flourish

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David "Blanch" Pedersen doing world-famous Chris Kenner's flourish Five Faces of Sybil .

Card flourishes is the term for visual displays of skill performed with playing cards designed to show the skill or manual dexterity of a 'Flourisher'. Card flourishes are primarily intended to be visually fascinating and to appear difficult to do.^[1]

Card flourishes for magicians can be divided into many genres: one-handed cuts, spreads, two-handed cuts, fanning, aerials, and springs. Card flourishes are performed both as part of magic performances and on their own. Card Flourishes and Card Manipulation are considered as art forms, and many people all over the world practice them religiously. Many famous flourishers would be Dan Buck, Dave Buck, Michael Herp, Daniel Madison.^{[citation needed]} Though there are countless flourishing moves, the most common method of learning the art is through DVDs, books, free tutorials on the internet, private one-on-one sessions as well as privately produced instructional videos. Although Card Flourishing is still considered to be a rare skill or hobby, there has been a large spark in widespread interest over the past decade. As a result, there is significantly more informational material available on the market today for those interested. Card Flourishing is a hobby mostly practiced by young people, and has almost become separated from the magic community, however this movement has been hindered somewhat by magicians incorporating flourishes into magic tricks. Many young people will practice this art form with no interest in magic at all, yet Card Flourishing is derived from the magic community and has since been trying to liberate itself from the stereotype that all Card Flourishers are magicians.

Along with the cardistry community - many websites are available to not only keep users in touch with the community but also teach them and help advance the art.

Terminology

• Packet - Any amount of cards separate from the rest of the deck, the word "packet" can also mean the deck itself.
• Card cut - Any move that cuts the cards, which means to switch or re-arrange the positions of two or more packets of cards.
• False Cut - A move that cuts the cards without switching or re-arranging the positions of the cards.
• Display - A display of packets, single cards or fans, usually held still, then closed.
• Shuffle - Any move that mixes the cards thoroughly, this is different from a card cut because a card cut mixes larger packets of cards, but a shuffle usually mixes 1-2 cards on top of another all the way through the deck.
• False Shuffle - A shuffle that uses prestidigitation to keep the cards in the original order, prior to initiating the shuffle.
• Grip - The way the deck is held in the hand.
• Long sides of the deck - The sides of the deck that are longer than the other two sides.
• Short sides of the deck - The sides of the deck that are shorter than the other two sides.
• Mechanic's grip - A way of holding the deck where it lies across your palm, and the index finger is on one short side of the deck, the other fingers are on the long side next to it, and the thumb is lying across the other long side of the deck.
• Biddle Grip - Another way of holding the deck, in which the palm is face down, the 2nd and 3rd fingers are at the top short edge of the deck, and the thumb is at the bottom short edge of the deck holding it in position.
• Z Grip - This grip is used as the base of many card flourishes. It is accomplished by holding the deck in Mechanics Grip, then raising a packet of cards up from the deck in Biddle Grip while holding another packet between the thumb of the hand in Biddle Grip and the index finger of the hand in Mechanics Grip to create a 'Z' formation. This grip is commonly used as it is versatile in its applications for beginnings of flourishes.

References

1. ^ Tarr, Bill (1976). "Flourishes". Now You See It, Now You Don't! Lessons in Sleight of Hand. Vintage Books. pp. 59–89. ISBN 0-394-72202-7. 

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