I am just a regular student. Previously, i was in guzheng ensemble. in fact, i loved anything that required finger to be flexible. Pen spinning, coin manipulation, card flourishing. i am a newbie at card flourishing, and it may not sound sincere, but i really is in love with it. However, i do not come from a very rich family therefore i cannot afford to keep buying DVD or VCD like "Cradle to Grave"etc.
i have always wanted to know, if i want to learn Card Flourish, where can i learn it from, other than VCD and DVD? It seems that other than VCD and DVD, there are no other way.
Can anyone give me some help?
Thank a lot(in advance)!

err...well...the truth is nowadays magic is learned through books, dvds, vcds, tape, etc. So you can like kneel ouside in the rain till the magician takes you in under his wing.

Really sorry. Can't help, perhpas you could try books? The encyclopedia of playing card flourishes would be good, though its price tag's pretty hefty.

Ignore aaron, Flyer.

Well, Flyer, get a few friends with interest in card flourishing as well, get the dvds together, share the price, won;t be much of a problem then. =)

Best in flourishing!

- Ling

hey! how could you! :lol: haha ya..ling's suggestion is good..though in reality...it will be like,"
you: hey let's buy XB
Friends: cool
after buying...
You: ok..let me watch first
friend: no way..me first
friend no.2: hell no..me first
fight ensures, cards are thrown at each other...zippos are produced...dancing canes start getting shoved up peoples'......

trust me,. this scenario is usually like that...unless you all are really close, this is really bound to happen... :wacko: how about going to the library? but library don't have books on flourishing...

Another way is to save up and get a good material to get everything started. (But that's gonna take quite a while.)
Or else, buy 2nd-hand material, which will be slightly cheaper.

Well, usually flourishes takes time to learn and lots of practise to be able to do it fluently.

Unless you want to learn every single one out there rather than mastering what you have, i believe you won't end up having to spend too much.

For example.

For beginners, Xtreme Beginners DVD is good and can really last you some time while you master and save up for the next one.

If you are already intermediate, The system will last you an even longer period of time before you need to purchase another DVD or so.

Just examples that you do not need to be buying every single DVD or Book out there :) Hence, you do not need to come from a rich family to learn flourishes :)

Thank a lot for your advice.
Its not that i don want to thank all of you seniors earlier.
But i'm using 56k so cant online that often.
Althought I have only recently joined the forum, i can already feels the cheerfulness and friendlyness between the member.
Having just started in JC, i have a few friends who shares the same interest as me.
But i will not give up hope in finding more(althought in student handbook, it is considered as very serious offence).
Once again, thanks a lot to everyone who had given me your advice.

P.S. : Sorry about my english if there are a lot of grammer mistake :P

yeah..get the xtreme beginnerz dvd first. it really keeps you busy for a while.

i bought it for about 5months already and i still sucks at the impossible stack. :(

i'm hopeless in flourishing :( :huh: :rolleyes:

bigbadwolf, don;t say that..no one's born perfect..just keep practising and you will get there..rememeber the "we will get there" national day song? sing it when you are practising..it really helps! :D

haha flyer, please don;t call us seniors..you are in jc and i am in sec..so whose the senior now? ^_^ haha everyone has an equal chance of being a professional flourisher so Just Do It! ^_^

Flyer ,

try posting in the school group section. maybe you will find members here in your school.

Ling maybe you can show him charlier cut? haha ;)

Sure, no problem. ;)

man cant everyone just go to one fella's house and watch, this way can interact with each other and if you dont know somthing can ask straight away, no need to wait for the school day.

i have a section in school group
search for Anderson JC
come and chat if you are free
i always check that section whenever i come online
however the respond there is not very good.

First get the xtreme beginnerz dvd to get started....

If you think you are good enough try Brian Tudor's Show Off 1 and 2

I personally love the "What the Hell Happened to Sybil" cut! Super cool!

ya xb is a good dvd for start. i'm gonna get mine soon..

pooling and buying dvd is a good idea.

I wonder how come there are no such threads requesting for this..

That is because it is unethical and wrong.

Imagine, you made a DVD with one whole year's worth of your own material, and sold it for US$30.

Now, this group of SMC members, liking YOUR material, get together and 10 people share it. What actually happens now, is that they had just gotten a 90% discount.

And YOU, on the other hand, lost US$270 in revenue.

Now, tell me if that is ethical.

Hope you get my point. ^^

since you put it that way.. sharing is kind of like piracy, isn't it?

