Curious why CMH is so popular with the magic community. It never looked good to me, nor have I seen great reactions to it. Howevever the match penetration looks spectacular. Much much cleaner. Fooled me badly the first time I saw it. It's as if you were doing CMH without the move. Any thoughts on this?

I personally feel the same way but the Opposite. I was never really amazed my Match Stick Penetration. But then again that is just me. First time I saw CMH on Worlds Greatest Magicians I was floored.

CMH floored me the first time I saw it. Much more than the matches.
I get great reactions from people when I do CMH.
I guess it is like everything else, if you believe in the trick it will work for you. I have seen many tricks that underwhelmed me, so I don't do them. You have to believe in order to sell the effect to the spectator.

It all boils down to the presentation... I have done the matches for almost a century, but now do the CMH 'cause you don't find matches around as often as 60 or so years ago.

OH, but I do the two cork thing a lot, being a wino.

Learned the matches from the great Daryl Fooler Dooler videos......

I feel the matches are more like a stunt.
I perform CMH for several years now, and it never fails to astonish, literally.
This wasn't really the case when I first started performing it. I learned it from a tape where the effect was explained in a couple of minutes.

Then I learned some very nice touches from Dan Lefay, the Ammar book and video, and started really working on it. Now the effect really feels 'my own', and I perform it a lot. It feels great that two lousy rubberbands can create such a reaction.
CMH has everything in my opinion; it packs really small, it plays HUGE, everyday objects, and it involves the spectators. What more can you ask for?

Simon

How are the matches a stunt? It's solid through solid. What I love about the matches is there's absolutely no move. With the right angle, even done in frame-by-frame slow motion, there's nothing to hide. With CMH there's a very bold distracting move. Maybe I've just got to learn the subtleties.

Platt
There is doing CMH, and performing CMH, Dan Harlan, Daryl, Michael Ammar, Jay Sankey, and others are examples of those who perform CMH.
Al

Maybe I'm missing something, but what is CMH?

Thanks

Craig

Cpontz
It is a popular rubber band trick. Try a Café search on CMH and I'm sure there will be a plethora of information for you to read.
Al

CMH = Crazy Man's Handcuffs.

Thanks Al - I should have thought of that.

Craigg

LOL Silly Man. Had me worried for a second.

Cpontz
I'm sorry I gave you such a simple answer, but I did not know how experienced you were. There should be a place to go to crack the initial code.
Al

No problem Al. My mind just wasn't working then. It would be a good idea though, to have a code place.

By the way, I like Slydini's version best.

Craig

I don't know why I feel that way. It probably has something to do with the fact that a spectator performed it on me when I was tablehopping and performing CMH

I disagree with the bold distraction move, I think its one of the most logical moves to show that the bands are actually behind each other, as Ammar says: "it's the ultimate proof!"

What I also love about CMH is that it builds very nice. The first time is awesome, and spectators almost beg you to to it again, and you do . This time I use a very nice sublety. After three strands melt through, it seems that one of the strands has difficulty melting through the others, but then you pull it through as well!! Then, you let the spectator hold one of the bands, it becomes even more magical as you pass the band through the band in their hands.

One of my alltime favorite close up effects, for sure!!

Besides matches and rubberbands another great effect would be penetrating safety pins.
In my opinion all three are different and all are excellent, it is amatter of choice
the godfather

Good comment Vinnie. Again, Slydini has a great linking pin routine. It was in one of the Apolocypse books.

Craig