Practice Log
- Sunday - 4 hours
- Monday - 5 hours
- Tuesday - 2 hours
- Wednesday - 6 hours
- Thursday - 3 hours
- Friday - 2.5 hours
This is my practice time log for week one. I was restricted on Tuesday because I slipped a disk in my neck and was confined to the floor on my back all day with an ice pack under my neck. Otherwise, I would have gotten my hours in. But that's no excuse, haha! I swear, though...even with a disk out of place in my neck, I laid on my back for two hours on Tuesday with a deck of cards held high in the air practicing my flourishes. Now that's dedication. Ha!
Obviously, it doesn't matter how many hours you practice if you aren't accomplishing anything in that time period. If you are making no progress, but practicing three hours a day, you're wasting 21 hours a week that you could be using to do something else. With that concept in mind, I always like to work on new material, whether it be flourishes, tricks, or illusions. I like to keep my mind filled with fresh content. I usually spend nearly an hour a day practicing fans and flourishes, about an hour on cuts (one handed and two handed), and maybe an hour on a new trick/sleight. Most recently I have picked up King Rising Levitation.php>Levitation, the Elmsley count, and the coin matrix. I have already mastered the elmsley count and the coin matrix. I have not attempted KR yet.
Before I begin practicing, and often as soon as I wake up, I like to warm my hands up. First by stretching my fingers out, Range Of Motion style: from front to back and side to side. Then, I pick up a poker chip (standard size, 11g poker chip) and begin knuckle-rolls for a few minutes until I pick up a good solid speed and stay at a decent pace without dropping the coin or chip. This helps me to get my hand-eye coordination in tune, and also helps my finger dexterity. I highly suggest warming up your fingers/hands before practice, it has really helped me. I find that if I warm up or get my hands ready in some way, I drop less cards, make less mistakes, and just handle better in general. Now, to the fun stuff!
From the Arsenal....
Here are a few things I'm working on. To start, I've posted pics of my charlier cut instructional images, scissor cut, faro shuffle, card flip, and card fan. The pictures are laid out in a step-by-step manner, so please, if you spot something I'm doing wrong, notify me so that I may correct myself at once. This is what this entire project is for. To learn the proper method of the card flourishes, so that I may perform them well, instead of settling for mediocre. So let's get to it:
Charlier Cut
I'm pretty sure my charlier is ok, and I can dual hand it very well. Next up is my fan.
Fan
Step 1: Ok guys, let me know what I'm doing wrong...I have a feeling this is why I can't make a good fan. I begin by holding the deck like so (pictured) in my left hand.
Step 2: I then take my pointer finger on my right hand, and use this as a guider finger for the actual fan.
Step 3: I then spread the cards quickly with my right hand, while simultaneously spreading my left hand down to the left.
Step 4: hopefully, in the future they will look better, but for now, this is the final product.
So, what can I improve on? Any tips for hand/finger placement for my cut or my fans? I will post up my scissor cut and faro shuffle in the morning, as well as a card spread and flip. Until then, just stop by the forums on 21ace.com, and let me know what you think! You can comment on the materials on this page under "Funny Gambling Tales" at the bottom of the forum. Please drop in, leave me a line, and give me any suggestions you have.
Until tomorrow....