Small Hands

[Blackjack]

well, i have kinda small hands, i can handle most tricks ok but when it comes to flourishes, and the more extreme tricks, ever since the begining for me it seems to just make thing so much more impossible, or is it just me having that stuck in my head and being paranoid?

[Theaman]

I have small hands as well But i find that practice really does increase dexterity.
Also sybil cuts do not reqiure large chicken bone hands (no offense to anyone) Neither do fans.
The things that i have most difficulty getting my hands around are one handed cuts.
My middle finger is only 3 inches long but i find that the more i stretch my hands regularly the farther i am able to reach

[Blackjack]

i find what you said about the one handed cuts to be true, so i try to stay away from them mostly. its almost like ive tried everything, right now im taking every chance to do the finger excercise from the trilogy, hoping it'll help me improve

[Theaman]

Are your hands as fat as mine? jk
I find that having fat fingers is an advantage as far as palming and stuff like tornado cuts. having the extra surface area can be an advantage.

I think that what helps me most is stretching the cards as far as i can whenever i do fancy cuts and fans, and hold it there for a minute or so.

[Blackjack]

Thats another probablem, i would easily prefer short and fat rather than mine, i've just got short and slim so palming takes alot of perfection from me, and leaves almost no space for error or the card will easily be seen.

I'll give that stretching thing a shot, sounds like it could help me with how far my fingers could go which is a possitive in any situation.

[Theaman]

looks like you will have to practice quite a bit more than most of us. But just think about it this way, You have to have a lot more skill to do it than many so that just makes you better in that respect.

[Jack]

Having small hands does leave little room for error when palming cards or coins or for close-up magic in general. I've found a little extra misdirection can really go a long way! and practice too.

[Glenn West]

http://www.leeasher.com/hand.htm

That is all.

[Jordan Garret]

http://www.leeasher.com/hand.htm

That is all.

Leeasher owns again..

WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT!

=P

See me i have giant hands. I can easily palm a deck.

*hands spread open the distance from my thumb to my pinky is about 11 inches =P*

~Jordan

[Jack The Magician]

If the model of Lee Asher's hand is accurate, my hand is about twice the size of his. I never realized that he had "small hands." I guess one learns something new every day.

For all of you who are discouraged about small hands, here's a quote by a great man, whose name I do not remember, "It's not the size of the hand, but instead it's about sleight of hand."

Cheers,
JTM

[warlock]

if Lee's hands are small, then mine are miniscule. my middle finger is 1/2 inch smaller than Lee's :(

[Ender]

no offense, but i read david blaine's mysterious stranger and he said that many people use the excuse 'my hands are too small'. i'm not saying you're making excuses, but daivd blaine also sai dthat one of the best palmers had tiny hands, so i guess you just have to practice and remember - the best sleigth of hand move is misdirection ;)

[Eddie]

Lee Asher has small hands, but look what he can do.

[Blackjack]

To be honest i think you're all right, it probably is just practice i need to put in. I never try to use it as an excuse but i just always had it in my head that it might have affected my performance. Before now i haven't ever spoken about it or got anyone's oppinion so seeing what you're all saying is just confirming it for me that all i need is a bit more practice so thanks guys

[Shodan]

well, i have kinda small hands, i can handle most tricks ok but when it comes to flourishes, and the more extreme tricks...

What exactly is an "extreme" trick?

[Theaman]

well, i have kinda small hands, i can handle most tricks ok but when it comes to flourishes, and the more extreme tricks...

What exactly is an "extreme" trick?

I think he means flourishes like sybil cuts n stuff.
I have pretty much the exact same size hands as lee asher and i used to let it hold me back. A simple sybil cut used to be the hardest thing in the world and due to practice it is childsplay.

[Shodan]

No he specifically seperates flourishes from the so-called "extreme tricks". I want to know what these extreme tricks are. Seriously.

[drorange]

man lee ashers hands are tiny i believe its not an excuse but somethings i just can't do like a thumb cut my thumb can't reach over the deck

[Glenn West]

if Lee's hands are small, then mine are miniscule. my middle finger is 1/2 inch smaller than Lee's :(

You might need to make sure your screen resolution is properly set.

Also, how old are you? Youngins tend to have smaller hands ;)

[Blackjack]

No he specifically seperates flourishes from the so-called "extreme tricks". I want to know what these extreme tricks are. Seriously.

Some tricks are over in a few seconds with one or two sleights, some are longer and require more, and personally for me, more difficult sleights. ok maybe to you i might be going over the top saying "extreme tricks", it was the first thing that came to mind. or we could just come to the simple conclusion that i'm not as good or as professional as you might be so right now something that might seem difficult fo me could be like a double lift for you. everyone has to learn and eventually get better, noone starts off a pro. that answer your question?

[Shodan]

Well I understand your point, but the vast majority of card effects that I've ever seen do not rely in any way on hand size. OK, if you want to palm cards there is a bit of an issue, but there's oodles of great magic out there which is accessible without worrying about hand size.

As far as I've seen, hand size becomes an "issue" when you are going for big old flourishes/XCM or palming. If you assess yourself as a beginner, then I would recommend sticking to stuff that does not require these kinds of techniques for a bit; you will end up a better magician for it.

Oh and for the record...I work on my double lift technique every day...it is one of the most difficult sleights in card magic because it has to be done under such close scrutiny, often many times in the same performance. Not to mention the fact that DLs have been so widely exposed...

[Blackjack]

Thanks, all i can do is take your advise and use it. i've only been on theory 11 for a short period and i've already recieved loads of helpful tips like the one you've just given me, so i'll be putting all of these into practice without a doubt. and i've learnt a lot of things that i didn't really know before, for example what you just said about double lifts, i knew they was important ofcourse but i didnt realise it was so intensly worked on as everytime i've seen it it's been so perfectly done.

I guess I just need to pace myself as you said, stick with simple tricks that are in my reach untill eventually my skills improve and i can do more difficult tricks

[Shodan]

I wouldn't necessarily say "simple". One of my favourite card effects is John Guastaferro's "Jazz Fusion". The method is quite involved - lots of moves, and your handling needs to be very smooth because of the repetitive nature of the first phase. It's not a simple trick, but is is a really strong effect. My point is that hand size is irrelevant for this effect.

So, all I'm saying is that it's great to be ambitious - that's how you improve and take your magic to the next level. But don't let something like hand size....or the frikkin' pass...slow you down. When you get a block up in front, go sideways.