Title: Ninja + by Matthew Garrett
Medium: Routine with required rings and DVD instructions
Arena: close up, parlor
Available: Any shop, distributed by Murphys Magic Supplies

I had an interesting reaction to the Ninja + routine. When Matthew began it the first thing to cross my mind was that this was not going to fool anyone at the magic clubs but it would fool laymen. The second thing to cross my mind as he got into the middle of the routine was ‘dang, this is a really cool routine’, and it would entertain the lay public. Ninja + is based on the Ninja Ring routine, which is available in version from a couple sources and well worth looking into. Matthew Garrett took a look at the routine and determined what was working and wasn’t working for him in his performances. What he came up with is this routine which combines two four inch rings with a finger ring, all the rings required come with the package, and it is a killer lil’ routine. In general you are using a finger ring in place of a linking ring but the moves make some of the moves look better than normal linking rings. I was surprised to be honest with you. If there is one apparent weakness, in the eyes of some, is you cannot use a borrowed ring…well you can with some of the components but not the entire routine. I wouldn’t use a borrowed ring just because a crash link is done and people could react negatively to such a thing. I don’t think using the rings you carry is a problem, if anyone ask say you lost a ring once and leave it at that. You do have to be aware of your angles when performing, Matthew does go over these points.

The DVD is an hour long and Matthew teaches a lot of material in that hour. You’ll learn the routine as done by Matthew but also enough other material to make up your own routine if you like. He also includes some flourishes and some work with a rope and ring that looks cool and makes use of the key ring in a manner I never thought of. Keep in mind Matthew does not go into great detail, he goes deep enough, but if you need lots of hand holding you won’t find it here. Some of the material will require you to practice to get it down and do practice because it is worth it and your spectators deserve your best. Other components look to be hard but are very easy, the in the palm crash link for example, I hit it right away. There is enough here to keep you working for awhile to get it all down. You have to see the routine to really appreciate how nice some of the aspects are with that little ring mixed with the bigger rings. Hey, it all fits into your pocket and Matthew even gives a tip on how to keep it straight in the pocket.

The quality of the DVD is a bit above average but not near the quality we have seen from some of the name DVD producers (Alakazam, Kozmo Magic). The camera was professional but not hi def and was mostly static but did have close ups when needed. The sound had a bit of an echo to it but it didn’t kill the deal. At least everything could be heard. I do think that Matthew could have given a bit more detail than he did. It was suitable for me and will be for those who do the rings but a straight up newbie might have a problem though they will still be able to learn from this project. Overall it was a solid DVD, sure a bit more info would have made it better, but it is one of the more fun routines I’ve seen lately. Let me be clear here, I don’t think Matthew was shortchanging anyone with the detail I’m sure he felt it was enough but he was, clearly, the most familiar person to this routine and some consideration to the new guys needs to be given.

If you are interested in an interesting ring routine that is different than what most are doing look into Ninja +, it is a worker.

I agree that this is a terrific routine, very novel combination of techniques

I have the Original Ninja Rings and I am also loving this ! Very creative of Matthew to come up with this idea!

I like the look of the two bigger rings held together by the verified finger ring.

I'm so tempted to get this. It has been years and I thought the Ninja Rings has gone as far as it has goes. Ninja+ has not bring linking ring yet to the next height.

I'm going to start saving on it.

I'm heving trouble figuring out what comes with this. A gimmicked finger ring and 2 singles?

Not fishing for the method, just trying to determine what this set would add to my set.

Are these rings a perfect match to the Silver Shoot Ninja Rings?

You get the DVD instructions, a ringer ring (my was size 13, a bit small but it works for what I need from it), two four inch rings, both set up for what you need them to be (meaning neither is just a four inch ring). PM me if you need more details. I have not seen the rings Shoot put out as I've been doing the Ninja Rings before Shoot came out with his version. The rings are not as heavy as the ones I use but they are suprisingly well made.

I had originally thought I would pass on ninja+ since I was perfectly happy with my ninja ring routine... however recently I have run into a problem when doing the ninja rings table hopping... the routine is too long! I needed to revamp my routine to make it much shorter, I decided to revisit ninja+. I have put together a routine that I am really happy with. The moves ninja + makes possible are very unique and look really good.