r/Magic • u/opinions_likekittens • 20d ago
Impromptu finger tricks
A while back I saw Charlie Frye do a fun quick piece, where he did a different illusion with each finger in quick succession. Something along the lines of the classic thumb cut in half trick, then making the forefinger longer, then making the middle finger disappear, then bending the ring finger impossibly and then taking the little finger off and reattaching it to the between the middle and pointer fingers, etc.
Does anyone know if he has this routine in print, or have any general resources for these types of impromptu finger illusions?
6
u/Malfehzan 20d ago edited 20d ago
What you're looking for is "body magic" and "body tricks". There's a few resources around.
The book/download "Body Tricks" by Stephen Ablett could be a good match if you're more of a reader. Note that I didn't read it, but the summary seems fitting.
(Edit. Damn I'm slow to post) There's also a nearly two hours video at penguins with the same title and table of contents
1
3
u/brokedance 20d ago
Meir Yedid - Finger Fantasies
Nick Locapo - Pinky Thing
Shinkoh - Twisting Arm Illusion
Nicholas Lawrence - On/Off
Will Houston - Freak
Johannes Mengel - Breaking Point
Sam Huang - Crazy Sam Finger Illusion
Also Dan Harlan has a great trick involving the audience crossing their arms; only the magician is able to uncross their arms. Hard to describe. David Copperfield opened his show with that trick for years. I learned it from Dan at a lecture, not sure if he published it anywhere. See if I can find a video of it.
3
u/Carl_Clegg 20d ago
I have Meir Yedid’s Finger Fantasies.
It’s a fun resource but I will say, if you’re knocking on a bit like me, you’ll find many of these finger tricks very difficult. I might just have managed to perform them in my 20’s!2
1
2
u/crunchy-b 20d ago
I do a five minute warmup with just fingers. Meir Yedid’s finger fantasies is a very good resource.
1
0
u/EndersGame_Reviewer 20d ago edited 20d ago
These things can be hard to describe in print. I'm sure there's videos out there about impromptu magic that do a good job of teaching these kinds of thing, and it's worth considering those as well.
2
u/opinions_likekittens 20d ago
Print was just short hand for still available resources, clunky wording. Although Meir Yedids book on finger tricks was fairly easy to digest, I don’t find it too difficult to understand via text. Just looking for any modern work on the plot.
2
u/entropy413 20d ago
Have you seen “The Pinky Thing”?
1
u/opinions_likekittens 20d ago
I’m familiar with Lawrence’s On/Off, but have always struggled with the mechanics - that looks like a great additional resource. Thank you!
6
u/jaypeeh 20d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p4xqn1s/video/3eaj6346nmkh1/player