After 7 years of not practicing magic...

[MagicallyKatie]

Hey everyone!

I want to re-introduce myself here. I had another account on here from the day that T11 started but I can't figure out what the log in is, and frankly I'm sort of happy for a symbolic "fresh start". I probably last posted 6 years ago or so.

I've been a long time member, although not very active, at Ellusionist (since 2006). So you may recognize my name from long ago (I am Magic Katie there), since I doubt there are too many Katie's out there. I think there is a Katie on Magic Cafe, but that's actually not me.

Anyway. I stopped performing magic in 2007 and stopped practicing, buying, reading, and otherwise having magic be a part of my life for probably 7 years at this point.

Many times I have tried to bring it back into my life. I recently was talking to a friend about magic and felt the glimmer of excitement that I somehow lost. I bought some beautiful new cards (Artisans and Monarchs) and forgot about the feel of cards in hand. It was great.

I also thrive with a community. I want to be a part of this community. I never was, and now all these years later I sort of feel like I've been left out. I see so much creativity and excitement on here, not just the same mindless dribble I have read in years past. This place has really grown.

I would like some advice from people. Have you ever stopped performing for years, picked up cards again and realized you were just awful? How did you overcome the frustration of mentally being in one place, but technical-skill wise being in another? I feel that overcoming this frustration has been a struggle for me in the past.

Thank you!

|katie|

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

While I've only been in magic for a year and I don't think I'm able to answer your question; welcome (back) to the community!

I'm also Mr. Anagram on the Ellusionist forums

 

[CaseyRudd]

Welcome back, Katie! I have gone through somewhat of a similar experience as well. I took a hiatus from learning/performing magic for a few years due to over-saturating myself with more and more content. However, I recently performed for the first time in a while by doing a street busking gig. I wasn't entirely prepared as I did not know what to expect, but I noticed I did way more of the simple stuff in order to concentrate more on performance. All of the technical sleights with cards I had practiced a few years back meant nothing during my performance, so it opened my eyes more in terms of what I was actually going to use versus what was fun to practice. I noticed I was a bit rusty in my performance but after a few tries I got warmed up and was doing my tricks like I had never taken a break at all.

My advice is to go back to the basics and get out there and perform for a few people; see what you are comfortable with. Once you have an idea of what you can do, you can build up from that and get back to the technical ability you had before. From my experience I wasn't re-teaching myself (because I had already learned them before), it was more about triggering the muscle memory to step into gear. The amazing thing about the brain is that the information you learned is still stored there; you'd be surprised at how fast you can pick things up even after not doing it for 7 years. It's almost like riding a bike - you may not have taken a bike ride in quite a long time but since you've already learned how to do it, you can just get on and ride.

Hopefully this can get you started. Very glad to see you have returned!

 

[RealityOne]

I would like some advice from people. Have you ever stopped performing for years, picked up cards again and realized you were just awful? How did you overcome the frustration of mentally being in one place, but technical-skill wise being in another? I feel that overcoming this frustration has been a struggle for me in the past.

Hey Katie!

I think there may be a couple of things going on. One may be a frustration with not being able to do things you used to be able to do. It doesn't feel like moving forward to relearn things. But we've all been there. There are routines that I've done three or four years ago that I can't remember how to do. The other may be that magic that appealed to you 7 years ago doesn't excite you as much.

Maybe a fresh start IS what you need. Pick up some new books. Roberto Giobbi's Confidences is a great book with some really good routines and a healty dose of theory (like what he learned from his cat about coin vanishes). The Books of Wonder are the same. Tom Stone's Vortex also is great - I really like the way he thinks. I'm looking at getting Bannon's Destination Zero (self working) and High Caliber (finger flicking fun with diabolical elements) both have gotten rave reviews (I also have several of the booklets included in High Caliber and they are great). Maybe change it up a bit, get Max Maven's Prism and have some fun with mentalism (frequently using cards). If you want an endless supply of material, get a year's subscription to Genii -- you get on-line access to all the back issues and can read a bunch of columns by Roberto Giobbi, Tom Stone, Max Maven, Jim Steinmeyer, Dani DaOrtiz as well as hundreds of effects in the Magicana section.

Read the books, pick some effects, learn them and perform them. Remember what it was like to get out there an perform.

 

[MagicallyKatie]

Thank you everyone for the warm re-welcoming!

Casey, I do hope you're right about muscle memory. I mean, I definitely have that a little bit. But only with the basics. Anything requiring finesse feels foreign. I just hope the learning curve isn't so big the second time around.

David, you really hit the nail on the head about how my tastes have changed. The first effect I ever purchased (2005 maybe?) was "Mindbender", where the card bends on the back of your hand with your mind. This was after years of reading Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic and then falling in love with something that was actually contemporary. Now? So not my thing...

