About Time.

[Gabriel Z.]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone documents the time they spend with cards,coins, etc? I procured a nice little timer and started documenting how much time I spend with my cards on a daily basis. It seems I am doing on average about 2-3 hours a day... Should I do more, less or stay the same? I feel as if I am pushing myself but you never can be too sure....... what say you?

 

[Gabriel Z.]

 

[Maaz Hasan]

Even outside of practicing, I generally have a deck of cards next to me at most given points and I pick them up and do stuff without even meaning too. No joke, as I wrote this, I picked up the deck and did one handed cuts.

Magic isn't supposed to be a job (in its initial form, that is), so don't make it one. Just have fun

 

[Josh Burch]

I'm always ready with stuff on me. In that sense I'm always practicing. Rehearsal is different. I can practice while I watch TV or talk but rehearsal is where the real intense practice comes in. I get rid of distractions and practice everything I am going to do and say. I'd say I practice for abut 4 hours a day and rehearse about 4 hours a week.

The way you get better is to be slow an critical of your magic. Make sure that when you practice you are practicing right.

 

[ChrisJGJ]

From what I've learned playing basketball for years, it isn't really about how long you practice, but how you practice. Sounds cliche, but hear me out.

I know a lot of players who will practice free throws and three point shots for hours, but they're mindlessly doing it. Repetition helps to an extent, but you really have to focus in on why you're missing/making it. How are you hands positioned? How hard are you throwing it? Are you getting good rotation? Are you drawing power from your legs? Are your elbows kept in?

Same with cards and magic. You can practice a sleight for hours, but constantly doing it wrong actually just reinforces bad habits. You really need to focus in on what is working and what isn't. Performing a sleight properly 8 out of 10 times is good I guess, but it's much more powerful and long lasting if you can perform it 10 out of 10 times AND know exactly why it's working every time.

Josh said he can practice while watching television, but the INTENSE practice is when rehearsal time comes. This makes sense. Practicing and performing a sleight unconsciously sounds good because that means you can do it without looking. But your brain works differently when you have to perform and are actually conscious about the moves. It'll be harder to perform in front of an audience if you've been practicing unconsciously (like in front of the tv) because your brain doesn't have any information to recall when you perform it live in front of people. Practice only matters for as long as you can stay focused on it. For most people that is anywhere between 10-60 minutes. You'll have to figure out how long that is for you.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I agree with ChrisJGJ completely. To learn effectively you must concentrate on your practice and be aware of the movements you are making, as well as which parts are working and which parts need adjustments. It's best to start with slowed down movements and make sure you are getting everything perfect, and repeat that until it gets smoother and faster by nature.

I generally practice a single move until I get noticeable improvements, then reinforce those improvements, then switch to something else unrelated. I usually won't practice a single move more than 10 or 20 minutes, as more than that can muddy the waters, so to speak, of improvement.

It's not the amount of time one practices, but the quality of practice one can fit into that time.

 

[Maaz Hasan]

The agree with what you guys have said, but their is one thing. Sometimes, it is definitely ok to practice a move you have mastered, while watching TV, or doing something else. Take a palm for example. I'm not gonna sit there for 20 minutes watching my hand look normal. I'm gonna go on Netflix, pick a show, put the card in a good palm, and wait.

 

[David Brooke]

The agree with what you guys have said, but their is one thing. Sometimes, it is definitely ok to practice a move you have mastered, while watching TV, or doing something else. Take a palm for example. I'm not gonna sit there for 20 minutes watching my hand look normal. I'm gonna go on Netflix, pick a show, put the card in a good palm, and wait.

I prefer to practice the Palm in front of people to see if anyone notices. I do things like the pass and other moves you need to do on the off beat whilst watching Netflix, but only when the characters stop talking.

 

[DL360]

I think that another aspect of practice that people don't do or tend to be skeptical about, is mental practice. After you have physically practiced a sleight or a routine, it can be reinforced only by imagination, by practicing in your brain in vivid detail.

I have been doing it for many years with great effectiveness. As an exemple, when learning a new move, or effect I only physically practice for like 10-20 minutes really slow and then I let it "rest" for a couple days. On those days I do mental practice, usually before I go to sleep (when not in a tired mood), and when I come back to physically practice again improvement as been made.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Yes - Mental practice is a thing. There's been a couple studies on it and there is solid evidence that the mind doesn't really know the difference between really pretending to do something, and actually doing it. You should do both, of course, but running through it in your mind, in a deliberate fashion, is very beneficial.

 

[RealityOne]

There is mental practice which is a conscious focus on what you need to subconsciously do. There also is mental rehearsal of what you are going to say and what you need to do for routines.

 

[notsoltd]

I do things like the pass and other moves you need to do on the off beat whilst watching Netflix, but only when the characters stop talking.

Do it WHILE the characters are talking and they'll never see it.