Card throwing
Encyclopedia
Card throwing is the art of throwing standard playing card
s. First popularized in the West among stage magicians, the art of throwing cards was called scaling
. In 1997, a segment on MTV News:Unfiltered, featuring Jon W and the Fellas from Denver, Pennsylvania, introduced card throwing to a new generation. As of 2008, the world record for card throwing is held by Rick Smith, Jr.
whose longest recorded throw reached 216 feet and 4 inches at 92 miles an hour. Previous world record holders are Ricky Jay
,and Jim Karol
.
In October 2005, Chris Linn
successfully broke the Guinness World Record for the "most one fingered playing card scales in one minute". To break the record, Linn had to hold a deck of playing cards in one hand and use his thumb to propel ("scale") the cards from the deck a minimum distance of 12 feet. Linn was able to successfully scale 114 playing cards in one minute, beating the previous record of 104 playing cards set by magician Jeff McBride
. The record breaking attempt took place at Cedar Point
Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio.
Western card throwing techniques as they are passed among performers today are attributed to stage magicians in the late 19th Century. The exact origins of "flying card" tricks are unknown, but Alexander Herrmann
is widely attributed with first including card throwing in a major act. He would use custom made cards, sign them, and then throw them into the audience as potential souvenirs. The magician Howard Thurston
also used card throwing as a major part of his act. The cards that they used, however, were heavier than those commonly used today.
Many magicians commissioned specially printed cards, known as throwing cards, throwouts, scaling cards or souvenir cards to use for these purposes. Generally, such cards featured the image and name of the magician, and often featured optical illusions, mystical images, and text and graphics from other advertisers.
The impressive speed that magicians could throw the cards gave rise to a myth that a card could kill or seriously injure someone if thrown correctly by a person with enough force. However, this myth was tested on the Discovery Channel
program MythBusters
, and subsequently debunked. Mythbusters' co-host Adam Savage
, was already quite familiar with the throwing card trick and was showed to be quite adept at performing it, with his maximum throwing speed being clocked at 25 miles per hour or 40 km/h (which failed to cause any injury). The episode also feature record holder and card throwing expert Ricky Jay
, who demonstrated card throwing, and also had the speed of his throws was clocked by the Mythbusters. A playing card lacks enough mass to transfer sufficient energy to its target on impact, and even when accelerated mechanically by an electric motor at about 150 mph, it it did not puncture the skin enough to kill a person.
Today, magicians all over the world use card throwing as parts of their act. Ricky Jay
, Jim Karol
, and Rick Smith, Jr.
, all world class card throwers and magicians, are among the most well known people to frequently use card throwing during performance.
's book Cards as Weapons
(1977), involves gripping the middle of the card horizontally between the thumb and the middle finger, while the index finger rests on the corner of the card nearest the hand and away from the body.
The wrist is cocked inward at a 90 degree angle, then flicked briskly outward, propelling the card. For distance and power, the technique adds motion of the forearm bending at the elbow straight outwards from a 90 degree angle simultaneous to the flicking motion of the wrist. But for a better more effective throw you could also try gripping it between your middle and index finger then move the index finger to the side of the card then as you throw it flick your wrist with your finger
, a performing magician, was one of the first performers to introduce card throwing in western stage acts. In the Thurston grip, the card is gripped between the first and second fingers, usually of the left hand. The Thurston grip is one of the most popular grips used today. A variation of the grip is used by the current world-record holder, Rick Smith, Jr.
.
Another common method involves putting the thumb on top of the bottom left hand corner of the card, and one's index and middle finger on opposite sides of the top right hand corner of the card. The thrower should push his thumb down and out from the card, and would twirl his index and middle fingers, spinning the card, and propelling it forward.
One other mildly popular technique is to grip the full deck of cards in the left hand, looping the left hand index finger around the upper-right corner of the top card, and then propelling the top card off of the deck with the right hand. This causes the card to gain large amounts of side spin, which propels them farther.
Playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
s. First popularized in the West among stage magicians, the art of throwing cards was called scaling
Scaling
Scaling may refer to:* Scaling , a linear transformation that enlarges or diminishes objects* Reduced scales of semiconductor device fabrication processes...
. In 1997, a segment on MTV News:Unfiltered, featuring Jon W and the Fellas from Denver, Pennsylvania, introduced card throwing to a new generation. As of 2008, the world record for card throwing is held by Rick Smith, Jr.
Rick Smith, Jr.
Rick Smith, Jr. is a magician, known for his feats involving the throwing of playing cards . Smith broke the Guinness World Record for distance playing card throwing on March 21, 2002 in Cleveland, Ohio with a throw of , topping the previous record by over 15 feet. With a thrown card, he is able...
whose longest recorded throw reached 216 feet and 4 inches at 92 miles an hour. Previous world record holders are Ricky Jay
Ricky Jay
Richard Jay Potash , better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.-Life and career:...
