talkmagic.co.uk

That these guys aren't mentalists!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D14pUSK3VU0

Wow...

Most of that stuff was pretty damn impress i must say.

I am obsessed with the most simple card flourishes and they look good to me, let alone some of that stuff. Although i do prefer Dan and Dave's style.

That was incredible. I love watching a good 'flourisher'. Card Manipulation and flourishes is one of those things I'd love to be able to do, but not enough to actually learn it! Personally, I think dexterity is much better applied learning natural and deceptive slights, a la Dai Vernon.

It's odd. I'm much more likely to invest my time in learning a deceptive sleight to add to my arsenal, but I do find flourishes very impressive and have learnt a fair few (none of the ultra extreme stuff though). The odd bit refers to the average spectator... I have always found the one flourish they 'wow' at the most a the humble, must know for any card man/woman... The fan. Whether it be thumb or pressure or some weird De'Vo reverse fan you do while half looking like you're about to drop the deck, the reactions the same. I did invest a bit of time learning De'Vos 'Smooth Opener' though. Really liked that.

It is entertaining to watch for all audiences I think, as long as it doesn't digress into the old 'look how clever I am' scenario. Flourishes do serve a purpose of being entertaining but also, breaking past that barrier that some people have when you produce a deck of cards. Maybe some corny cheap magician chiche image they have gets in the way and by showing them some simple, but elegent card 'flourishes' like a fan or in hands waterfall shuffle, it is pretty to watch and conveys the nonverbal message that 'I know what I'm doing'. Of course, as a young person, I come across this problem frequently. I rather enjoy teasing people who sigh when I pull out a deck by handling the deck sloppily, 'accidentally' mixing the deck into chaos- face ups and face downs and then packing up in dissapointment. Then of course showing they are in fact absolutley fine all bar the card they picked, really has a more memorable and powerful impact, then I do some flourishes.

Well i can understand why a lot of you don't find flourishing appealing on a deeper level than just the simple ones. But, i am trying to keep my skill in flourishing on a similar level to my magic, in substance, because i find both just as enjoyable and impressive to learn as each other.

To me there is something fantastic about being able to move the cards in such a smooth and fluid variation of cuts and such, and it helps me relax a lot too.

I am a massive fan of De'vo, it is no secret, and invest a lot of time into learning his stuff - though very few ever see me perform it. I was entered into the world xcm championships a few years back, though a wrist injury led me to having to forfeit at the second round sadly.

It is good fun, and some of the stuff you get to see in "that world" is truly astounding.

Some of his collector's stuff are pieces of art too...the amount of limited edition stuff of his that I have tracked down and own is countless...not without a rather large sacrifice to my wallet though

Has anybody got, or could they reccomend an ecyclopedia of card flourishes? probably not the exact title but I'm sure you'll understand what I am refering to. Just out of curiousity rather than any desire to perform or indeed become a 'flourisher', besides, my character (owing to me) is finds all things superflous and non-functional a dubious anomoly and thus 'performing' flourishes would not make sense, doing them casually and naturally as though it was in the bone however, is permitted on the premise it serves a function: fans, shuffles e.t.c. However, I would love to be able to do the coin flourish in which the coin rolls along the fingers. I am sure my character specifications are malliable enough to wedge that in

Beardy wrote:I am a massive fan of De'vo, it is no secret, and invest a lot of time into learning his stuff - though very few ever see me perform it. I was entered into the world xcm championships a few years back, though a wrist injury led me to having to forfeit at the second round sadly.

It is good fun, and some of the stuff you get to see in "that world" is truly astounding.

Some of his collector's stuff are pieces of art too...the amount of limited edition stuff of his that I have tracked down and own is countless...not without a rather large sacrifice to my wallet though

I would like to see you bust out the moves at some point Beardy? Why not do a vid?

SamGurney wrote:Has anybody got, or could they reccomend an ecyclopedia of card flourishes? probably not the exact title but I'm sure you'll understand what I am refering to. Just out of curiousity rather than any desire to perform or indeed become a 'flourisher', besides, my character (owing to me) is finds all things superflous and non-functional a dubious anomoly and thus 'performing' flourishes would not make sense, doing them casually and naturally as though it was in the bone however, is permitted on the premise it serves a function: fans, shuffles e.t.c. However, I would love to be able to do the coin flourish in which the coin rolls along the fingers. I am sure my character specifications are malliable enough to wedge that in

Encyclopedia of playing card flourishes, by Jerry Cestkowski

Lee Smith wrote:I would like to see you bust out the moves at some point Beardy? Why not do a vid?

I won't do a video, but I am more more than willing to show you a couple of bits and pieces in person

Unlike the people that made that video, I was off getting laid at the point that taught flourishes.... much more fun

Chris wrote:Unlike the people that made that video, I was off getting laid at the point that taught flourishes.... much more fun