List of siteswaps facts for kids

This picture shows how high each throw goes in a siteswap.

This shows a complex passing pattern with 5 jugglers and 15 balls! <3p3|3p4|3p5|3p1|3p2><3|3|3|3|3><3|3|3|3|3><3|3|3|3|3>

Juggling is a fun skill, and a siteswap is like a secret code that describes how to juggle different patterns. It uses numbers to tell you when and how high to throw each ball or prop. This list helps you understand many common juggling patterns by their siteswap code.

Some juggling tricks need more balls than you have hands. For example, throwing one ball back and forth isn't usually called a "valid" juggling pattern in siteswap. Patterns that are just for practice or aren't "valid" siteswaps are marked with an "X".

Here's what the numbers and symbols in siteswap mean:

• 0 = This means your hand is empty, or you're resting.
• 1 = This is a quick toss from one hand to the other.
• 2 = This means you hold a prop in one hand and don't toss it.
• 3 = This is a standard toss, like in a 3-ball cascade. The ball goes from one hand to the other.
• 4 = This is a toss that goes up and comes back down to the same hand, like in a fountain or columns pattern.
• 5 = This is a high toss that goes from one hand to the other.
• And so on... higher numbers mean higher throws!
• a = This is used for the number 10, meaning a very high toss.

Here are some special symbols you might see:

Asynchronous Juggling Patterns

Animations

The 531 pattern

A 5-ball cascade

A 7-ball cascade

In an asynchronous juggling pattern, your hands take turns throwing. One hand throws, then the other, and so on.

A pattern is called symmetrical (S) if both your hands do the exact same thing, just at different times. It's asymmetrical (A) if your hands do different things. For asynchronous patterns, if the pattern repeats after an odd number of throws (its "period"), it's usually symmetrical. If it repeats after an even number of throws, it's usually asymmetrical.

Synchronous Juggling Patterns

(6x,4)(4,2x)(4,6x)(2x,4)

In a synchronous juggling pattern, both of your hands throw props at the exact same time.

A synchronous pattern is symmetrical if the throws made by your right hand are the same as those made by your left hand, just in a rotated order.

Passing Juggling Patterns

Animations

<3p2|3p1|3><3|3|3><3p3|3|3p1><3|3|3>

<3|3p3|3p2|3><3|3|3|3><3p2|3p1|3p4|3p3><3|3|3|3>

Four-count

Passing is when two or more jugglers throw props to each other. Siteswaps for passing patterns use special symbols to show when a prop is thrown to another person.

Ladder Diagrams

Ladder diagrams are visual ways to show how juggling patterns work. They use lines to represent the path of each prop over time.