1. Ideal number of cards for the spinning packet
The number of cards used in the packet you’re spinning is crucial to having a nice good looking spin. I find 4-6 cards to be an ideal packet size. If the packet is too thick, it’ll be very hard for the packet to spin on the corners, too thin and there might not be enough weight for the packet to rely on it’s own momentum to spin (more on this at tip #4).
2. Grip
Grip is extremely important to the tornado cut. How much pressure you apply to clip the packet between your palm and pinky can make a huge difference to the way your tornado cut looks. It’s a very hard to explain the amount of pressure one should apply to the packet, so the best advice I can give you regarding grip is one from the card college series,
“Hold it like a baby bird, tight enough so that it won’t fly away, but loose enough so that you don’t kill it.”
I think this not only works well for the tornado cut, but also card handling and card flourishes in general.
3. Pivot Point
The pivot point I’ve seen many people use (in real life and in videos) is usually at the crevice of the palm near the wrist (refer to video at 00:30). Whilst this may seem like the most logical point to pivot from, it’s actually very bad technique. Pivoting from this point, not only requires additional ‘little’ moves to get there (like breaking off a small packet and then positioning it) but also, when pivoting from that point, it obstructs the packet whilst it is rotating due to the two fleshy parts surrounding it.
The right technique is to pivot on the fleshy part of your palm which is closer to the thumb (refer to video at 00:40). One of the advantages is that you do not need to break a small packet off first, and then position it at the pivot point (which you need to if you were to use the crevice of your palm as the pivot point), but you can go directly into the cut. This makes for a much smoother transition between the opener of the cut into actually executing the spins.
4. Weight and Momentum
Many people rely on the strength of their ring finger and wrist to spin the tornado packet. This is very bad technique, that results in an awkward looking tornado cut. The key to making it look effortless is by allowing the packet do most of the spinning through the packet’s weight.
Practice tip: Practice getting the packet to spin one full round using only one flick of the ring finger (refer to video at 01:17). Once you can do that, applying the same technique to a half round should result in the packet bouncing off the ring finger whilst trying to complete a full round (refer to video at 01:36). Repeat the same movements for the next half round, and the next and the next… This gives the illusion that the packet is spinning faster.
5. Co-ordinating your wrist movements with your ring finger
I’ve noticed that many people execute the tornado cut by relying entirely on the wrist and ring finger. Whilst this makes sense when first attempting the cut, the secret is instead to co-ordinate your LEFT WRIST movements with the RIGHT RING finger or vice versa if you’re left handed.
Each time your right ring finger pulls inwards, your left wrist should make a downward arch (refer to video at 02:01).
So there you have it, the 5 tips I have for the tornado cut. Hopefully, you guys have gained something from this article and video. If you have any questions at all, leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.
P.S: One last tip… PRACTICE! Without practice, no matter how many tutorials you watch, or how many articles you read – It would be pointless. ;)
-Daren, The Virts
Credits
- Tornado Cut created by Ashford Kneitel, based on Float Pass by Guy Hollingworth
- Tornado Cut performed by Daren Yeow
- Filmed by Huron Low
- Edited by Daren Yeow
- Music : “Stress Rap” by Cannibal Ox
I have to relearn this move with the bouncing thing. It looks really nice :)
Great stuff guys!
AWESOME !
Looks so smooth when you do it, I’ve got a lot of homework to do now !
You sure made it looks effortless… lol
ughh, I cant get it to spin, it hits the deck causing it to stop.
Thanks guys for the helpful tips…
just one thing though, when i use my ring finger to spin the packet around,(im currently using my strength to spin the packet around).. The corner at my pinky finger seems to spin out of the point and moved inwards my pinky finger and eventually falls when i try to speed things up..
hope you guys get my point,,, thanks.
@Hans
Ah, I see. I used to have that problem too. Try this,
First, open this page: http://is.gd/1bG3V
Now, instead of starting in the center of your finger pad, start it just slightly higher than that. Not at your finger tip, but still within the finger pad area. That way when you start executing the cut and it slides, it should slide back towards the center.
