Every time I start learning a new flourish, after a while my brain automatically goes ”holy shit, how am I gonna be able to stretch my fingers that far?” But I keep at it, and after a few weeks or so, the cut feels really natural and no trouble at all.
I used to say my hands were to small, and they were and are small. Then I decided to force myself to learn cuts, sleights, and tricks that I thought were impossible. I learned to perform them with little tweaks and fine tuned then over time, customizing each move to my hand size. I shocked myself by doing what I thought I would never do. It is possible!
My hands are absolutely tiny (relative to average size hands and those who do card tricks) and this gives me hope. I haven't started to watch the video yet, but if you want to do a video (I haven't checked your channel to see if you have already) then I'd watch it for the little tips/tricks/tweaks.
I'm a 26 year old woman with extremely small, almost child-like hands & I definitely have a lot of difficulty starting out any trick just as anyone else would but I was determined to figure it out one way or another even if there's no specific tutorial made just for me & I've always found that if I just watch any normal tutorial then adjust it & basically invent a custom modified way that works just for me it will surprisingly work as long as I sit there for 2-3 hours & keep doing it until I get it. The same thing applies with slight of hand illusions too, I used to truly think that would be impossible for me since it's always a guy with massive hands that are the best at it but just like in cardistry you essentially "figure it out" by modifying & practicing your own methods instead of relying on what others do.
I’ll be honest, this video was just what I needed. Instead of simply saying “YoU cAn dO iT” you actually showed someone doing cardistry without a hand. That surprisingly helped. Yes I know this is an old video but idgaf.
Man you are fluent with the one hand. I'm trying. I practice like my cards are my fidget spinner. Thanks for your advice and time. It is greatly appreciated
1 year 1/2. I suffer from depression. And it be came away to focus my mind. My discipline for it is not strong. But I've learned enough to were people think I know it well. And learned and practice d enough card tricks to the point that people think I'm a magician. I'm just a practitioner of the art. Plus it helps cause I work around children a lot. You know. So thank you and all others for your time and effort. It's greatly appreciated!! Keep it slightly slieghtful. Peace
So sorry to hear that! On the other hand it's great that cardistry is a comfort for you. Watching others' videos, learning, creating moves is an amazing distraction from pretty much anything.
@@lamontarnold5270I know this is an old comment, do you have any tips on how you stay motivated? I have similar issues. Both small not very dexterous hands (for now, hopefully will fix the dexterity part) and tend to have trouble with motivation practicing because of depression issues. Even doing the trick with just two cards is a struggle at the moment. Hope you’re doing better now!
I think this video did fix my perspective. I've always complained about my micro hands that have discouraged me from so many things. In magic, cardistry, and guitar, but the truth is that I get discouraged easily, I'll try harder! Thank you so much.
December Boys, I need you to know how much I truely apprecieate your hard word, time spent and complete generousity you have contributed to the cardistry community and me with these detailed and amazing tutorials. Today is my second day of practice as yesterday was the first time I ever heard of Cardistry and the incredible art form that it has evolved into. I don't know how Cardistry has escaped my notice all these years until now, but I am very grateful to have found it. You are an incredible teacher and extremely talented as a performer. I am a new subscriber and plan on dedicating many hours, months, years worth of practice to this beautiful and fun art form by learning from your videos. Thanks again.
So I started learning cardistry as self assigned physiotherapy for a torn ligament in my thumb. And I've never been nimble fingered. I found this video because I couldn't understand how people's hands actually do these cuts, I thought my hands were too small. After 3 weeks of practice I can charlier cut with both hands and I'm almost at a point where I can do scissor cuts. It takes time for everything in your hand to get used to these movements. I will say, one thing that helped me early on was using my other hand as a cage over the hand doing the cut, so when things wanted to go flying I wasn't playing 52 pickup.
12:14 EDIT: my previous comment was very negative so I will to to make it more constructive. This method DOES NOT help someone with smaller hands. I have normal size hands and even sqeezing the cards cannot get my fingers and thumb into those positions. However I'm still able to do this trick so I want to share how I do it. Firstly, getting the cards tucked under your thumb is the most important part to start. I position the deck in a way that I'm able to hold about half the deck with my thumb tip. This puts the inside top edge of the deck about halfway between my knuckle joint and the end of my thumb. The opposite side of the deck I then try to bring in as close to my palm as possible. For me that rests slightly past my first finger knuckles (not in the palm as he shows in the video). In this position my middle finger can only reach about 2/3 to 3/4 up the deck. It absolutely cannot reach over the top of the deck which I expect 90% of you are in the same boat here. Now instead of pulling way with your finger you need to let gravity do the work. Open your fingers away from your hand and let the half of your cards not held with your thumb fall against your fingers to form a V. Tuck your pointer and ring fingers underneath and let the cards rest on your middle finger. push upwards with your tucked fingers so that the loose part of the deck is now held horizontal to the floor resting on your two curled fingers and your middle finger. Continue to push up with your pointer and ring finger until you have created an angle at which your middle finger can get around to the side of the packet. At this point you can then grip the packet between your middle and ring/pointer fingers and finish the trick as shown in the video. What frustrated me most about this video is that he says people with smaller hands can do all these tricks (and he's 100% correct), but he doesn't show the modifications needed to do the tricks with smaller hands. As I call out above, they key is to find the core necessities of the trick in terms of holding the cards and then use gravity and proper balancing of the cards to do the work your hands cannot. It does make the tricks more difficult to learn and a little more precarious but still doable with enough practice.
idk why but this video alone taught me so much and I was able to do the thumb cut within 30 mins just by pausing and playing your segment at 12:17 in the video. Thank you!
What you said is totally true. I have small hands because I'm fat. At first glance, cardistry is near impossible in my mind. But I can assure you guys, hand size is NOT the problem. This video made me re-learn my one handed cut, that I hated back a few years ago. And only after 1 hours and a half, I can do one handed cut without even looking at my hands, much like a fidget move when I'm holding a deck of cards. It's about how you adapt the techniques shown to your own ways and hand size. I was furious with one handed cuts before. Now, I can just do it with any decks that's in my hand at the moment. It's truly amazing.
