300 moves
Riffle Fan is created by evenly spreading the cards into a circular fan while riffling them. The entire fan is balanced on the tip of the index fingernail or thumbnail, allowing the cards to slide and rotate around a central pivot. The main challenge is finding the right balance between gravity and support. Applying too much upward pressure prevents the cards from sliding smoothly, while too little causes the fan to collapse.
One of the first single-card twirls to be done on the non-dominant hand.
One of the most iconic flourishes of all time. First released in The Triology in 2007.
Naoki Fan is an extension of the Smear Fan that reaches 360 degrees. A more difficult version is to make a fan with interlanced cards for greater results References Predator performing the variation on both hands (3:26-3:33) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhQHnAiPdqg
Spring is a fundamental cardistry technique where cards are released into the air in a controlled burst, used by both cardists and magicians. It relies on diagonal pressure built within the deck and released through the thumb. The move is widely used due to its high level of control, its versatility in use (it's required for e.g. LePaul Spread, Pressure Fan, Under Pressure Fan, and Antifaro), and its relatively low difficulty.
Inspired by a new Faro mechanic that waterwheel used, I wanted to see if there were other unexplored Faro mechanics and spent a few months playing with different things and ended up with using pressure to un-faro a deck. Fun fact: I discovered it while using blank cards in an army camp because we weren’t allowed to bring Playing Cards into camp.
Anaconda, known as The World’s Longest Dribble is a classic aerial flourish. It creates a long, snake-like column of cards in the air, which then is controlled as it falls into the other hand. In general, the larger the “snake”, the stronger the visual impact.
L-Cuts are known for their difficulty and beauty. Created by Jerry Cestkowski and published in his book "Encyclopedia of Playing Card Flourishes" in 2002. Over the past 8 years, David Pedersen has been perfecting it, and gathering important pointers on how to reach ninja-level. We hope this video will help you polish up your L-Cuts.
Padiddle is more of a concept than a move. It is very tough to learn because it is not something you can sit down and do slowly - it's all about trial and error. But once you have gotten it down, it's like riding a bike. It will be build into your muscle memory. Special credit to Jerry Cestkowski who published this in his book "Encyclopedia of Playing Card Flourishes" in 2002.
In order to understand and appreciate the art of cardistry combos, one must gather knowledge of as many moves as possible. Simplicity and practicality plays an important role when you're combining and/or improvising. Through the years, we've come across many different utility moves with different appearance and levels of simplicity. One we always come back to is Legolove by Nikolaj Pedersen. It is based off the classic Molecule rotation using the corners, and was first taught in the "Dynamite" tutorial series from 2011. It has become a part of our cardistry subconscious, and is a must-learn for every modern cardist. Sit back, grab a pack of cards, and learn Nikolaj's Legolove.
