Multiplex (juggling)
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Multiplexing is a form of toss juggling with multiple balls thrown and/or caught at one time by the same hand. Perhaps the simplest multiplex pattern is to juggle a three-ball cascade pattern with 4 balls, where two of the balls are treated like one ball, and thrown and caught together.
It may be worth reading up on multiplex siteswap notation to gain a greater understanding of the throws involved. The general idea of multiplex notation is that the throws are written together, inside square brackets, to indicate that more than one ball is thrown from the hand at the same time.
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[edit] Terminology used for the number of balls in the hand
A 'duplex' is when two balls are thrown/caught by the hand. A 'triplex' is when three balls are thrown/caught by the hand. A 'quadruplex' is when four balls thrown/caught by the hand. In the rare case that five balls are thrown/caught by the hand, 'quintiplex' is used.
[edit] Terminology used for the types of throws
A 'stack' throw is where two or more balls are treated like one ball and thrown and caught together by the same/opposite hand. With a stack throw, the difference between the highest and lowest number in the site-swap is equal to zero i.e. [44]
A 'split' throw is where two or more balls are thrown together, like a stack, but then split so that the balls are caught in opposing hands. The difference between the highest and lowest number in the site-swap is equal to one i.e. [43]
A 'cut' throw acts just like a stack throw, where all the balls are thrown and caught by the same/opposite hand, with the exception that they aren't caught together. The lower ball(s) is/are caught first (sometimes grabbed out of the air) and then re-thrown before the remaining ball(s) is/are caught. The difference between the highest and lowest number in the site-swap is equal to two i.e. [42]
In the case of triplexes, a 'cut' and a 'split' throw can be combined. This throw is referred to as a 'cut-split' indicating that both types of throw are involved. The site-swap [432] is a 'cut-split' throw where three balls are thrown together, with two balls acting like a cut throw (the [42]), and the remaining ball acting like a split throw which is caught in the opposing hand.
A 'greater split' throw acts just like a split, however, the split is greater. The difference between the highest and lowest number in the site-swap is equal to three i.e. [41]
[edit] Additional terminology
A 'fork catch' is where one ball is caught normally and then a second ball is caught, by straightening the index and ring finger to trap it, on the back of the hand.
A 'squeeze catch' is where two or more balls are caught in the hand simultaneously on the same beat. If a stack throw was time-reversed, then it would look like a squeeze catch.
[edit] Difficulty levels
Multiplexing is a style of juggling with a strong emphasis on technical catching due to multiple balls being caught in a single hand. The following table illustrates the level of difficulty for each catch technique. Since this is an indicator of technique difficulty, you may find that a 6 ball trick can be technically harder than an 8 ball trick.
Level 1: 1 ball caught with 1 ball held
Level 2: 2 balls caught
Level 3: 1 ball caught with 2 balls held
Level 4: 2 balls caught with 1 ball held
Level 5: 3 balls caught
Level 6: 1 ball caught with 3 balls held
Level 7: 2 balls caught with 2 balls held
Level 8: 3 balls caught with 1 ball held
Level 9: 4 balls caught
