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��Thunderbird : The Modern Ace Production � Lee Asher 2007 All rights reserved. With the exception of short quotations for the purpose of review, no part of this e-book, text or photos, may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, stored in a retrieval system, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. No part of this e-book may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holder. Thunderbird s broadcast rights (including Internet, Television, Video, or any other medium known or to be invented) shall be reserved by Lee Asher. Only written consent from Lee Asher authorizes permission for broadcast. Asher, Lee. Thunderbird Magic Cards Ace Produced in the United States of America Dedication: These following words are written for those willing to practice, to attain perfection. -Lee Asher January 1, 2007 (Toronto, Canada) Table of Contents What s Thunderbird? Introduction The Tenkai Palm Page 1 Thunderbird s Five-Step Formula Page 3 Further Thoughts on Tenkai Palm Page 9 Make your Tenkai Palm comfortable Page 11 A Small T-bird Variation Page 12 Credits Page 13 Acknowledgments Page 14 What To Do Now? Page 15 About the Author Page 15 Other Lee Asher Products Page 16 Click on the section titles to jump the that page What is Thunderbird? Thunderbird is the Modern Ace Production. Imagine if you really had magical powers. How would you make the four aces appear? Picture bringing your hands together, and an ace magically appears between them. Without hesitation, you take this newly-produced card, and split it into two aces. The audience is riveted - they do not want to blink for fear of missing your next move. The third ace materializes out of thin air - at your fingertips. For the finale, the cards are held motionless and the final ace visually appears with the other three aces. Your audience stands speechless - they cannot believe what they have just witnessed. Four aces sit attractively displayed at your fingertips. No gimmicks or trickery - just well-composed sleight of hand. In less than thirty seconds, you have engaged your audience with some of the most elegant and powerful card magic possible. They swear it is some sort of high-tech optical illusion, but you secretly know - this is Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production. Introduction In 1995, while living in the freshman dormitory at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, I stumbled upon a handling for Cliff Green s Phoenix Aces that would change my feelings about card productions forever. My motivation for a bare-handed ace appearance was to launch right into the Asher Twist after producing four aces. Not satisfied with all the conventional methods, I toiled tirelessly to invent and design a production that would fit specific needs. Work began on Thunderbird. In the back of my mind, I also wanted to create a card piece specifically designed as an opener for the competition at the Olympics of Magic F�d�ration Internationale des Soci�t�s Magiques, (F.I.S.M.) Dresden, Germany 1997. During the creation process, Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production took on various faces and shapes, needing two-plus years to perfect. As time passed, I felt compelled to perform the routine as much as possible. Along with Catch 33 (my Three Card Monte routine), Thunderbird was performed extensively at Caesar s Magical Empire. One evening, a famous New York magician, Anthony Chappy Brazil, commented on how it was a modern version of Cliff Green s classic effect, Phoenix Aces. He came up with a very fitting title Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production. Directly after graduating from University, Thunderbird made its debut on the Five Card Stud video. You may ask how I placed at F.I.S.M. in 1997. The truth is, once perfected, this routine never saw any type of competition in Dresden, Germany. With the two years of development just for Thunderbird, there was no time to work out the rest of the act! As a final note, you cannot win F.I.S.M. with thirty seconds of magic, even if those moments are tremendous. Ah, but what an opening! The Tenkai Palm The Tenkai Palm is the core technique utilized for concealing the packet of aces. TheTenkai Palm was most likely invented in the 1920s or 1930s, but not published Teijiro Ishida Tenkai* was born in 1889, the same until 1953, in Six Tricks by Tenkai, written year Japan received its first European-style by Robert Parrish. constitution. He became a professional magician and a clever creator of all types of magic. While the following explanation below is comprehensive, the whole action of In 1924, Tenkai toured the United States of Tenkai-palming a card happens in a America as a member of the internationally acclaimed Japanese Tenkatsu troupe. He stayed heartbeat. in the U.S. for