Cards As Weapons [Paperback]

Ricky Jay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1988

The author of the critically acclaimed Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, a nationally known sleight-of-hand expert, movie actor and magician extraor dinaire, presents a stylish parody of self-defense books that demonstrates how ordinary playing cards can be used as a means of protection. Photos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 130 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; Second Edition edition (June 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446387568
• ISBN-13: 978-0446387569
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,069,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Book Ever!, June 28, 1998

By 

Jon Wedd ([e-mail]) (Denver, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cards As Weapons (Paperback)

This book has changed my life. I took Ricky Jay's advice by putting "a deck of cards in [my] pocket, and a feeling of confidence in [my] life." When I first found this book, I thought for sure it was a joke. But after flipping through it and seeing pictures on how to grip the cards, as well as chapters on how to practice and stay fit, I knew it was the real deal. Sure, it's somewhat of a satire, actually killing someone, or large game animals, with a playing card is nearly impossible, but the book really teaches you an incredible skill that can be used to impress your friends. Ricky has a way with words, and his unique sense of humor kept me laughing throughout. I recommend this book to anyone who can read. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Jay for writing this book, without which I would have never achieved my MTV fame. Thanks Ricky!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, July 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Cards As Weapons (Paperback)

The chapters of the book are:

1. History A brief account of the origins of playing cards with some subtle speculation as to when they were first thrown

2. Cards and the Martial Arts A reflective look at the shuriken and other deadly throwing weapons of the venerable Orientals with a lucid parallel to the modern card assassin.

3. Magicians and Card-Scaling Historical accounts of the scaling of cards into the far reaches of small theaters. A feat of skill included in the stage shows of famous magicians, with particular emphasis on Herrmann the Great and the Amazing Thurston. 4. Technique The basics of card-throwing (illustrated); the Herrmann method, the Thurston method, and the Jay method. The hand, the wrist, the grip, and the all important follow-through. 5. Advanced Technique How to throw a card and make it return to the hand. A simulacrum of the Australian boomerang. Also--fancy one-hand throws and catches for the serious student.

6. How to Practice and Stay Fit The hows and wheres of practice; technique to keep the fingers limber and a short medical study of card-thrower's arm and its relationship to tennis elbow, surfer's knobs, and Frisbee finger.

7. Self-Defense A prejudiced enquiry into the advatages of cards over more conventional weaponry. Special sections on self-defense against plastics and humans, and pertinent discussion of cards as pest control. Also, an added bonus: The secret fighting technique against multiple adversaries, the lethal "four card fist." And a second bonus: The consumer's guide to mechanical card throwing.

8. Stunts to Impress One’s Friends An effective battery of crowd-pleasing demonstrations from the author's own repertoire. Included are award-winning throws such as: card over a building, the classic card through newspaper, and the kudo-copping "card-cuts-cigarette-in-mouth."

9. Personal Anecdotes In which the author recounts with clarity and exaggeration how he has helped the elderly, abetted the police, and assuaged the plight of young damsels with the help of his trusty cards...

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why this book is so expensive, January 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Cards As Weapons (Paperback)

Mr. Jay's book is well researched, and it does a fine job of teaching you to throw a card great distances, better known as card scaling. Mr. Jay is an excellent magician and an author of magic history books.

However, the reason this book is in such demand is that the photographs reveal you (or of course your lovely assistant) need not wear clothes to scale cards. This what one reviewer here called "wonderful, eye-catching photographs." Fair enough, it's Playboy stuff.

Therefore, it is tough to know just how serious Ricky Jay is being here. (I have personally watched in magic shops, years ago, as young men magii tried to buy a copy of this book when it was in stock at its original list price. They failed due to the nude photographs.)

The used book prices of this title are crazy.