How do you find time to practice?

[SebastanAB12]

Hi everyone, I'm relatively new to magic, and especially so to Theory11. I practiced quite a bit when I was about 15, but as high school went on I fell out of the practice.

Now I'm in college and looking to get back into it, but it's hard finding time to practice. When I was in high school I was able to pull of double and triple lifts with ease, but I was practicing for hours a day. Now I don't have that kind of time to spend practicing.

I absolutely love card tricks, but I just can't find more than 15 or 20 minutes a day to practice, and it seems as though I'm not getting any better. Do any of you have some tips? I'd love to get back into it, but I just need some advice and kind words.

Thanks so much,

-Sebastian

 

[ifanoctopuscouldpalm]

Hi everyone, I'm relatively new to magic, and especially so to Theory11. I practiced quite a bit when I was about 15, but as high school went on I fell out of the practice.

Now I'm in college and looking to get back into it, but it's hard finding time to practice. When I was in high school I was able to pull of double and triple lifts with ease, but I was practicing for hours a day. Now I don't have that kind of time to spend practicing.

I absolutely love card tricks, but I just can't find more than 15 or 20 minutes a day to practice, and it seems as though I'm not getting any better. Do any of you have some tips? I'd love to get back into it, but I just need some advice and kind words.

Thanks so much,

-Sebastian

Simple Answer. Switch your focus for the time being to something you can do anywhere. It's hard to pull out a deck of cards in class without people noticing or having your professor think you don't care about what they're teaching. The answer is Coin Magic. Practice palming, vanishes, etc. It takes more time to master, but if you can get good at it, it is very impressive and will make it so you can do sleight of hand with other small objects, like rings. I hope you make some time to get back into practicing again. If you do decide to get into coin magic, I recommend 'Metal' by Eric Jones and also David Roth's 3 DVD set, 'Expert Coin Magic Made Easy'

 

[Craig Browning]

I've just recently taken on the challenge of learning a very ancient magic system that will envelop at least the next 3 years of my life, just to learn the basics and get the routine down well enough (to my standards, at least) to present completely. . . there's literally over 1,000 moves in this routine and it uses techniques not common in Westernized magic (it's a routine from India). The thing is, one of the basic exercises that it has you do is learn to palm the balls used in the routine all day long, no matter what you're doing. The object is for it to become as natural for you as picking up something to move from one place to the other without the hand looking distorted or tense. This exercise reminded me of when I was in high school and would deliberately hold half dollars in a classic palm while learning to type (proper typing classes). In other words, there are ways to practice slights and palming techniques that don't require you to sit time to the side, you can do it during your daily routine.

Yes, you will want to focus at least an hour a day on one specific thing; it might be a basic move or a complete trick or even a routine. Right now I'm rehearsing a lecture I have to give this coming Wednesday, I run through the script at least three or four times a day presently and starting Saturday I will be actually doing the material outlined as if working an audience and again, this will be done four or more times daily until I have to go to the lecture itself. I don't do this just to insure that the effects play smooth, I do it because I need to know the script as well so that timing fits with everything.

When you have a passion you make time so as to make it work that's the bottom line.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Indeed! When you have a passion for something, you do find the time.

You have more time than you think, I'm sure. Almost everyone does. You just need to examine your schedule and see if you can organize things so you can have a block of time to dedicate to learning. As long as you are focusing on the work you will progress.

 

[IsaacHaber]

I agree with Craig and Christopher that if you love something you find time. I'm in high school and I've found time they I didn't know I had (or even time that I should be using for other things) to practice. I would say that it might not be a great idea to schedule practice. I wouldn't want to make it a chore because the point is for it to be fun for you. You don't want to kill what you love by practicing what you love. This is all my opinions and I'm sure others have different views.
-Isaac

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Forcing practice will definitely kill the joy. At least in my experience. There was a time when I was trying to be an "all around" magician and practice all the things. After a couple months of trying to learn coins, rubber bands, etc. I just got bored and really started slacking off on practice. Then I picked up a deck of cards and just played with them for a while - doing random sleights and routines and it just sparked that joy again and that's when I decided that (at least in the beginning) it's perfectly alright to specialize in the prop you prefer. For a couple years all I did was card work and I'd like to think I got pretty decent at it. At that point I was interested enough to develop a chop cup routine, a multiplying, reducing and bending coin routine, sponge balls, etc. But if I kept trying to do that in the beginning, I would have given up entirely.

 

[Randy]

A lot of times you also have to take time off from constant practice and go do other things. Then when you come back to that routine/move/etc. You will end up having a better understanding of it because you allowed your brain to recharge batteries and change it's focus for a little bit.