I watched a video demonstration of the Charlier cut. Watched the instructions, and said that my hands were too small. Then realized that a disease I suffer from, weakens my hands considerably. Then I watched this video. No excuses. After practice, I can now Charlier cut with both my small, tremor ridden hands👍🏾
Hi, fellow shaky hand individual here. If you’re still doing cardistry, can you tell me if the shaking stopped getting worse when doing flourishes over time?
@@b3a5t89 Yes, but I’d like to say I still have tremors every now and then. However, my hands became much stronger. Now when it comes, I can maintain flourishes and positions much better.
@@kzathefox2873 thank you for the prompt response! I’m just starting out, about a month or so in, and the Sybil cut and Scissors cut are the worst atm, but I’m glad to hear that the hands will adjust.
@@kzathefox2873if you don’t mind me asking, do you know what disease makes your hands weak and shaky? I’ve felt like I have a similar issue with my hands for a long time, but because I’m pretty healthy and strong otherwise my doctor didn’t really seem to take it seriously. My hands are always shaky and clammy and I feel like I need to stretch my wrists out pretty much constantly. Sorry to bother you I’d guess you’re probs not a doctor but I’m wondering if maybe you have something similar
Fairly late comment, but thank you for this video. I searched "small hands cardistry" not because I have particularly small hands but I was hoping for tips to adjust your grip to perform one-handed cuts.
To think someone that mainly does tutorials thinks that being rude is the only way to get people to stop complaining and is the best way to motivate people... 🤔
can approve this. Made all 5 cuts work in only two hours. Not flawless and far from fast, but u have to put effort in it. watch a movie while doing it. and perform other moves as well, fan cards, spring cards. will help u to get a handle for the deck. it's not about learning a move, its about getting used to handle a deck of cards. learned the fan while watching a movie. play with the cards, feel them, it will just happen. watch other tutorials as well, learn different grips. another good advise, buy a good deck of cards, not some cheap trash, the handling is different.
I honestly thought i was supposed to start one handed, so charlier cut is what i learned first, thought the revolution cut was impossible for me, but after spending 4 hours straight in one day, i can do it, albeit slow, but i'm getting there. My girl is 5'2 and tiny, i taught her the charlier cut as well.
There are differences in hand sizes and some moves are definitely easier with bigger hands. You can't expect if you have the minor disadvantage of having small hands to get everything the first shot. You also have to adapt methods to yourself. I can charlie cut in both my left and right hands it took a lot of practice and I had to change the method to one that worked for me, changing the grip the exact placement of my index finget and other details until it worked, you need to think critically when you run into issues where you have cards that won't clear. My hands are smaller than my 10 year old nephew's, when I got married I realized that they didn't make rings in a size small enough for me most places as a man. I wear a size 6 with two big spaces on it. I don't think hand size is what's going to stop you, at least with any tricks or flourishes I know, definitely does make some stuff a lot harder though.
Oh and they make smaller playing cards if you want to practice some moves on scaled down versions. Some things scale up better than others but if you are really having a hard time there are "travel" and "mini" sized playing cards.
Came for the tip on the revolution cut and got a reality check that I lacked practice. So I said screw it reduced the cards and did it non stop for 3 hours. Now I can do it at a decent speed! Thanks
I think it is true that it takes more time for small ended people to learn something compared to normal sized. And they can learn everything: I can do perfectly the full sybil cut, the revolution cut too but as for the charlie cut it's different, I practised it for years and still have issues in it because like 2 times out of 5 cards will fall. Now if normal people say that in 2 weeks you can learn a good charlie cut then I think they are either lying or they just have a good luck with it. I practised that for years, not months, and still have problem on that. I think it's not just about the size of the hand, but how a hand is differently built than the majority of people. I think that there is a bit of truth in this video, but also a certain arrogance in what has been said, because "You didn't practice enough" it's pretty ridiculous.
Amen to that video, I thought my small hand size, hindered my ability to perform these cuts. After the initial knuckle joint pain wears away, you are left with the muscle memory in your hands to perform these cuts effortlessly. I have seen female asian women with hands smaller than mine, perform these cuts, palms and flourishes with ease. Don't give up, when you have your first 'breakthrough' you will not believe how satisfying it is.
The thing which helped me to start was to use Bicycle bridge-sized cards. After I managed to do charlier and scissor cuts with them, it was very easy to switch to normal poker-sized cards.
Ok, now I will never say my hands are too small again after seeing a cardist with no fucking hands. I honestly think I needed to see that, so thank you for being that blunt with us, December.
I struggled with all the cuts at first and I still struggle with dropping cards in some. I have learned that hand size is almost never the real cause of the problem. I have practiced several cuts where I could not get the packets to clear no matter what. Rev Cut, Scissor, and especially the triple cut. But I could easily see normal size people performing them with absolute ease. So I watched multiple videos, preferably over the shoulder. I broke the cut down into segments and watched each finder’s placement and movement carefully. I looked at the packet sizes, placement, angle, and method of control carefully. Forget about the whole cut and just perfect a part of it before moving on. What initially seemed impossible is like cake now with minimal stretching. There was alwqys some little detail I was missing that made it much easier than i thought at first. I’m still learning. I am only interested in one-handed fidget cuts not full on cardistry. And I have learned a half dozen or so and there are tons more.
I have one tip to learn one handed card cuts fast (at least for me) I learned the charlier cut in about 2-3 hours because when I started learning the cut I used my non dominant hand to stabilize the cards while I was doing the trick. At first it’s super sloppy but then I practiced more. I was able to do it with one hand sloppily. Then I got it smooth but I mess up sometimes with one hand. Just a little tip if your having trouble learning charlier cut or something similar.
