My Pass

Feb 18, 2010
37
0
Hi! I recorded myself doing the invisible pass( from ninja 1) last night. Anyway, I've tried it in front of a few spectators, and it went undetected. But when I used the cam on it, I found out that it sucked. Well the reason that I recorded it is so that I can see my progress and also get some comments that will help me improve my sleight, so please, any advice is welcome. Thanks a lot! Heres the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItvlwWUxogI
 
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
Just watching the video, there is too much movement at too fast of a speed.

I don't know the Ninja 1 teaching, but if it's to bring it up for a square and pass on the way down to normal, you might want to work on the speed of the pass. If you can switch the packets quickly then the movement can be slower and less exaggerated.

Peoples attention is a funny thing. If you look up, they'll see the movement of your head and follow to your eyes. If in that process a sharp movement happens with your hands they'll look there to see what's going on.

If you take the time to look up while dropping the deck down (doing the pass under the cover) and ask a quick question (have it make sense to the routine) then it'll be better than trying to rush the motion and drawing their gaze where it shouldn't be.

I haven't mastered the pass (side steal ftw...okay so I haven't mastered it yet either...) but these are some tips that should help overall, someone else can critique the pass itself.
 
Jan 31, 2010
86
1
I know everyone always speaks of covering a small motion with a big one, but the big one has to make sense. Is the sudden downturn of the wrists motivated when you perform or do you just do it? I have a feeling it's the latter.

Anyway, I can't really see anything, but you sure make it look suspicious, and that's enough for spectators to call you out.
 
Sep 12, 2007
8
0
Yeah, try to make your pass part of a natural gesture. I.E. a gesture that makes sense with your body language, and the routine. Don't do excessive gestures just to make the pass "invisible" though. Misdirection is the lesson to be learned when starting out with the pass I think... Be casual and people won't suspect, let alone detect. Or something like that.

EDIT: Oh and good job man, didn't mean to sound lecturing, just what works for me. And I can't 'see' your pass, so your doing a great job concealing, but your gesture seems unnatural. But it will all come together after a little trial and error, and exp. I'm sure of it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Feb 18, 2010
37
0
I think one reason I'm doing it fast is to hide the break on the way up. Its really one of my problems. So basically I have to:

-do it slow, but perform the pass faster
-make the gestures natural
- use misdirection

Thanks for the advice! Hope to see more coming.:)
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Let me nit pick first: This is not a 'classic pass'. It's the 'invisible pass' as taught by Brad Christian. The classic pass uses no covering motions.

I think you have done what almost everyone I've ever seen learn from Christian does. You're simply mimicking the rocking motion without understanding what it's supposed to do. This goes back to what the others are saying about making the motion natural. When Brad does the 'invisible pass' he is tilting the deck up so he can square the narrow ends, then tilting it down (and executing the pass) so he can square the longer sides. It's not just a baseless rocking motion, which is what nearly everyone takes away from that video. Tilt up, square, tilt down (pass) , square.

I think your pass is pretty good. I'm curious as to what it'd look like without the overt rocking motion. Currently, the rocking just draws attention to an otherwise decently executed move.
 
Apr 5, 2009
874
1
29
Illinois
B Christians ninja DVD is great. when your just learning. it gets the basics of the pass into your head and you can start building speed with it.

that being said, the invisible pass is great for concealing the pass, but not great for completely making it suspicion proof. i still struggle with getting away with that pass after i show them what it is in the vegas card cheat routine. B Christians riffle pass explanation is not that great. i recommend Jason England's pass 1-on-1 just because you already know the basics of the pass. you can learn some great covering actions for it there.

that being said. YOU'VE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB LEARNING THE INVISIBLE PASS. but as ChrisT (haha just noticed that. please don't hurt me Christopher) said, your rocking motion is unexplained. and Bchristian just tell you to sqaure as you raise and lower the pack. but, he doesn't go into great detail about the squaring action. i suggest using a messier spread, that way the square is clearly needed. then you can incorporate both the jiggle pass action, and the invisible pack action.

Web
 
Aug 8, 2010
33
0
ah, that video reminds me myself half a year ago. Trying to do it invisible i moved my hands up and down as mad. That's very bad way. All pass-related moves should be done just by wrists and fingers. Of course you can add bigger move ("bigger move covers smaller move"), but it must be natural anyway. simple down-and-up move only focuses spectator's attention on your move (even if he cannot really understand that it's pass, he sees that something is happening warning!)
That move can be added when you, for example, takes card from spectators and moves the deck towards your chest.

Oh, btw, one more thing to add. When you perform it for people, try to make it so that their eyes will be higher than current position of camera. it will make it harder for them to see the pass.
 
Feb 18, 2010
37
0
Thank you all for the advice! I'll practice the pass more with what you guys said in mind. Hopefully I can post another
video in a months time to see if I progressed.
 
Lets just put this out there, there is not such thing as an invisible pass. It is just a name Mr. Christian cleverly made up for this cover which in my opinion, only makes the move look more suspicious. Look at Jason England's classic pass. It is beautiful and there is no cover. If you really want help on your classic pass, pick up that 1 on 1 from a master like England. He will teach you how to get rid of that obvious break and also how to really make it look like your doing nothing.
 
As far as Brad Christains pass goes you execute it well, but practice makes perfect.

There's no true invisible pass but make it invisible with misdirection - I know it's been said but it can't be said enough lol
One thing I do instead of an up-down motion to cover a sloppy pass (sloppy passes happen when i'm nervous or my hands are dry and cold and have no grip,) is if I need something from my back pocket or I pretend to need to look over my shoulder to talk to someone 1. it draws their attention from your hands and 2. moving your right arm across your body conceals your pass more so because the spectators can't see your fingers. It's obstructing their view naturally and taking their eyes off the deck.

My other tip if you want it burnable would be not to have any motion at all visible other then squaring the cards. This takes loads of practice and the best way to practice is focus on keeping the bottom packet as horizontal as possible (The wonderful Chris Kenner taught me this in person). So focus on rotating your deck palm away from yourself - exaggerate when you practice to train those ligaments. Mr. Kenner had an idea of inserting a card into the deck 3/4 down and have the protruding card wedged between 2 books on a table in front of you and you will soon know if your staying horizontal.

Still, try to execute all your passes while you have eye contact or misdirection with your spectators. Or just learn the turnover pass, that baby is 100% invisible when mastered - and easy. As stated in Expert Card Technique by Jean Hugard.
 
Mar 19, 2009
85
0
Calgary, AB
Ok first any pass isn't supposed to be invisible. The pass was meant to do at a time of misdirection. This has been forgotten. All you need to do is look at your spectator right in the eyes and say anything (ask a question etc etc) the second they're eyes meet your, its pass time.
 
Searching...
{[{ searchResultsCount }]} Results