I hope this is the right area to post this? Any how here's my problem. I am putting together a linking ring routine. It has a start, and a middle but what about an end?
Any thoughts on how I can bring the routine to a nice close, what ever I have tried as a finish seems a bit of an anti-climax after all the trouble to get there.
Any help would be appreciated.
Happy new Year

How many rings? What size rings?

Oh yeah, that certainly would help! I use 8 rings that are about 10" diameter, in the usual arrangement of linked/unlinked/key.

To my mind this is one of pieces of magic that I suspect the lay person knows how it works, but if done well is still a thing of beauty to watch, and I seem to get good reaction when I do a travel through the 3 rings, but still lack a good finish!

Usually, with the rings, you start by showing they are all separate. I do a 6 ring routine based on the Vernon routine. At the end I have all six rings linked, then unlink them one by one counting as you go. When you show the last ring unlinked, you take your bow.

Good luck with your routine.

In Jeff McBride's "Commando Act" DVD, he does a 6-ring routine.
He starts with 3 then grabs 3 more later.
It is actually quite good.

Actually, he starts with 1 ring and a rope and does a ring/rope effect first.

Actually, he starts with a rope and does a rope trick.
Then the Ring and Rope. Then, he does the Linking Rings routine.

It is actually a darn good DVD. One of my favorites to get you into stand-up work.
A stand-up "commando act" you can do anywhere, anytime.

Actually, I bought 3. I bought the first one and traded it for a book.
I liked it so I just bought another one but then lost it.
I bought a third one because I liked it.
I found the second one beside my washer and dryer... never opened.

Anyone want to buy an unopened McBride Commando Act DVD?
PM me.

Get "Rings In Your Fingers" by Fitzkee.

Richard Ross has a killer ending for his routine.

Great, thanks for your response, I'll try to get hold of some of this material and see if I can borrow or adapt any of it.
I usually find that my routines kind of develop and grow, so I'm sure that I will get it all sorted.
Thanks everyone.

Do yourself a favor and get the Greater Magic linking rings DVD. It has four different masters doing the rings four very different ways. It also has Richard Ross who inspired me more than any other on this trick.

Then watch Cellini. He only does a 2 ring version, but it's beautiful.

I'm a personal fan of Dai Vernons 6 ring routine. The powerful part of this routine is that Vernon constantly lets the Key ring change postion from his right to his left hand, so even people who know the secret will not be able to follow it - and lay people especially will not. His ending is superb, he links all 6 rings and immediately move into 5 rings linked to 1 ring - then he visually creates an effect where he unlinks the 5 rings individually one by one and at the same time showing that the rings are singular. When he unlinks the last ring he hands out the supposed key ring to the spectator. Dai Vernons knows his switches both to show that you constantly have 6 singular unlinked rings and to make sure the key ring is never in the same hand twice (Vernon, Revelations DVD).

Jeff McBride has some very nice flourishes and links and un-links in his commando act that you can throw in at certain moments in the Dai Vernon routine.

The worst I've seen with the linking rings is performers who constantly holds the Key ring in the same hand - that's just poor performance style and IMHO a total misunderstanding of how to handle this effect.

Thanks, I will be spending some of my Christmas money buying these titles, and polishing my rings.

Do you know which 6 rings McBride uses on the DVD?

K + 1 + 1 + 3 = 6


kOnO

Rings In Your Fingers -by Fitzkee is a great book on the chinese linking rings. However the "endings" chapter is the shortest chapter, a page and a half long. It suggests about 4 or 5 ways to really "end" a routine, but more importantly offers the why and how of the psycholgy of the path to the ending. After re-reading it I now understand a lot of the little nuances that Shoot Ogawa was speaking of when he'd say things like "here... like this... let the people see your face and expression... not here... they can't see you if your here..."

Anybody else working on the Ninja rings? Does your hand feel like you've Karate chopped down a 4 foot thick Oak tree too? Boy oh boy my pinky is killing me. I gotta loosen up the grip on these things!

:)

~Craig

GreyGhost, I used to use the Ninja Rings. Now I use the Royal Magic 5" rings instead. I can do all that I can with my Ninja Rings plus I get the full set of 8.

You're right about the pinky. You are also right about relaxing your grip. That's the key.