#1 C’mon!

Today something a little bit different. I thought of making a category called „C’mon!“. It is supposed to be a short form of „Challenge of the month“. I’m sorry, I couldn’t think of a better name…
But let’s jump right into it!

Whilst messing around with my cards, I tried something new. Instead of starting the Sybil Cut in my left hand as usual (cuz‘ I’m right handed), I began with the deck in mechanics grip in my right hand.
As I tried to do the cut, I just forgot for a second how to do it. In advance, I’m horrible at coordination, so maybe you’ll get it right away. Go ahead and try it out!
The second attempt turned out much better. I still struggled with the movement, but after some more tries I figured out how to do it. It’s hard even now, after a lot of tries. I guess it’s only a matter of practice.

Failure isn’t the opposite of success, it’s part of it!
Arianna Huffington

Now to my idea: It was a lot of fun and I just tried some simple one-handed cuts, which wasn’t easier.
But it was still enjoyable, even though I failed almost all the time. Just like whenever you start learning new flourishes or tricks. And, as I already said above, I don’t see failure as the opposite of success, but as a part of it.
So I want to motivate you to experiment with your cards, this month especially to do flourishes, cuts, whatever you can think of, with the opposite hand/ hands.
I hope you are gonna have a great time with your cards!

Charlier Cut (with my left hand; now try it with your right hand)

Conclusion C’mon #1: Try flourishes, cuts etc. with the opposite hand!

If you wanna see how I did, go check out my Instagram account: card.trixxs.blog

Cardistry Basics: „Revolution Cut“

Today, we’re going to talk about the „Revolution Cut“. It’s a basic one-handed cut, which is also included in some flourishes. This cut was invented by Brian Tudor and released on a VHS tape called „Show Off“. After this short introduction, now the tutorial about the „Revolution Cut“.

You start of in „Straddle Grip“ (your thumb contacts the long side, your middle and ring finger the opposite one, whilst your index and your pinkie are across from each other on the two short sides).
Use your thumb to break of about half of the deck, so you have two packets.
Now place your index on the long side across from the thumb. Your middle finger contacts the lower short side, whilst your ring finger touches the long side across from your index.
Now remove your thumb, so it can move freely. With your thumb you push on the left upper corner of the lower packet until it stands perpendicular in between your thumb and your index finger.
Curl in your index finger and let the upper packet drop in your hand (on your curled index) and the lower packet can be pushed above the other packet.

I hope you understood everything and you’ve now done a revolution cut. After some more tries you’ll see some progress! Good luck and thank you for reading my article!

Cardistry Basics: „Scissors cut“

So, you’re enjoying the art of card flourishing? Perfect, today it’s another basic move, called „Scissors Cut“. My articles shall help and motivate cardists, especially the beginners. So to learn the scissors cut, just grab your cards and scroll down.

You start in „Straddle Grip“(your thumb contacts the long side, your middle and ring finger the opposite side, whilst your index finger and pinkie are across from each other on the two short sides).
Your thumb now moves to the lower left corner. There the thumb splits up about half of the deck.
Move your thumb to the left as much as you can, whilst the other fingers are going slightly to the right. Your index finger is the rotation point.
As soon as your fingers are completely extended, you can rotate the packet in between your thumb and index back to the right, but under the other packet. Now you just square up both packets.

Congratulations, you’ve now done a „Scissors Cut“. For me it was incredibly hard to learn this move, because in the beginning my fingers hurt due to the strain. But if you practice troughtout the day you will definitely master it.

Thank you for reading this article, it truly means a lot to me. Also: Feel free to share this article!

Cardistry Basics: „Charlier Cut“

So, you want to get started in cardistry, but don’t know where to start. About a month ago, I found myself in the same situation. With my articles I want to reach out to people, motivate them and teach them cardistry, especially if they’re beginners. Today it’s going to be a tutorial about the first one-handed cut I ever learned. So without further ado, here’s my knowledge about one of the most important moves and how to learn it:

You start in „Straddle Grip“ (your thumb contacts the long side, your middle and ring finger the opposite one, whilst your index and your pinkie are across from each other on the two short sides).
Use your thumb to break of about half of the deck, so you have two packets:

One, which is the lower one, lying in your palm
One, which is being held by your thumb and your other four fingers up above the other one

Now you remove your index finger, so it can move freely. The index is now contacting the lower packet and pushing upwards until you got something like a 90 degree angle. Your thumb can now contact the lower packet. Again let go of with your index and let the upper packet slide under the lower one and push down with your thumb so you’ve changed the position of the two halves.

Congratulations, you’ve now done a Charlier cut. I hope you understood everything. I know, it’s hard to do it in the beginning, but if you stay focused and do some of them every day it’ll be in your muscle memory and you will never ever forget this cut again.

Thank you for reading my article and feel free to share it, it genuinely means a lot to me.

How I Got Started In Cardistry And Magic

„The Werm“ (invented by Dan and Dave Buck)

Two weeks ago I found out about Cardistry (art of card flourishes). I watched a few videos and was fascinated every time. I realized, that’s something I really wanna do in my leisure. So I started with a tutorial about the „Sybil Cut“. I was crazy about it and immediately grabbed a deck of cards to start of. It was way harder than I expected it to be. But after hours of trying and picking up cards it was saved in my muscle memory and after some more days I finally managed to do it smoothly.

One evening I sat in front of my computer and saw a video about a little card trick. I was fooled, but luckily there was the explanation afterwards. I tried to do it too and it worked. So the next day I showed the trick to my parents and they were fooled too. The feeling of seeing my parents fooled and enchanted was great; so great, that I learned some more. Viewed from now I did wrong what ever you could do wrong. I did the trick twice or more times, explained the trick sometimes, wasn’t confident enough and just didn’t practice at all. But I went on and learned the „Card Spring“, the „Werm“ and the „Flicker“. For 14 days now, I sat all day long in the garden, in my room or in the forest, doing what has got my new hobby: Cardistry and Magic.

Of course that’s not everything in my life, but whenever I’m able to, I grab my cards and practice. If you want to learn it, I can tell you one thing: JUST DO IT. And no, I’m not sponsored by Nike. I mean this literally, go check out amazing channels like Chris Ramsay, Matthias Berger and many more. All you need is cards and joy. Try it out and stay focused. Also:Feel free to share my article.

Chris Ramsay’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrTricksforfun

Matthias Berger’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC37U1Z4tnYjmtEZmKPfN7iA