Achieving Balance

[ChristopherR2]

How do you achieve balance between the flourishes you know vs. the flourishes you want to know?

I have 10 flourishes that I know at the moment. I can perform them but they are not smooth enough to be worthy for a video.

I'm torn between mastering the 10 flourishes that I do know versus the flourishes that I want to learn.

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

All right, I thought about this question some more--instead of responding to it quickly in public.

There is no clear answer I, nor anyone can give you. Here's why:

It sounds like you want to make a video soon. I am also trying to make a video soon--by the end of the year actually.
I will say that placing a time crunch on oneself is a horribly advised idea. But regardless, we are drinking out of the same cup.

The only limitation you have is...the vision of your video. If your video idea works with what you already have; decision making made easy!

But it sounds like you want some more flourishes in your arsenal before you do that.

There's a lot of factors that will determine what you want your video project to look like. I might be taking it to a more extreme level than the casual 'bedroom video', but I don't think that's the aim for either of our first videos.

Keep in mind that, regardless of what you choose, you will always be polishing up old moves. And if you decide to bring new moves into your project, it's going to push back when the video will happen. Then you'll be asking the same question a month or two from now.

Right now, I'm trying to make a video in which I need to learn AND polish three extra moves on top of what I already know. As well as a few other details...all by the end of the year because I'm a bit of an obsessive nutball.

I think that's the hardest part about making the first video. We have the ambition for doing so, but lack the 'cardistry vocabulary', and knowing 'what flourishes and how many flourishes' are enough. The movie making process will become easier when the vocabulary expands, but for now, it's tough.

Spend time thinking about your vision and how you want the video to look. It doesn't matter how many flourishes you know. Not nearly as much as you have polished product. Especially if you want constructive feedback. That's the first thing people will jump on you about.

I hope this helps in some capacity

 

[ChristopherR2]

First off THANK YOU!

Your post made me realize that I don't really have a clear cut vision established. When I first started this journey five months ago I had a dream of making a cardistry video but nothing really specific. As the journey progressed I have been engrossed in all of the skilled cardists outs there and that has even progressed into me wanting to try my hand at card magic with emphasis on gambling sleights. I've been obsessed with Jason England and Paul Wilson for the last couple of weeks.

My main issue I guess is that I WANT TO DO IT ALL! I have that, I want the entire cake and eat it to syndrome I guess.
What I need to do is take a step back and really establish a solid vision where I want to go with my ever growing passion with cards and let that be the guiding factor in what I should be practicing on right now.

Thanks again for the advice.

All right, I thought about this question some more--instead of responding to it quickly in public.

There is no clear answer I, nor anyone can give you. Here's why:

It sounds like you want to make a video soon. I am also trying to make a video soon--by the end of the year actually.
I will say that placing a time crunch on oneself is a horribly advised idea. But regardless, we are drinking out of the same cup.

The only limitation you have is...the vision of your video. If your video idea works with what you already have; decision making made easy!

But it sounds like you want some more flourishes in your arsenal before you do that.

There's a lot of factors that will determine what you want your video project to look like. I might be taking it to a more extreme level than the casual 'bedroom video', but I don't think that's the aim for either of our first videos.

Keep in mind that, regardless of what you choose, you will always be polishing up old moves. And if you decide to bring new moves into your project, it's going to push back when the video will happen. Then you'll be asking the same question a month or two from now.

Right now, I'm trying to make a video in which I need to learn AND polish three extra moves on top of what I already know. As well as a few other details...all by the end of the year because I'm a bit of an obsessive nutball.

I think that's the hardest part about making the first video. We have the ambition for doing so, but lack the 'cardistry vocabulary', and knowing 'what flourishes and how many flourishes' are enough. The movie making process will become easier when the vocabulary expands, but for now, it's tough.

Spend time thinking about your vision and how you want the video to look. It doesn't matter how many flourishes you know. Not nearly as much as you have polished product. Especially if you want constructive feedback. That's the first thing people will jump on you about.

I hope this helps in some capacity

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

First off THANK YOU!

Your post made me realize that I don't really have a clear cut vision established. When I first started this journey five months ago I had a dream of making a cardistry video but nothing really specific. As the journey progressed I have been engrossed in all of the skilled cardists outs there and that has even progressed into me wanting to try my hand at card magic with emphasis on gambling sleights. I've been obsessed with Jason England and Paul Wilson for the last couple of weeks.

My main issue I guess is that I WANT TO DO IT ALL! I have that, I want the entire cake and eat it to syndrome I guess.
What I need to do is take a step back and really establish a solid vision where I want to go with my ever growing passion with cards and let that be the guiding factor in what I should be practicing on right now.

Thanks again for the advice.

That's a bit of the problem I am having too: trying to balance magic & cardistry. I haven't been able to work on sleights or my routines as much as I should all year. I've been practicing quite a lot of cardistry. IT's ridiculously hard to do both because both require MUCH different skill sets.

I think if you try to balance them out, you end up not practicing either as much as one could or should. For me, it's rather all-or-nothing, and I've been working tirelessly on working on a couple cardistry projects. I'm not sure what my future in cardistry will be after they are done.

So with that, I'll ask this: What do you intend to achieve with cardistry? What do you want to do with it?

 

[ChristopherR2]

That's a bit of the problem I am having too: trying to balance magic & cardistry. I haven't been able to work on sleights or my routines as much as I should all year. I've been practicing quite a lot of cardistry. IT's ridiculously hard to do both because both require MUCH different skill sets.

I think if you try to balance them out, you end up not practicing either as much as one could or should. For me, it's rather all-or-nothing, and I've been working tirelessly on working on a couple cardistry projects. I'm not sure what my future in cardistry will be after they are done.

So with that, I'll ask this: What do you intend to achieve with cardistry? What do you want to do with it?

As a child, I had many interests. Dancing, Drums, Guitars, etc... All of these interests I just quit for one reason or another. In the mid-90's I was really into magic. I tore apart J.B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic book and learned everything I could from David Roth about coins. As with all of my other childhood passions, I quit magic as well. There are very few passions in my life that I have made a serious commitment to and stuck with it.

Then six months ago I discovered cardistry and reconnected with that sense of passion that I have not felt in a long time. That passion for cardistry has also helped rekindle a passion for magic that I lost so many years ago. I've been amazed by the likes of such talents as Jason England, Paul Wilson, Ricky Jay, and even Daniel Madison. So in a sense my passion has evolved into an overall love for what one can do with a deck of playing cards.

For the first time in my life, I want to commit to growing a passion as far as it can go and STICK with it. Challenge myself to stick with something that I love and NOT QUIT just because it gets to hard or for whatever excuse I may come up with.

I want to be the best cardist that I can possibly be. Note, that I define a cardist a little differently than others. To me. a cardist is not just one that does fancy flourishes but can do practically anything with a deck of cards. From doing an amazing Sybil Cut to cold stacking a deck and dealing a Royal Flush. You are an artist and your cards are your paintbrush.

That's who I want to be.

To serve as a creative outlet that I so desperately need in my life. I want to have a YouTube channel that I can use to express my passion cards and share with the rest of the world. Then see if I can possibly build a brand off of that passion.

I know those are some lofty goals but the bottom line right now is that I just want to go all in into something that I am extremely passion about, see how far I can take it without quitting when I reach those proverbial bumps in the road.