talkmagic.co.uk

Hi guys!

Been practicing for some days know, both with the cards (Giobbi's Card Colege, Vol1) and the coins (Bobo's Modern Coin Magic) because I thought the alternation would be interesting, but both the cards and the coins keep flying around... Can't seem to master even the basics (overhand shuffle, classic coin palm) without screwing up and it's getting frustrating, but I suppose that's the way it goes in the beginning...

Just wanted to write the frustration of, so...

Do you think it's wise to start with both the card and the coin basics at the same time? And when you guys started out, after how much time was the frustration and anger finally replaced by that glorious feeling (at least I think it must be) when things start to 'work'..?

Your thoughts and invaluable experience would be appreciated!

As with anything, you dont want to overload yourself. Coins and cards are 2 very different experiences for sure.

I started with cards, because it seemed more natural and didnt do coins until I had a firm enough grasp on cards.

Just practice lots and lots and you will get it down. I guarentee it.

The muscle memory required for both forms of work will take time to develop. On balance, card sleights can be learned more quickly and you can progress to the point of being able to do some basic effects. More advanced card work is equally challenging to coin work.

Early coin work should include the classic palm, change-over palm, thumb clip, finger palm, Bobo switch (Sankey's favourite), and the click pass. I also recommend the French Drop, but a good French Drop requires a lot of practice to make it look natural. I always recommend practicing taking the coin for real several hundred times to see how it would look for one hand to take a coin from another hand. Once this is learned, then practice the drop several hundred times. You can then either take the coin or vanish the coins and the hand movements should be exactly the same.

Patience. When a good magician performs s/he makes it look easy and natural, but that is the result of countless days of practice. I started doing both cards and coins, and know many who also have, some successfully some not. If you feel overwhelmed then I would pick one and put the other aside for now (starting with cards would probably be wise in that case).

Just relax and take your time. I know that once the magic bug has bitten one in anxious to succeed but it will take practice, a lot of practice and time but it will be worth it.

What they said. It's a very good idea to start off very slowly until you master a move, and then concentrate on speeding it up.

I started off almost exclusively with coins but switched to cards after a few months for variety. I found it actually very helpful. Both can be frustrating at times and it's nice to be able to completely change gears once in awhile.

I recommend learning stuff like the classic palm and the coin roll, just to get your hand muscles completely used to holding a coin. It does take time though, it's not the type of thing that will "click" and you suddenly get it, you will just get progressively better at it over time.

But the more you learn, the easier it is to learn new things! Have fun!

To each their own really.......I do think that more people will say they have had success starting with one (maaayyyybeeee two) effects, work them to death until they are naturaly, and then add another.......like said earlier, don't overload!

Coins, cards, doesn't matter which, just take your time!

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I'll keep practicing both the cards and the coins just to get some change (haha) once and a while...

I'll keep going until it hurts..!!
And even then...

As TOJennie I started out exclusively with coins and just recently took up cards. Cards are such a different thing to handle but still I feel it gives some to my coin work also. Some new ways of thinking about magic.

About coins flying all over the place after a few days practice...yeah...I know! The first few weeks of practice I couldn't keep a coin in CP for more than a second or two. It just fell out no matter how hard I tried. Now, a few months later I can keep it pretty comfortably there without worrying too much about it but I have one or more coins in my hands most of the day, going in and out of different palms. What helped me was that I realized after a while that the "looser" I try to grip it, the easier it stays. Also, good milled edges can make a big difference in the beginning.

ETA: Try not to get frustrated when the coins keep flying. Even though it feels just hopeless, remember that each time you try a sleight you're building muscle memory. Your progress might not be noticeable from day to day but there will be one day when you look back and can't understand why a classic palm used to be so hard.

Coins can be quite tricky to learn to work with, depending on your existing hand muscles, skin type, and size of coins. I have very dry skin, strong hands, and I like to work with half dollars for visibility, despite being able to better palm a quarter. That's a particular situation to me. Try different things. Try palming all kinds of coins to get the feel for it, and then move on to different types. Muscles will build up in the right way to grip that coin like mad.

I notice that after a length of practice that I'm sometimes trying too hard to squeeze the coin to hold it in place. If I relax a bit I get a much better grip. A coin will sometimes slide off of a tight muscle much more easily than a soft bit of skin.

I'll also do "reps" with coins. I'll classic palm a half dollar, and then, disregarding form for a bit, really crank in the blade of the hand, pushing the coin into my thumb base. I'll do several of those and over time I found that edge of the hand will become a bit more defined when relaxed, holding a coin better.

Moisturized skin will grip a coin better, for me, than my typically very dry hands, but if they're greasy, it's the worst. Tricky balance for me.

Summary: I suggest practicing for awhile, and then spend a little time mixing it up. Keep the hands limber and try different things.

If you are getting really frusturated and feel like you can't do anything, do yourself a favour and pick up Scarne on Card Tricks. There are no sleights in this book, so you won't have trouble learning the effects, and you will learn how to perform and patter. This will also get you re-interested in magic. I'm not saying you've lost interest, this is just in case you ever do.

Good Luck!

Mccabe24, thanks for the advice! I'm not giving up, but I added Scarne's book to my next order list... CUPS out of control, I'll need a lifetime just to read everything, let alone learn, practice or perform...

I just realized that you might not be learning as fast as you could be because you are reading books. Personally, I learn best when reading books, but others read best when watching other people perform the effects. Card Collage is a great series and covers so much information, but you might be better off buying a DVD. Do yourself a favor and take a look at Born to Perform by Oz Pearlman to see if it could be right for you.

Note: If I keep this up, your C.U.P.S. list will be longer than the DaVinci Code .