Mike's Tricks Page

THE CARD FLICK

This trick, if performed correctly, has the potential to penetrate skin as I have proved once before. The trick basically involves a special flick of the wrist to set a card flying in any direction you wish. As you progress in this skill you will be able to hit almost 
anything first time and one day just might be useful <== LIE

There are two methods used to perform this trick, the flick and the Frisbee throw. I will attempt to teach both (strong emphasis on the word "attempt"). 

Things needed for this trick:- 1.Hand 2.Playing Card

The flick:-
Get a card and place it down in front of you so the longest sides run down the left and right. Now imagine the corners are points on a compass, so, (north east) top right, (south east) bottom right, (south west) bottom left and (north west) top left. These will be abrev. (did u get that?) to make it easier for me. e.g. NW, NE etc. Pick the card up and place it between index finger and middle finger so that the NW corner is at the top of the fingers and the NE sits between the groove going down. Now for the hard bit, not just for you but I have to explain the F*****g thing. Keeping your hand in the same position bring it up to your ear so the NW corner is next to your ear and your little finger is closest to the ceiling (closest out of all of your fingers, not DEAD CLOSE). Now comes the even harder bit! This is the flick, the hardest part of the trick and is, therefore, extremely hard to explain. If you can do the Ali G finger snap then this should come easy as it resembles that closely. Bring your hand down quite fast and twist it so that the little finger is now closest to the ground and sort of push the fingers out and let go of the card. After this move the hand should finish about a foot from you at around nipple height (he he he I said nipple). While performing this trick it is important to remember that the spin of the card is what makes it fly, the more your spin it the more it will fly and the faster it will fly. Practice this as even me ,yes me, didn't get it first time.

Frisbee throw:-
This is for people who can't do the above and you pay the price for not being able to do the above because this method is considerably slower and therefore less pain inflicting. Hold the card in the same way as above but instead of bringing it up to the ear curl
your hand around into your chest, like a Frisbee throw (hence the name) the back of your fingers should be against your chest. Now uncurl the hand like a Frisbee throw and release the card from the fingers.

There it is folks the card throw, use it wisely my son/daughter/Matthew. I will not be held responsible for any injuries acquired whilst performing this stunt by either the card thrower or target, instead blame Matthew.

THE TAP DRIP

A humorous noise which can be performed by the flicking of the cheek and the distortion of air in the mouth to produce a sound like a tap dripping.

Thing you will need to perform this trick:- 1.Hand 2.Cheek

Open the mouth quite wide and make an "O" with your lips making sure no teeth are visible. Now flick or tap the cheek around the lower jaw position so it is just above the top of the bottom set of teeth. Literally a split second after this has been performed begin to close the mouth while pushing the tongue forward and pushing air out of your mouth. DO NOT BLOW!! (bet you heard that before isn't you Matty). Do not fully close the mouth as no sound will be produced when doing this, instead leave a smaller "o" about the size of a whistle. Keep practicing and eventually you should be a natural. It is also possible to make the sound without tapping the cheek and variations can be used like tapping the skull, for comedy value. HOURS OF FUN!!

THE CUCKOO CALL

Blow air over the top of an opening in a clasped hand to produce a sound like a cuckoo call. The best thing to do while performing this trick is thinking how you make the sound with a bottle. You are blowing ACROSS the top of the bottle, not directly into it.

Things you will need to perform this trick:- 1.Hands (pluralised) 2.Mouth

Clasp the hands in a prayer shape so the fingers are interlocked making sure there are no air holes except for the one you blow across which I will explain shortly. Now place your thumbs so the ends of them are curled over your index finger and the middle section make an opening so you should be able to see into the air space between the two hands (It's dark in there so you won't be able to see at all, so I lied). Now place your top lip on the top of the thumbs just below the nail and your bottom lip is half way down the middle section of your thumbs. Now blow down over the top of the hole that you've made and you should produce a sound like blowing over a bottle, now make it sound like a cuckoo call. Voila!!

RULER BOARDING

The theory of the ruler board originated one Maths lesson when an intrepid boy by the name of Grant had a dream.....a dream that would change the history of school, a dream that would change history itself! While taking the piss out of finger boarding he grabbed his ruler placing it on the edge of the desk and pushed it up so it ollied. That single ollie flipped the schooling world upside down and from that moment on a child would never again be board in school as long as he had his...board. After seeing this amazing feat of genius it was obvious we were on to a winning formula and after some precision adaptation the ruler board was born!

Things you will need for this trick:- 1.A Hand 2.A 15cm/6" ruler 3.A 90 degree angle, preferably a desk rim.

