Burke's Barrage

Burke's Barrage

Minimum prop #: 3

Difficulty: 4/10[1] (note: difficulty ratings are arbitrary and subject to change)

Siteswap: 423

Notes: symmetrical, asynchronous

Ladder diagram for Burke's barrage: 423

Burke's Barrage is a juggling pattern in toss juggling named after its inventor, Ken Burke.^[2] It is popular among jugglers for its impressive arm moves, but not considered difficult to master compared to more complex patterns like Rubenstein's Revenge, for example.^[3]

Pattern

The pattern involves 3 ball throws, and can be explained using a juggling term called a site swap sequence, which represents the heights of the three basic throws. The siteswap sequence for Burke's Barrage is 423. The four represents a ball thrown at the height of a four-ball fountain. This ball stays on one side of the body while in the air and is thrown and caught by the same hand. The two does not represent a throw, but the circular motion of a hand carrying a ball through the pattern. The three represents a ball thrown at the typical height of a 3-ball cascade.

The idea is to throw the four, then the three, and when the first ball is caught, to make a large circle around the ball on the three. Each four should be caught with a claw catch. In other words, each four throw is snatched with the palm facing down. The palm is turned to face up as the hand rotates around in its circular motion.

When Ken Burke himself juggles it, the circular carry passes between the 3 and the other 4, rather than around both of them.

It has nothing to do with Luke Burrage, although he invented a juggling trick quite similar to Burke's Barrage, which he also named Burke's Burrage. It is the same as a Burke's Barrage, but instead of making a large circle around the ball on the three, the ball is just put to the side, which makes a more geometrical impression.

References

1. "Burke's Barrage", LibraryofJuggling. Accessed: February 2016.
2. Russ Kaufman (Fall 1986). "Festivals - Fireworks in Baltimore". Juggler's World (International Jugglers' Association) 38 (3). Retrieved January 13, 2011.
3. Gillson, George (1990). Beyond the Cascade, . Cascade Books: Seattle Washington. OCLC 26172391