I always try to become good at the hobbies I do. But there are always things you can't really get good at, and such was the case with Cardistry for me
Among the dozens of hobbies under my belt, I think my weakest one, the one were I felt like I wasnāt actually good at it, and in fact, I kinda sucked. That would be Cardistry.
Cardistry is born out of card flourishes, common pirouettes and fancy moves used by card magicians to demonstrate their abilities and expertise.
Since their inception, such moves have been divisive among the community, under the argument that they remove the āmagicā from card magic, and make it feel more like pure technique.
Some people are ok with that, āPeople already know itās fake so letās just get over itā and some are not, āThe point of magic is to make them believeāat least for a secondāin the impossibleā.
There are many schools of thoughts on this, and most people agree that doing a card spread or a spring wonāt hurt anyone and in fact, can help enhance the amusement, while more complex flourishes like two-handed cuts, such as the now classic Sybil Cut or The Wermāevery magicianās profile picture at some pointāare probably too much in a regular routine.
Regardless, at some point these shuffles and moves separated from magic altogether and began what is now known as Cardistry.
A good definition of the art, in my opinion is simply ādancing with cardsā. From Cardistry also flourished a new wave of interesting deck designs with cool patterns in their back, to make the overall motion in display even cooler. These cards usually have a different feel that those used for card magic. There are also literal card packets that are thicker and meant to help you practice moves without having 52 cards fall to the ground.
I had a lot more interest on Close-Up Magic over Cardistry, but that didnāt stop me from learning some fancy moves to do while shuffling or to show off.
Funnily enough many magicians today go the complete opposite, and try (with great success I must say) fo appear utterly useless at even holding a deck of cards, still, they can do absolute wonders, just watch a video from Dani DaOrtiz or Leonard Green, turn off your detective mind and be a kid again. You will not regret it.
Anyway, back on topic. I always preferred elegance and clear movements that removed the feeling of āsomething fishy going onā when done, do not get me wrongāthere is always something fishy going onābut it should not seem so obvious!
Despite it all, thereās a part of me who wished I was actually good at it, there are so many great moves I never managed to master and while I wouldnāt do them while performing magic, simply gaining the skill would be really satisfying, not to mention the views on TikTok!.
These past few months, the amount of posts in this website reviewing books or videogames and things has risen quite a bit, so I just wrote a bit about that.
