I'm a hobbyist that found card magic 3 years ago pretty late in life. I'm 38 years old now but dabbled in stage magic and kid birthday parties back 20 years ago. "Kung Fu Klown" who's 35 minute comedy set of Magic, Balloon Animals, Juggling and Contact Juggling was syncronized to music and a scripted vocal track so the show would have the feel of a badly dubbed early 1970's Martial Arts Film.
I quit when I cut off my nipple while juggling knives. Audiences stop smiling when you cut off your nipple. Try explaining that every time you get a new girlfriend. Rocky Racoon makes a great compress by the way...
Just over the last 30 days made a decision to start reading books versus strictly studying and learning from DVD's. My two clients who re-introduced me to magic, and every other magician I knew, emphasized studying books, but I'd flippantly pick up Royal Road or Bobo's Coin Magic for about 43 hours before my ADHD would kick in and I'd pop Panic into my DVD player and replay 2:15 to 2:30 over and over and over agian...
So I got Lorayne's Close Up Card Magic as recommended in T11's Card Fundamentals Part 1. Chapter 1 went over slieghts fundamental for effects presented later on in the book. I found I could do everything but a simple and effortless in-the-hands Faro Shuffle... Best I could do was muscle the halves together, fraying and splitting the edges, ruining both a deck of Smokes and a deck of Mirrors.
Yep... I'm that fanboy that got started in magic Googling Blaine after a Street Magic special, writing Nike 3 months later telling them to make a shoe called "Brad Christian N2". I'm the guy the old-timers at the Magic Cafe complain about who had "no respect for the Masters of Magic" and had "no real foundation." True, but I never really cared as long as I was getting great reactions from my audiences and frying my friends.
Anyway, something clicked that day besides the realization of "Dude, you suck!" I not only wanted to have a smooth Faro Shuffle, but a fire ignited within me where I didn't want to suck like that anymore. I was tired of just doing cool tricks.
I thought I was conscientious at routining and having great flow in my presentations. You know, astonishing people, getting laughs, patting myself on the back for smooth pocket management, getting extra points for producing the goldfish before it died for lack of oxygen. All of a sudden, that wasn't enough anymore.
Essentially, my standards as to what I expect of myself as a magician have been raised. I'm engaged in my books now. I'm analyzing my routines and presentations differently. I'm asking questions whose answers require I broaden my scope of knowledge, my skill sets, and the number of principles I can draw upon theoretically increasing my caliber as a magician.
I'm ready to study. I'm loving magic and have more drive and passion for it then I did 30 days ago. I'm loving being hungry like this and I'm looking forward to my Becoming.
Anyway, two things I'd love to hear from the forum members: 1) for those who had an experience like this, some details of the events surrounding it; and/or 2) What became of it and happen afterwards?
I quit when I cut off my nipple while juggling knives. Audiences stop smiling when you cut off your nipple. Try explaining that every time you get a new girlfriend. Rocky Racoon makes a great compress by the way...
Just over the last 30 days made a decision to start reading books versus strictly studying and learning from DVD's. My two clients who re-introduced me to magic, and every other magician I knew, emphasized studying books, but I'd flippantly pick up Royal Road or Bobo's Coin Magic for about 43 hours before my ADHD would kick in and I'd pop Panic into my DVD player and replay 2:15 to 2:30 over and over and over agian...
So I got Lorayne's Close Up Card Magic as recommended in T11's Card Fundamentals Part 1. Chapter 1 went over slieghts fundamental for effects presented later on in the book. I found I could do everything but a simple and effortless in-the-hands Faro Shuffle... Best I could do was muscle the halves together, fraying and splitting the edges, ruining both a deck of Smokes and a deck of Mirrors.
Yep... I'm that fanboy that got started in magic Googling Blaine after a Street Magic special, writing Nike 3 months later telling them to make a shoe called "Brad Christian N2". I'm the guy the old-timers at the Magic Cafe complain about who had "no respect for the Masters of Magic" and had "no real foundation." True, but I never really cared as long as I was getting great reactions from my audiences and frying my friends.
Anyway, something clicked that day besides the realization of "Dude, you suck!" I not only wanted to have a smooth Faro Shuffle, but a fire ignited within me where I didn't want to suck like that anymore. I was tired of just doing cool tricks.
I thought I was conscientious at routining and having great flow in my presentations. You know, astonishing people, getting laughs, patting myself on the back for smooth pocket management, getting extra points for producing the goldfish before it died for lack of oxygen. All of a sudden, that wasn't enough anymore.
Essentially, my standards as to what I expect of myself as a magician have been raised. I'm engaged in my books now. I'm analyzing my routines and presentations differently. I'm asking questions whose answers require I broaden my scope of knowledge, my skill sets, and the number of principles I can draw upon theoretically increasing my caliber as a magician.
I'm ready to study. I'm loving magic and have more drive and passion for it then I did 30 days ago. I'm loving being hungry like this and I'm looking forward to my Becoming.
Anyway, two things I'd love to hear from the forum members: 1) for those who had an experience like this, some details of the events surrounding it; and/or 2) What became of it and happen afterwards?
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