talkmagic.co.uk

Hands, I mean. I've been trying of late to face my fears and try and get some coin magic down, but am struggling with that most basic of basics, the classic palm. I feel this isn't entirely down to me being cack-handed and is a little to do with the tiny size of UK coins, and how much smaller still they appear when resting on my palms. Yes yes, I am complaining about my hands being too big to palm.



24cm span; 9cm width at the base of the knuckles; 21cm length from end of wrist to tip of middle digit.

I can just about get by with a classic palm on a two pence piece (though my hand is scrunched) but a back palm is out of the question. Am I destined to only do coin magic when fat with £2 coins? Should I vote for the adoption of the Euro?

Imagine what trouble Jeremy Beadle must have then...

Just measured mine at slightly under a 27cm span, 10.5cm at the base of the knucles and also a 21cm length from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger.

I have the same issues but you CAN easily get by with some trial, error and practice. Specs will only spot your scrunched hand if you draw attention to it - and that includes subconscious attention.

I recently saw Fay Presto lecture and one thing that she constantly said was that an audience will spot tension. Learn to combat the tension.

Being a female of smaller than average height, I have small hands, and I can't back palm either (there's a thread here which discusses this)

Lord Freddie wrote:Imagine what trouble Jeremy Beadle must have then...

Hahaha.

Is this one them you show me your's I show you mine kind of things?

Unfortunately it's a case of practice, practice, practice. There's an element of 'muscle training' and, just like any exercises, the only way to get any benefit from them is to do it regularly. I couldn't palm a large coin covered in glue at first!

Going down the shops or some such short trip? Stick a coin in classic palm and keep it there for the journey (unless you're driving, then this is c*** (not the best) advice!) and don't be afraid to use your other hand to reposition or stop from falling while learning. With practice you'll find your 'sweet spot' and will be able to do it without thinking.

MrGrue,

Everyone's hands are different size. And no one coin fits all, as it were.

So find a size of coin that fits you and run with it.

I don't really think that the size you you hand's got all that much to do with it. It's more about practice.

When I started trying to do the classic palm I had a totaly nightmare and I've only got small hands. But I'd keep at it, hold a coin in the palm while at work, driving home, doing the dinner, all the time really. Eventually I started dropping it less and less and then found I could add more coins and then smaller coins. Now I can happily hold a few 5ps in the palm.

As for the back palm, i think that some people just arent' physically able to do it. There are much easier and just as effective methods.

Lady of Mystery has it spot on here.

I am a small man with small hands and I though that was my problem with palming.

It wasn't, my problem was lack of practice. I too walk the dog, sit in meetings, type this post etc, etc with a £2 coin in my palm. I do it until it hurts and them cvhange hands. I still look a bit claw like but ity is coming

Where cards are conncerned there is no way my hand will cover a palmed card completely. It becomes a matter of angles to conceal any bits that might show but above all confidence. The spectator is not looking for you to palm a card so just do it whilst doing something else to distract. I usually move the deck away towards my left as soon as I have the card in the right hand palm and their eyes always follow the deck

I have giant hands, I could probably conceal a small dog in classic palm.

However, I broke my hand Sunday morning, so no magic for me for a while =(

you can practice the sleights with the other hand now (coins maybe?)

And having large hands should be a problem, look at David Stone, now there is a guy who struggles with coin work, must be them big hands getting in the way

Seriously its just practice, and as laurence said at a meet up, stop trying to make the hand look relaxed, it's far easier to make the other looked bunched something to that effect (I don't really endorse this either and I doubt that he does)

Lady of Mystery has it dead on. I have smaller hands then the ones measured here and in the beginning I blamed my hands on my fustration at palming coins and cards. Now I have no issues. I know people who can palm a basket ball who had the same issues. Then there is Rene Levand who only has one hand. Unfortunatly it comes down to practice.

I haven't been doing coin magic for that long and I agree that english currency isn't the best.

So I bought a few half dollars and the difference is amazing!

I know they don't have the same impromptu appeal as performing with spare change, but for practise purposes they are just the ticket. They're large (a little bigger than £2), thin, shiny with milled edges and sound wonderful when bashed together. I have a couple in each hand right now and can type just as fast.

I suggest you get a few and perfect a few routines with them - overtime you'll find your hand muscles strengthen which means palming smaller objects gets easier. If you're going to perform coin magic I would suggest using half dollars anyway because they're eye catching due to their size and shine. They're also a nice thing to pass round to examine, and you might even get someone trying to smash a cigarette through one

As for back palming, it seems like a very silly thing to learn compared to good old pinch. In Bobo it's described as a matter of course concealment but if anyone can do it with anything smaller than a £2 coin without cramped fingers they're better than me and I have average size hands.

hmmm i agree, no need for a back palm, when a TP will work fine...