I am a bit confused with where I stand

[NickL11267]

Hi everyone,

I have only gotten into magic last March (2017), and have been on and off with consistency. However, within the last few months I have had a recent spark of interest in trying to really get down some good routines. Since the beginning, I was a card person but am starting to get lost in the wide array of different types of styles (coins, mentalism, etc.) I am like an obsessed buyer and when I see a "shiny" gimmick I feel the urge to buy it even though I barely have integrated any previous gimmicks I bought.

I guess my biggest problem is that I am struggling to really focus on only a certain amount of things to perform (mainly street magic). For example, I will start learning a card trick but then see a video on a coin effect and then start practicing that instead, and then see a sponge ball effect and want to practice that, and the cycle just continues. It is at the point where if someone asked me to do a trick, I wouldn't really know anything to do. I am interested in cards, coins, mentalism, sponge balls, work with thumb tips, PK touches, etc. There is just so much stuff that I want to be proficient at that I can not reach the level of skill I want without quickly jumping to something else.

I know a lot of magicians don't necessarily specialize in one style over the other, but at least they are aware of how to lock down on certain effects and build routines off of it. I guess my biggest question is just if anyone has advice on how I should proceed in learning magic when I want to pursue so many different things and keep purchasing videos and resources.

Also as a bonus question. Do you guys think difficult magic equals a better magician? I feel like part of me always wants to perform the most difficult effects just because that will make me better. My problem is that I do mainly enjoy the more simpler tricks without the insane flourishes or sleights but feel like it doesn't make me stand out. Personally I rather watch someone perform a simple but very entertaining effect than just stand there showing off their sleight of hand abilities with a boring personality.

Thank you for your responses!

 

[Gabriel Z.]

I have been on and off with Card Magic since I became a member at T11, this was back in 2013. The best advice I can give is to keep at it. Nothing happens overnight. Practice your routines on a daily basis, and most importantly do what makes you happy. As of today I started practicing the Erdnase One Handed Shift , and made a commitment to practice it everyday like I do with my Up The Ladder Cuts. So you see how that works to some people what you do may seem like a piece of cake, and to others it may seem like an impossible feat. Difficult magic does not necessarily mean better magic. Just keep interweaving effects and sleights into your curriculum, and build on your current routine. Hope this helps!!

 

[Antonio Diavolo]

Hi everyone,

I have only gotten into magic last March (2017), and have been on and off with consistency. However, within the last few months I have had a recent spark of interest in trying to really get down some good routines. Since the beginning, I was a card person but am starting to get lost in the wide array of different types of styles (coins, mentalism, etc.) I am like an obsessed buyer and when I see a "shiny" gimmick I feel the urge to buy it even though I barely have integrated any previous gimmicks I bought.

I guess my biggest problem is that I am struggling to really focus on only a certain amount of things to perform (mainly street magic). For example, I will start learning a card trick but then see a video on a coin effect and then start practicing that instead, and then see a sponge ball effect and want to practice that, and the cycle just continues. It is at the point where if someone asked me to do a trick, I wouldn't really know anything to do. I am interested in cards, coins, mentalism, sponge balls, work with thumb tips, PK touches, etc. There is just so much stuff that I want to be proficient at that I can not reach the level of skill I want without quickly jumping to something else.

I know a lot of magicians don't necessarily specialize in one style over the other, but at least they are aware of how to lock down on certain effects and build routines off of it. I guess my biggest question is just if anyone has advice on how I should proceed in learning magic when I want to pursue so many different things and keep purchasing videos and resources.

Also as a bonus question. Do you guys think difficult magic equals a better magician? I feel like part of me always wants to perform the most difficult effects just because that will make me better. My problem is that I do mainly enjoy the more simpler tricks without the insane flourishes or sleights but feel like it doesn't make me stand out. Personally I rather watch someone perform a simple but very entertaining effect than just stand there showing off their sleight of hand abilities with a boring personality.

Thank you for your responses!

I get distracted easily too. My method is I memorize what I have to do for the trick, then move away from the book/computer and spend like an hour just going through the trick over and over again until i’m sick of it. That’s what works for me.

Also, as for the gimmick thing, we all kinda do that when we first start. It’s easy to get caught up in all the fancy new visual stuff being released. I have set up criteria for myself so I don’t make as many purchases I regret. I think about angles, examinability, reset time, price, how I’ll present it, and a few other factors before I get something. So look at the stuff you’ve bought that you don’t use often, think about why you dont use it, and keep that in mind for your next purchase. That’s how I do it.

It sounds like you’ve learned some stuff from YouTube so I’d sort of stay away from that tbh. Like you said, the amount of stuff can be distracting. Plus, although there are some decent teachers on YouTube, a majority of them are not great.

It’s a lot easier (for me personally) to stay focused on one trick when I’m learning from a book. Once again, that’s just what works for me.

Also, difficult does not always mean its a better trick. In fact, Id argue that from my experience, simpler tricks are often better. Some of the best reactions I get are from self-working tricks. There’s less to catchand less for you to worry about messing up so you can focus more on presentation.

Speaking of that, presentation above anything else is what makes a good magician. Look at David Blaine. Anyone who’s spent any amount of time with cards could tell you that the tricks he does aren’t very difficult, yet he constantly blows minds with them.
So yeah, once you have the mechanics of the trick down, spend some time figuring out how you can present it in a way that’s engaging and fits with your personality.