the next thirty-four years before Place the packet of aces widthwise returning to Japan. between your right thumb and palm, Tenkai became popular for his skill with cigarettes, as shown in photos one through three watches, and his famous rope though neck. (Photos 1 and 2 show the position of However, he shall always be praised for his revolutionary work with a pack of playing cards. the packet). His ideas are still used to this day and continue to Your right thumb extends across the be benchmark techniques for many creators. short end of the packet, its tip contacting Tenkai Ishida passed away in 1972 at the age of the packet s outer left corner. The outer 83. The legacy he left paved an inspirational path right corner of the packet is against the for others to follow. palm of your hand. Pressure from the He was once quoted as saying, Magic is not tricks; pad of your thumb and joint keeps the it is a way. right long side of the packet against your palm, holding it secure and squared. *Tenkai is pronounced (Ten-k-eye) Place your right hand in front of you with its back toward the audience; your Information by Hideo Kato forearm should be above your waistline. This position will conceal the palmed cards from the front (photo 3). The length of your right arm will screen the packet from those on your right side. 1 2 3 Thunderbird by Lee Asher 1 As long as you keep the packet of cards parallel to the floor and your fingers slightly curled and draped over the front edge, it will not be visible to the audience. When palming with your right hand, the critical angle is on your far left. Vice versa when palming with the left hand. Spectators to your far right position may see the palmed packet. To cover the bad angle, take a few steps to your left and position your right shoulder and foot directly toward the leftmost spectator. This will insure the palmed packet is concealed from the entire audience s vision. Though your angles are crucial, you will be able to control them once you become comfortable with the palm. In another section of this PDF, we will discuss more tips on making sure the palmed cards won t flash during your performance. When first concealing cards in Tenkai Palm, there might be Begin simply by accepting some self-doubt as to whether or not they are truly hidden the fact that a playing card from the audience s view. Please don t worry; originally, I is no thicker than a piece had similar feelings when learning this technique. With of ordinary thread, and time, you will come to trust all the practice you put into when held on a horizontal your Tenkai Palm. plane, that is to say flat, is pretty nearly invisible, Keep the front edge of the Tenkai-palmed cards on the same even without hand cover. plane as the spectator s line of vision, and they will remain Ross Bertram completely out of sight. Practice in front of a mirror. With the cards palmed, look into the mirror. Move your wrist up until you flash the packet from underneath. Now move it all the way down until you flash them from above. You ve just been given a quick lesson in exposing the packet. Rotating the hand will flash the top or bottom of the For more information on the Tenkai palm, see Chapter Six of packet as well. Experiment as much as you can with the The Dai Vernon Book of Magic angles in front of the mirror. (Ganson, 1957, pp. 73-80) and Chapter Seven of Bertram on Eventually, find the point at which the packet disappears Sleight of Hand (1983, pp. 140- from sight, while keeping your hand in a comfortable 187). and natural position. With time, you ll trust the packet will be concealed. While practicing in front of the mirror, bend your right wrist inward a bit. Notice how this gives the illusion that you have nothing in your hand. You can even spread your right hand fingers slightly without flashing the packet. Experimentation is not only essential; it is the best way to learn Tenkai s technique. For more tips on keeping your cards hidden while in Tenkai Palm, see page 9. If you d like to see a video of Thunderbird from the performer s point of view, please click on the link: http://www.leeasher.com/tbirdvid.htm. Watch the explanation video, and then read the detailed text below for a clearer understanding of the inner workings of Thunderbird. 2 Thunderbird by Lee Asher Thunderbird s Five-Step Formula To explain Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production in the most detailed way possible, it has been broken down into five simple steps. By following these instructions, you will grasp the basic technique with a modicum of practice. Grab your four aces; and let us begin. Step One: The First Ace Place the face-down ace packet in the right hand, in Tenkai Palm position. Hold both hands down by your sides. When ready to perform, bring both arms up in front of you, several inches away from your torso. Make sure your right hand is a little above and in front of the left. This is so you can place the inner left corner of the packet between the left second and third fingers, at their base (photo 4). 