Saturday Night Contest - What Magic Means to You

[jonraiker]

Earlier this week, we posted a special bulletin asking all of our members to share what the art of magic has done for you, or to you. Specifically, we want to know what effect magic has had on YOU. How has learning magic changed you?

How has magic - and how has theory11 specifically - directly affected your life? What did it feel like performing your first effect in magic? What does it feel like when you perform a trick today? Why is theory11 - as an instructional resource and as a community - unique? What keeps you involved and passionate and driven to keep learning and performing?

Tonight, we ask you to post those responses publicly for the world to see. If a stranger asked what persuaded you to choose magic over another art, skill, or hobby - how would you respond? Entries should be no longer than about three or four paragraphs max. All entries should be posted as replies to this forum thread no later than 11:00pm EST for judging. Please include your FIRST name and location (state/country) so we can get a true picture of who you are and what magic means to you. Note that all submissions may be posted around the theory11 site.

We wanted to give the winner something truly rare and unique tonight. After digging through our theory11 box of goodies, we managed to find a deck of sealed White Centurions signed by Chris Kenner, Marcus Eddie, Daniel Garcia, and two mystery artists. We thought it might give you some motivation to pull out all the stops. The submission that moves us the most will take the deck home. Looking forward to hearing all of your stories.

 

[E/caulfield]

Should the responses be about magic in general, or Theory11 like in the bulletin?

 

[j.bayme]

Should the responses be about magic in general, or Theory11 like in the bulletin?

We're interested to learn what effect magic has had on you and your life. If theory11 has played a role in that journey, we would absolutely love to hear about it. But by no means required.

 

[Bumblebee]

Hi Guys!
Magic has changed my life a lot, now i have a full time job and i have something to do in my free time. Magic as also given me self-confidence so it improved my social skills a lot and before i started magic i was a very shy person.
Theory11 has affected my magic by publishing some of the best tricks in the market and inspiring me to continue to perform. The interviews and podcasts are always very useful in improving my magic.
When i learned my first effect i was very proud of myself because on my first week in magic i couldn't even hold a deck of cards in mechanics grip.Today, when i perform a trick i still feel very nervous because i don't want to fail and disappoint my spectators, because they are expecting to be amazed.
If anyone asked me to choose magic over any other hobbie, i would choose magic because it gives me the opportunity to meet new people everyday and i feel really proud of myself when I master a hard sleight.
What keeps me passionate about magic is to see magic grow up has an art like when i see TV performances and Stage shows. This makes magic a better known art and it inspires people to get into the art, increasing the size of our community. As for me, I started magic when I saw Luís de Matos on TV. I was totally fooled and amazed and I wanted to give people that same feeling.


Hope i win,
Ricardo

 

[GordonSun]

We're interested to learn what effect magic has had on you and your life. If theory11 has played a role in that journey, we would absolutely love to hear about it. But by no means required.

sounds great, time to start posting

 

[kmagic25]

Hi I am Keith from NY,

For me magic has totally 100% changed my life. I am no longer that kid that looks up card tricks on youtube. I am now known as "the" magician around my friends and even sometimes strangers that i have performed for. Just today i was stopped when buying a soda, and some guy said "yo whats up man. haven't seen you since february, You still doing your insane tricks?" that to me was really special because i left an impression on a spectator that made him remember me.

The reasons that i believe magic is one of the best hobbies around is because of the community, both online and in the real world. In the real world you can go to conventions, shows, or just jam it out with a buddy and always have fun with others. In the magic community people are always looking to help, and never trying to put anyone down.

Tee online magic community truly shaped the way magic is done today. You can go onto T11, or any other cite, and ask any questions you want, and you will get a true opinion from others that may be in the same position as you are.

Theory11 is the cite that took me away from youtube and into the magic community. one of the first trick i ever bought was digital dissolve and that was the first trick that ever got me a truly amazing reaction.

Doing tricks today is always an amazing experience. When someone gives you that look after you do an effect, that i believe no one can describe, it is the most amazing feeling.

The most important thing to tell a newcomer to magic is - You are not tricking the audience, you are suspending reality and entertaining them in a way that no one else can.

Magic has led me to meet and hang out with some people that i never thought id ever be able to even talk to. Some of my idols that i want to be like when i am older are now my friends and i talk to them regularly.

Magic is a wonderful art and hobby and i hope i do it for the rest of my life.

 

[MagicLemonBird]

Hey, can we talk about cardistry as well?