Hi guys update to my last post here 6 days ago. So I am a short guy 5'6" with slightly smaller hands but with short fat fingers. (2.5" thumb, 3.0"middle finger for an comparrison). Anyway I tried the Charlier cut for almost an hour for the very first time and kept failing and blamed it on my hands because I belived my fingers to be way too short as compared with the experts online performing the Charlier cut who had obviouly longer fingers. After I did a search on RUclips for some tips and advice I found this awesome video and after watching this I was inspired and tried again without the silly thought of the size of my hands/fingers. Guess what inside a few hours I did it! My first successful cut, since then I have been dedicating about an hour a day practicing it, plus spending extra time to practice other basic cardistry skills. So by my third day I have been able to successfully do the Charlier cut about 85% of the time. Since I am still very new to cardistry I expect my percentage to go up to at least 99% in the next month or so. Thanks again December Boys for this excellent video!
i only started getting into card tricks a few days ago, and learned the card spring so far, attempted charlie cut, thought hands were too small. only tip needed from this video "change and play with your grip" i got the charlie cut down before this video ended. (y)
Lol I thought I wasn't gonna suceed with the one handed cuts but I mastered the Charlier and scissors cut within one day Woo HOO and FYI my hands are the smallest in my class and family LOLZ
One of the greatest card manipulators of all time was a man called Max Malini, and he was famed for the small size of his hands... with good practice having small hands actually can be an advantage to individuals wanting to do cardistry or card manipulation, because to an audience, it seems less possible for an individual to be able to perform any cuts or palms, when their hands appear to be too small for a deck of cards, so when the performer pulls them off, it is harder for the audience to decipher the action. If someone is having great problems with practice however, I advise using a bridge deck to build up some of the strength in the hands, then progressing to a full size deck once they become natural with a bridge deck.
below beginner is just laymen. cardistry is about the art of displaying difficult card flourishes. emphasis on the difficult part. We say this is beginner because it's a start to doing cardisry not because it's easy. People just find it easy after practice,
Thank you for this video and showing Mahdi Gilbert because I'm just getting into cardistry and have been worried that me missing the joint on the tip of my thumb would prevent me from enjoying this as much as I could. Again thank you for this video and I've subscribed to you just for your no nonsense approach to this topic.
I have pretty small hands but im already learning beginner cuts in about a week. I have a weird problem where I can't move my pinky seperately of my ring finger. Its teaching me that it truly is all about the grip.
Having the same issue actually. My main problem with the charlier cut is that my pinkie wants to let go, but I've learned a way to do it if my pinkie keeps itself steady lol
Thanks! It has encouraged me to keep on practicing after I had that pathetic thought of "damn.. I have small fingers/hands"🤣 lol yea I realized that it's a pathetic excuse to not practice and give my all. Thanks again! 😁😁
I just watched the cut tutorial two hours ago and can already achieve 3 of them. Only just bought a deck yesterday and my hands are not that big... I thought it was put together very well. Easy to follow. Thanks
It all comes down to practice and dedication. Look at Xavior Spade and Tony Chang. Even though they're not cardists they do the best knuckle busting sleights flawlessly.
Couldn't manage based on the other video. With this explanation though, I can now do the Charlie Cut every time without issue. Took about five attempts. So, while you are correct that size doesn't matter much, a good explanation does.
I have small hands for a middle aged man (very small) and I can do the one handed scissor cut. Its like taking a swing at golf. The tall man will swing the club vertically and hit the ball, the shorter man using the same size club will swing the club flatter in order to hit the ball. You just need to adjust the position of the cards to suit the size of your hands.
The small hands might require more practice or a bit different tricks but you can do it. My hands are not small but tiny. From the fingertip to the end of my palm is only 6.89 inches. And the longest finger is only 2.75 inches. The Chalier cut can be done for sure. My trick is to support my upper decks from the gravity with my pinky. My deck isn't parallel to the ground. More like slanting the whole decks from the ground 45 degrees or more. It may not be elegant enough but it can be done.
I think the way you shoot from the shoulder makes it very easy to learn, so I think you are not changing your style for few comments and I love your videos
Bro idk about them but you're an amazing teacher. Wanted to say thank you I saw the flourish video yesterday and I've got 4 of them down already just trying to perfect them the only one Im having trouble with is the thumb cut but I'll get it down 💯
I learned the charlier cut in about 2 or 3 hours, but I haven’t mastered it yet I still mess up sometimes because my picky placement is not the best. Next flourish i’ll learn will probably be the revolution cut.
I am 14. I have small hands. I am doing the Charlies cut just fine. Like its not hard at all anymore, in moving on to much more difficult things. Trust me your hands aren't too small.
At first, i also thought, my hands were to small. And yes, my fingers are kinda short and bulky. But I wanted to learn at least one Cut. So googled "Cardistry with small hands" and boom. There were lots and lots of tips on how to learn and do a Charlier Cut with small hands. 2 weeks into training I am now able to do a Charlie Cut, a Revolution Cut and a Scissor Cut (what was a nightmare in the beginning, but now i like it). It is not perfectly smooth - of course - but it is getting better every day. Everything you need to do is being consistent and practice every day. And as a pack of cards is really tiny and you can do it for like 5 minutes and then stop if you want or need to, there is literally no excuse to not practice at least for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Even if you have a buisy day. You just need to get yout sh*t together and just do it.
I'm 2 years old. My hands are 3 inches from bottom of palm to tip of longest finger. My hands are small and I did the charlier cut. What's your excuse? How long are your hands and fingers in inches?
Thanks for the kick in the pants. I have stupidly small hands but it just means I need to adjust the way I do it and I can't expect to get it on the first try. I was being a bonehead! Thanks!
I have a question. Is any card useful to cardistry? Because I don't have money to buy specialized cards and I have the normal basic ones (the kind that comes 2 decks and it cost around $3), so what next? Btw, I've also heard that the normal bicycle cards are good, is that true?
Special cards aren't needed at all, a deck of bicycles will be enough, just take good care of them and occasionally get a new one if your current one is too pooped.