4 You need to keep the packet as square as possible for the first production. The best way to keep the aces together is by applying a small amount of pressure at both ends, squeezing your hands together at the contact points. Move the right hand back toward you, until the inner left corner of the hidden packet firmly contacts the base of the left second and third fingers. Without pausing, continue moving the right hand toward you, causing the inner end of the packet to lower. Release your right thumb from the packet and rotate the right hand toward the body so it forces the squared packet of aces to a vertical position between both hands, its face visible to the audience. It looks as if a single card instantly appears between your palms (photos 5a, 5b, 5c). 5b 5c 5a Once the packet is vertical and in view, immediately extend the fingers of both hands toward the audience.This adds to the mystery of the production, and proves your hands are otherwise empty. Thunderbird by Lee Asher 3 Step Two: The Transition Between You have a packet of four aces (held as one) between your palms. You will now remove the ace on the face of the packet while secretly moving the remaining three cards back into Tenkai Palm. 7 6 Stretch your left first finger and thumb to pinch the left side of the packet. Simultaneously, the right hand rotates back to its original position - in front of the body, with its back toward the audience. If done properly. The upper end of the packet moves forward. Once again, the back of the right hand conceals the packet as you remove the face card as follows: While sliding the bottom ace out using the pad of the left forefinger, the uppermost three aces are pushed to the right with the tip of your left thumb (photo 6). The right thumb extends across the outer short edge of the cards and contacts their outer left corners, securing the packet once again in the Tenkai-palm position. There is no hesitation as these actions occur the face card of the packet is removed with your left hand while at the same time, the remaining cards are palmed. With your left hand, turn the visible ace lengthwise.You will now be pinching the middle of it s upper long edge with the fingertips of both hands. Place your right and left first fingers in front, and thumbs behind the card (photo 7). Step Three: Splitting the Second Ace Position check: you should have your first finger dangling down in front of the card, while the thumb sits behind. Make sure your other fingers relax behind the card with your thumb. Move your middle finger underneath the palmed packet (photo 8a) . From the spectator s view, it should look as if you are about to tear the ace (photo 8b). 8a 8b 4 Thunderbird by Lee Asher With the pad of your middle finger, start to move the bottom ace of the packet to the left. Move your left thumb onto the back of this card, and pinch its 9 long left side between your left thumb and second finger (photo 9). Act as if you are going to tear the visible ace in half. Keeping your right 10 hand perfectly still, move your left hand forward with the pinched ace, through the stationary right-hand ace (photo 10). Notice how the ace in your left hand rotates so 11 that its long edge is uppermost as you bring it into view. It is crucial that you do not bend your right wrist forward or backward during this tearing action, otherwise you will flash the two remaining aces in Tenkai palm. It will feel natural to turn the wrist, but fight the temptation. It looks as if you have torn one ace into two. Rotate both aces at the fingertips so their short edges are uppermost (photo 11). Don t forget ! You can see a video of this explanation at LeeAsher.com Thunderbird by Lee Asher 5 12 13 15 14 19 16 18 17 6 Thunderbird by Lee Asher Step Four: Third One s a Charm Place the right-hand ace into the left hand, so that both cards are held together making the shape of the letter V (photo 12). Your left hand stays motionless for this next sequence. The third ace materializes right out of thin air - at your fingertips. Or at least& that s what the spectators think. Extend your right hand forward, and act as if you are plucking the third ace from the air in front of you. Bend middle finger back toward your palm, as far back as you can reach, and place it on the face of the packet (photo 13). Using the pad of the middle finger, move it up and to the left, causing the bottom card of the packet to slide out (photo 14). Once the card has moved out a third of its width, place your forefinger onto its outer left corner and pull upward, causing the card to swivel on the nail of your thumb until its face is toward the audience. The back of this ace slides against the nail of the right