I'm a Cardist and 2018 without a doubt, was an eventful year for me as a Cardist. I took part in my first Cardistry competition and it was really a good, fun and challenging experience. I took part in the Cardistry Discord Championship (CDC 2018) which was held around June and continued till September, last year. There were 5 rounds in total (the first round was an audition round) and I fortunately got to the final round. There were 3 categories in CDC: Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced. I was competing in the Intermediate category. Although I did not win the Finals (nor came 2nd or 3rd too), it was an experience I will not forget since it was my first major cardistry competition. I remember how I had to brainstorm for every round to think how I would my plan and film by video and the moves I would put it, trying to meet the criteria of each round. Boy, it was challenging for me as I not only had to learn how to use Adobe Premier Pro to edit my videos during the competition but also had to work on the Cardistry part too of course since its a Cardistry Competition. I was not used to filming long Cardistry videos (had to film 5 for all rounds in total) and it taught me the importance of sticking to a deadline to get my videos done on time. I still remember the way I had practiced for some of the highly challenging (& yet fun) rounds, especially the Uncut Round 3. Not to mention the new moves I had to learn to use them in the rounds and so I also expanded my arsenal of moves in the process. One mistake I would never want to repeat again is what happened during the Final round. I legit shot my Final round the last moment and as a result of it, I didn't like the outcome because it was not well planned like my previous rounds and was done in a haste. I will always remember this experience. Also, since CDC 2018 was highly criteria based for each round (even the Final Round had a specific criteria), I have learned how to follow and not follow the criteria in a competition. Its Very Important
and Overall, I gotta say that I loved the experience and had fun competing with many great cardists (who I have the pleasure to call friends).
So YES, CDC was the Highlight of 2018 for me as a Cardist! Would I like to compete in Future competitions like CDC ? Sure, Why not?! But before I decide to do something like this again, I really need to implement the learnings from the mistakes I made in CDC 2018 to avoid repeating them again. So that's where 2019's resolution comes in place! One of the things I am going to do in 2019 is Significantly improve my Cinematography and Editing Skills to produce better High Quality Cardistry videos for future competitions like CDC. I know at the Core, the Cardistry moves and creativity is what's all that matters but if I'm not able to showcase the Art in the Best way Possible, then I am failing the purpose of the Art itself. Now that's something I Cannot allow to Happen! (Of course, I'm still going to work on the Art at its Core too and Overall, be a better Cardist)
I'd also like to thank Theory 11 for giving me an excuse to reflect on my year as a Cardist haha xD
