Andrei Jikh’s GENESIS review by Alejandro Portela

Here is my biased review on Genesis to get you guys to hear my sexy spanish accent.

Nah seriously, this IS the DVD you are looking for, no matter your skill level or style. Genesis is hands down the best cardistry DVD ever released.

I’m going to briefly go over the contents highlighting what caught my attention.

I must say it took me 4 days to watch all of it because there is so much stuff here that it’s insane.

And that’s just the first quickie I gave it! This material will last me months to master…

So…Let’s begin:

Charlier Cut

Loved the tips on real life perfomances to give meaning to what we do and those funny lines to involve the audience. Really valuable advice.

Thumb Cut

I learned it the wrong way!!!

Now I understand why so many people is adicted to these cuts, now my flares look much better with Huron Low’s ninja style.

Scissor Cut

I have to say I miss some advanced applications here but the teaching for the basic move couldn’t have been any better.

One Hand Revolution Cut

Is Brian Tudor the father of the move? I remember it took me a while to get used to the mechanics but soon it became one of my favourite flourishes when I was starting out.

The one in my right hand always looked a bit weaker so I’m happy that Andrei is a lefty.

Angel

A beautiful move by Bone Ho. Andrei teaches the way to do it if your hands are as dry as a “mojama”.

Widthwise Triangle

This is not the method I use but it is the same result so it’s always nice to train alternatives. He also gives you tips to add flare and personality. Don’t skip this part.

Lengthwise Triangle

I love the advanced handling using hand motions and his “Blink” move to close it. I actually use the Lengthwise Triangle in one of my flourishes that you can, by the way, quickly get a glimpse in Sexy Time, I call it “Triángulo”.

One Handed Shuffle

This is the first flourish i’ve ever learned, even before the charlier cut. When I first saw this in Rene Lavand’s hand I fell in love with card flourishing. Andrei gives some nice points on how to master this tough guy.

Thumb Propulsion

Aka Long Distance Spinner. A move I’ve never been able to do. Will move it up my to-do list right after finishing this review. I must learn this move in order to be able to…

“Do your flourishes, do your applaudes cue, and when they’re applauding McBride the f*ck out of them” -Ineski

Spring

Andrei explains all techniques in this extensive in-depth tutorial, even The Virts’ way is touched here.

One of the most impressive and all time Stars of card flourishing.

Flower Fan

Another one that I have to practice in order to get an even full circle shape. Credits to Jerry and Jeff McBride. Girls love this one.

One handed Fan

Andrei Jikh’s one handed fan is one of the best I’ve seen, i mean, there’s Jaspas’, Shoeman’s and Huron’s but hey, we are talking about Andrei’s DVD here right? ;)

I have to practice this in my left hand as I normally do a Carnahan Fan instead so again thanks Andrei for being lefty.

Thumb Fan

It truly is one hell of a tough move when you are starting. I love the way Andrei forms it with that 360 spiky shape.

Watch out for the “oilies”! Great tips on how to perform it on stage and live performances.

Angel Slide

Shows you how to apply concepts from other artforms that have affinity to inspire you to create new moves. Really fun to practice. I love it.

Blink

The cherry on top kinda move. “If you Blink you’ll miss it”. A little one to use after a combo or as a transition between flourishes.

Angel Catch

Love the performance clip of this move with the thumb cuts sequence. Simple yet effective.

Time shot

I loved this move when I first saw it in the trailer. Going to use it for sure but first I need a good one handed fan in my left hand (where i wear my watch). Both methods taught are cool.

Pickwhip

You already saw the intro for this one. First you learn the swing cut as a prerequisite. Pacman easter egg ftw.

52 motions closer

Nice way to close a thumb fan, I’ve been experimenting with a few differentways myself. They make your fans look much much better, dont underestimate the closers!

Basic Card in Fan

Easy to do. Fun to practice. Good looking. You MUST learn this one.

Tetra

Credits to Matt Lang and Daniel Garcia. Again simplicity here is the key. A tricky move. I love this concept of instant surprise and actually use it in one of my flourishes (Satellite).

Bullet shot

Extremely easy, you get a lot of control over the flick. A nice alternative. Not recommended if you are a poss girl, watch the explanation and you’ll understand why.

Card in Flower Fan

Another aerial catch move. If you can do the flower fan then you can do this one. Nice subtlety on how to handle the card you toss in the air in order to increase the chances of catching it into the fan.

Rewind

Credits to Jerry for the deck twirl concept. Beautiful move. I adore deck twirls.

Flashback

An aerial two-packets false cut. Looks damn great when done up to speed. I will use it.

Twitter

Credits to Ling “Nemesis” Xuan and shoutout to Decknique. I like the sound the cards do when you perform it.

Bullet

The move I was interested the most in learning ever since I saw the underground “Contents” and “Allan’s edit” videos.

Can’t belive it is so simple to do! I need Andrei’s speed on this one. DAMN!

Basic ONE

LOL at the Secret Books easter egg at the intro.

Gotta love the flare that Andrei adds to the move. Makes it look completely unique.

ONE Charlier

Awesome when done in both hands. This is “bringing sexy back to the charlier cut”.

Rebound Concept

The good stuff will be in the upcoming volumes of Genesis.

Winged Concept

Another great concept using a fan as a platform. You have to see it to understand it’s potential.

Winged Instant Three

One hand revolution + one handed fan = Instant aerial triangle

Arial Winged Throw

Awesome looking. I love it. Works great with cobra-ish sound effects, you know what I mean.

Blanco ONE

– Alejandro Portela (That’s me!)

Blanco one is an idea I showed to Andrei Jikh in a quick late night webcam session. He liked it so much that thought would be a great addition to the first volume where he explains the ONE concept.

It’s not the most original thing I have but it blends pretty well with Andrei’s style. If you already know how to do Blanco from my public tutorial then this is a piece of cake.

Carnahan Fan

– Dan and Dave

One of my favourite fans there is. And I’m sure everyone’s too. Nice bicycle eco deck there twins, I want one now!

Learn the history of the move from Dave itself and why was he chosen for Smokin’ Aces instead of Dan.

Overall GENESIS Impression

“5/5 stars from me dawg!!!”

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