thumb as it swings into view and the card will come to rest at your right fingertips (photos 14, 15, and 16). Be sure your right hand stays parallel to the floor the whole time you are plucking the ace from the air. If you even bend your wrist in slightly, you risk flashing the card in the Tenkai palm. Make sure to keep your right wrist completely still, and let the fingers do all of the work. Now that you have produced the third ace, rotate it so it s short end is uppermost, and it insert it between the other two in the left hand (photo 17). Leave it sticking up a bit, so it juts out and grasp all three cards with your right fingertips (photo 18). Take care not to flash the remaining card in the Tenkai palm during this step. Without disturbing their positions, place the three aces into your right hand holding them at your fingertips. The outer short edge of the palmed card will touch the back of these aces at a 90� degree angle. Step Five: The Final Ace Take a moment to pause between producing the third ace and the last ace. Let your audience focus on the three card packet in the right hand. With your right thumb, press down on the back of the palmed card, so it pivots into the spectator s view. Make sure to keep your hand completely still, so it looks as if the card simply appears. Your thumb comes to rest flat against the back of the other aces (photo 19). Four aces now sit attractively displayed at your fingertips (photo 20). Some people have a tendency to stick their fourth finger out while producing the last ace. I refer to this as a bad pinky on the Five Card Stud DVD , because it looks dreadful, and completely detracts from the appearance. Refrain from letting the fourth finger come away from the rest of your hand; make a mental note if you have to. The less hand movement seen by the audience, the more magical the effect looks for them. In closing, I want to leave you with a few words of advice about performingThunderbird in public. Thunderbird by Lee Asher 7 20 Thunderbird takes roughly half a minute to perform from beginning to end. Take care to treat each production as an individual effect. Your spectators witness pure card magic. However, never display Thunderbird if you don t have the proper angles. There are plenty of other angle-proof Ace productions available. With that said, when you do have the proper angles, you ll find Thunderbird is your deadliest weapon. 8 Thunderbird by Lee Asher Further Thoughts on Tenkai Palm In this section, several tips and techniques are discussed with the intention of drastically improving your Tenkai Palm. Even if you are already an expert in Tenkai s methods, this section should still be worthy of your time. These small insights come from years of using the technique in all types of working environments. Tip One: Parallel to the Floor As long as the Tenkai-palmed packet remains parallel with the floor, it stays hidden. Try moving your wrist and forearm as one, without bending either. This helps minimize the risk of flashing. Don t forget to be conscious of your packet and its position at all times. Remember to keep the front edge of the Tenkai-palmed cards on the same plane as the spectator s line of vision. Your packet remains completely out of sight. Tip Two: Shut All Windows Someone famous once said, The eyes are the windows to the soul. Someone not-so-famous, (yours truly), said, The fingers are the windows to the not- so-hidden packet. The majority of Tenkai Palm flashing comes from the gaps between your fingers, not from above or beneath. Regardless of our hand sizes, most of us have to train our fingers to stay together when Tenkai palming. If you have problems flashing through your fingers, below is an easy exercise to help you close all the unnecessary gaps that expose your packet. Spread your fingers out as wide as you can, and then squeeze them together as tightly as possible without closing your hand to making a fist. Walk over to a sink or faucet and run some water on your palm and fingers. Make sure the water cannot trickle through any gaps between your fingers. If you manage to hold the majority of the water and not let it drip too much through your fingers, chances are you will not flash the packet during performance. If water can t seep through the webbing, neither will their gaze. Learn to keep your windows closed. Transcend the water, dry off your hands, put the cards back into Tenkai Palm, and make sure your fingers are as close together as possible. Now perform Thunderbird. Thunderbird by Lee Asher 9 Tip Three: Frame the Face Are a majority of the routines you perform executed at waist level? If so, tip three may be the best suggestion yet. I ve always found the greatest way to get re-hired for a second time is to make sure everyone knows who I am, when the performance is over. