by kevmundo » Aug 19th, '12, 20:55
The Effect
Jason England, that insanely talented yet humble cardician, presents volume 2 of his Foundations series. There are 7 card handling techniques included in the DVD. Whereas the first DVD focusses soley on gambling moves, the second DVD discusses card sleights of a more magical nature. The moves are not progressive so you don't have to watch them in order, or buy the first DVD. Included are the following techniques:
The DL (36 mins)
The classic pass (28 mins)
Riffle stacking (41 mins)
The pinky count (14 mins)
The gambler's cop (20 mins)
The push off second deal (28 mins)
The zarrow shuffle (35 mins)
Cost
£40.00 (Ooouuuchh!)
Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
As someone who's classic pass has always been, well, passable, I would say that if you want to get to the level of skill shown by Jason England, then this is off the scale. It's actually quite diffict to gauge properly since unless you try to learn the sleights then you'll never become experienced. If I had a gun to my head I would mark this as a FOUR.
Review
In my opinion Jason England is a geat teacher. He's clearly an amazing card manipulator, but has none of the self assured arrogance that usually acompanies such a level of ability. He begins each technique by discussing a little of it's history and where it first began to appear in card magic. He also gives clear references so you can go directly to the source if you want to. Jason breacks down each move into clearly definable chunks. He is clear, concise, and at least to me, he comes across as genuinely wanting you to learn the move to the highest possible standard.
For those (like me) that read things like RRTCM and find that they've read the same page fifty times and are still none the wiser, this sort of instruction is invaluable.
Overall
3.5 hours of history/demonstration/explanation. The instruction is clear and detailed. The sleights are difficult - no quick fixes here!! Practice practice practice. My only criticism is the price. But if you can't afford it, I guess that aint Jason England's problem.
I have always struggled to deconstruct card sleight explanations in books - the old "the right hand curls around the upper left thumb pad whilst under the c cupped portion of the right outer edge the....noooooooooo" If this sounds like you then you'd benefit from a DVD with this level of detailed insruction. I like it, and I'm certainly glad I bought it. I watch it regularly and I've learnt alot from it. I've even tidied up a few bad habits.