Also, in my opinion, magicians should not use cardistry flourishes during their tricks. It makes the spectator go into the non-explanation of “he must’ve done the trick when he was doing those crazy cuts”. The most flourishy type things I can think of that wouldnt detract from the trick would be like a Charlier Cut or One of those bridge shuffles.

By the way, I’ve been doing tricks with cards for a little over 4 years now and I couldn’t properly do a simple riffle shuffle until a few months ago. I still can’t do it that well lol. So it’s all good that you can’t do anything fancy.

And it’s totally fine to try to do a bit of everything. I think We all do it lol.

Anyway, that’s just my two cents on this. Once again, a lot of those tips are based on my personal experience (which isn’t much) It works for me, may not work for you.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Do you guys think difficult magic equals a better magician?

No.

Or, more accurately - this is a flawed question.

A lot of folks get into magic and want to get to the "good stuff" which they often equate with "Difficult". The hard sleights, the knacky moves, etc. They feel like being able to do this difficult things puts them into a sort of social strata of elite magicians.

But you know what? Most of the really well known magicians actually use pretty basic sleight of hand whenever possible. David Berglas, International Man of Mystery and world renowned magician and mentalist, uses the Glide more often than any other card sleight, if he uses sleights at all.

The reason I say the question is flawed is this - how do you define "difficult"?

I do routines that are, mechanically, extremely simple. But the amount of knowledge, skill, and BBB (Big Brass Ba......) required to pull them off make most magicians think they are very difficult. At least, the ones I've shown them to.

So, don't worry about the difficulty of the methods. Figure out what you want to do, and work at it until you're proficient. Then work at it until you're an expert.

To address your main question - How do you limit what you're learning?

Define your character.

What do you want to be on stage/street/whenever performing?

Once you've defined that character, assuming it's a realistic and interesting character, you'll automatically restrict what you can perform and stay in character.

But - honestly - it's something you have to develop over time. Most people who start out want to learn ALL THE THINGS. The amount of tutorials online doesn't help. Pick something and work at it until it's worthy to perform. Ignore everything else.

Otherwise you'll never end up being a decent performer.

That part is up to you though. Do you have what it takes?

 

[NinoIng]

No.

Or, more accurately - this is a flawed question.

A lot of folks get into magic and want to get to the "good stuff" which they often equate with "Difficult". The hard sleights, the knacky moves, etc. They feel like being able to do this difficult things puts them into a sort of social strata of elite magicians.

But you know what? Most of the really well known magicians actually use pretty basic sleight of hand whenever possible. David Berglas, International Man of Mystery and world renowned magician and mentalist, uses the Glide more often than any other card sleight, if he uses sleights at all.

The reason I say the question is flawed is this - how do you define "difficult"?

I do routines that are, mechanically, extremely simple. But the amount of knowledge, skill, and BBB (Big Brass Ba......) required to pull them off make most magicians think they are very difficult. At least, the ones I've shown them to.

So, don't worry about the difficulty of the methods. Figure out what you want to do, and work at it until you're proficient. Then work at it until you're an expert.

To address your main question - How do you limit what you're learning?

Define your character.

What do you want to be on stage/street/whenever performing?

Once you've defined that character, assuming it's a realistic and interesting character, you'll automatically restrict what you can perform and stay in character.

But - honestly - it's something you have to develop over time. Most people who start out want to learn ALL THE THINGS. The amount of tutorials online doesn't help. Pick something and work at it until it's worthy to perform. Ignore everything else.

Otherwise you'll never end up being a decent performer.

That part is up to you though. Do you have what it takes?

This.

To add something if I may, why do you do magic?

Because your audience won’t/shouldn’t know the methods, so they certainly won’t care f they’re difficult or not.

It’s all about the effect.

 

[ryanshaw957]

Even though I think I tend towards enjoying mentalism more, I often convince myself that a deck of cards is more practical to carry around than any mentalism props. But the truth is, I can do mentalism with business cards, coins, dollar bills, a svenpad, cards, my phone, or even nothing at all. I think it’s a fear of being caught out because I find that mentalism has simpler solutions than any other magic I perform. I just need to stop worrying about that so I can perform what I love most.

This goes right into the idea of tricks being difficult. I can perform a piece of mentalism with a very simple method. However, the more difficult tricks- difficult meaning that it requires more practice time to make it ready to perform- are occasionally very useful to have up your sleeve. For example, if you take the time to learn Unbound, by Darryl Davis, a gimmickless invisible deck, when someone thinks they know the method, because their 8-year old son has one of those trick-decks, it can really give you credibility and respect when you hand them the cards and they realize they’re normal.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

If someone's worrying about catching you out, work on your presentation. Something you're doing (or failing to do) is telling them that their part in this performance is to catch your method.

 

[ryanshaw957]

If someone's worrying about catching you out, work on your presentation. Something you're doing (or failing to do) is telling them that their part in this performance is to catch your method.

People tend to enjoy my mentalism, and don’t worry about catching it out. It’s just a mental block for me. If I don’t perform mentalism, it’s because I’m worried about the method being too simplistic, but I know it’s a stupid thing to worry about, especially when I’ve always had positive responses to it in the past.

 

[Ocelotl]

Didn't read the other responses, but you your first point: there is absolutely nothing wrong with jumping around, especially given how new to this you are. It it great to cast your net wide because something will eventually stick. Just think of criteria for what constitutes a good trick for you. To your second point, no, no, no, and , no! More difficult does not mean better! Eugene Berger said "great magic exists at every skill level." He is right. See his first Penguin Live lecture to learn all about this. His magic is very easy yet hits incredibly hard. Good luck!