Having trouble learning card spring

[BillFoster]

I'm very new to cardistry, and I'm trying to learn how to spring cards. I've watched several tutorial videos and have been practicing for a few days off-and-on, but I can't seem to get the hang of it. About halfway through the deck, I just can't spring the cards anymore. The videos I'm watching say that I need to release the pressure on the cards from my thumb, and that seems to go OK for about the first half of the deck.

When I get to the second half of the deck, it feels like there's not enough pressure left. The cards just get stuck in my hand. Am I meant to be applying more pressure as I spring the cards? I've tried doing that, but the cards just kind of launch out in one giant clump, rather than continuing to spring.

What am I missing?

 

[CaseyRudd]

Hi Bill,

A couple of tips that helped me when learning how to spring the first time:

- The pressure you start with is essentially the same pressure you end with. It's supposed to be a single stream of cards at the same pressure from beginning to end. Work on keeping the same pressure throughout the entirety of the spring.

- Takes some trial and error, but you don't want to squeeze too hard to apply the pressure and you don't want too little pressure. It will take a bit of time to find that sweet spot but combine that with the next tip.

- Look at the movement of your thumb of the hand that is springing the cards. Before you begin, you should notice that the thumb is bent closer to a 90 degree angle than it is flat. As the spring goes on, keep the same pressure using this thumb as you extend the thumb itself. You'll notice that as the spring goes on, your thumb will straighten out. Also, pay attention and make sure that the thumb is moving closer to the other fingers as the spring goes on. Another way to look at it is that the fingers and the thumb move closer together as the spring goes on, like you're slowly squeezing them together.

- My ring finger of the springing hand is on the top right corner of the deck (I'm beginning the spring from my right hand). My thumb is on the bottom left corner. My pinky finger is directly on the right side under my ring finger and the pointer and middle finger are on the top resting next to my ring finger. Make sure these fingers are steady and apply the same pressure throughout the spring.

Hope this helps some and you get to springing cards very soon!

 

[BillFoster]

Hi Bill,

A couple of tips that helped me when learning how to spring the first time:

- The pressure you start with is essentially the same pressure you end with. It's supposed to be a single stream of cards at the same pressure from beginning to end. Work on keeping the same pressure throughout the entirety of the spring.

- Takes some trial and error, but you don't want to squeeze too hard to apply the pressure and you don't want too little pressure. It will take a bit of time to find that sweet spot but combine that with the next tip.

- Look at the movement of your thumb of the hand that is springing the cards. Before you begin, you should notice that the thumb is bent closer to a 90 degree angle than it is flat. As the spring goes on, keep the same pressure using this thumb as you extend the thumb itself. You'll notice that as the spring goes on, your thumb will straighten out. Also, pay attention and make sure that the thumb is moving closer to the other fingers as the spring goes on. Another way to look at it is that the fingers and the thumb move closer together as the spring goes on, like you're slowly squeezing them together.

- My ring finger of the springing hand is on the top right corner of the deck (I'm beginning the spring from my right hand). My thumb is on the bottom left corner. My pinky finger is directly on the right side under my ring finger and the pointer and middle finger are on the top resting next to my ring finger. Make sure these fingers are steady and apply the same pressure throughout the spring.

Hope this helps some and you get to springing cards very soon!

Thanks for the advice. How much should I be concerned with modifying techniques? My fingers are kind of short (my hands are small in general). So, the middle finger feels more comfortable b/c it gets just a bit more length on the deck, which is important for me when I'm holding it more diagonally. But I don't know if I should really practice this way because I don't want to train a bad habit that I will just have to break myself from later.

 

[CaseyRudd]

Thanks for the advice. How much should I be concerned with modifying techniques? My fingers are kind of short (my hands are small in general). So, the middle finger feels more comfortable b/c it gets just a bit more length on the deck, which is important for me when I'm holding it more diagonally. But I don't know if I should really practice this way because I don't want to train a bad habit that I will just have to break myself from later.

If it puts things in perspective, I always thought I had small hands and that it made it hard to learn moves, but then I met Andrei Jikh who is probably the best I've ever seen perform cardistry, and his hands are just barely smaller than mine. I couldn't believe it. I feel that if you learn the technique the right way, even if you have small hands, it will benefit you in the long run. I would try learning the spring with your ring finger on the corner instead of the middle finger. You'll have more control and it will also get the idea out of your head that having small hands is the reason why you can't do certain moves. It just takes a lot of effort and practice!