Introduction
I pick up cardistry in 2014, and since then, practise it on and off. During these years, cardistry as a form of art developed in an exceedingly rapid pace. Thousands of new cardists emerge all around the globe and join this big community; they are passionate and willing to contribute. More and more videos and tutorials are shared online to teach each other how to learn and develop new moves. These are all satisfying.
However, to my surprise, cardists rarely create theory to illustrate why some moves are better than the others. Actually, we do not have a theory at all. If we want to elaborate cardistry, we need to transform it from an artistry to an art; we need to make connections between moves and thoughts.
A theory is yet to be developed.
Cardistry
Cardistry is a name given to the performance art of card flourishing. The term is a portmanteau of “card” and “artistry”. Unlike card magic, cardistry is meant to be visually impressive and appear very hard to execute. People who engage in cardistry are nicknamed “cardists”.
Wikipedia
Cardistry is an arcane but growing performance art in which its practitioners, called cardists, share their best moves with an inclusive group of skilled and dedicated youths. They use decks of cards to compose acrobatic arrangements and sequences as a form of self-expression.