To someone just starting, I feel like I can step in those shoes, I can understand and empathize and give good insight, based on hindsight. I kind of long and yearn for that ignorance bliss where you don't know how high the mountain really is. So you just go for it.

Being where I am now, this is a different monster, psychologically. So much easier to self sabotage. I am thinking of buying some advanced reading material though, just for the hopes that it will be inspirational and the comprehension will give me some sort of satisfaction at least.

Thanks for the input. Everyone's thoughts are welcomed here, especially if you're a self sabotaging perfectionist who has ever given up on magic only to make a stunning comeback.

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

To someone just starting, I feel like I can step in those shoes, I can understand and empathize and give good insight, based on

Being where I am now, this is a different monster, psychologically. So much easier to self sabotage. I am thinking of buying some advanced reading material though, just for the hopes that it will be inspirational and the comprehension will give me some sort of satisfaction at least.

Thanks for the input. Everyone's thoughts are welcomed here, especially if you're a self sabotaging perfectionist who has ever given up on magic only to make a stunning comeback.

My question would be this, does 'more advanced reading' = more specialized magic persuits?

If you're going to jump into advanced stuff immediately, I'd be careful.

Here's my example. I bought both of Ray Kosby's Impossible Magic DVDs just to challenge myself, knowing I've only been in magic for 6 months. Needless to say, 'Raise Rise' has been a very humbling experience, but I was on the verge of burning out on card magic as I only wanted to do 'the hard stuff' but you don't get fast results. Even though I consciously knew that.

I'm just flagging a bit of caution with jumping into the advanced books may possibly cause you to burn out again.

My question at this point would be: do you know the setting you want to perform in and the type of audience you intend to perform for? Or the type of magic you intend to perform (or completely avoid)?

I apologize if any of the questions sound rudimentary.

 

[MagicallyKatie]

My question would be this, does 'more advanced reading' = more specialized magic persuits?

If you're going to jump into advanced stuff immediately, I'd be careful.

Here's my example. I bought both of Ray Kosby's Impossible Magic DVDs just to challenge myself, knowing I've only been in magic for 6 months. Needless to say, 'Raise Rise' has been a very humbling experience, but I was on the verge of burning out on card magic as I only wanted to do 'the hard stuff' but you don't get fast results. Even though I consciously knew that.

I'm just flagging a bit of caution with jumping into the advanced books may possibly cause you to burn out again.

My question at this point would be: do you know the setting you want to perform in and the type of audience you intend to perform for? Or the type of magic you intend to perform (or completely avoid)?

I apologize if any of the questions sound rudimentary.

No no, not rudimentary at all.

The key thing I think though is to read and not have an expectation that I'm going to be able to perform whatever is being taught in any remotely close time frame. I guess it's about re-iqniting an excitement about possibilities? On the other hand, I may become frustrated because I know how much I need to relearn and condition myself before I can tackle some of my ideas.

I stepped away from the world of magic very abruptly, for a very particular reason out of my control. I basically had to give it up cold turkey. Before that point, I had read AoA 1-3, RRTCM, bits of Tarbell, 13 Steps, Mark Wilson's, several non-magic books on NLP, other random books... and lots of oddball stuff from Lybrary. I consider myself educated to a "dedicated hobbyist" level.

I've since sold so many of those books and I wish I hadn't. Ugh.

Anyway... it's a fine line between exciting myself and keeping expectations real.

 

[CaseyRudd]

I would gladly recommend you check out anything by Juan Tamariz; The Magic Way, Mnemonica, and Five Points in Magic being the major ones that you can still get. If you want to learn more about theory and learn amazing effects along the way, those books are amazing.

When I had the magic bug a few years ago I bought his book Sonata, which was insanely expensive due to it being out of print for quite some time. I was ignorant to buy the book and barely even read it. I admit, it was extremely foolish and incompetent of me. However, I picked it back up recently and discovered possibly one of my favorite effects of all time. It's been sitting under my nose this whole time and I never knew about it. The funny thing is, it's the easiest trick I know how to do, and it doesn't even happen in my hands (spectator is in control the whole time). There is also some more difficult stuff in that book which is nothing short of astounding, but I thought this was good to share as you can find gems with whatever you have, as long as you look for them.

Start looking through whatever you have and find something that excites you. Set goals for yourself so you won't become burned out again, so this way, you will know exactly what you want to do.

 

[MagicallyKatie]

My question at this point would be: do you know the setting you want to perform in and the type of audience you intend to perform for? Or the type of magic you intend to perform (or completely avoid)?

Also, this makes me anxious.

I'm actually a fine artist (painter), and even though I have yet to go get my Masters degree, but I'm always feeling pressured like to develop my voice and my work to develop in a particular direction.

So similarly, I've also tried so many styles and genres of magic and afraid to focus on just one thing. Fear of missing out, perhaps.

