Reviews

De'vo Vom Schattenreich "The Cobra Collection"

The Cobra Collection is a DVD featuring the Cobra Cut, known as the hardest one-handed cut in the world. Now you can learn it, along with the Triad Cobra, the Quad Cobra, the King Cobra, and several other variations. Before I start the review, let me say one thing. Even if you already know how the Cobra Cut is done, you should still get the DVD, because it gives a lot of tips, and goes into extreme detail of almost every aspect of the cut.

Also, if you have Cradle to Grave, you will that it uses no verbal instruction when teaching the moves. Instead, it shows the moves up close, and provides on-screen text to help you along. Every step is repeated several times, so you’ll rarely have to restart the DVD.

When describing the moves, I have intentionally kept the descriptions brief, in order to explain what the moves look like, but not how they are done.

Basic Cobra: The deck is cut with one hand, and a small packet is balanced on the back of the middle finger. The remainder of the deck I cut into a V shape, and the small packet is tossed off the back of the finger, and caught between the packets.

This is an amazing move. It seems almost impossible to do, yet after watching the DVD, you should find it fairly easy. I was able to do it after about 2 hours of practice, with no prior experience with the cut.

Triad Cobra: The Triad Cobra is almost identical to the Basic Cobra, except instead of the small packet being caught between the two packets, it is caught in a triangle shape.

Although it is harder than the Cobra Cut, I didn’t find the Triad Cobra much more impressive than the Cobra Cut.

Quad Cobra: The Quad Cobra starts off identically to the Basic Cobra, except while the small packet is balanced on the back of the middle finger, the remainder of the deck is cut into a triangle shape.

There’s not much to say about this move. It is basically the Cobra Cut, with an extra move thrown in. It’s much more impressive than the standard Cobra Cut, and more difficult to learn, but if you can already do the Cobra Cut, you shouldn’t find it too difficult, provided you practice enough.

King Cobra: The King Cobra is similar to the Quad Cobra, but an extra packet is added, making it a five-packet display/cut.

This is by far the most difficult (And impressive) Cobra Cut taught on the DVD. As you can see, each of the Cobra Cuts so far have built off of each other, so if you want to learn the King Cobra, first learn the Basic Cobra Cut, then the Triad Cobra, then the Quad Cobra, and finally, when you have mastered them all, you are ready to attempt the King Cobra.

RC Cobra: This is the same as the Basic Cobra, except the packet is spun while balanced on the finger.

A seemingly simple move added to the Basic Cobra, but if you have tried it, you’ll realize that it one of those moves that you’ll just have to practice to get the knack of it. Expect to be dropping a lot of cards while learning this “simple” addition to the Basic Cobra.

As said before, I have kept the descriptions brief, in order to avoid actually teaching the moves. Hopefully, after reading this, you will have a basic understanding of what the cuts look like.

There are several other Cobras included on the DVD, and a special read-only forum, featuring several tips and ideas.

The editing of The Cobra Collection is excellent, and there’s not much more to be said about it. As said previously, the entire DVD is taught in silence, and while this may seem like a handicap, it actually aids in learning the cuts.

Overall, the DVD is very well put together, but personally, I felt disappointed with the number of cuts taught (Not including the variations, most of which you could have thought up yourself). A good DVD, but unless it’s always been a dream of yours to learn the Cobra Cut, it’s probably not worth the $30.

7/10

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Shane Wiker