Is it normal to get callus from cardistry?

[lolhammertime]

So I finally learned the spring!

I was practicing the spring for like an hour now, and my thumb is REALLY painful and I'm getting callus on the side of my thumb.

Is that normal?, because I'm worrying right now.

 

[David Brooke]

I would say yes. A callus is usually caused by friction, which in turn can be caused by cards rubbing against you when doing the spring. The pain should stop as your thumb get's more used to it. That's what happened to me when I first started doing magic and flourishes.

 

[lolhammertime]

I would say yes. A callus is usually caused by friction, which in turn can be caused by cards rubbing against you when doing the spring. The pain should stop as your thumb get's more used to it. That's what happened to me when I first started doing magic and flourishes.

Thanks. What a relief.

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

Maybe I'm thinking in terms of 'guitar callus', but I figure that in cardistry, you just get better feel for how to perform a flourish.

When I first started, I was gorilla-gripping the deck and hurt my hands when doing flourishes frequently. But after doing the same flourish over and over and over again, I started getting used to it and eased up a bit. For you, maybe even adjusting your grip ever so slightly to a position to where you get the same results, maybe hurt yourself less.

While I am not familiar with card springs at all (it's a two-handed flourish. Not what I do), all I can say is to keep practicing. I know you're new and plowing through as much as you can. Just keep going.

I will say that I've managed to create a variant (it's a full packet 'Rinzler') that I can only do about 20-25 times continuously, as it seriously cuts up the side of my pointer finger just getting the packet into position. I haven't tried it lately (mostly because I'm very wary of doing so), but I think it all depends on the flourish you're actually doing, your grip, your deck, and your experience.

ALL of which requires a bit of troubleshooting on your end. The better you can troubleshoot a flourish your're having problems with, the faster you'll be able to nail the mechanics down.

 

[lolhammertime]

For you, maybe even adjusting your grip ever so slightly to a position to where you get the same results, maybe hurt yourself less.
.

I was able to adjust the springing position to the short edge of the deck instead of the corner, and now my thumb doesn't hurt nearly as much as before, so thanks for that, the only thing is the sound of the spring is kinda weird but it's manageable.

 

[leumas1960]

Yeah getting used to it should help, I used to get lots of paper cuts/calluses on my thumbs, but they stopped happening eventually. Actually, I'm rather surprised I'm no longer getting paper cuts from a deck of cardboard!