:ph43r: but do remember that flyer can't afford the whole thing...

I can't afford to buy a car. What should I do? :)

point taken.. haha.

save up for it. since you'll cherish the material more also, anyway. (think of the money you saved and spent) just a psychological thing. but it works. ^_^

Practice your Miser's Dream. Hopfefully you can produce enough to get you one.

yep, save for it. that's what i did. i saved $3.50(sometimes more) out of every $5 everyday. so i accumulated a large number of $2 notes and coins.
:off: i paid for my xb using 34 $2 notes? haha

anyway, you mentioned that you're in JC? great. just wait 1 or 2 more years then when you go n.s. start saving! N.S. is a great starting point to buy magic stuff. especiallyy when you get a higher allowance as a Officer cadet!

and jaspas, i agree with you. i get your point. Plagiarism is bad! ^_^

-Aaron-

Thanks for understanding.

Books guys, books....! :!!:

They are cheap(er) and they have TONS of material that you cannot finish learning. Yes you have to work a little harder to learn from books but if you cannot afford car, then at least learn how to read the MRT map and take the MRT. It's a little slower, but it does get you there. ;)

Err....flourishing on the other hand....i'm not sure. I would imagine there isn't too many flourishing books out there. :ph43r:

There is one that can last a lifetime but i guess its a bit on the heavy side to carry around :g:

Thank for all the advice.
I bought a second hand XB from my frend, paying $10 a week for seven weeks.
Is there any DVD thats has got flashy flourishing?
I would like to start saving as soon as possible.

CTG or the System.
It depends on what you are going for.
System is for those interested in sybils, while CTG is for erm.... flashy moves?

dude, your 2nd hand xb cost $70? my new one costs $68! from E. you sure you didn't get cheated or anything?

oh, i am thinking of getting CTG, but it's a bit expensive.

Oh and Andy was talking about the encyclopedia of playing card flourishes(EOPCF) for those who do not know. that is one book you don't really carry around? ^_^

Aaron

When i was reading other section in the forum, i notice that SMC has its own recommended dealer(or something like that). But no matter how i search for it, i cant find it in the forum. can anyone guide me?
I want to know how much CTG and system cost.
Thank a million......

CTG- 45USD (72SGD)
System- 35USD (56SGD)

Prices excludes shipping costs.

is there anyone i can contact in SMC to get a better offer?

Does anyone know where can i see the preview for the system?
i already have seen the preview for CTG. just want to make comparision between the two of them
Thank.......

I believe what you're looking for can be found here:

http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=969

Thank, wolfieci
Looks like i will be getting CTG first after all.
My calculation shows that i will be able to buy both CTG and system by six month time.
Usually, how much is the shipping cost?

Hey, i finally have CTG
have a bit of problem with the closer though. cant get the main flap to open wide enough for me to put in the last packet.
now, i am officially broke. so, it is time for me to start saving up for the system.

Actually I thought XB would be a wiser choice for beginners? Any takes on this?

You might want to buy second hand DVDs. They are cheaper and frankly speaking, not much different from brand new ones.

Get together with friends who are interested in flourishes and trade or share your resources. Offer to spend time training and teaching someone in performaing a particular flourish on condition that they teach you another one in return.

If you are really really poor, purchase some e-books. They are very very cheap. Make sure that they are legal copies though.

For a relative newbie (no offence, everyone was a newbie) I wouldn't particularly recommend the System, I hated it when I first got it. If you can't do a pullback or OHR I'd suggest you get Showoff 1/2 by Tudor first. Showoff 2 is available at Hank Lee's Magic Shop. XB doesn't really prepare you much for the System. There isn't really much instruction in the System, though I've gradually become accustomed to this style of teaching. Presently I feel the System is the most worthwhile buy I've ever made.

Before I continue to go off-tangent, the long and short of what I'm trying to say is- stay within your skill level and lay the foundations before moving on to the more advanced stuff.

Is the stuff taught in the Showoff tapes (they're only available in VHS right?) taught in Generation Extreme? Would you recommend the Showoff tapes or Generation Extreme?

DOn't have Gen X but I've watched a bit of it and I can tell you the teaching is terrible. The voiceover is lagging behind what is actually happening on the screen. Showoff 1/2 were probably Tudor's only tapes with proper instructions. Also, Gen X is more magic-oriented so you might want to consider that. Still, after you've mastered Showoff 1/2 and a bit of other stuff, it's not a bad idea to buy Gen X just for the Tudor Cut and Castro Cut which are not in Showoff 1/2.