Also......can we make videos of us talking? As a substitute for paragraphs.

 

[manonthemoon]

Thank You Magic

Magic has affected my life significantly. I was born with a severe heart problem called HLHS (basically I’m missing the left half of my heart). My family is a sports family, and unfortunately because of my heart problem sports was not an option for me (I do play soccer every once a while but that’s about it). As I grew up I had many encounters with magic and finally when I was about 13 I started seriously getting into it. All my brothers and sisters had seriously been into sports so it was kind of devastating that I couldn’t seriously consider a sport like my family has. Magic has given me a lot of confidence (as I and extremely shy) and has really encouraged me and given me my own unique art that me and everyone around me can enjoy.

-thank you,

-Matty, from Maryland

 

[CaseyRudd]

Jon, I entered the Magic-Con contest a while ago with a long story about how magic changed me. I can't really express it in 4 paragraphs. If I did it wouldn't really move you enough to the point where it should be. If I posted the story it would be about 2 post-lengths because of the limit. Is that okay? If not, I could try to do it in 4.

Cheers,

Casey

 

[NicholasZenoir]

I am Nicholas Zenoir and magic, specifically theory 11, has had a great impact on me since I began magic. Ever since I began magic, I was always into card mechanics and classic card magic, but I could not perform these effects since I have been legally dumb since birth (My vocal chords had to be removed at birth do to inflamation when I was born). I realized that due to my inability to perform these types of effects for people without them being in confusion and I wanted to quit magic. This was about 2 months before the summer in which theory 11 was made. I just stuck around to see if this site would be any good. After the release of distortion by Wayne Houchin, I realized that this new type of magic can kill spectators without the use of speaking. Not only did this break the language barrior, but the speaking barrior as well and this was my new "beggining" and it inspired me to become serioud about magic.

I am now 17 and I have a full paying job at Dynasty, a local resaurant in my area. If it wasn't for theory 11, then I would not be able to carry myself with as much pride as I do now.

 

[Herko]

Hello

I would like to share my story for all of you guys. Since i live in Norway the magic community around here is very poor and most of my friends and people i know of do different types of sports and that's fun but after a while it got really boring for me and i started to seek out new hobbies and i found out about magic, more detailed card magic.

This changed the way everyone looked at me as a person, from being that crazy guy in the corner throwing jokes at the teacher to the funny entertainer that amazes people every day.

I find that the card community is great compared to many other communities with skilled people interacting with the audience and the people who look up to them and people you see on in videos from convention are people you might just meet one day, because people take the time to interact with their community.

And is Theory11 a part of this? Yes indeed before i found out about Theory11 i resided to watch low quality tutorials on youtube and that lead me to do boring effects but with Theory11 i can learn from the top artists and know that every product will satisfy me and my audience

Thanks, Alex from Norway

 

[ddx1028]

What affect has magic had on my life?
I was introduced to magic at the age of 8, My grandpa was a performaning magician. We went to california to see him and went to one of his shows. Year after year we would go to see him and he would perform for me and started teaching me some tricks. He took me along to the Magic Castle, were he was one of the first 100 members, to see a show and explore the castle. He then moved about an hour outside of Las Vegas. I was always close to my grandpa, and sadly he past away in early 2006. in 2008 I was able to aquire all of his supplies, at least what he had at that time.

Magic is a conection between me and my late grandpa, he is my inspration.

 

[aPanicComplex]

Saturday Night Contest

Hi my name is Michael from New York,

I have been introduced to magic by a very close friend of mine. Learning about magic and to perform it has been very beneficial in my life because i suffer from sever anxiety disorders and magic has helped change my life around. Magic has helped show me that there is more to life and that it not only brings me joy while watching, practicing and performing, but also brings joy to the many spectators that watch me perform. Magic has been very therapeutic to help improve my anxiety issues. It has helped show me that anything can be possible if you work hard and believe in yourself. It has helped give me the confidence and assertiveness i need in life.

When i performed my first magic trick (a version of the three card monte) it brought me a sense of joy, and it was very rewarding that all my hard work has paid off, it was also rewarding that the spectator enjoyed what i just did. Feeling all those feelings and going through that experience made me want to strive to learn as much as i can and practice as much as i can. When i perform a trick today i still am overcome with joy and happiness, because i am able to spread joy and happiness to other people, it still makes me want to be as best as i can and learn as much as i can, not only for the joy i have brought to others through my magic but also the confidence and stress relief it brings to me.

