I get what you're saying, but I still think the MP is a move that can be practiced by everyone of any level, as it is not something that requires any sort of "sleight of hand thinking". When you're practicing on the MP, you don't need to think about timing, angles, naturalness, and so forth, you just need to keep doing it like a "dummy" and it will just improve itself, as the muscles responsible for the move get stronger.
In my opinion, the MP is such an easy move to practice, that a beginner will save himself time if he'll just start practicing it right away.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend a beginner to learn the MP, but if he wants to, then I wouldn't encourage him NOT TO. Say a complete beginner asked me if I could help him with Homer Liwag's Coin One, I'd tell him to forget about this routine for the next two or three years, but the Muscle Pass? that move's so easy to practice that it doesn't even matter if he starts doing it now, later, or ever!
Watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBKZcrf7Dt4
This guy is obviously a very skilled coin magician, but his MP is terrible (at least in this video), and he could have saved himself a lot of frustration if he'd have started practicing it earlier in his coin magic career.

Daniel, it's simple, really. You don’t need a muscle pass to perform great coin magic, but you DO need a well-rounded collection of palms, grips, and passes (i.e., puts and takes). Once the basics are learned and mastered and some experience is gained through practice, rehearsal, and performance, then there will be plenty of time to relax and learn the less needed moves if desired. You can argue all you like about how easy it is to learn the MP, but in fact it is not that easy. And after learning it if the basics of coin handling haven't beed learned then there isn't anything that can be done with just a muscle pass - except make a coin "fall up" of course. He can then juggle also!

Jim

I don't think you're thoroughly reading what I'm writing, I said I wouldn't recommend a beginner to learn the MP, but I would definitely NOT tell him to stop practicing a move that he wants to learn and is capable of learning.

Wow, I didn't expect to see so many replies on this so quickly. Thanks! I am pretty darned sure that I have the basic first baby move for a muscle pass. Someone said I cold post a video. Could I do that on this thread? Also, I see both sides of what everyone is saying and I HAVE been working on the basic conceals and how to get into and out of them. Basically I spent that last two days working on the first 9 pages of Bobo. But I also took careful note of Coinvanish.com's advice on the muscle pass being in the fundamental section, even though it would typically be considered more advanced. When I saw that I didn't know what a muscle pass even was (that was Friday night I believe). I went to YouTube (I know, I know - lots of amateurs there). I watched one video of a guy showing the MP in several situations and how he uses it and I was gobsmacked! That is so ...."magical." I determined then and there that I would do what I needed to do in order to learn the MP. But not to the exclusion of all else! See my thread from earlier today where I mention the hours of practice I got at the hospital doing hours of waiting. It was all about placing the coin into conceals like the Thumb Palm, the Back Thumb Palm, and the Back Finger clip. I made a lot of progress too:).

Anyway, I am so appreciative of all your replies. Thanks!! I'm learning from every one of them.

I sort of buried this question in my last reply. Someone said I should post a video (or link to one) showing what I've managed to do so far with the MP. Can I do that here in Nothing Up My Sleeve?

You can put it right here in this thread and we'll help you.

Thanks Daniel. See if this works: https://www.dropbox.com/s/oyefwc4bj0x0jz......mp4?dl=0

I know it's a little tiny baby hop now. So if I'm doing anything wrong with my movement or placement, now's the time to know that. I appreciate any advice from the ones who know.

Cheers!

Ken

ps - The cat and the laundry in the background are not part of the trick;-).

J-Mac said it best: the MP is not necessary per se, but to be a well rounded magician, it is something you need to develop. Took me over a year of daily practice to get it down, so keep at it, it WILL come. By the way, I never use it as a trick on its own, but as a stealth pass - very effective as the spec has no idea how that coin got into that hand !

Carpet Shark - Absolutely! I saw the way someone used it in several routines to SUPPORT the routine, not as a thing unto itself. So am I starting it right? Wasn't sure if you'd seen the video off my first MP baby steps.

Cheers!

Ken

You're getting the "pop" and that's the most important part, but you should also practice getting the coin in position without the help of your left hand.
After getting the initial "pop", it can be a matter of just a few days before your getting some real height.
What coin are you using? You should use a half dollar

It can be used for a comedy interlude in a longer routine.

Early I found that side to side was easier than vertical. Though I can do the vertical jump, I use the side to side as part of a copper silver two coin routine.
This is done by doing the "pass" with both coins at the same time.(one in the left and one in the right hand)

Harris
still 2 old to know it all

Daniel - Thanks! Yes, I agree totally with all you said. I was only using my left hand to get it into position to shoot the video. Also, I now have a proper half-dollar (a nice 1940 Liberty Walking one:)) and 6 Kennedys on the way. The one in the video was a half-dollar sized (well, just maybe a millimeter smaller in diameter) commemorative coin made here in San Antonio.

Thanks again!

Ken

Harris, have you ever had the two coins hit each other ?! I practice this move (not used it yet) but once in a while it becomes a mid-air disaster! Just have to keep one hand slightly ahead of (or behind) the other when MP horizontally....at least that's what I'm working on. Any suggestions ?

I think you should do MP as an accent to whatever else you're practising. I'm also fairly new in my journey and I started out around the same. Now I can do about 2x that height, which still isn't much but it's getting better.

I find that it's useful to practice often so that you build the muscle used for it and so that you get used to it and are able to catch it. It's not the biggest thing at the moment for me, but I know it could be useful in future. I tend to practise firing it across my lap, side-to-side is easier and you can always train the left hand at the same time.

Mine has plateaued somewhat so I've taken to CP-ing a stack of coins blu-tacked together to build even more muscle in that area. But like I said, it's not the biggest/most important thing for me and learning it earlier will definitely reduce your frustration later on if you want to learn it then, but that goes for most things isn't it? (E.g. if you take it into your head that you'd like to do some David Stone routine which involves CP-ing four half dollars... and yes, it'll be useful then but if you focus too much on it now, you compromise other things...)

I think that sums up the general sentiment, though of course I may be wrong.

Just keep practising, take whatever advice is given (irt technique and importance) and perform (other things) as much as possible