,and Jim Karol
Jim Karol
Jim Karol is an American mentalist and actor known for his participation in the NBC television show, Phenomenon.-Early life:Karol was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
.
In October 2005, Chris Linn
Chris Linn
Chris Linn is an American magician and entertainer.In October 2005, Linn successfully broke the Guinness World Record for the "most one fingered playing card scales in one minute". To break the record, Linn had to hold a deck of playing cards in one hand and use his thumb to propel the cards from...
successfully broke the Guinness World Record for the "most one fingered playing card scales in one minute". To break the record, Linn had to hold a deck of playing cards in one hand and use his thumb to propel ("scale") the cards from the deck a minimum distance of 12 feet. Linn was able to successfully scale 114 playing cards in one minute, beating the previous record of 104 playing cards set by magician Jeff McBride
Jeff McBride
Jeff McBride is an American magician from Monticello New York. He is known for his sleight of hand skills and specializes in the manipulation of playing cards, coins, and other small objects. His stage performances blend elements of kabuki, a Japanese theater form, with traditional conjuring...
. The record breaking attempt took place at Cedar Point
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...
Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio.
History
Card throwing finds origins in Western stage magic and in Eastern martial arts legends and cinema. Eastern martial artists refined the technique of throwing light objects until they could toss them with deadly speed and accuracy, though most of these depictions are wildly exaggerated.Western card throwing techniques as they are passed among performers today are attributed to stage magicians in the late 19th Century. The exact origins of "flying card" tricks are unknown, but Alexander Herrmann
Alexander Herrmann
Alexander Herrmann was a French magician, better known as Herrmann the Great. He was part of the Herrmann family name that is known as the "first-family of magic". Those who witnessed Herrmann the Great perform considered him the greatest magician they ever saw...
is widely attributed with first including card throwing in a major act. He would use custom made cards, sign them, and then throw them into the audience as potential souvenirs. The magician Howard Thurston
Howard Thurston
Howard Thurston was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio.-Life:Thurston had the largest traveling magic show for the time, requiring more than eight entire train cars to transport his props across the country...
also used card throwing as a major part of his act. The cards that they used, however, were heavier than those commonly used today.
Many magicians commissioned specially printed cards, known as throwing cards, throwouts, scaling cards or souvenir cards to use for these purposes. Generally, such cards featured the image and name of the magician, and often featured optical illusions, mystical images, and text and graphics from other advertisers.
The impressive speed that magicians could throw the cards gave rise to a myth that a card could kill or seriously injure someone if thrown correctly by a person with enough force. However, this myth was tested on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
program MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
, and subsequently debunked. Mythbusters' co-host Adam Savage
Adam Savage
Adam Whitney Savage is an American industrial design and special effects designer/fabricator, actor, educator, and co-host of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters. His model work has appeared in major films, including Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and The Matrix...
, was already quite familiar with the throwing card trick and was showed to be quite adept at performing it, with his maximum throwing speed being clocked at 25 miles per hour or 40 km/h (which failed to cause any injury). The episode also feature record holder and card throwing expert Ricky Jay
Ricky Jay
Richard Jay Potash , better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.-Life and career:...
, who demonstrated card throwing, and also had the speed of his throws was clocked by the Mythbusters. A playing card lacks enough mass to transfer sufficient energy to its target on impact, and even when accelerated mechanically by an electric motor at about 150 mph, it it did not puncture the skin enough to kill a person.
Today, magicians all over the world use card throwing as parts of their act. Ricky Jay
Ricky Jay
Richard Jay Potash , better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.-Life and career:...
, Jim Karol
Jim Karol
Jim Karol is an American mentalist and actor known for his participation in the NBC television show, Phenomenon.-Early life:Karol was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
, and Rick Smith, Jr.
Rick Smith, Jr.
Rick Smith, Jr. is a magician, known for his feats involving the throwing of playing cards . Smith broke the Guinness World Record for distance playing card throwing on March 21, 2002 in Cleveland, Ohio with a throw of , topping the previous record by over 15 feet. With a thrown card, he is able...
, all world class card throwers and magicians, are among the most well known people to frequently use card throwing during performance.
Technique
There are many different ways of throwing a playing card, but almost all of them involve flicking the wrist. Once a person is comfortable with the wrist-flicking action, he or she can add some arm and body movement into the throw in order to add speed and power.The Jay throwing technique
The Ethan technique, as taught in Ricky JayRicky Jay
Richard Jay Potash , better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.-Life and career:...
's book Cards as Weapons
Cards as Weapons
Cards as Weapons is a book written by Ricky Jay. It has been referred to in the New Yorker as "...diverting and richly informative.". It has been a notoriously out-of-print book; available copies are often listed for hundreds of dollars...
(1977), involves gripping the middle of the card horizontally between the thumb and the middle finger, while the index finger rests on the corner of the card nearest the hand and away from the body.