 

[MagicallyKatie]

I would gladly recommend you check out anything by Juan Tamariz; The Magic Way, Mnemonica, and Five Points in Magic being the major ones that you can still get. If you want to learn more about theory and learn amazing effects along the way, those books are amazing.

When I had the magic bug a few years ago I bought his book Sonata, which was insanely expensive due to it being out of print for quite some time. I was ignorant to buy the book and barely even read it. I admit, it was extremely foolish and incompetent of me. However, I picked it back up recently and discovered possibly one of my favorite effects of all time. It's been sitting under my nose this whole time and I never knew about it. The funny thing is, it's the easiest trick I know how to do, and it doesn't even happen in my hands (spectator is in control the whole time). There is also some more difficult stuff in that book which is nothing short of astounding, but I thought this was good to share as you can find gems with whatever you have, as long as you look for them.

Start looking through whatever you have and find something that excites you. Set goals for yourself so you won't become burned out again, so this way, you will know exactly what you want to do.

This is great advice and input. Thank you!

I'd never really imagine how much planning and thought process goes into diving back into something so life consuming like magic. It's more than just getting a deck of cards and reading a book, otherwise I'm just going to be a hamster on a wheel.

 

[RealityOne]

Thanks for the input. Everyone's thoughts are welcomed here, especially if you're a self sabotaging perfectionist who has ever given up on magic only to make a stunning comeback.

Perfectionist... yes. Ever given up completely...no. Ever started learning effects only to give up because I couldn't get it "perfect"... so many times.

I'd never really imagine how much planning and thought process goes into diving back into something so life consuming like magic. It's more than just getting a deck of cards and reading a book, otherwise I'm just going to be a hamster on a wheel.

How many magicians does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10. 1 to screw it in, 4 to speculate as to the method, 3 to say they know a better way of doing it, 1 to provide a list of books where the proceedure is discussed and 1 to tell everyone that the presentation is awful and they should see how Copperfield does it. It is only complicated if you (with our eager assistance) make it so.

Make it simple. Start with two books. The first one should be Confidences - you will love the routines and the discussions of theory. You will be able to do any of the routines and be able to appreciate their design. The theory portion will feed your brain and make you think. The book just has the feel of something magical. The second one should be Card College Light or Bannon's Destination Zero. The effects are self-working and are sufficiently brilliant that you could fool magicians. Either of those books will give you material you can perform quickly without learning (or relearning) any difficult sleights.

I think that the Darren Brown books you are interested in can be recreational reading to feed your love of magic but the books I'm suggesting will get you back into performing.

 

[MagicallyKatie]

How many magicians does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10. 1 to screw it in, 4 to speculate as to the method, 3 to say they know a better way of doing it, 1 to provide a list of books where the proceedure is discussed and 1 to tell everyone that the presentation is awful and they should see how Copperfield does it. It is only complicated if you (with our eager assistance) make it so.

HAHA. Oh good so it's not JUST ME.

Make it simple. Start with two books. The first one should be Confidences - you will love the routines and the discussions of theory. You will be able to do any of the routines and be able to appreciate their design. The theory portion will feed your brain and make you think. The book just has the feel of something magical. The second one should be Card College Light or Bannon's Destination Zero. The effects are self-working and are sufficiently brilliant that you could fool magicians. Either of those books will give you material you can perform quickly without learning (or relearning) any difficult sleights.

I think that the Darren Brown books you are interested in can be recreational reading to feed your love of magic but the books I'm suggesting will get you back into performing.

Thank you thank you thank you. You really understand where I am coming from. This is exactly what I am looking for.

 

[Justin.Morris]

Welcome back! I always find inspiration just from buying a new trick and playing with it. Also I love reading through forums. It can be very inspiring and motivating.

 

[MagicallyKatie]

Welcome back! I always find inspiration just from buying a new trick and playing with it. Also I love reading through forums. It can be very inspiring and motivating.

Thank you for the welcome! I do find that just engaging with other people online (since that would be my only option) is a good way to create accountability for myself. The more you talk about magic, the more you're going to be inclined to do it, I think.

 

[Tower of Lunatic Meat]

Also, this makes me anxious.

I'm actually a fine artist (painter), and even though I have yet to go get my Masters degree, but I'm always feeling pressured like to develop my voice and my work to develop in a particular direction.

So similarly, I've also tried so many styles and genres of magic and afraid to focus on just one thing. Fear of missing out, perhaps.

Ah, now that makes me anxious . We have completely different ways of looking at it!

My previous job and the places I went brought me to a mentality of necessity and using what is available. It stresses me out that I would learn about something and never use it and then fret about the time I could have had and used on something I actually wanted to do.

At least, I'm not sure what I would or could do with a such a vast amount of magic knowledge.