Chops is a 3-ball (or club) juggling pattern based on the cascade but involving a semi-circular carry performed with either one or both hands (Single Chops/Double Chops). Chops can be performed continuously, by one or both hands, or in single instances.
The distinctive carry occurs at the moment of catch; rather than returning the ball into the cascade pattern the juggler carries the ball in his/her hand in a downward-pointing semi-circle over the ball just thrown by the other hand, in the case of Single Chops, or over the other hand, in the case of Double Chops. At the end of the semi-circular movement the carried ball is tossed virtually straight up to be caught by the nearby other hand. The hand used to carry then quickly returns to its original position to catch the ball that was thrown by the other hand and in mid-air throughout this whole process.
This pattern is of medium difficulty since very fast and controlled arm movements are necessary. Though with practice, the pattern can actually be performed in a slow-looking motion: the produced feeling is somehow casual and relaxed as opposed to a sportive interpretation.
While some jugglers focus primarily on numbers juggling (juggling as many objects at once as possible) and stick to the standard patterns (the cascade for odd numbers and the fountain for even numbers), far more jugglers are interested in learning many different tricks and patterns.
Chops, backcrosses and the Boston Mess all have the same siteswap as a cascade (3), serving as reminder that there's a wide range of possibilities for variation with any siteswap.
While juggling 3 balls, one is always thrown under-the-arm by one hand and thrown from the outside ("over the top") with the other, so it loops around the rest of the pattern.
Many circus jugglers and "new vaudevillians" who learned to juggle in the 1960s and I early '70s learned a "3-3-10," which is three passes on a 6-count, three on a 4-count, and ten on a 2-count.
The Ks are known for juggling strange items, both in their set routines and in their signature "Gamble," in which the audience challenges them with items, but their off-stage prop history is equally strange.
There is little solo juggling in Karamazov shows; they excel at ensemble juggling, and their creation process, while not all group-generated is all group approved: "Everything," says Paul, "has to be agreed on by everyone." Everyone participates in the whole process, but each member's strengths are apparent.
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