You’re probably right :( I guess they aren’t too small for card tricks rather I’d like to see the modifications someone with smaller hands makes to the trick to do it correctly? I think it can be an excuse sure but you oughtta think about the fact that it is a bit easier for people with larger hands. Maybe try and look at other perspectives before YOU tell OTHER PEOPLE that THEY are making excuses. Im sorry, there’s nothing you can tell me to make me believe I’ve given up. Just looking for a little extra tutoring is all. Sincerely, the small hand gang
I have a legit question, do cards come in different sizes? I have a deck I bought at a garage sale years ago and I'm just now deciding to try to learn some tricks. One of the ones I'm trying involves palming a card so that it's invisible to onlookers. The card itself is larger than my palm and I can't seem to conceal it. I'm still practicing the trick, and getting fairly fluid with the movement, but like I said, I bought these at a garage sale, its not a name brand deck and I wonder if that makes a difference? Or if there are cards specifically made for Cardistry vs the usual playing cards? I'm totally down to just practice more if the size of the card really doesn't matter, but if I'm making this harder on myself by not using a proper deck, I'd like to know
Late, but... They actually do. 88x63mm is a standard for poker - great for riffle shuffle. Tarot cards are 114x61mm. Piquet cards are even wider - 114x70mm. Solitaire cards are small so they can fit on the table more easily - 67x44mm. And off brand decks will have their own sizes too as they don't have standards to maintain. Nevertheless, even brands will sell various sized cards. For instance bicycle sells poker size, bridge size, half size and even xxl size cards.
I’m right handed but I always use my left hand. My dominant just can’t communicate like my left with cards. Very odd because I can’t do anything else left handed. I can’t flick open a knife with my left hand but I can one handed cut card decks.
I have pretty big hands...and still have problems with thumb cut or running charlier...so like it was said, it´s all about practise :D never give up :D
It's funny that I said the same thing when I was learning Until i did it, and it's now my fidget move when I'm holding a playing card. There's no "my hands are small". There IS, however "this is hard, and I'm lacking the motivation to keep practicing" 😂
okay so i fairly big hands they are a good size and i cant do this to well but takeing the cards out to make the deck smaller is a good idea cuz it helpped me
It's true, I've seen hundreds of "my hands are too small, wah, waah, *WAAAAHH!!*" and not one about "I can't get this one because my hands are so big and fingers so long that I can't even do a dribble because my fingers hang over the edges, wah, waah, *WAAAAAHH!!!"* Do what everybody else does: *JUST FIGURE IT OUT!!"*
Charlier cut is the first cut I've learnt. It cost me about a week to perform it clean. Showed it to a friend of mine and he told me he tried to get into cardistry and his hands are too small. This is lack of dedication. People want to perform cool stuff immediately from the beginning without putting effort and time into it (not only in cardistry). Finding out out they're not yet good at it, they give up. I'm doing rotation cut and the spread now for 3 weeks daily, cards are falling and flying everywhere.
In addition to taking out few cards to have easier time to learn, I'd also suggest people to find Bridge size playing cards to learn with. Bridge sized cards slimmer than poker sized.
If you want to learn try starting of with 2 cards then once you get it with two cards try 4 then 6 then 8 and so on until you get it and reach 52 it takes long but works
I have small hands also i just started with a smaller top packet until I was able to get that down to start building muscle memory and slowly got to half the deck in one packet
Did i just watch a guy doing a thumb cut where his thumb went across the width of a poker deck with a 1/2" to spare while wrapping his middle finger completely around the second pack say that he has small hands? 😂😂😂 Small is when your thumb is a 1/4" shorter than the width of a bridge deck and your thumb middle finger can't touch around it. That said I can do more than I thought possible and its still fun.
Watch the main tutorial video on 5 one-handed cuts: ruclips.net/video/-GjS3221VHA/видео.html
Thank god it's already on my playlist :D
More to come!
YAY!!!!
We are excited as well!
I’ve never been more called out in my entire life.
50th like 👍
I ended your 69 likes
Your at 97 my friend. Small hands.. try having shorts thumbs. And okay can we see that cardist in the beginning do the squeeze please?
@@user-vw9gf2hd7b again, not an excuse For not learning cardistry
@@igdlackbig no no no.. only limited to certain moves to fair.
Every time I start learning a new flourish, after a while my brain automatically goes ”holy shit, how am I gonna be able to stretch my fingers that far?” But I keep at it, and after a few weeks or so, the cut feels really natural and no trouble at all.
this just inspired me to keep trying!
@@somerandomperson9856 same
I used to say my hands were to small, and they were and are small. Then I decided to force myself to learn cuts, sleights, and tricks that I thought were impossible. I learned to perform them with little tweaks and fine tuned then over time, customizing each move to my hand size. I shocked myself by doing what I thought I would never do.
It is possible!
You should film a video with those tips yourself! Pretty sure that would help others a lot!
@@DecemberBoys that's a great idea! I've been considering video ideas and this is perfect! Thanks for the boost!
My hands are absolutely tiny (relative to average size hands and those who do card tricks) and this gives me hope.
I haven't started to watch the video yet, but if you want to do a video (I haven't checked your channel to see if you have already) then I'd watch it for the little tips/tricks/tweaks.
I'm a 26 year old woman with extremely small, almost child-like hands & I definitely have a lot of difficulty starting out any trick just as anyone else would but I was determined to figure it out one way or another even if there's no specific tutorial made just for me & I've always found that if I just watch any normal tutorial then adjust it & basically invent a custom modified way that works just for me it will surprisingly work as long as I sit there for 2-3 hours & keep doing it until I get it.
The same thing applies with slight of hand illusions too, I used to truly think that would be impossible for me since it's always a guy with massive hands that are the best at it but just like in cardistry you essentially "figure it out" by modifying & practicing your own methods instead of relying on what others do.
I’ll be honest, this video was just what I needed. Instead of simply saying “YoU cAn dO iT” you actually showed someone doing cardistry without a hand. That surprisingly helped. Yes I know this is an old video but idgaf.
The thing is did he prove his point about peoples hands being too small but the guy with no hands didn't do the charlier cut
Man you are fluent with the one hand.
I'm trying. I practice like my cards are my fidget spinner.
Thanks for your advice and time. It is greatly appreciated
Glad it helped. How long have you been practicing?
1 year 1/2. I suffer from depression. And it be came away to focus my mind. My discipline for it is not strong. But I've learned enough to were people think I know it well. And learned and practice d enough card tricks to the point that people think I'm a magician. I'm just a practitioner of the art. Plus it helps cause I work around children a lot. You know. So thank you and all others for your time and effort. It's greatly appreciated!! Keep it slightly slieghtful. Peace
So sorry to hear that! On the other hand it's great that cardistry is a comfort for you. Watching others' videos, learning, creating moves is an amazing distraction from pretty much anything.
