I recently learnt how to muscle pass a coin and I can get it to go about an inch up, or a foot across. Are you s'posed to make it go up, or across, or doesn't it matter?
james

The muscle pass can be performed in any direction (down isn't quite as impressive as the other directions) but even it has uses when gravity just won't accomplish the task with enough speed. A simultaneous (horizontal) muscle pass between your two hands give a lasting effect on all who see it and dropping a second coin into your bottom hand from the top while accomplishing a muscle pass the other way always gets a gasp of surprise from the spectators.

Don't worry about the vertical distance, it comes with time. Also play with coin sizes a bit until you find one that works for you. While most folks prefer a silver dollar sized coin, my personal favorites are the English Penny, Irish Punt and any American Half. They are lighter and work better in small hands.

I've been hanging around Japanese magicians and they do the muscle pass like you've never seen before. As a matter of fact, they hold Olympics for such things... the next one is in August. The winner last year was one of the group's magians: Yoko (not that one) who is a young Japanese girl that you would never believe was a magician until she killed you with cards. At a dinner she showed her muscle pass talents, don't shoot yourselves when I tell you this, she put a wine bottle on the table then put both hands, palm up, on either side of the bottle... she proceeded to muscle pass the coin up and over the bottle to the other hand, TWO Times, without moviing her hands off the table... Okay, now you can get out the hari-kari knives.
Greg

Wow!

I would have loved to have seen that Greg!

This sounds like a great crowd to hang with. Have you ever participated in their contests?

They hold these contests in Japan. I think the record is 14 cm with the hand flat against the table, knuckes never leaving the table. I've seen some people do a muscle pass where they give the coin a little toss as it pops off the hand and the hand catching it would shoot up high once the coin is caught which would give the effect of the coin popping up several feet. In reality it can only go 8 inches or so. Just over-exaggerate the catch.

But hey, what ever floats your boat!

I've never participated, but one of my friends is currently practicing to go over in August. Part of the event is also coin rolling as to how many times around the hand in a given amount of time & reseting a deck after it's been shuffled. Everyone in Shoot's group has one those titled. The current one of resting is held by the maker of Shoot's card and it is 43 seconds.
Greg

I've met Shoot once and he told me his record was 47 complete coin rolls in 1 min.

I'm sure he can. I know I've watched him do five coins rolling over his hand... it's bizarre to watch. Right now he is killing them in Miami... I've heard he practically sold out all of the stuff he brought within the first day.
Oh, one day we'll put out a video on all of his techniques using the muscle pass and how to practice.
Greg

I recently learnt how to muscle pass a coin and i can get it to go about an inch up or a foot across. Are you s'posed to make it go up or across or doesnt it matter?

HI,
I think that shooting the coin across is the most usefull Magical use of the muscle pass.
Whilst shooting the coin upwards has some novelty factor. this is simply fun. but not really magic. However, a retention vannish followed by a mussle pass into your topit leaving you clean would be.
phillip

Thanks for bringing this back on topic. A muscle pass is indeed a utility move with the ability to really shock. Direction is simply a matter of where do you want the coin to be at the conclusion of the movement. If you hide the coin it's utility. If you show or even draw attention to the coin, it's either the magic or a part of it, Either way, don't get discouraged because the muscle pass is an extremely useful tool to have in your repertoire and distance comes with time and practice.

I apologize for this becoming a habit of always posting a "What? What?" post but here goes.

The only resource I've ever seen on this is http://www.royal.no/elliot/mp.htm can anyone provide any other resources where I could learn more about it? I read this a month or two ago and gave up after having no success, this thread showed me that maybe it is possible by more than just that guy.

By the way, Shoot uses it as a flourish and a utility move. He is able to muscle pass from one hand into the other, but into perfect finger palm position. He can do it into any open pocket and has been known to sleeve... into the spectator's sleeve to retrieve the coin later.
Greg

My personal effect is a simultaneous pass horizontally. Two coins cross paths in the air. With an English Penny and an Irish Punt it sort of becomes a copper/silver tranformation flourish where thay can see them change places. My only problem is that sometimes the coins hit each other in mid-air and I have to go scrambling.

[quote]On 2002-05-24 19:19, Greg Arce wrote:
.... Yoko (not that one) who is a young Japanese girl that you would never believe was a magician until she killed you with cards....

what did she with cards??

Martin

[quote]On 2002-05-25 01:11, Full Effect wrote:
They hold these contests in Japan. I think the record is 14 cm with the hand flat against the table, knuckes never leaving the table. I've seen some people do a muscle pass where they give the coin a little toss as it pops off the hand and the hand catching it would shoot up high once the coin is caught which would give the effect of the coin popping up several feet. In reality it can only go 8 inches or so. Just over-exaggerate the catch.

I think you might be underexaggerating
I am getting over 30cm from the table sitting at my desk now, and I haven't been performing regularly for a while. When I have been practicing for a while (over two hours a day) I get between eighteen and twenty four inches consistantly.

Then again, the muscle pass is my life and I have no friends...

Ian.

BTW: If you do learn the slight remember two things. Wait until you are ready before you show anyone, and _never_ move your lower hand. As soon as the lay see it move, in their mind you 'threw' the coin, and the illusion is lost.