattern look easier.
IDEAS YOU MAY NOT FIND ANYWHERE ELSE
1. Every even numbered throw can be replaced
by a hold (although it will be a long hold
if it is not a 2 and there may be a problem
catching another ball and placing it back
in the pattern if there is a catch between
beats with a 4 or 6 so the siteswap will need
to have a 42, 40, 622 or something similar
in order of this to work ...)
2. Every odd numbered throw can be replaced
by a chop and hold by increasing the height
of a throw (which would be followed by a 2
or 0, etc.) - again, too large of numbers
will need to be held too long and catches
between beats will be a problem so this is
only practical for siteswaps with 522 or something
similar.
3. Every 3 can be Shuffled.
4. Every 4 (or 5 or 6 ...) can be replaced
with a drop to the foot returned by a Kickup
(See Zak Eden's footbag video for a great
example of this). Michael Karas has also suggested
that the 42 of Burke's Barrage can be altered
by making the hold a quick throw to the same
hand.
5.
Large numbers (8s, 11s, etc.) can be thrown
and bounced instead of thrown really high.
AND
LASTLY
While siteswaps have revolutionized the juggling
world because many new patterns are being
juggled and discovered, it also appears to
be limiting the creative scope of many jugglers.
More and more often, the "New" tricks
that people discover are simply siteswaps
without any significant alteration. For instance,
Rubensteins Revenge is often simply considered
a pattern with 522 in it and the crossing
and uncrossing of the arms - a gross misunderstanding
of this trick. Try changing the other pillars
of juggling - body position, hand position,
catches, throws, etc. and you will make even
more unique tricks than simple siteswaps alone
can offer.
LINKS
|
| Ben
Beaver's Guide |
If
you are truly serious about learning siteswap
patterns and/or learning all of the mathematical
theories behind this stuff, see Siteswap
Ben's Guide to Juggling Patterns in PDF
format. Nothing else out there is this
thorough.
|
| Internet
Juggling Database |
As
usual, the IJDb has great content - check
out this information on siteswaps!
Also - don't miss the juggling wikki!!!!!
|
| Multiplex
Juggling |
Daniel
Marden's page on multiplex juggling.
|
| Cix.co.uk |
This
siteswapping page comes along with some
animation to help serve as a guide to
the perplexed. If siteswaps are a mystery
to you, check out this page first.
|
| Juggling.org
Siteswap Help |
Having
troubles? Try this site.
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|