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to perform as much magic near your face as possible. This may sound obvious, but think about how you demonstrate your magic for an audience. Seriously take note of Thunderbird s construction. Every production happens in front of the body, high up, near your face. You never have to move your torso at all when performing this ace production - no wiggling, twisting at the waist, or even taking any steps. Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production is direct, sophisticated, and designed for maximum face exposure. The spectators watch magic, and see your face in the same frame. Cheap imitations of Thunderbird may neglect the importance of tip number three, and make everyone look like bOZos. Hey! Did you forget? You can see a video of this explanation at LeeAsher.com 10 Thunderbird by Lee Asher Make your Tenkai Palm comfortable At some point, while performing with the Tenkai Palm, you might find yourself in a situation where waiting before producing the first ace is prudent. It s awkward to remain motionless with the cards in palm position, so pictured below are several comfortable hold positions for your use. Down by side 21a 21b Hips 22a 22b 24 23 Behind back, arms folded Edge of table Thunderbird by Lee Asher 11 A Small T-bird variation for a change of pace Originally published in the Pulp Friction booklet (2000, pp. 2-3) Before performing Thunderbird, turn the second ace from the top of the packet face up in your four-card packet (photo 25). Place the packet of cards into a Tenkai Palm in your right hand. Produce the first, second, and third ace exactly as described above in the original routine. The only difference being the third ace will appear face down, from the audience s perspective. Now that you have the third ace produced, insert it between the other two in the left hand. Leave it 25 sticking up a bit, so it juts out (photo 26a and 26b). Take care not to flash the remaining card in the Tenkai palm during this action. 26a Transfer all three aces from the left hand, over to the right hand, so the Tenkai-palmed card touches the back of the other aces (photo 27). Use your left fingers to clip the face-down ace, remove it and then flip it over (photo 28). At the exact moment the third ace becomes face up, use your right thumb to apply pressure downward on the palmed card, so it pivots into view. Make sure to keep your whole forearm, wrist, and hand completely still, so it looks as if the ace simply appears. Your thumb will come to rest flat against 26b the back of the other aces. 27 28 12 Thunderbird by Lee Asher It seems as if the last two aces appear at once 29 (See photo 29). Credits Here are some other interesting credits that you should take the time to unearth and read. Familiarize yourself with: " Cliff Green, Professional Card Magic, p. 39 (1961), The Phoenix Aces " Ross Bertram, Bertram on Sleight of Hand, pp. 140-187 (1983) " Jean Hugard, More Card Manipulations No. 2, p. 47 (1939), The Cottone Squeeze Production " Richard Kaufman, Card Magic, (1979) A Phoenix of a different color pg. 147 and Phoenix Reborn p. 142 " Daryl s Lecture, Notes #1, p. 20 (Convention Session #1, 1978-79), The Ink Was Left Behind " Ed Marlo, Marlo s Magazine Volume 5, p. 295 (1984), An Effect From The 40 s Thunderbird by Lee Asher 13 Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following people for their generous help with this project. William Goodwin Darric Martinez Kip Pascal Paul Vigil Tyler Wilson Christina Galonska Aaron Fisher Magic Mike Segal Max Maven Daryl Andi Gladwin Steve Fearson Rose Rings The Folks And As Always& the Esteemed Members of the Magic Mafia 14 Thunderbird by Lee Asher What To Do Now? Now that you understand the basic concept of Thunderbird, I urge you to go and practice. The faster you start working on this technique, the sooner you will master it. If you have any questions about Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production, please email them to Lee@LeeAsher.com Drop me a note anytime. I would also love to hear about your experiences performing Thunderbird. About the Author Lee Asher was born into the art of magic. His father, Mark, encouraged Lee to embrace magic at the age of seven. This is what helped to shape Lee into the magician he is today. In 1991 and 1992, Lee won the International Brotherhood of Magicians Junior Close-up Championship, making him the youngest competitor ever to win two years in a row. After graduating High School, Lee moved to Las Vegas, Nevada for University. There, Lee spent time with some of the greatest magicians in America. While studying, Lee found time to perform and keep his skills sharp. He was one of the two original Walk-Around Magicians at Caesar s Magical Empire at Caesar s Palace. Once Lee finished college, he followed his heart to Paris, France. While there, he studied and shared his magic with some of Europe s finest