Old My Brain While I’M Shuffling
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Hold my brain while I’m shuffling 1st edition N°1 - Create Dimitri Arleri 2016 N°1 - Create DIGITAL VERSION Hold my brain while I’m shuffling Originally published in 2016 as a physical book by Dimitri Arleri ― 5 Index: Page Chapters 10 Introduction 14 What is a good move? 18 Different ways of thinking 26 Create opportunities 28 Skills 30 Timing 36 Be curious 38 Style 40 Conclusion 7 Preface “I've known Dimitri for a while, so I had the chance to see every stages of this book you are now reading. What started as a late night discussion between two beers evolved into a little paragraph on a sheet of paper, then into a bigger article and finally this book. Creativity is probably one of my favorite aspects in cardistry, so I spent a lot of time and effort researching this subject and I can tell you that this is the most and probably the only complete book written on this matter. Studying those simple techniques and advices made my creative process more powerful and efficient. I’m sure this will help you going through your creative frustrations and will give you great practical tools to come up with masterpieces.” Ladislas Toubart 9 Introduction First of all, don’t get too excited. Creativity isn’t exactly something you can teach or learn, so this book won’t be some kind of magic recipe that will instantly make you the most creative flourisher on earth. This book will, however, help you to understand the principles of the creation of a flourish, and there- fore help you to think in a way that will make it easier for you to create “good” cardistry moves. I’ve noticed that lately, in the cardistry community, being creative is what defines you as a “good” flourisher, as it makes you stand out from all the others card shufflers on YouTube doing the same moves. And I think it’s great – it means that we’ve come to a point where skill has become a tool and not an end in itself, and that a performance of cardistry can be an expression of something deeply per- sonal, as your moves are the results of your own thinking, thus making this discipline more than just a hobby or a skill, but maybe a true art form. 11 But new does not mean good, and I’ve better, and most of the time, it does. Again, creating something new, that since making a video and posting it noticed way too many people, in car- But the potential of an idea is only isn’t especially brilliant, is necessary, online is pretty much the only way distry and other art forms, confusing as good as the determination of the but it is a tool, and people seem to to “claim” a move as your own, they these two concepts. Being creative creator to create something ama- confuse this with the real purpose: rush to post an awful performance means being able to create meaningful zing with it. So creating a new move making something great. of it as soon as the first idea comes. new ideas, forms, methods, inter- should never be a pride if the move But the worst thing about this is pretations and so on. Meaningful. is not especially good, and claiming I also see a lot of people that create that now that they’ve got their Creating something new just for the a move that isn’t brilliant doesn’t moves just for the pride of being the name on it, they move on to ano- purpose of it being new is irrelevant: make any sense: think about it, how first one to do it, and to take the ther flourish, leaving the first one just like skill, creativity is a tool, not can you really know that what you credit for it. There’s nothing wrong unfinished and still shitty, never an end. Of course, good ideas take created is new? If we can agree that with that of course, if that’s what to work on it again. time: they evolve, merge, change, and people only share ideas worth sharing makes you happy then go ahead: as it is pretty rare to stumble directly on (so, “good” ideas), how could you ever long as the move is awesome, it’ll Keep working on your moves. an idea that is already good. So “new”, know if your not-so-good idea hasn’t make everyone happy. But be care- Always. They will continue to evolve even if it’s not good, isn’t bad, if it has been created before, and not been ful, because this causes a problem even after you have mastered them the potential of becoming something shared already? that I’ve seen way too many times: completely. 13 What is a good move? “ The move itself is as important as the way it is performed.” So to be able to create a good move, turnover, for example). Those moves then it also has the potential to is new doesn’t make it interesting). we first need to define what a good are usually considered stunts, as enter the “impressive” category). It’s also important to note that the move is. What is it that makes us most of them are “high risk” moves. perception of a move as interesting consider a move “good”? I consider Now the final category is a little can differ, depending on whether the 3 defining factors that make a By Beauty I mean moves that are bit more subtle. Interesting moves, you’re a layman or a cardist who has move “good” as being: impressive, eye-pleasing; usually this means that unlike beautiful or impressive ones, already practiced and studied this beautiful and interesting. a move contains both good flow and are rarely able to stand on their own. art. It’s pretty common for artists to smooth transitions between each What makes a move interesting may refer to art history in their work; it is Of course, the best moves are a com- stage of the move. A beautiful flourish be for example the way it works, if it obvious in paintings, but also true in bination of the above. Let’s take a does not necessarily even have to uses a certain law of physics, or if it cardistry. For example, when Spencer closer look at these 3 criteria. show any skill to be appreciated can be related to something else out- Clark does a one handed triple shuffle, (though of course, in cardistry, side cardistry... a good example would it doesn’t have the same impact on An impressive move is so because even the most basic moves usually be isolations: these moves cannot, in someone who has seen a normal it apparently displays a good show a bit of dexterity). Let’s also my opinion, be considered as either one handed shuffle before, versus amount of skill: it doesn’t need to keep in mind that the move itself extremely beautiful or impressive, someone who hasn’t. In the first case, be eye-pleasing to be appreciated by is as important as the way it is per- but we still appreciate the effect that the move would be impressive, yes, the audience, nor does it have to be formed: for example, a two-handed it gives. Another good example would but also very interesting (as it refers difficult to do... it just has to look cut like Pandora, which is a good be Chotu’s Spring Spin, which is ama- to a well-known move), and in the difficult to do. If you’re performing example of a ‘beautiful’ move, can zing mostly because of the way it second case, it would just be a “very for laymen, they might think some only be seen as beautiful if it is per- works. These kinds of moves usually impressive” move. In the end, we moves are really impressive, when formed with a good amount of speed focus more on the method, or the don’t relate the same way to a move, in reality they may not be so hard and smoothness. Furthermore, if the idea behind it, rather than the move so it’s important to choose your move to do (the arm spread one-handed speed of the move is fast enough, itself (note: the only fact that a move according to your audience. 15 Of course, those three criteria are very subjective, but in the end, the best moves are usually appreciated as such by most types of spectators (I don’t think I ever met someone who thinks “Under Pressure” is ugly, for example). So the first step is to ask yourself, honestly, whether you think your move matches one (or more) of those criterias. Being honest about your own creations is sometimes hard because of the pride you have in coming up with a new move, but a question you should ask yourself is this: what would I have thought about the move if someone else showed it to me? 17 Different ways of thinking “ Your surrounding has a huge effect on how you think.” So what is really going on when one creativity usually creates beauti- tries to create a move? How does ful, random, flowy moves, and it’s it work? There are 2 main types of especially effective for 2 handed creativity in cardistry: the “hand cuts. The problem with only using creativity” and the “head or brain this technique is that you will find creativity”.