Best video course for beginning cardistry + magic?

Feb 18, 2015
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Check out Dan and Dave's Stuff, and might want to stop by at thevirts website/youtube channel. Tobias Levin and Oliver Sogard have great material, as well as fontaincard's website.
 

Tower of Lunatic Meat

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Sep 27, 2014
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Beginner cardistry is easy.


Go to Reddit and go into the cardistry sub-Reddit. There's a sticky note for beginner cardists with resources and recommended cuts (spoiler alert. You'll need to learn one handed cuts in both hands before you move onto two-handed. Don't worry, they are easy.)


Charlier cut
Scissor cut
Revolution cuts
Thumb cut

Fans and isolations are sort of 'optional' in the beginning stages as those two sub-types only allow you to go further with flourishes exclusive to that sub-type (learning fan basics allow you to advance in more fans. Same for isolations).


I can't help out much with two handed.
 

Josh Burch

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Zach Mueller has some great simple flourishes that he teaches on the Marketplace and YouTube. They are all free and his format is great.
 

DominusDolorum

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For card magic, I enjoyed the Royal Road to Card Magic series with Paul Wilson and reading along with the book. I felt that helped elevate my card handling to a whole new level and I wish that I had started with that course when I first started in magic.

I recently became aware that there is also a Card College video series taught by the authors of the books, Roberto Giobbi. Those books are amazing and if the series is anywhere near the quality of instruction in his texts then I would go with that.

I made a post earlier about beginner magic and I should have posted it here instead so I'll just link it to you. It's simply a free beginner video for some basic magic taught by Rick Lax, a creator of magic that you may find enjoyable.

https://www.theory11.com/forums/thr...secrets-of-magic-rick-lax.46950/#/post-456966
 
First off Cardistry is NOT Magic, and Magic is NOT Cardistry. I don't care what anyone else tells you Cardistry is nothing more than a visually appealing, self gratifying, manual demonstration of magical masturbation; done because it makes the performer feel good and no one else.

That isn't to say that Cardistry ISN'T a talent mind you. I humbly take my hat off to ANYONE who can juggle a deck of cards the way people like a lot of these kids do you see on youtube. It takes hours upon hours of practice to master that s***, and frankly it's just not something I have the time and patience personally to invest. Perhaps I'm jaded, jealous, and cynical? I've been accused of being worse.

What Cardistry is, theatrically, is a demonstration of the Ego. What it says is "Oh look at what I can do that you can not." There is no mystery, no story, and no wonder. It maybe at best capable of being elevated to the level of puzzle, but it will never be magic.

I feel like an old geezer saying this, and I shouldn't because I'm still a young pup myself, but back in the day what "Cardistry" used to be called was "flourishing". Flourishes were little connector pieces used during a card routine to spice up the action and assert to the audience without saying as much overtly that the card handler was an unparalleled pro and thus complemented his talent as a magician in the overall presentation. Somewhere down the line Devo got a hold of it, and created a lot of different "advanced" moves that looked beautiful but were hard to master. Kenner came out with the Wurm, and then this new underground movement of card-icians started to form. This movement eventually settled on the term "cardistry" and soon every 14 year old on the block was doing it. Yes Cardistry can incorporate different sleights within the body of it, but in and of itself, it is NOT magic.

Thus being all said, if you are looking to start learning card magic I highly suggest you look at Eardnese, Royal Road, or maybe even Card College. I can't make any suggestions for cardistry though, as I don't do it myself.

I know this next line from me will be HOTLY debated, so I'll put it in bold now, but it's something I stand behind from a performance theory point of view:

"Cardistry will never be anything more than a demonstration of pure ego. It maybe art, but you can only stomach someone's ego so long before you have to go somewhere with it, and more juggling isn't the solution."
 
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Josh Burch

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"Cardistry will never be anything more than a demonstration of pure ego. It maybe art, but you can only stomach someone's ego so long before you have to go somewhere with it, and more juggling isn't the solution."

Very few people believe that cardistry is magic. Even Dan and Dave have said that while it is magical it isn't magic. The OP even made the distinction, so I think that we are on the same page there.

I enjoy watching it and the 22,000 people who gave this video a thumbs up also enjoyed watching it. This should put the m******* argument to rest.


Speaking in absolutes doesn't help your case. Even one person who feels good watching it throws a wrench in your argument that
it makes the performer feel good and no one else.

There are humble jugglers out there. I've watched a full hour Michael Davis show and wanted more. The passing zone is able to put on complete corporate shows. They come across as humble, like-able guys devoid of ego. Then there's Michael Goudeau, most of his juggling takes the viewer on a journey. You just want the guy to get through the show without hurting himself or others. When he does it's a classic metaphor. Hero sees a problem and he over comes.

Are there humble cardistry guys out there? There aren't a lot. Chris Mayhew made this video as a satirical commentary on the movement. By doing so, in my opinion, he shrunk his ego and performed cardistry in an entertaining way.


Cardistry was used to make a statement here. It was much
more than a demonstration of pure ego.

Of course, a demonstration of skill isn't by itself entertaining. We can look at the success of the NFL, the MLB, the Olympics, American Idol or America's Got Talent and see that there are many people who enjoy watching people demonstrate their skills.

Of course, ego can be off-putting. We can look at the success of Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Tony Stark. I can't think of a more egotistical character at the moment and people love him.
 

CaseyRudd

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I would argue that Genesis Volume 1 by Andrei is most certainly comprehensive when learning the fundamentals of Cardistry. 30 incredible moves - ranging from simple core techniques to more advanced concepts - taught in nearly four hours of detailed instruction.

In regards to magic, I'm assuming you are into card magic as you are also inquiring about Cardistry. My personal recommendations are to start out with Card College 1 & 2, and Royal Road for learning the raw basics.

If you are looking into video aids to help you learn some of the basics, Jason England has a few streaming videos/downloads discussing the Double Lift, False Overhand Shuffle, the Classic Pass, the Side Steal, and the Pinky Count. All of those are as comprehensive as they come from a true expert and card technician who has learned and studied with the legends (he is currently a legend in my eyes). If there is anyone I want to learn card techniques from, it's Jason England.

There are various sources when starting out, depending on which genre you are interested in. You could learn the basics and how they work, but knowing those moves alone will not make you a great card magician. A book like The Five Points in Magic by Juan Tamariz would be such a great asset to your learning when wanting to know how to be a better performer, how to engage the spectator, and learn how to misdirect.
 
Oh I admit that I'm in the minority on this one. I make no bones about it. I hate cardistry, and my opinion isn't going to be for everyone. Not saying those kids who do it aren't sickeningly talented. Just not something I buy into. I suppose there are people out there who hate the taste of chocolate too, and I wouldn't agree with them either on that.

I'm a curmudgeon. I'm set in my ways. And my opinion is there whether you want it or not. Free of charge and always with a smile!
 

Josh Burch

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Oh I admit that I'm in the minority on this one. I make no bones about it. I hate cardistry, and my opinion isn't going to be for everyone. Not saying those kids who do it aren't sickeningly talented. Just not something I buy into. I suppose there are people out there who hate the taste of chocolate too, and I wouldn't agree with them either on that.

I'm a curmudgeon. I'm set in my ways. And my opinion is there whether you want it or not. Free of charge and always with a smile!

Haha, I push because I know you have taken more on these forums. It's so good to have you back on here!
 

DominusDolorum

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How do you download this instantly? It says download instantly near the bottom of the page but I don't know how to do it.
You have to add it to your cart and checkout. Don't worry if you don't have a credit card because it's free after all.
 
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