magical minds. Now back in America, Lee Asher resides in Eugene, Oregon, where he continues to practice the art of magic. Lately, he has been finishing up his Pulp Friction DVD. Thunderbird by Lee Asher 15 Other Lee Asher Products click on the pictures for more information THREE STYLIN I want you to imagine... You re stuck.You re performing magic at a private party, and the subject of THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER comes up. You want to perform, but the crowd keeps discussing Las Vegas. You feel the pressure. Then it hits you. To the startled eyes of those around, you pull out your brightly colored Stylin poker chips, execute a beautifully choreographed Three-Fly style routine where the poker chips magically travel from one hand to the other. Immediately your audience raves. You are an instant success!! A dream? Absolutely not! Within your ability? You better believe it! No matter where you live, color crosses language barriers. Without color, you have just another standard coin effect. Standard coin magic lacks depth. Depth, in coin magic, can be difficult to visually translate. Without depth, the effect is lost. Color makes it easy to distinguish between objects. Three Stylin is a color Fingertip Coins Across -- Colorful Poker Chip Routine The Effect - Simple: Three multi-colored poker chips begin in the right hand, spread at the fingertips. Without any fast movements or flashy distractions, the chips begin traveling across magically to the left hand one at a time! They visually appear at your fingertips. This effect plays so big, even the people in the back can see and understand what s going on! You get a manuscript which includes detailed instructions on how to perform Three Stylin . It also contains valuable thinking, and information which will help with all of your coin magic in the future. A full set of large colored chips are supplied for easier handling, and your chips surfaces come smooth - for silent execution. For More Information on Three Stylin Click Here 16 Thunderbird by Lee Asher DIVING BOARD DOUBLE PDF Pretend for a moment you are the skillful card magician you have always dreamt of being. Commanding cards to make music at your fingertips like a conductor arranging music at a symphony is just part of the job description. You are a true poet in motion. May I ask you a personal question? Which double lift do you use the most? Many famous professional magicians are switching over and using the basic version of the Diving Board Double in place of their regular double lift. Do you still think we are pretending? Now the hour has come for you to find out this versatile technique - time to switch over. I proudly present a brand new instant download -- The Diving Board Double Are you the type to settle for the usual compendium where one technique is weaker than the next? Do yourself a favor. Trust me and settle on one solid simple double lift the Diving Board Double. The Diving Board Double Lift PDF is delivered via email! The unique download link will arrive to your personal email inbox within several minutes of placing the order. All transactions are made on secure servers. Nothing could be faster and easier! For More Information on Diving Board Double Click Here Thunderbird by Lee Asher 17 CATCH 33 3 cards. 2 of them lose. 1 wins. Simple.... ... Or so your audience thinks. ..easy! Each time they play the game with you, the audience falls into bright traps you ve set. Thanks to you, they get an authentic lesson on the con game that isn t a game at all. Grateful and overwhelmed by your jaw dropping performance, they thank you with the sound of their hands slamming together in excitement. Get ready for praises galore! Using this beautifully choreographed routine, you will continually manipulate your spectators into choosing the wrong card. They just can t help themselves. You clearly rip off a corner of the winning Monte card. A spectator holds the torn corner in their hand. Amazingly, the winning Monte card restores itself to a perfect condition on the table. The piece held by the audience member magically changes to a corner of a losing card. You WILL look like an expert! NO TRICK CARDS used in Catch 33:Three Card Monte. Once you find out how this routine works, you will never want to perform any other again. Catch 33 borrows actual moves taken from the real street con and combines them with an entertaining magical approach and excellent psychology. It will surpass all of your expectations. Download Catch 33 now. Why wait? Catch 33 will be instantly delivered to you. This is a very simple automated process, even if you have never done anything like this before! It s easier than you think. If you can click your mouse button, Catch 33 can be yours. For More Information on Catch 33 Click Here 18 Thunderbird by Lee Asher

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