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When people start practicing a new sleight, do they think about which hand they will do it in, rely on their unconscious, or think about how it will work into the rest of the act?

I could only play sports (football, golf, snooker) with my right foot/hand, and can only write with the same, BUT when working with a deck of cards am currently trying to do a one hand riffle with my LEFT as well as a one handed cut, BUT, will always try the DL with my RIGHT hand...

The Chop Cup routine I'm working on generally involves mainly the left hand as I'm loading with that etc..

Does this question make sense or am I giving it too much thought?

I think go with whatever feels right. I'm left handed but play sport right handed. When learning sleights I go for what feels right BUT the key is to make sure you learn with the same hand as you would do it normally. No point cutting with your right hand but learning false cuts with the left.

Makes perfect sense to me mate.

I'm left footed when I go to kick a ball, and in skateboarding terms I'm "mongo footed" which means I push with my front foot rather than my back, its awkward and frowned upon by the skaters, but ah well. That said I'm right handed

Anyway, to magic, I taught myself and never knew any magicians so I just done what felt right in my hands, apparently I learnt most things left handed. When I made friends with a magician who was teaching me things he had to flip it left and was frustrated with me doing everything "cack handed"

His words to me where "the right hand is your dirty hand, let that one do the work"

I tried to correct this myself and learn things right handed, my one handed cuts still feel much more comfortable in my left hand, but I learnt things like the hot shot cut right handed.

Personally I'd say just do what feels right for you, I wouldn't worry about the aesthetics for performing, I'm sure even the spec who burns your hand wouldn't comment on left handed or right handed work, or even swapping between the two

supposedly its meant to be the opposite hand you use for most things, i.e, if you wrtie with your right hand you would handel cards with you left (this is just what i've heard........not saying this is gospel)

but im right handed with writing and everyhting else..... however with cards im ambidexturous (sp?)
some things feel better in the left.......some feel better in the right....... and like mrzombie i have never met other magicians so have always just gone with what felt right.

C.L.Ward wrote:supposedly its meant to be the opposite hand you use for most things, i.e, if you wrtie with your right hand you would handel cards with you left (this is just what i've heard........not saying this is gospel)

Most would still handle the cards with the right, the left being used to hold them.


Alfred, cutting out unnessesary actions, and economy of motion are two things that should always be considered in a magic effect. By keeping these in mind you will know which hand should be used for what.

jim

I would say that the hands I use to perform verious sleights with change depending one what I'm performing and where. I can do verious one handed cuts and passes better with my left hand than right, but can do other moves like the one handed top palm and one handed riffle shuffle with my right. I do try to practice sleights with both hands, but I feel that I will always find it more natural in one hand more than the other. I find that I can perform my card under the box routine mirrored, but it does make me think a little while I'm going through it which I suppose is not really a good thing. Well, most of the time I would say it doesn't really matter which hand.

I will say though that I had an incident a couple of months ago where I asked a lady at a wedding to spread though through the cards, and in doing so I could tell she was a lefty. I said "Oh, so you're a lefty aye!", to which she replied very shocked and astonished "Yes! How the **** did you know that?". I know it's nothing to do with performing sleights, but I thought that perhaps if anyone else comes across this when they perform, they might like to play it off as some kind of quick trick as your average person wouldn't think that the way they spread the cards in their hands is unusual.

I have actually come across a sleight (no pun intended) issue actually which is assosiated with performing sleights in different hands. Not too long ago I had this obsession with learning to false one handed riffle shuffle, after seeing Rene Lavand. I recently aquired his book 'La Belleza del Asombro' from a friend of mine, who as it happens does speak some spanish. Well in this book his one handed false riffle shuffle is taught, only as the only arm he has is his left, and I'm best at doing my one handed riffles with my right, I'm not sure if I should attempt to learn it in my left from scratch, or mirror it and try to adapt my right handed shuffle. Hmm, decisions decisions!

This is something I've thought about myself, not in terms of picking a hand but more in terms of whether I should attempt to build some kind of ambidextery.

Every vanish I've learned starts with me holding the object in the right hand, either leading to a sleight with that hand or a false transfer into the left. I wear my TT on the right and vanish silks into the left. If I'm doing cups and balls all loads are done with the right hand holding the cup. My wand is always in the right hand, my elastic bands are kept around my right wrist, I wear thimbles on the right, I do coin flourishes in the right, DL with the right hand, I pick objects up in the right hand to put into the left, including anything I'm concealing. Basically I do everything in my right hand.

Is that normal? I feel like I should try to mix it up a bit but I think most people do manipulate things more with their good hand and use the left for holding things not in use. I feel like it would look a little odd if I swapped sides for sections of a routine.

The other problem is that this leads to heavy over usage of my right pocket. If I ever carried a full routine's worth of stuff on the right I'd probably wind up walking in circles.

Is it best to pick a side and go with it, or does ambidextery have its place?

-Stacy

Truth is I never even thought about it, I just go with what feels right. My main problem is in bowling, which leg do you start to move with. By the time I get to the foul line my body is usually lined up wrong. Obviously I don't bowl often because I don't like it. And I'm not fond of renting the clown shoes. Which is probably why I don't like bowling because of the clown shoes. Also I don't overly trust clowns. There, two things I'm not happy with and they have one thing in common. Stupid shoes.

What is it we were talking about?

When I am learning something new I start with what feels right. When I practice I start off just practicing sleights, during this run through I will also try completing sleights with both hands. when I perform I have worked through the routine and found which way around it works best for the sleight.

Being able to use both hands I find gives me the advantage of using the space around me to my advantage. However that is not necessary as there are ways to do most if not all routines with just using your dominant hand.

Nic

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys, I think the general thinking appears to be whatever feels right, so I will go on as I am...far too easy to overthink this sort of thing!

Alfred Borden wrote:Thanks for taking the time to reply guys, I think the general thinking appears to be whatever feels right, so I will go on as I am...far too easy to overthink this sort of thing!

it is bud...... when you're striving for perfection it is easy to get caught up in trivial things!!!

just do whatever feels right for you