Akira HELP!

[Michael Kras]

Yesterday I received a copy of The Trilogy... wonderful DVD set. The first flourish I am trying to learn is Akira, which looks magnificent, however I am having problem with the initial Tornado... Two things happen.

1) I cannot extend my ring finger the way it is taught, to spin the packet. I can only get it to spin 90 degrees than my ring finger will not take it any farther.

2) Te packet being held in the left hand gets in the way of the spin.

Any tips on how to fix these problems will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Suux88]

practice the full 360 ring finger spin w/o holding the packet in the right hand. That's how i learnt it.

 

[filth0013]

The packet getting stuck because of the right hand packet can be fixed through practice. That happened to me at first, now it doesnt. By the way how many cards are in the spinning packet when you do it?

 

[Squ!rrel]

I had similar problems when I was learning Akira, I found there was no quick fix for spinning the middle packet, you just have to keep on doing it until you build up the finger strength to be able to do it properly.

If the packet in your left hand is getting in the way of spinning the middle packet, this can be fixed very easily. It's most likely because you aren't holding the middle packet high enough. Before you begin the flourish you should lift up the top packet (which will become the middle packet) with your thumb, this will put some space between the spinning packet and the packet in your left hand.

 

[Michael Kras]

Thank you for your quick responses. I use about 10-15 cards in the spinning packet.

Now my problem is mainly getting my ring finger to spin the packet! Maybe I'm misjointed or something but the way the florusih is executred won't allow for my ring finger to move very far at all.

 

[Genesis]

Thank you for your quick responses. I use about 10-15 cards in the spinning packet.

Now my problem is mainly getting my ring finger to spin the packet! Maybe I'm misjointed or something but the way the florusih is executred won't allow for my ring finger to move very far at all.

Same problems here. Keep in mind that the ring finger is the least dexterous and flexible of all the fingers since it's linked to the middle finger, which is still used far more. Also, I've developed a bad habit of bringing the packet down to finish the spin with my other hand rather than forcing my ring finger to do everything... I advise against this, it doesn't look as good. And seeing as that's all flourishing seems to be, no sense in making it worse!

 

[filth0013]

When u get into position for the spin, you could use the pinky of the right hand to push the middle packet up a bit so your ring finger can reach. thats how i do it.

 

[Squ!rrel]

Thank you for your quick responses. I use about 10-15 cards in the spinning packet.

Now my problem is mainly getting my ring finger to spin the packet! Maybe I'm misjointed or something but the way the florusih is executred won't allow for my ring finger to move very far at all.

I'd say this is very unlikely, whenever i've had trouble learning flourishes i've often blamed my hands and thought it was physically impossible for me. Spinning the middle packet requires very little movement from your ring finger and certainly doesn't require any unusual movement or stretching that you would not do in everyday life.