Magic or Flourishing?

[Guitarkid2023]

I'd like to start a new topic.

What do you guys think is more difficult: Magic or Flourishing?

here's two things to think about:

Flourishing:

We all know how hard flourishing is. Everyone has had thoughts such as: "Why do these cards keep falling apart" or "What am I doing wrong" etc. Flourishing can take months or even years to become good at.

Magic:

Everyone learned some simple dumb magic tricks when they first started out. Something like a double lift ACR or some trick using a key card. But I'm talking about real magic. Being able to constantly perform miracles. Spectators can NEVER figure out what you're doing.

Is it harder to be a Dai Vernon or a De'vo. Dan and Dave or Bill Malone. Jerry Cestkowski or Danny Garcia.

-Kevin

 

[bicyclemagik]

I'd like to start a new topic.

What do you guys think is more difficult: Magic or Flourishing?

here's two things to think about:

Flourishing:

We all know how hard flourishing is. Everyone has had thoughts such as: "Why do these cards keep falling apart" or "What am I doing wrong" etc. Flourishing can take months or even years to become good at.

Magic:

Everyone learned some simple dumb magic tricks when they first started out. Something like a double lift ACR or some trick using a key card. But I'm talking about real magic. Being able to constantly perform miracles. Spectators can NEVER figure out what you're doing.

Is it harder to be a Dai Vernon or a De'vo. Dan and Dave or Bill Malone. Jerry Cestkowski or Danny Garcia.

-Kevin

Without a doubt, flourishing is 100 times more difficult than magic. You can be great in magic, even without knowing the most difficult moves in the art, moves like the pass. In cardistry, you can't JUST be a creative person, you have to practice an unbelievable amount and know a lot of difficult moves to be good.

There is a lot of absolute killer tricks that require no sleight at all, like the invisible deal by Derren Brown.

I'm not saying that the people who are truly good, like Aaron Fisher, people like that, don't practice a LOT. To be a magician like that, then yes, flourishing is just as difficult as magic, but since veeeeeery few n00bs are like that these days, cardistry is much harder.

-Sean.Fast

 

[Shadow782]

I'm gonna say flourishing. It takes a heck of a lot of skill to do some flourishes. Then again that could be because I'm a magician looking at it from magician's perspective.

 

[Robertus]

Well, I've been into both the last two years...
I think cardistry is harder, because in magic there's always another way... I mean, if you can't do let''s say the double undercut - then you can just do a pass, fan control or anything else.
So in magic, you doesn't have to know alot of different sleights and stuff like that...

 

[Steerpike]

The difficulty of any skill is directly proportional to how much work you're willing to put into it.

 

[ElisG]

I mean, if you can't do let''s say the double undercut - then you can just do a pass,

In flourishing, if you can't do a One hand revolution you can do a charlier, if you can't do a swing cut you can do a kick cut. It applies to both fields.

 

[Ben Long]

I think that the learning curve is more difficult for flourishing, but that it gets easier. Sleight of hand may begin easier, but I think that it gets exponentially harder as you move towards perfection. That last 10% of virtually every sleight takes years to learn. Take the pass for example. I'd bet that a lot of magicians can perform at least a half-decent pass. However, to get a pass that's near-perfect, it easily takes 10 years, perhaps even more. But like Steerpike said, it's all about how much work you put into it.

 

[BlueCuzco]

They (magic and cardistry) are simply two different animals. With flourishes you are simply executing difficult moves, with magic you are preforming while doing the moves. (And yeah, a good magician will be preforming while doing flourishes, too, but no one can argue that a trick will take more presentation skills than a flourish.)

 

[tsarothpaco]

I find magic and flourishing have their own difficulties in separate categories;

Creation: I find to create a magic trick that is original or even harder a new sleight is more difficult than creating a flourish, I find flourishes much easier to create (I create many of them on accident and have created a few the same hour as another).