@@lamontarnold5270I know this is an old comment, do you have any tips on how you stay motivated? I have similar issues. Both small not very dexterous hands (for now, hopefully will fix the dexterity part) and tend to have trouble with motivation practicing because of depression issues. Even doing the trick with just two cards is a struggle at the moment. Hope you’re doing better now!
I think this video did fix my perspective. I've always complained about my micro hands that have discouraged me from so many things. In magic, cardistry, and guitar, but the truth is that I get discouraged easily, I'll try harder! Thank you so much.
holy cow i relate to this so much,, for guitar you can also get 1/2 or 3/4 size guitars which are better for small hands!
December Boys, I need you to know how much I truely apprecieate your hard word, time spent and complete generousity you have contributed to the cardistry community and me with these detailed and amazing tutorials. Today is my second day of practice as yesterday was the first time I ever heard of Cardistry and the incredible art form that it has evolved into. I don't know how Cardistry has escaped my notice all these years until now, but I am very grateful to have found it. You are an incredible teacher and extremely talented as a performer. I am a new subscriber and plan on dedicating many hours, months, years worth of practice to this beautiful and fun art form by learning from your videos. Thanks again.
Did it. Can't believe it but I did it twice in a row. After 1 solid day of practice. Thanks for the video.
The fella with no hands at the beginning is a true inspiration.
So I started learning cardistry as self assigned physiotherapy for a torn ligament in my thumb. And I've never been nimble fingered. I found this video because I couldn't understand how people's hands actually do these cuts, I thought my hands were too small. After 3 weeks of practice I can charlier cut with both hands and I'm almost at a point where I can do scissor cuts. It takes time for everything in your hand to get used to these movements.
I will say, one thing that helped me early on was using my other hand as a cage over the hand doing the cut, so when things wanted to go flying I wasn't playing 52 pickup.
12:14 EDIT: my previous comment was very negative so I will to to make it more constructive. This method DOES NOT help someone with smaller hands. I have normal size hands and even sqeezing the cards cannot get my fingers and thumb into those positions. However I'm still able to do this trick so I want to share how I do it. Firstly, getting the cards tucked under your thumb is the most important part to start. I position the deck in a way that I'm able to hold about half the deck with my thumb tip. This puts the inside top edge of the deck about halfway between my knuckle joint and the end of my thumb. The opposite side of the deck I then try to bring in as close to my palm as possible. For me that rests slightly past my first finger knuckles (not in the palm as he shows in the video). In this position my middle finger can only reach about 2/3 to 3/4 up the deck. It absolutely cannot reach over the top of the deck which I expect 90% of you are in the same boat here.
Now instead of pulling way with your finger you need to let gravity do the work. Open your fingers away from your hand and let the half of your cards not held with your thumb fall against your fingers to form a V. Tuck your pointer and ring fingers underneath and let the cards rest on your middle finger. push upwards with your tucked fingers so that the loose part of the deck is now held horizontal to the floor resting on your two curled fingers and your middle finger. Continue to push up with your pointer and ring finger until you have created an angle at which your middle finger can get around to the side of the packet. At this point you can then grip the packet between your middle and ring/pointer fingers and finish the trick as shown in the video.
What frustrated me most about this video is that he says people with smaller hands can do all these tricks (and he's 100% correct), but he doesn't show the modifications needed to do the tricks with smaller hands. As I call out above, they key is to find the core necessities of the trick in terms of holding the cards and then use gravity and proper balancing of the cards to do the work your hands cannot. It does make the tricks more difficult to learn and a little more precarious but still doable with enough practice.
idk why but this video alone taught me so much and I was able to do the thumb cut within 30 mins just by pausing and playing your segment at 12:17 in the video. Thank you!
What you said is totally true.
I have small hands because I'm fat. At first glance, cardistry is near impossible in my mind.
But I can assure you guys, hand size is NOT the problem. This video made me re-learn my one handed cut, that I hated back a few years ago. And only after 1 hours and a half, I can do one handed cut without even looking at my hands, much like a fidget move when I'm holding a deck of cards.
It's about how you adapt the techniques shown to your own ways and hand size.
I was furious with one handed cuts before. Now, I can just do it with any decks that's in my hand at the moment. It's truly amazing.
I watched a video demonstration of the Charlier cut. Watched the instructions, and said that my hands were too small. Then realized that a disease I suffer from, weakens my hands considerably. Then I watched this video. No excuses. After practice, I can now Charlier cut with both my small, tremor ridden hands👍🏾
Hi, fellow shaky hand individual here. If you’re still doing cardistry, can you tell me if the shaking stopped getting worse when doing flourishes over time?
@@b3a5t89 Yes, but I’d like to say I still have tremors every now and then. However, my hands became much stronger. Now when it comes, I can maintain flourishes and positions much better.
@@kzathefox2873 thank you for the prompt response! I’m just starting out, about a month or so in, and the Sybil cut and Scissors cut are the worst atm, but I’m glad to hear that the hands will adjust.
@@b3a5t89 keep at it my guy. You’re already doing better than me. And that makes me hopeful of mastering the scissor cut one day.
@@kzathefox2873if you don’t mind me asking, do you know what disease makes your hands weak and shaky? I’ve felt like I have a similar issue with my hands for a long time, but because I’m pretty healthy and strong otherwise my doctor didn’t really seem to take it seriously. My hands are always shaky and clammy and I feel like I need to stretch my wrists out pretty much constantly. Sorry to bother you I’d guess you’re probs not a doctor but I’m wondering if maybe you have something similar
Any tips for thumb cut? I want to learn mantra but I can't because of the thumb like grip
My heart cried when I see you handling those Jerry's 😢
Good thing we didn't include the bloopers when jerrys were all over the floor then.
Fairly late comment, but thank you for this video. I searched "small hands cardistry" not because I have particularly small hands but I was hoping for tips to adjust your grip to perform one-handed cuts.