The ruler ollie:-
Grab your 15cm ruler and angle it at approximately 45 degrees on the rim of your desk which should be found in front of you in the classroom (if your sitting down that is, at a desk that is, that has a rim that is). Place your thumb at the bottom of the ruler about a quarter of the way up and your index finger 3 quarters of the way up, now for the ollie, you will not get this first time. With the thumb push the board up off the rim off the table and then bring the index finger down so that the ruler finishes up on the desk in front, it should be a sort of wave motion. After mastering the basic ollie you can adapt it to make tricks from skate boarding, such as the kickflip and 360 flip and even invent your own! This sport as with many can be extremely dangerous, you may not believe this but it is .. seriously! In R.E my botched ollie resulted in loss of sight for several seconds and a very bloodshot eye for the rest of the day. A crooked (or bent!) landing by Matty resulted in the explodation (is that a word) of his board as it shattered into many pieces narrowly avoiding contact with Biggy G's eye. Be careful folks, you have been warned. I accept no responsibility for any injuries sustained while performing this trick.

THE ONE HANDED CARD SHUFFLE

This trick is very impressive when performed correctly and has the potential to wow audiences if put to good use. It basically involves the splitting of a pack of cards, like cutting a deck, with one hand. Yes that's right folks, if you hadn't already guessed from the title this trick only uses one hand, so all those people who are in the unfortunate position of having only one hand do not fret, help is at....hand! And for you lucky beggars who are in possession of a full set of hands, well, the possibilities are endless. Just imagine shuffling cards in one hand while making the dinner with the other or feeding dog. Just think of the time it would save, that's right, absolutely none!

The split:- 
Pick up a pack of cards (preferably a full set of cards) and place them in the palm of your hand. Now for the all impotent (he he) grip. With the card lengths running down place the little finger at the bottom, the wedding and middle finger on the left hand side (if you're right handed), the index finger across the top and the thumb down the right hand side. Raise the whole deck above the palm so it is suspended in this grip. Now, with the index finger make a split in the deck along the left hand side. Carefully slide it down into the split making sure that the card runs along the top of the nail so it slides easier. Keep pushing while keeping the other fingers in the same position, it is important that the little finger stays at the bottom to avoid the deck slipping down. You will notice that as the index finger is pushed through the deck that is split into two groups, one should be held with the wedding and middle finger down the left hand side and the little finger at the bottom, the index finger should lie over it giving it extra support. The second split should be on the right of the hand suspended in the air by the thumb (on the right side) and the index finger (on the left). The index finger will now hold the split not at the top of the finger but at about the first bend of it. Now your passed the hard bit. Now move the thumb across to the left and the bottom corner of the deck should go over above the other split, pivot it round till it hits the wedding finger and then push it up to rest on top of the other split. And there it is. It's as complicated as that ... I mean easy, it's as easy as that. PHEW!

THE FORWARD SOMERSAULT

For those who don't know this it's basically a gambol in the air. It will probably get you nowhere unless you are a gymnast in which case you will already know how to do it so, 'koff. A very impressive trick if performed correctly without sustained injury.

What you will need for this trick:-1.Legs (hands too) 2.A floor (these are usually pretty 
easy to find) 3.A telephone close at hand with the
numbers 999 already dialed.

The summy:-
Take a short run up preferably on a soft surface (for your sake), do not take along run up as it doesn't have that much to do with speed. Do a short jump after the run up landing on two feet and then jump to your summy. While doing the somersault try to get as much height as possible and use your hands to grab somewhere near the ankle area to get the spin round, then land it. Try to release the hands once you think your about to hit the ground for balance. It takes a brave soul to attempt the trick straight away, lucky for me I did it first time, but it still needed some work. It still needs work now as I sometimes go too far but it's better than it was. Happy landing, and as I mentioned before, I take no responsibility.

THE FINGER SPIN

This trick uses an ordinary football/basketball/any ball at all. The ball is spun in the hand and pushed up on to the finger to be balanced while spinning for an impressive effect.

Things needed for this trick:- 1.Hand(just the one)
2.Ball

The spin:- Grab your chosen ball (make sure its round) and place it in the palm of one hand. Push the ball up so it rests on the tips of all fingers of your hand. Spin your hand inwards still holding the ball and push the ball up from the tips of all fingers to the tip of just one. I recommend the middle finger. You can spin the ball and let it leave the hand and then land it on one finger also. Now for the tricky part. I tried every time I had a ball in my hands to do this trick for nigh on 2 years and couldn't do it. Then one day it just clicked. Hopefully for you it will click a lot sooner. The trick is to imagine you're balancing a broom or pool cue or whatever on your finger. Balance the ball as you'd balance these and you should get it. Move the hand to get the balance. As with all tricks keep practicing and within 2 years, I mean a few minutes, you'll get it.

FINGER THROUGH BEER MAT

This trick is very impressive and if the audience tries it they almost certainly won't do it unless they know the secret

Things needed for this trick:- 1.Hands. 2.Beer Mat. (ones u get in pubs mad of card) 3.Audience.

The poke:- This trick was taught to me on 23/11/01 by Chris Rowling. Pick up a beer mat and place it in the hand you don't usually use. Hold it sternly so it rests on the index and middle finger, which are spread to allow the finger through. With the hand you aren't using stick your middle finger up at no-one in particular and keep it steady. All you have to do is push your finger to the card and bring the card to the finger remembering only one thing. "It's possible and I can do it" that's all it is. A subject of mind over matter and it actually works. Your finger should pierce the card and arrive out the other side making a clean hole in the middle.