What makes Theory11 so unique is that they have new and interesting decks of cards that are not so easy to get a hold of because when they come out they only have a limited amount in stock. What i like about that is because it makes those decks of cards more unique and more interesting to spectators. I have bought many dvds from many sites and theory11 is one of the only sites that offers an in depth description on how to perform the trick, alternate methods and different variations of the trick and also how to integrate those tricks into your routine.

What keeps me striving to be better and learn more is that magic has taught me things and helped me in ways that nothing else was ever able to do. It gave me a more positive outlook on life and the world and has also given me the support i need to improve my anxiety issues. Magic brings joy to my life and the people that are in my life. I appreciate all it has done for me and i hope i can inspire other people with my magic like magic has inspired me. It is an incredible craft, skill, art, and i will hold on to it forever.

 

[lorenzo.paletti]

I'd be scared, and somehow worried if magic transformed me in "the magic guy" or "the one which does tricks". Thankfully I'm still myself, Lorenzo. The people which loved me, still loves me for who I am, with or without my deck and the slight of hand.
Magic has changed me, but not by changing who I am. It entertained me, my friends, and my clients. Sure, it helped me get some money. But it enriched me in a much deeper way. It made me more confident. It taught me that with exercise you can achieve almost anything. And it was an harsh teacher in showing me that a ton of mistakes brings to a good result. It made my fingers hurt, and sometimes I also felt sad, or even stupid or dumb, when I couldn't understand a secret behind an illusion.
But that's the price we have to pay.
Because most importantly magic showed me for the first time the breathtaking moment that only a smile of amazement can bring. That slight curve of the lips you don't see often. That grimace across their face, between surprise and shock. It's precisely that "magic" moment which makes me proud of being a magician.
Your motto is "Cerca trova". We say that here in Italy. Who seeks, found. What I always seek was a way to be special. A way to bring a unique moment in someone's life. Even for a complete stranger.
It seems I found that, thanks to people like you, which are reading, and, of course, thanks to Magic.

Lorenzo

P.S. I apologize for eventual grammatical and spelling mistakes.

 

[michael_weiss]

"Sands of Time"

Magic is what completes me, learning that double lift or that french drop when I was way back in my childhood help me escape from the hectic life of being a social outcast, and never fitting in. I could escape the emotional and sometimes physcial abuse of my father, and I am not just saying this to make you feel sorry for me. I've grown up and faced alot in my life, I'm done crying and playing the pity party. Magic gave the attention and love I have always strived for, but it was depressing at the same time, they only like me because I could freak them out, and pretended to be my friend, but over the years I have and still am developing my sytle and making my place in the world.
Theory 11 has really shown me that lots of hard work, commitment, and never giving up on yourself and setting forth goals help achieve success and happiness. My first effect I purchased years ago was Distortion by W:H. That effect alone, showed me how powerful magic really was and how much of an impact it can have with as simple of a concept as Distortion was. Tho I don't post much here as often as I like, I do read and skim posts now and again, and chime in if I have something to say. T11 has a discipline of excellence and strive to be the best, and quite frankly so do I, so thank you for hard work and generosity.
Now performing my first effect, man honestly I sucked, and boy did those effects were less than standard back in the day, I always got caught or got sweaty palms. I had nervous twitches or have crowd fright when 20 to 30 kids surround you and you are the in the spotlight to amaze them. But I wouldn't trade them for the world. I'm still learning and searching for new material, and some of the best effects Ive found happen to be in books, either from Derek Dingle, Paul Harris, Richard Kauffman or my favorite Eric Jones. I'm always learning, there is sooo much material out there waiting to be discovered or found in the years to come.
Lastly, magic persuaded me over other hobbies is the fact that magic is like a universal hobby, it involves art, sports to and extent, and it teaches you what to do and not to. Its there to help you interact and be open with yourself and others, and thats the best magic ever.

 

[E/caulfield]

Hey Nick!,
I doubt it.

lmfao

writing in the process...

 

[Eunamard]

Confuwonderlussionment

I have always had a rather special bond with magic ever since I was a child. I remember the earliest tricks, as my aunt asked me to pick out a card, return it, and watch her produce it seconds later. I was young, probably six or seven at the time, but I remember these little events in my life that later granted me the curiosity to learn. I remember one trick in particular, a beautiful story trick with the aces along with the rest of the suits. To this day, even though I know how to perform the trick, I still am baffled as to how it works, not only on myself, but to those watching, as cards get cast, cut, then recast, only to be separated by face value.