To think someone that mainly does tutorials thinks that being rude is the only way to get people to stop complaining and is the best way to motivate people... 🤔
can approve this. Made all 5 cuts work in only two hours. Not flawless and far from fast, but u have to put effort in it. watch a movie while doing it. and perform other moves as well, fan cards, spring cards. will help u to get a handle for the deck. it's not about learning a move, its about getting used to handle a deck of cards. learned the fan while watching a movie. play with the cards, feel them, it will just happen. watch other tutorials as well, learn different grips. another good advise, buy a good deck of cards, not some cheap trash, the handling is different.
I honestly thought i was supposed to start one handed, so charlier cut is what i learned first, thought the revolution cut was impossible for me, but after spending 4 hours straight in one day, i can do it, albeit slow, but i'm getting there. My girl is 5'2 and tiny, i taught her the charlier cut as well.
There are differences in hand sizes and some moves are definitely easier with bigger hands. You can't expect if you have the minor disadvantage of having small hands to get everything the first shot. You also have to adapt methods to yourself. I can charlie cut in both my left and right hands it took a lot of practice and I had to change the method to one that worked for me, changing the grip the exact placement of my index finget and other details until it worked, you need to think critically when you run into issues where you have cards that won't clear. My hands are smaller than my 10 year old nephew's, when I got married I realized that they didn't make rings in a size small enough for me most places as a man. I wear a size 6 with two big spaces on it. I don't think hand size is what's going to stop you, at least with any tricks or flourishes I know, definitely does make some stuff a lot harder though.
Oh and they make smaller playing cards if you want to practice some moves on scaled down versions. Some things scale up better than others but if you are really having a hard time there are "travel" and "mini" sized playing cards.
Came for the tip on the revolution cut and got a reality check that I lacked practice. So I said screw it reduced the cards and did it non stop for 3 hours. Now I can do it at a decent speed! Thanks
my hands are too long... lmao... great video..
But mine are too short bhai
I just began to do cardistry about 7-9 days ago, I can do the sybil cut and hot shot, and the basics, I just practice all day while doing other stuff.
I think it is true that it takes more time for small ended people to learn something compared to normal sized. And they can learn everything: I can do perfectly the full sybil cut, the revolution cut too but as for the charlie cut it's different, I practised it for years and still have issues in it because like 2 times out of 5 cards will fall. Now if normal people say that in 2 weeks you can learn a good charlie cut then I think they are either lying or they just have a good luck with it. I practised that for years, not months, and still have problem on that. I think it's not just about the size of the hand, but how a hand is differently built than the majority of people. I think that there is a bit of truth in this video, but also a certain arrogance in what has been said, because "You didn't practice enough" it's pretty ridiculous.
I’m right handed but left handed seems to hold the cards better. The cards rest better left handed IMO
same here, I think theres a term for it - goofy. Like when skateboarding.
Amen to that video, I thought my small hand size, hindered my ability to perform these cuts.
After the initial knuckle joint pain wears away, you are left with the muscle memory in your hands to perform these cuts effortlessly.
I have seen female asian women with hands smaller than mine, perform these cuts, palms and flourishes with ease.
Don't give up, when you have your first 'breakthrough' you will not believe how satisfying it is.
The thing which helped me to start was to use Bicycle bridge-sized cards. After I managed to do charlier and scissor cuts with them, it was very easy to switch to normal poker-sized cards.
Ok, now I will never say my hands are too small again after seeing a cardist with no fucking hands. I honestly think I needed to see that, so thank you for being that blunt with us, December.
I struggled with all the cuts at first and I still struggle with dropping cards in some. I have learned that hand size is almost never the real cause of the problem. I have practiced several cuts where I could not get the packets to clear no matter what. Rev Cut, Scissor, and especially the triple cut. But I could easily see normal size people performing them with absolute ease. So I watched multiple videos, preferably over the shoulder. I broke the cut down into segments and watched each finder’s placement and movement carefully. I looked at the packet sizes, placement, angle, and method of control carefully. Forget about the whole cut and just perfect a part of it before moving on. What initially seemed impossible is like cake now with minimal stretching. There was alwqys some little detail I was missing that made it much easier than i thought at first. I’m still learning. I am only interested in one-handed fidget cuts not full on cardistry. And I have learned a half dozen or so and there are tons more.
yeah i have 18cm hands and i literally couldnt do a charlier cut for a week, now i can do it pretty well and smoothly. No excuses.
I have one tip to learn one handed card cuts fast (at least for me) I learned the charlier cut in about 2-3 hours because when I started learning the cut I used my non dominant hand to stabilize the cards while I was doing the trick. At first it’s super sloppy but then I practiced more. I was able to do it with one hand sloppily. Then I got it smooth but I mess up sometimes with one hand. Just a little tip if your having trouble learning charlier cut or something similar.
I just have trouble with my thumb, how do you raise the bottom pack while keeping your thumb on the top pack.
Hi guys update to my last post here 6 days ago. So I am a short guy 5'6" with slightly smaller hands but with short fat fingers. (2.5" thumb, 3.0"middle finger for an comparrison). Anyway I tried the Charlier cut for almost an hour for the very first time and kept failing and blamed it on my hands because I belived my fingers to be way too short as compared with the experts online performing the Charlier cut who had obviouly longer fingers. After I did a search on RUclips for some tips and advice I found this awesome video and after watching this I was inspired and tried again without the silly thought of the size of my hands/fingers. Guess what inside a few hours I did it! My first successful cut, since then I have been dedicating about an hour a day practicing it, plus spending extra time to practice other basic cardistry skills. So by my third day I have been able to successfully do the Charlier cut about 85% of the time. Since I am still very new to cardistry I expect my percentage to go up to at least 99% in the next month or so. Thanks again December Boys for this excellent video!
i only started getting into card tricks a few days ago, and learned the card spring so far, attempted charlie cut, thought hands were too small. only tip needed from this video "change and play with your grip" i got the charlie cut down before this video ended. (y)
Lol I thought I wasn't gonna suceed with the one handed cuts but I mastered the Charlier and scissors cut within one day Woo HOO and FYI my hands are the smallest in my class and family LOLZ
In card dribbling, how do you stop the cards from flipping? Or is it just more muscle memory needed?