I hope that answers your question. ;)
Daren, The Virts
Hey guys thanks for the tips,
I’ve started learning the Tornado Cut this week, but I have a little problem. Everytime when I want to spin the packet, it slips away from the base of my thumb and it never stays in place. Now I know that I’ve only been doing the cut since this week, but I was wondering if I was doing something wrong or if there is anything to solve this problem.
Lawrence
@Lawrence
I think the main reason that the packet keeps slipping off the base of your thumb might be because you haven’t found a stable pivot point yet. Now the base of the thumb is a pretty big area, so the stability point for each person might be different.
Try experimenting with the whole base of your thumb until you find a point where you feel comfortable and stable enough before moving on.
Daren, The Virts
hey daren thx alot. ive been trying to figure out how to do the tornado cut for a very long time since 2007. thx 4 the tips and now my i can do a 360 spin smoothly….i realised that if i relax more and treat it as jus casually flourishing i can perform better :P
@Phoenix Ng
Glad to know that the tips helped man. =)
Daren, The Virts
these tips seem to help those that actually already know how to preform the flourish. I’ve been doing some digging on a basic tornado cut tutorial but i haven’t found one yet. if you could direct me to one, or put one up yourselves that would be greatly appriciated.
Ok thanks Daren :D
Lawrence
Hey guys,
First off, thanks a bunch for the tips, they’ve given me a LOT of insight into the flourish. One small question though: I’m not really clear with what’s supposed to happen when the packet bounces off your ring finger. Is it supposed to rebound off your left hand after your right ring finger hits it back? I hope you get what I mean. I’m just a little confused on how to start a cycle of spins going.
@Adrian
“I’m not really clear with what’s supposed to happen when the packet bounces off your ring finger. Is it supposed to rebound off your left hand after your right ring finger hits it back? ”
No, the packet DOES NOT bounce off any of the fingers of your left hand at all. It bounces ONLY off the RING FINGER of your RIGHT HAND.
Refer to 01:40 of the video, look out for the orange circle. You can’t miss it. =p I don’t think it can get any clearer than that.
Daren, The Virts
hey guys,
first of all i wannna give a big THANK YOU to you guys , for the tips, it helped me alot and the spinning illusion was awesome , one day i would like to do it as fast and smooth as you guys, anyway ill keep on practicing oh ,and one request , plz! keep up the AMAZING TUTORIALS:)
i got the grip but you never really explained how to make it spin. but you seem to do it really well, thanks for the help :)
oh yea thanks daren!!
you rock!!!
im still trying to do it guys…
hey guys! i’m new to flourishing, but i must say, u guys have some of the easiest and most laid back tutorial vids i have ever seen. can anyone point me to a resource for preestablished flourishing stuff?
for example, this vid talks about ‘the tornado cut’ like it’s a move that’s been around. i need to get in on the ground floor, right?
@Hrairoo
Hey man, can’t really think of any good “resources” right now for easier flourishes besides Kevin’s Youtube Channel, which can be found here
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=kevhonline&view=videos
However, we are currently working on compiling together a bunch of basic tutorials that will most likely be free for the coming few weeks. So if you’ve signed up for the Insiders List, you should be notified if or when there are any updates. ;)
Daren, The Virts
hey guys awesome stuff,really clean and powerful im really starting to like your style on presentation.
My question is this,ive been on card flourishes for around 6 months (not that long) and im trying to include this one to my simple routine but the problem is that i dont know the basics of the tornado (grabform,positioning fingers and moves) so is there a place where i can start practicing tornado, like some form of tutorial or so? and THEN trying to perfect it with this video.
thx a lot and really hoping for your website
Thanks for the tutorial. And now i can show for the people. haha..
Oh Hi..Daren.. Can u show me some of the tutorial about card fluorishing [The Virts Style]? I’m new in card trick and fluorishing..
Daren-
Are you capable of making it spin twice with one flick?
-Levi
thanks for the tip Daren..
really appreciate it..
=)
Flawless tutorial , helped me alot! Thank’s guys!
is there any tutorial on how to do an easy false cut? I really need one
Hey Magikid-
You can learn some easy false cuts from Kevin Ho’s youtube videos it is very easy to follow and it is simple smooth and effortless…..http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=kevhonline&view=videos….
I hope that helps!
