Scissors Cut

Jan 17, 2015
132
8
I can't do the scissors cut because my hand isn't big enough!

I know it sounds like a lame excuse, but I've even tried to just fit the cards into my hand and yet all I could do is just an acute angled L.

Any helped would be appreciated - thanks!

(I really want to do Tetra on Genesis)
 

Alz

Jan 18, 2014
43
19
Latvia
I have small hands too (from wrist to middle finger 17cm, pinky 5cm, pointer finger 6,5cm) and when i started to learn cardistry, i couldnt do even charlier cut, not even talking about scissors cut =/
I always start to learn with about 1/2 or 1/4 cards from all deck, because its hard for my hands to practice with full deck, and when u feel comfortable to do move with small portion of cards add more and more, until u feel comfortable do move with full deck of cards) I learned that way.

If you cant stretch ur fingers to do scissors cut, just practice do "L" all the time and stretch fingers time to time to maximum :)


To be honest i still cant make perfect scissors cut, and its maximum stretch i can do right know ( http://imgur.com/VoZ76Q7 ) , but the more i practice the more it goes right :)
 
May 5, 2015
23
8
Hey guys, I just got my scissor cut down this past month (finally!) and thought I never could because of hand size. Here's some troubleshooting tips that may help (they sure helped me):

1. Grip those cards as far away from your thumb as possible. In other words, when in your elevated straddle grip, push the deck out with the thumb so that your ring and middle stretch out away from the thumb. This makes it easier for the packets to clear later.

2. Grip the deck at the fingertips. When I do something like the charlier, I feel like it's okay to have it a bit deeper, but with the scissor cut I needed to intentionally keep it gripped at the very tips. When it's too deep, it blocks the packets from clearing.

3. Your middle finger is your best friend. Once your thumb has swung out with the top packet, pushing down with the middle should clear the bottom packet over the top one. This 3rd one was the biggest thing I had to condition my hand to do. After that it was just cleaning up everything.

I hope any of this helps. It's honestly just tips from Genesis v1 plus what I've experienced, so you may not see anything new here. But I felt my hands were too small myself, and now I'm rocking it. Hang in there and good luck!
 
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Jan 17, 2015
132
8
Oh! Perhaps I should try with monopoly cards first, I actually practiced the Charlier cut that way first.

By the way, how about Tetra and Double Charlier Cut? My thumbs just aren't long enough for those...
 

Fox13

Elite Member
Aug 19, 2014
200
171
My advice is keep trying! By practicing a bit of a difficult move everyday, your fingers (and hopefully your brain too) will eventually find a way to make the cut work (changing the angle the packets make is one way), and also your hands and fingers will stretch and get stronger until one day you can stretch it farther than you could initially imagine.

On saying you have small hands or a short thumb:

Luke: Master, moving stones around is one thing, but this is... totally different!
Yoda: No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.
 

Tower of Lunatic Meat

Elite Member
Sep 27, 2014
2,435
2,030
Texa$, with a dollar sign
I forced myself to learn Scissor Cuts in order to do 'Rinzler'. I also have small hands, and he issue to me was just the stretching. Honestly, the stretching does take some time. And my best recommendation is to find a flourish that also utilizes that cut, that way you learn both at the same time, as not being able to do an easy flourish by itself is absolutely aggravating.

I hated doing Flicker until I started to try out Zachary Muelers 'One Card Twirl'. I feel like if __easier flourish X__ is a part of another flourish, it makes it seem like that you're focussed on a bigger picture, instead of giving the deck a seething death stare of hate when you can't do the scissor cut.


To me, it sounds like it's a stretching issue, I've been working on 'Rinzler' for over a month very frequently and I CAN do a Scissor Cut, but I just lock the speed to do them cleanly end-over-end. If that makes sense
 
Dec 31, 2014
63
34
Oh! Perhaps I should try with monopoly cards first, I actually practiced the Charlier cut that way first.

By the way, how about Tetra and Double Charlier Cut? My thumbs just aren't long enough for those...
I absolutely do not recommend practicing cardistry with smaller cards. I used to do flourishes with a bridge sized deck, but it took forever to get used to using poker size. If you get too used to using smaller cards, your fingers get used to being used easily, and will get sore when using cards not used to them. (That was a lot of use of the word use, but you get it.) If you want to learn a card flourish the way you would perform it, then don't practice the way you WOULDN'T perform it. This message might seem super confusing, but reread it, and hopefully it will help.
 
Jan 17, 2015
132
8
Hi, thanks for the tips, I've been practicing with my cards day and night (no smaller cards and stuff) and I can do very slow scissors cut.

However, can anyone do Tetra in Genesis? Thanks
 

Fox13

Elite Member
Aug 19, 2014
200
171
I can do very slow scissors cut.

Speed will come in time. Practice slow and nail down the move first, then it will become more natural and speed will increase by itself. If you rush it, you'll just develop bad technique that will become a habit.

"Day and night" might not be enough. Think more "weeks and nights". Don't think "learning", think "training". Visualize the level of polishing you wish to achieve, then train until you get it.
 
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