Execution: While there are sleights (ex. the pass) that are incredibly difficult to do and take longer to get down well/perfect than a flourish there are many difficult flourishes out there.

Heres my 2 cents on the subject.

~PaCo

 

[Randomwrath]

I'd say magic purely because whilst doing magic, you can be multitasking massively eg. doing the pass, planning your next move whilst keeping eye contact and talking to a spectator.

 

[iwannayoyo]

I think that people are only looking at the technical aspect of the difficulty of magic. While a pass may be easier than a big flourish, being a really good magician is also about being able to hold tension, create patter that hits hard, hold off hecklers, and much more. A good flourisher can make flourishes that go together and flow, a good magician can make tricks that go together and flow, make patter for that routine, pull of some good misdirection, and leave the audience stunned. However, they are two different things entirely, as you can see, magic takes a lot of work, but that is mentally and physically, flourishing takes big hands and nimble fingers.

 

[copperfield 14]

There both hard in there own way. Some flourishes are hard and some sleights are hard as well.

 

[visualartist]

it depends on what factors you mean.
i feel flourishing is easier because its just dexterity and dedication.
magic relies more on your character on how well you speak with your spectators,how to handle hecklers,creativity along with dexterity and dedication.
but as stated before,they both have their own factors.

 

[morpheis91]

I feel that (as many have stated b4) they are in different categories of their own. Flourishing does require very good dexterity and manipulation with your hands. But magic ok a sleight can be easy or difficult but thats not what magic is....Magic must hit hard and inspire belief for at least a split second, that to me is very difficult as well. They are two different types of difficulty.

 

[Guitarkid2023]

I think that people are only looking at the technical aspect of the difficulty of magic. While a pass may be easier than a big flourish, being a really good magician is also about being able to hold tension, create patter that hits hard, hold off hecklers, and much more. A good flourisher can make flourishes that go together and flow, a good magician can make tricks that go together and flow, make patter for that routine, pull of some good misdirection, and leave the audience stunned. However, they are two different things entirely, as you can see, magic takes a lot of work, but that is mentally and physically, flourishing takes big hands and nimble fingers.

See thins is what I was trying to get at about magic.

MY opinion is this

With flourishing, there is no need for a presentation. You could do a whole flourishing routine with no words.

Lets say that a pass is exactly as hard as some flourish. While a flourish will amaze somebody simply by executing it, a pass must be incorporated into a routine to TRULY amaze somebody.

-Kevin

 

[thecavschosenone]

I think I'm going to have to say magic. I agree, there are some VERY hard cuts, and flourishes out there. Cardistry takes a large amount of dexterity, and dedication, as many have stated already. Also, you don't need presentation in Cardistry. While doing magic, you definitely need to be able to multitask. For example; Say your doing a trick. You are doing a trick to a group of people, and you need to execute a mercury card fold. If you have people sitting down, you need to be mindfull of where they are, so you don't flash. Also, you need to be able to manage your spectators, and so forth. Plus you need to be able to react to the spectators, and be on the same level as them. So, I just think that there are so many more aspects to performing magic, against Cardistry.

 

[Jack Webster]

i think XCM stuff is harder. i dont really do it. i only do magic

 

[Tomas Simkus]

hmm....magic or flourishing...It is a matter of taste so to speak, but my personal opinion is magic.

Magic cannot exist in one man. It is not in performers mind, so you have to communicate it someone else.

Everybody can present magic as a "trick" or a "puzzle", but creating lasting impression? Well, not everyone can do that.

You can learn moves, sleights and fancy flourishes, but learning to communicate with your audience, giving them the moment of amazment and astonishment is harder than anything.

Feel free to hate me,

Tomas

 

[Guitarkid2023]

You can learn moves, sleights and fancy flourishes, but learning to communicate with your audience, giving them the moment of amazment and astonishment is harder than anything.

That's my opinion exactly. Well said

 

[The Prestidigitator]

Magic is more difficult,Flourishing is not difficult at all.