One of the greatest card manipulators of all time was a man called Max Malini, and he was famed for the small size of his hands... with good practice having small hands actually can be an advantage to individuals wanting to do cardistry or card manipulation, because to an audience, it seems less possible for an individual to be able to perform any cuts or palms, when their hands appear to be too small for a deck of cards, so when the performer pulls them off, it is harder for the audience to decipher the action. If someone is having great problems with practice however, I advise using a bridge deck to build up some of the strength in the hands, then progressing to a full size deck once they become natural with a bridge deck.
below beginner is just laymen. cardistry is about the art of displaying difficult card flourishes. emphasis on the difficult part. We say this is beginner because it's a start to doing cardisry not because it's easy. People just find it easy after practice,
Thank you for this video and showing Mahdi Gilbert because I'm just getting into cardistry and have been worried that me missing the joint on the tip of my thumb would prevent me from enjoying this as much as I could.
Again thank you for this video and I've subscribed to you just for your no nonsense approach to this topic.
Can you please make a bullet troubleshooting? I have some issues with the first part.
I have pretty small hands but im already learning beginner cuts in about a week. I have a weird problem where I can't move my pinky seperately of my ring finger. Its teaching me that it truly is all about the grip.
Exactly!
Having the same issue actually. My main problem with the charlier cut is that my pinkie wants to let go, but I've learned a way to do it if my pinkie keeps itself steady lol
Just got my Bicycle Red Dragons and Stargazer decks. They are amazing. I will practise how to do these one handed cuts.
I’m not complaining about small hands but can I get help with mantra? :c
Thanks! It has encouraged me to keep on practicing after I had that pathetic thought of "damn.. I have small fingers/hands"🤣 lol yea I realized that it's a pathetic excuse to not practice and give my all. Thanks again! 😁😁
I just watched the cut tutorial two hours ago and can already achieve 3 of them. Only just bought a deck yesterday and my hands are not that big... I thought it was put together very well. Easy to follow. Thanks
What is the cut in thumbnail called?
It all comes down to practice and dedication.
Look at Xavior Spade and Tony Chang. Even though they're not cardists they do the best knuckle busting sleights flawlessly.
But magic sleights are so much different than cardistry.
Couldn't manage based on the other video. With this explanation though, I can now do the Charlie Cut every time without issue. Took about five attempts. So, while you are correct that size doesn't matter much, a good explanation does.
I have small hands for a middle aged man (very small) and I can do the one handed scissor cut. Its like taking a swing at golf. The tall man will swing the club vertically and hit the ball, the shorter man using the same size club will swing the club flatter in order to hit the ball. You just need to adjust the position of the cards to suit the size of your hands.
The small hands might require more practice or a bit different tricks but you can do it. My hands are not small but tiny. From the fingertip to the end of my palm is only 6.89 inches. And the longest finger is only 2.75 inches. The Chalier cut can be done for sure. My trick is to support my upper decks from the gravity with my pinky. My deck isn't parallel to the ground. More like slanting the whole decks from the ground 45 degrees or more. It may not be elegant enough but it can be done.
but how many times did you wash your hands before you used the nuggets
Good point. How many would you?
@@DecemberBoys probably once for each dollar I spent on them
So 500 million times
I think the way you shoot from the shoulder makes it very easy to learn, so I think you are not changing your style for few comments and I love your videos
What was the song when he said boo who
How is the cut on the thumbnail called??
Bro idk about them but you're an amazing teacher. Wanted to say thank you I saw the flourish video yesterday and I've got 4 of them down already just trying to perfect them the only one Im having trouble with is the thumb cut but I'll get it down 💯
I learned the charlier cut in about 2 or 3 hours, but I haven’t mastered it yet I still mess up sometimes because my picky placement is not the best. Next flourish i’ll learn will probably be the revolution cut.
I am 14.
I have small hands.
I am doing the Charlies cut just fine. Like its not hard at all anymore, in moving on to much more difficult things. Trust me your hands aren't too small.
I have a problem with sweaty Hands and it is really annoying that my cards wont last long and end up sweaty any advice?
At first, i also thought, my hands were to small. And yes, my fingers are kinda short and bulky. But I wanted to learn at least one Cut. So googled "Cardistry with small hands" and boom. There were lots and lots of tips on how to learn and do a Charlier Cut with small hands. 2 weeks into training I am now able to do a Charlie Cut, a Revolution Cut and a Scissor Cut (what was a nightmare in the beginning, but now i like it). It is not perfectly smooth - of course - but it is getting better every day. Everything you need to do is being consistent and practice every day. And as a pack of cards is really tiny and you can do it for like 5 minutes and then stop if you want or need to, there is literally no excuse to not practice at least for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Even if you have a buisy day. You just need to get yout sh*t together and just do it.
I Couldn't Agree With You More. You Have To Put In The Time And Practice. Great Video Guys!!!
Thank you!
I'm 2 years old. My hands are 3 inches from bottom of palm to tip of longest finger. My hands are small and I did the charlier cut. What's your excuse?
How long are your hands and fingers in inches?
Love your tutorials! thank you sooo much!
Regards from Guatemala
Thanks for the kick in the pants. I have stupidly small hands but it just means I need to adjust the way I do it and I can't expect to get it on the first try. I was being a bonehead! Thanks!
Ok but I'm a kid and Iv been trying to do the charli cut but my thumb cant reach to the part going under when im pushing up the bottom packet
I have a question. Is any card useful to cardistry? Because I don't have money to buy specialized cards and I have the normal basic ones (the kind that comes 2 decks and it cost around $3), so what next?
Btw, I've also heard that the normal bicycle cards are good, is that true?
Special cards aren't needed at all, a deck of bicycles will be enough, just take good care of them and occasionally get a new one if your current one is too pooped.
You’re probably right :(
I guess they aren’t too small for card tricks rather I’d like to see the modifications someone with smaller hands makes to the trick to do it correctly?
I think it can be an excuse sure but you oughtta think about the fact that it is a bit easier for people with larger hands. Maybe try and look at other perspectives before YOU tell OTHER PEOPLE that THEY are making excuses. Im sorry, there’s nothing you can tell me to make me believe I’ve given up. Just looking for a little extra tutoring is all.