The wrist is cocked inward at a 90 degree angle, then flicked briskly outward, propelling the card. For distance and power, the technique adds motion of the forearm bending at the elbow straight outwards from a 90 degree angle simultaneous to the flicking motion of the wrist. But for a better more effective throw you could also try gripping it between your middle and index finger then move the index finger to the side of the card then as you throw it flick your wrist with your finger
The Thurston grip
Howard ThurstonHoward Thurston
Howard Thurston was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio.-Life:Thurston had the largest traveling magic show for the time, requiring more than eight entire train cars to transport his props across the country...
, a performing magician, was one of the first performers to introduce card throwing in western stage acts. In the Thurston grip, the card is gripped between the first and second fingers, usually of the left hand. The Thurston grip is one of the most popular grips used today. A variation of the grip is used by the current world-record holder, Rick Smith, Jr.
Rick Smith, Jr.
Rick Smith, Jr. is a magician, known for his feats involving the throwing of playing cards . Smith broke the Guinness World Record for distance playing card throwing on March 21, 2002 in Cleveland, Ohio with a throw of , topping the previous record by over 15 feet. With a thrown card, he is able...
.
Other
There are other ways to throw a card as well. One popular method involves putting the pinky finger on the bottom of the card, and ring finger and middle finger on the top of the card. The index and middle fingers go at the far end of the card horizontally, and the thumb rests on the near side. Then, push down with the middle finger, though not to the point at which it bends up, the middle finger should act as one end of a seesaw, with the thumb being the opposite end, and the index finger as the center. Once in this position, flip the card with your wrist so that the opposite side is facing up. This is uncomfortable for most. To now throw it, pull your thumb in rapidly, so it slips off the card, and at the same time, pull your index and middle fingers in rapidly toward your palm. While doing both these things, have the hand with the card up near your head, and move it down in a "C" shape going away from you. At the end of the C, release your thumb. The card should spin, and after practice fly rapidly forward.Another common method involves putting the thumb on top of the bottom left hand corner of the card, and one's index and middle finger on opposite sides of the top right hand corner of the card. The thrower should push his thumb down and out from the card, and would twirl his index and middle fingers, spinning the card, and propelling it forward.
One other mildly popular technique is to grip the full deck of cards in the left hand, looping the left hand index finger around the upper-right corner of the top card, and then propelling the top card off of the deck with the right hand. This causes the card to gain large amounts of side spin, which propels them farther.
In popular culture
- Batman'sBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
arch-nemesis The JokerJoker (comics)The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
is known to employ weaponized playing cards, particularly in the 1992 animated TV series. - GambitGambit (comics)Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...
(X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
) - skilled in the art of card-throwing with great accuracy, which he charges with energy to make them explode on contact. - Yuri of the Dirty PairDirty Pairis a series of sci-fi comedy light novels written by Haruka Takachiho and illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko that was later adapted into anime and manga versions....
sometimes employs the "Bloody Card" - a technologically-enhanced card - to attack multiple targets. - City Hunter (1993) - features a gambling card thrower.
- Setzer, the gambling hero of Final Fantasy VIFinal Fantasy VIis a role-playing video game developed and published by Square , released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Final Fantasy series. Set in a fantasy world with a technology level equivalent to that of the Second Industrial Revolution, the game's story focuses on a...
, uses a variety of card decks for weapons as well as dartsDartsDarts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
and diceDiceA die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
. - 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998)3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain is a 1998 American martial arts film, and the fourth and last installment in the 3 Ninjas franchise....
- uses a specially designed throwing card, which appears to be bent, a possible enhancement. - Oswald (KOF XI) - practices the card-throwing art called Karnoffel.
- Twisted Fate (League of LegendsLeague of LegendsThe BetFred League of Legends was a darts tournament featuring some of the legends of the game of darts which commenced in May 2008. The tournament is broadcast on Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom....
) - utilises card throwing for all his attacks. - Hellsing, the Japanese horror manga, features a card-slinging sorcerer known as The Dandy ManTubalcain Alhambrais a character from the anime and manga Hellsing. He is a member of the Nazi organisation Millennium. He is a namesake of Tubalcain, a biblical descendant of Cain who was said to be a metalworker...
.
Notable Card Throwers
- Alexander HerrmannAlexander HerrmannAlexander Herrmann was a French magician, better known as Herrmann the Great. He was part of the Herrmann family name that is known as the "first-family of magic". Those who witnessed Herrmann the Great perform considered him the greatest magician they ever saw...
- Howard ThurstonHoward ThurstonHoward Thurston was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio.-Life:Thurston had the largest traveling magic show for the time, requiring more than eight entire train cars to transport his props across the country...
- Ricky JayRicky JayRichard Jay Potash , better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.-Life and career:...
- Rick Smith, Jr.Rick Smith, Jr.Rick Smith, Jr. is a magician, known for his feats involving the throwing of playing cards . Smith broke the Guinness World Record for distance playing card throwing on March 21, 2002 in Cleveland, Ohio with a throw of , topping the previous record by over 15 feet. With a thrown card, he is able...
- Nicholas D. Lewis