-Levi
how u hold the decks and how to cut them step by step plzzz
and slowly plss
sick man :P
lol nice tips
great help
hey, awsome vid. i’m having some trouble though. i get the basic consept, but i can’t get the cards to spin. when i try to spin them with my ring finger the cards either stay locked in place or get knocked out of my hand. any idea how to solve this?
it must be a voice
Wow
I saw that move the first time on DanAndDave’s TheTriologie in the Pandora Cut
That was about two years ago
I did it absolutly wrong – the whole time
I always asked myself how true artists make this Move look like it is rotated by a real Tornado
I will practise this move till my hands bleed or it looks like in your Performance – whatever happens first
ahhh..its hard man..but i wil practice it..tq =]
I too am one of the one having problems with the spin…I have the mechanics of the cut down and see how you get from point A to B and see how the ring finger is supposed to spin the packet and understand about the pivot point but so far I haven’t been able to make a singe rotation even while practicing with just the center packet…arg
any suggestions on how to achieve the actual spin I’m trying to learn as much card magic and flourishes as I can and love the tornado…..it helps the time go by while I’m stuck here in Afghanistan
i dont understand how to do the 3A could someone please explain how to do it?
Can you hel;p me with the momentum part..
I just don’t know how to rely on momentum and the weight of the packet??
And sorry for my english :D
i really want to do the tornado cut but i cant find any tutorials this is really hard to follow.TheVirts pls make a tutorial
Do you ever get tired of doing all these card flourishes? And can you please tell me how long did it take you to learn the tornado? Can you please release a tutorial on how to make a fan with one hand? Two hands too. Please.
Could you tell me what kind of cards you use? Plastic? Paper? Or something else? Cause I can’t do half the tricks you teach on a normal paper-made deck.
One more thing, when will the site be finished? Cause I’m dying to see it!=)
I ‘ve recently took on mastering this eye candy three packet flourish, but…. I seem to have a problem. After taking 4-6 cards from the top with my pinky and splitting the remanding packet into 2 smaller ones, my 4-6 card packet falls to the floor when it’s spun with my ring finger. I have no clue why it falls. I put barely any foce on the spin, but when i go to move my wrist in the spinning/flicking motion, the packet falls. Any advice?
Thanks! =)
Cheers,
Brandon White
hey man really like the vids and the help on these flurishes but one thing, im really new, like really really new and i need to know how to open the deck and get it into the form of:big half, small portion that spins and the other half. if you dont get it its like the begining of opening it to where you start to spin it. so just to recap, i need a litle help on opening the deck to its best point: where the “tornado” takes place.
Cool
Hey I am normally a right Handed person. But for some reason I preform alto of my flourishes with my left hand and this trick is being difficult because their is no universal pivot point and its hard to get my ring finger to spin the packet. So I am having some problems but I was wondering if these stem from the fact that I am right handed and my left hand is holding the deck and is the location of my pivot point?
Much Thanks,
Magic Majid
PS: You’ll rock, I would like to one day see a Flourish Competition!
what?????????????????????/
I CAN`T DO THE SPRING
i cant get i to spind! for the pack in left! please make a tutorial on the tornado cut! is Daren left or right handed? because i have seen a youtube tutorial where he hold the pack in right in the start?
what type of card do u use?
yop the virt i hhave a little probleme when i do my tornado my pinky is not higher than my base on my thumb ans this is shit hope you can help me thank
okay, i had a great idea to take a pack of like, 5 cards, and just tape them together so i can practice the rotation. now, a couple things are going on with it. when i relax a lot (i have very ‘grippy’ hands) it spins pretty decently but slides quite a bit on my pinky finger. i experimented a bit and tried keeping my pinky and ring fingers together as much as possible. your the experts though, is this a good or bad idea for the long run as far as technique? i know there have been lots of videos about the little problems and details (such as sliding off pinky or palm or whatever)… so may-haps you would consider doing a ‘troubleshooting video’? just a thought. any kinda help would be awesome. thanks guys.
i cant seem to make it spin..and i cant hold it properly..can you make an even more specific guide? Sorry for being such a noob.
Do you think you could do a full tutorial for this move? I’ve been trying for months & I still don’t know If I’m doing it right.
I don’t know how to do this !!! AAHH!!!