Sincerely, the small hand gang
Same thing happened with me and the riffle fan, at first I thought I could never get it but I’ve practiced for about 1-2 weeks and I can now do it
I have a legit question, do cards come in different sizes? I have a deck I bought at a garage sale years ago and I'm just now deciding to try to learn some tricks. One of the ones I'm trying involves palming a card so that it's invisible to onlookers.
The card itself is larger than my palm and I can't seem to conceal it. I'm still practicing the trick, and getting fairly fluid with the movement, but like I said, I bought these at a garage sale, its not a name brand deck and I wonder if that makes a difference? Or if there are cards specifically made for Cardistry vs the usual playing cards?
I'm totally down to just practice more if the size of the card really doesn't matter, but if I'm making this harder on myself by not using a proper deck, I'd like to know
Late, but... They actually do. 88x63mm is a standard for poker - great for riffle shuffle. Tarot cards are 114x61mm. Piquet cards are even wider - 114x70mm. Solitaire cards are small so they can fit on the table more easily - 67x44mm.
And off brand decks will have their own sizes too as they don't have standards to maintain. Nevertheless, even brands will sell various sized cards. For instance bicycle sells poker size, bridge size, half size and even xxl size cards.
I’m right handed but I always use my left hand. My dominant just can’t communicate like my left with cards. Very odd because I can’t do anything else left handed. I can’t flick open a knife with my left hand but I can one handed cut card decks.
Which is flourish at 0.03 at start ??
Where can I get tutorial please
That’s Siesta by Alejandro, going to post all the credits in the description.
@@DecemberBoys where I can get tutorial
We’ll try to persuade Alejandro teach that this year!
@@DecemberBoys ok sir thank you so much please try as early as possible
Will do ASAP and report to you in a timely manner. Sorry for inconveniences caused!
wtf these tutorials are not bad at all, i learnt my charlie literally in less than 3 days loll
ty for the tutorials
Name of the move shown in the thumbnail? I've seen it before somewhere and I would love to learn it
Manta by by Tobias Levin
@@kaushikroy2251 *Mantra
@@polygon2745 yeah lol
I have pretty big hands...and still have problems with thumb cut or running charlier...so like it was said, it´s all about practise :D never give up :D
New to the channel. Would love to see you do flourishes with a giant deck if you haven't already
for me, its harder for me to do the charlier cut with one card than the whole deck :|
I cant move the cards in my hand is there a problem?
DKS DuckKing sane but keep practicing you’ll get there
@@sophia-nb4mw how
DKS DuckKing over time you will get used to them falling around in your hand and you will be able to easily let go of them so they can move around
@@sophia-nb4mw the cards are bigger then my hands and I can't hold the cards like him or other you tubers
DKS DuckKing try getting a deck called a bridge deck, they are smaller cards for smaller hands that are good for practicing with
It's funny that I said the same thing when I was learning
Until i did it, and it's now my fidget move when I'm holding a playing card. There's no "my hands are small". There IS, however "this is hard, and I'm lacking the motivation to keep practicing" 😂
I have a hand eye cordination disabilaty and want to learn some cardistry can i
It will definitely be harder,but i think you can do it.
@@noneimportant2315 thanks
@@draconis8412 No problem I wish you the best of luck.
okay so i fairly big hands they are a good size and i cant do this to well but takeing the cards out to make the deck smaller is a good idea cuz it helpped me
You're doing fine man, don't listen to the complainers.
my hands are very small but however i have learned different ways to cope and i like to stretch my hands and just keep going
It's true, I've seen hundreds of "my hands are too small, wah, waah, *WAAAAHH!!*" and not one about "I can't get this one because my hands are so big and fingers so long that I can't even do a dribble because my fingers hang over the edges, wah, waah, *WAAAAAHH!!!"* Do what everybody else does: *JUST FIGURE IT OUT!!"*
Can you tell the name of the cut in the thumbnail
Mantra
Who ever says that is a loser Im 11 and I can do it I can do Charleior the siscor cut and a lot more cuts
Awesome content!
You got my subscribe
Charlier cut is the first cut I've learnt. It cost me about a week to perform it clean. Showed it to a friend of mine and he told me he tried to get into cardistry and his hands are too small.
This is lack of dedication. People want to perform cool stuff immediately from the beginning without putting effort and time into it (not only in cardistry). Finding out out they're not yet good at it, they give up.
I'm doing rotation cut and the spread now for 3 weeks daily, cards are falling and flying everywhere.
i really just want to know how to closed the one-hand fan...try for 2 month but still..........i can't do it 😭😭😭
In addition to taking out few cards to have easier time to learn, I'd also suggest people to find Bridge size playing cards to learn with. Bridge sized cards slimmer than poker sized.
They're longer though.
@@gorendrum Not the ones I have nor the ones I've seen sold. They may appear longer due to being slimmer.
@@muranziel hm, weird. I remember checking on Amazon and the bicycle Bridge were longer than my blue monarchs.
If you want to learn try starting of with 2 cards then once you get it with two cards try 4 then 6 then 8 and so on until you get it and reach 52 it takes long but works
How to make your flourish flow smooth?
Practice and wrist movement. It’s very subtle, and comes with time.
Great inspirational and encouragement video!!! Thank you 🙏 ❤️
Do charlie cut is only ting i dont now
I had the same with the pass but after 1 week it is much easier and after 2 weeks I almost got it and after 3 weeks I could do it perfectly
I have small hands also i just started with a smaller top packet until I was able to get that down to start building muscle memory and slowly got to half the deck in one packet
Thanks for making me realize there is gonna be friction when doing the charlier cut. I did the rubber band thing and got it within 20 minutes
Did i just watch a guy doing a thumb cut where his thumb went across the width of a poker deck with a 1/2" to spare while wrapping his middle finger completely around the second pack say that he has small hands? 😂😂😂 Small is when your thumb is a 1/4" shorter than the width of a bridge deck and your thumb middle finger can't touch around it. That said I can do more than I thought possible and its still fun.