Throwing cards in the classroom
About Ricky Jay’s card throwing:
A properly launched card would go ninety miles an hour. Unobstructed, it could travel a hundred and ninety feet. From ten paces, it could pierce the outer rind of a watermelon.
I’m still working on this. What I’ve discovered (after thousands of throws) is that of the two basic elements, the grip and the release, is that the latter is by far the more important. I’ve seen demonstrated several variations on the grip but eventually came up with my own (I’m sure my Dupuytren’s contracture has something to do with this). But I’m pretty sure the release is pretty much the same for every successful throw. When I teach juggling I point out that it is in letting go of the prop that we face our greatest fear and that this when we make most of our errors. Compared to this, catching is easy.
Similarly, when a therapist seeks to perform manual magic they have to learn to overcome their fear of letting the patient go rather than guiding them in some manner. This comes easily to some and not to others. Perhaps I need to throw a few cards to the back of the room in order to demonstrate this. It will also become a lesson in how force and strength are unnecessary in order to accomplish something quite impressive.
About Ricky Jay’s card throwing:
A properly launched card would go ninety miles an hour. Unobstructed, it could travel a hundred and ninety feet. From ten paces, it could pierce the outer rind of a watermelon.
I’m still working on this. What I’ve discovered (after thousands of throws) is that of the two basic elements, the grip and the release, is that the latter is by far the more important. I’ve seen demonstrated several variations on the grip but eventually came up with my own (I’m sure my Dupuytren’s contracture has something to do with this). But I’m pretty sure the release is pretty much the same for every successful throw. When I teach juggling I point out that it is in letting go of the prop that we face our greatest fear and that this when we make most of our errors. Compared to this, catching is easy.
Similarly, when a therapist seeks to perform manual magic they have to learn to overcome their fear of letting the patient go rather than guiding them in some manner. This comes easily to some and not to others. Perhaps I need to throw a few cards to the back of the room in order to demonstrate this. It will also become a lesson in how force and strength are unnecessary in order to accomplish something quite impressive.
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