Learning a new sleight

[chrismshelton]

Hello,
This is my first post here and I apologize if this exact topic has been posted before but I searched for a few similar keywords and didn't find exactly what I was looking for. I've been into card magic for about a year, although I've never really been able to do anything very well. Until now I've mostly just read through books; I've always enjoyed knowing HOW things were done if not to learn how to do them myself. I've learned a few tricks from Royal Road and such, enough to impress people at parties, but I'm having a problem advancing any further.

I've been trying to take my sleight of hand to a new level lately. I feel as if most of my sleights make me look like (I wish I could remember who said this) a baboon with a deck of cards; ie sloppy, unprepared, foolish (only a notch above the average 13 year old on youtube). The past few days I've been working on just a few simple sleights (for example, the up the ladder cut, the diagonal push-through) and trying to get them to look as smooth as possible. My approach has been to read the description/watch the explanation, do it myself in front of the mirror for 15 minutes or so, film myself doing it, return to the explanation, watch my video, and see what I'd like to change, then head back to the mirror. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like I'm getting anywhere.

Sorry for the long post; my real question is:

How do you go about learning new sleights and making them look smooth?
What are some common problems you have and how do you fix them?

If you've read this far, thanks a lot!
-Chris

 

[adjones]

I first get the sleight down. It doesn't matter if it's really choppy rough, and horrible looking. It doesn't have to be smooth at this point. I do this over and over, until I have the basic mechanics down.

Then, I go to the mirror, and see how I can make it smoother and overall more natural looking. Then, once I find those "mistakes", I fix them, go back to the mirror, etc. Lather, rinse, and repeat.

Hope I was at least a little bit of help!

Edit: A camera can help loads, too!

 

[Ben Long]

I've found that perfecting sleights is really more a matter of misdirection. I mean, yeah, you want to have technically proficient sleights, but if I could get away with blatantly sticking a card in my pocket while saying "hey, look over there," and still have it perceived as magic, I would do it at every opportunity (And sometimes that actually works).

You'll be surprised at how good your sleights become technically when you apply the proper misdirection. Especially if you use your natural body language to cover said sleights.

I'll palm a card off the bottom of the deck under the guise of handing the deck to the spectator right in front of their noses, and they won't see a ting because of the way the sleight is hidden. Spectators will expect to see the sleight as something deliberate (if they suspect anything at all, which they usually don't).

Look for R. Paul Wilson's performance of Cards Across on Youtube and you'll see that he does the same sort of thing (or maybe you won't see).

I guess what I'm really trying to say in a roundabout way is that you should practice sleights, not necessarily on their own, but as a part of a larger whole, that is in conjunction with misdirection. Remember, big actions cover small actions.

Hope that helps a wee bit.

 

[M_dalgashon]

The three words of magic (pun intended): practise, practise, practise.
A mirror as good, a camera is also good... I'd recommend learning to do some basic flourishes and some basic fancy cuts, luke the charlier etc., it'll improve your fingers' dexterity.
I try to practise while on the bus or watching a movie, that way I can learn to do these things without paying real attention to them. That's only of course after I sit down and get the mechanics.

 

[DLeerium]

There comes a point for every magician when they go "What do I do now"..
Here are a few steps I go through when I'm in this dilemma.

1): Read up on or watch a new effect (buy a new book/ DVD)
- Expert at the card table is a perfect book to buy after RRTCM
2): Learn the sleight step by step and take it slowly!
3): Practice everywhere, in front of mirror, then in front of a wall
4): Incorporate the sleight in a magic trick or a routine a practice more
5): Replace better sleights with the ones existing in you repertoire. eg I replaced a push though riffle shuffle with the zarrow shuffle.

Hopefully this helped
-DL

 

[RC-Roi92]

Well i have almost a routine that i do:

First off i get the mechanics down. Go to the mirror and do it very slowly perfecting the movements it, then go watch tv whilst i do the sleight over and over again (still very slowly ) then i get the desired smoothness, i go to the mirror again, checking for flaws of any kind. Then i look up the learning source again checking for the routine and timing of the routine (important!). Then practice it with the right pace again in front of the mirror. Then go watch tv or something whilst doing it at that pace a lot of times. Then the mirror again to enjoy the final product.

A thing that is very important is pace... Some sleights need quickness and some sleights need not.

Another thing is, what do you want the sleight to look at? For example the push through, you want it to look like your pushing the card into the deck, so it might be a good idea to see how that looks( different angles help here). It's important that your sleights change not the normal things. for example if you pick a coin up willing to do a retention vanish, you should not try to adjust the grip of the coin, but rather the sleight .

Hope this helps a little practice practice practice.

Happy Smoothness