"Just Practice"

[MagicShadow9]

"One picture is worth ten thousand words." This ancient Chinese axiom is particulary true in attempting to explain anything so involved as card manipulation. No matter how thurough a written description may be, much is always left to the ingenuity of the reader. Consequently many hours of arduous practice are often wasted n trying to master a sleight which is not properly understood.

This is a quote from the preface of The Card Magic of LePaul (Which is an AMAZING book, btw). Read all of it and pay special attention to the last sentence. While it talks about sleights, i think the same could be said about flourishing.

Why am I posting this? Because whenever i see a thread asking for help with a flourish, everybody always says "just practice." This doesn't help anyone. Most of the time when i person posts a problem, it means they have practiced it and still cant get it right, therefore they think it's a technical reason, like having the wrong finger position or not applying enough force. So they post to try to find what the problem is. Telling them to "just practice" will not help them, and whenever i get that kind of response, i always think "Practice?! How do i practice if i dont even understand how to do it right?"

Now if the problem really is the lack of practice then it is better to say something like "You're doing fine, just keep practicing to get it smoother." That way they know that they're doing it right.

Now I'm not trying to hate on the people who do this, i'm just pointing out that saying "just practice" is not a very helpful response. So next time, please try to actually help the person with their problem rather then telling them to keep practicing.

 

[lachomagician]

Dude I second what you said. It is maybe one of the most irritating things to hear. I personally ask a question on the forums to get maybe new insight on a slight, move or flourish. Yes, I am practicing, but maybe someone has had a similar problem and found a straight forward solution, a different finger position or even a DIFFERENT WAY TO PRACTICE. Again, saying just practice does not help anyone. How about, "when you practice, try imagining your pinky doing x" or something like that, even that is better advise than just practice. I have never been the most talented person out there, so I have to work my butt off to do moves that probably come quickly to some of you. I do practice, most of us do practice. But please give more constructive advise.

Juan M.