Magic has a way of astonishing people, of bending the mind to a putty-like substance, then entrancing it with a myriad of ideas. These ideas are the seeds of not only astonishment, but of curiosity and wonderment. I know that amongst my observers, there may be another six or seven year old child who will someday want to seek out that magic book in his library, even if that six or seven year old is but a dream in an elder’s heart. I have learned, through and through, that you don’t need elaborate card-play to entrance, but the ability to bewilder, not only with words, but with tones and subtlety.

Magic means wonderment, it means curiosity, it means innocence baffled and befuddled. Magic is not in the person walking away after muddling a “How did you do that?” -- it is about the person waltzing away asking himself “I want to learn how to do that.” It is happiness chained within the lid of a package of cards, it is disillusion held captive within a cup, it is confusion wrapped within a silken handkerchief. When I first cast my cards to a complete set of strangers, I still remember my heart racing, but it was the lasting impression I granted them, those feelings of confuwonderlussionment that still keeps me interested in learning more.

My name is Jose, and I’m a weaver of cards. I bewilder and I cause minds to falter and wander, to post upon themselves the very questions that drove me to do what I do today. I live in Texas, but the mind is my playground. My age lays once after an ace, and once before a ten, and I wear a suit of hearts.

 

[UncleMings]

I just love card magic. I love to practice untill my fingers hurt. I love to read the books untill my eyes are out of focus and I love to watch the great card men preform. Others have their yoga, martial arts, or listen to their sounds of the rain forest cd to relax and get rid of stress. Me I take out a pack of playing cards and practice with my glass of wiskey or scotch. I dont preform often for people. I practice for myself but when I do I get sort of a god complex out if it. I control what the eyes see, what the ears hear and the mind believes. You control the outcome to the way you want it. Overall. Im just a magic buff/enthusiast. I may not be good. I may never be. I will always just love it.

Theory11 has given me a place where I can talk about that love. A place where others can flock to; to post their work with the toughest critics, to discuss an art, a passion. It also reminds me that the people at Theory11 were once like us trying to become something in magic and their site and their work is a constant reminder to me and others that it can happen if you want it. It has made me more confident in performing a magic trick in person or going up to a person saying pick a card.

Even knowing that there is some sort of trick behind our art, I still choose to believe and theres not much out there to believe in. Belief in Magic and the Magic you perform is not an obligation, its a gift. If you dont believe in what you are putting out there the how can you convince others of the same?

I also get a god complex out of it im not going to lie. We control what the eyes see, what the ears hear and the mind believes.

What has Magic done for me?? Well lets put it this way... Growing up in a rough Brooklyn neighborhood going through lifes problems, hating your 9 to 5 and going to college, worry where your going to be in the future, the focus of the all mighty dollar, constant terrorist threats, with constant wars, with the constant worries that life throws at you. Makes me believe that somthing magical can still happen.

Mike
New York, New York

 

[CaseyRudd]

I still need my question answered so I can get a chance to enter in this amazing opportunity. I shortened the original story by 4 long paragraphs. It's about 3 and 1/5 pages long in Microsoft Word. Can I use this because you pretty much need all of it to truly understand how it changed me.

 

[Cardmaster211]

My Life in Magic

My name is Jaryn Taylor and I life in Evanston, Wyoming. Being a part of magic and it's many communities is such a honor, to be a part of such an art that is so willing to keep doing it everyday. Theory11 is one of those very communities that is willing to push the limits everyday for their customers and my experience here at this site have been amazing. So magic has changed my life a lot, because of the many friends I have made to the smiles that I have made. In a way, it has made me a better person and now I know how to cope with people better, so it has made me much more positive with my life.
My first effect that I ever performed was the rising card trick and it made so happy when my parents said good job and everybody kept encouraging me, so my first trick gave me a very good emotion. It feels really good when I perform something today, because I can meet new people and make them very happy with their self and can push the limits in their mind and make them laugh, cry or just be completely silent. Oh and Theory11 as a instruction resource and a community is unique in so many ways, such as the artists to the very sweet magic they have to offer to the wide service they provide to let us meet new people and share are magic experience with them.
I am posting this mostly because my life experience with magic has been such a great one and this site, Theory11 has made me excel in this art much more than I ever could of so this art is so precious and beautiful that I really hope I stay in this art for years and years to come. That is how magic has changed my life- Jaryn Taylor