Well everyone, I've decided to start practicing the classic palm again.

Rannie has always told me to glue several half dollars together and then palm that sucker for a long time. I need to buy more half dollars, but I glued 2 together, should this be good to start with? Then as I get better and better, I can add more coins.

So to rannie, I hope to talk to you again soon, Skype me up, let me know if 2 glued ones is good. Anyone elses feedback appreciated of course

Actually, this is how I learned to CP, but instead of glue I used tape around the edges. I started with 4 taped together. Also, I used to practise CP with a spool of thread...strange but it worked for me (close to the diameter of a half dollar). Another thing I did was to place a coin in the "sweet spot" and then use the other hand to squeeze the hand around the coin. This hurts, but it actually reconstructed the muscles to accept the coin. Good luck with yours!

I find that the best way is to simply hold a coin CP all the time. But I think I will try this.

Dude.....1 is good, 2 is good...4 is good. We all have different makes. That's all about Kevin. The rest is really time and practice. You can palm a coin all day and still not get it as fast as the others. It took me years ... and I mean years. Think of it as a medicine ball. We all had a shot at it in P.E. class. After getting used to the medicine ball...a regular ball feels lighter and easier. The idea that was shared to me many years ago re: the glued coins really made sense to me. It gave me the feeling of what it is to be palming correctly. Again...the correct way to palm varies for each individual. There is a prescribed area in the palm but I have seen many CP from great coin men....and I will tell you, they all have different spots. Just to get a sense of the CP...I even milled the edges so my hand can remember the spot and the feel. I still work on it everyday and I mean every single day.

Griff's learning style may work but in my humble opinion...you have to learn how to get it without the help of the other hand. If your CP hand gets used to this...you might have a problem getting there without the other hand. Muscle memory is a big factor in what we do.

Gotta run Kev...I'm of to practice my CP some more! I think you ought to do it too.LOL! Hang in there kid!

Rannie

The Boss is correct however some of us no matter how long we practice will never be able to make the CP look natural
vinny

Sadly, that might be the case with me. I'll continue to practice it, and like rannie said, it took him many years to get it, hopefully I will too, so many of my magic DVD's rely on the classic palm, I must be able to use it.

Fish, take your time, practice the CP constantly for 6 months, if you don't see ANY improvement (which I doubt) THEN come and tell that this is the case for you. But, I've told you many times before, you have to give it AT LEAST 6 months of CONSTANT practice to become passable at the very best.
For a really great CP think in terms of years. That's just the way it is. However I will say to you after 1 year you will probably be pretty happy with your self and your CP.

I'm in the same boat as Vinny when it comes to the CP.

Vinny often describes his CP as looking like he's squeezing oranges.
Mines not quite that cramped but still not very natural looking.

So what do we do?
I continue practicing the CP and like Vinny have found alternatives which I use.
If you haven't looked into Vinny's 'Crimp' I suggest that you do so.

I normally add the 'orange squeezeing' hand shape to my characterisms, then when I do CP, no one notices anything, because there brains are not registering any different hand gesture, as my hand has always been in the orange squeezing position. Works everytime!

At first, My classic palm looked like I had my thuumb amputated. I have developed slight calluses which essentially hold the coin for me. I can have my thumb sticking out at a 90 degree angle to my index finger and still have a coin palmed (and no, it doesn't look like S***)

My thumb is not the problem- I find my ring finger bending in...

-A

Ice, you're quite right. Actually, I think I did improve a little bit. When I was doing it constantly for around 3 or 4 months, I could type with it in my hand. I quit practicing it for several months, and now I can't do that anymore, and my hand looks like it was when I started practicing it. My mom also said it doesn't look as good anymore, she noticed a difference. So I did improve, now I just have to get to where I left off.

Fish don't quit man listen to me. practice putting the coin from fingertip rest directly to classic palm (hold thumb and index finger together). Hold it there and wiggle the fingers then back. Grab some items with the coin in CP do some everyday activities with the coin in CP. In time the CP will be burned into your subconcious the coin will go automatically there when you want to hold an item. Don't quit now, cause it's about to get sooo good...

I also hold a coin in CP when I do another things....e.g when I write this on my pc.

-Morten-

I have a weighted piece that was from a game called Pog that is made of brass that helps me practice my CP.
I use one hand to place it in the correct position and I also use it for Muscle pass practice. It is the thickness of about 6 dollar coins.

Practiceing it when doing other things is a great way to practice as well. I used to drive, write and other things while palming a coin...now not as much.
The challenge to CP a smooth edged coin ...it drives some people nuts when you can do that.
Mobius

Just for the record, I don't recommend doing activities like driving or cardiac surgery while classic palming coins...

Just wanted to say: keep at it!

I'm sorry to hear some people never get it and I know the wonderful and always generous Vinny (thanks again for the Shigeo aces trick!) is one of those.

I'm not sure how long it takes to know you'll never quite get it, but I know it took me FOREVER. I would it was 2-3 months before I could even get a half-dollar to stay on my palm when I turned my hand upside-down. It was 6 months before it was even passable. Then, I put down coins for awhile in utter frustration. When I picked them up a month or two later, the palm felt much better for some reason. After that, my progress improved dramatically and I feel pretty comfortable palming coins now. I found recently that I have no problem palming nickels or even pennies and I have used dollar coins for a long time.

If you persist, though, I think its worth it because, for good or bad, palming is pretty central to coin magic, even if some are talented enough to work around it (i.e. VM, Ramsay).

Others might blast me for this, but I found the one trick that I felt helped the most was to really push a coin into palming position with my other hand. After I pressed it forcefully into my palm for 30 seconds or a minute, I would find it much easier to palm. I suppose this can lead to bad habits, but for me it was quite helpful in training my muscles.

Good luck!

I've mentioned this many times in other topics but it always seems worth repeating! I originally learned Vinny's Crimp work due to hand damage over the years and my CP wasn't a sure thing. Knowing that I have a wonderful hold out with the Crimp has allowed me to be more relaxed about using my CP and consequently it has gotten better and better over time! I will say that I use the Crimp 60-70% of the time but my CP ain't too shabby either! I reckon another 10 years and it will be good enough in my mind but my practice won't cease because it can ALWAYS be better IMO!

Kevin,
You know my opinion on this from our past conversations..... MANYYYYYYYYYYY many hours of dedication and practice is the ONLY thing that will give you a good CP! There are no short cuts that will give you the quality of practice!

Keep up the good work my friend,

Mick

It's not that I can not classic palm a coin but, when I do it my hand seems so unnatrual..
I watch other magicians classic palm coin, the dead give away is the coin is most always placed in the spot in there hand or the thumb gives it away, further more when the coin or coins are palmed the hand looks like it is squeezing oranges .. this is what happens to me so I never classic palm.
But this is me,However IMO there are very few that can classic palm where the hand looks natural The Late Werner Steitz was one of the magicians that did a excellent palm

Werner...dear Werner...may he rest in peace! What a wonderful magician and friend. That gentleman can Palm. Mano is another one of those guys. Giacomocomes to mind as well. I am still working on it Vincenzo! Its still getting better everytime.

Rannie