theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

Mentors?

M

Mikekewl

Mar 6, 2012
3
0
Ontario, Hamilton
Hey t11!

I'm a new member here and just kinda wondering... Have any of you guys who started doing magic have a mentor or somesort? a friend, a mentor, a teacher, etc... Because, for me, i think it's much more fun if i have a mentor or a friend to do magic with or to share magic with.
 
I agree with you, it is definitely more fun to have at least one person to talk to.

Personally I had all of the above. When I was in school a teacher was a magic hobbyist and all these years later we meet occasionally. I have a handful of good "magic friends" that are great to bounce ideas off of and talk about techniques with. I also had a mentor, who I paid for tuition for a short time to develop a stage act.

So to conclude this post, everyone should have at least one magic buddy.

Oh and welcome to the T11 forums.
 
In my youth I had many mentors and teachers but the one I give the most credit to is the guy that taught me most in both, living life as well as magic. You will find that the old sayi9ng "When the student is ready the teacher will come" holds true; we can look and look and wish but until we are able to prove ourselves to that adept, we can't hope to catch their attention and give them a reason to give us time, correcting and encouragement. Too, and this can seem harsh, but not all of us "have it" when it comes to what is needed for "making it" and as one of my teachers pointed out, "Nobody wants to hitch themselves to a train that's got no momentum"

Having "Magic Buddies" is a good thing but only to a point, you don't want to be surrounded by "Yes Men" -- those that will give you kudos even when you stink a.k.a. IBM & SAM groups and what they've devolved into. I far more cherish those that will bust my chops on things than those that pat me on the back and say "Good Job"; the critique is what helps us build on and fulfill our dreams -- the vision we have as an "artist" that's striving to bring something to life.

There's some good people here at T-11 and over on E that you can learn a great deal from; don't pass it up!
 
Having a mentor and joining my local magic club helped me grow professionally more than anything else. It gets me excited to be around others who share a passion for magic and learning as much as I do. It is nice to be able to bounce ideas back and forth and to be able to get constructive criticism. I am lucky to have a mentor and a club that is 30 plus members strong.

Craig is correct in that, don't allow yourself to be completely surrounded by "Yes Men" either. They will tell you that your magic is great and you are ready to perform a show when in reality they should tell you that you are nowhere near organized, your patter is not up to par, and frankly you aren't ready yet.

There are tons of people here that can be valuable to you as resources. Learn to sift through the junk threads and let the ones with good valuable knowledge tweek your brain a bit. Even if you disagree with something, you need to keep an open mind set to see where others are coming from.
 
Thanks for all of you who replied. I do really think that having at least 1 magic buddy is enough because I had some but its like i'm too late when I started to do magic all of them stopped doing it, it's not their hobby anymore :(

I am really having difficulties of getting magic stuffs right now, I was really happy that my parents LET me buy something off T11. I don't have any mentors or friends that I can share my magic idea to and it's kind of hard for me, no feedbacks and all. I learn tricks from YouTube, some books... and I was a bit anti-social, also my friends were annoying when it comes to magic tricks, they really don't appriciate me doing it.

I will start digging stuffs from t11. I think I should do a fresh start from now, practicing from the basics again I guess.
 
Mikekewl said:
I don't have any mentors or friends that I can share my magic idea to and it's kind of hard for me, no feedbacks and all. I learn tricks from YouTube, some books... and I was a bit anti-social, also my friends were annoying when it comes to magic tricks, they really don't appriciate me doing it.
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Don't bother with the whole YouTube thing, grab some books/DVDs! What I learned personally is that when you start learning from books first, DVDs are a cake. Also... books usually have a lot of more tricks/sleights and are cheaper than a DVD. If you want feedback on tricks, make a video and show it to the people here, you'll get some good advice!
 
The thing with books is that they lack of visual information for me, sometimes it makes me confused. Having someone, for me, to explain it verbally helps me more. That's why I prefer more visual like videos from YouTube, DVDs, but, again, I'm still having difficulties to get those DVDs. I'm trying to read some books now and see how it goes.

I will try to post some videos to get feedbacks if I have the time that is.
 
Mikekewl said:
The thing with books is that they lack of visual information for me, sometimes it makes me confused. Having someone, for me, to explain it verbally helps me more. That's why I prefer more visual like videos from YouTube, DVDs, but, again, I'm still having difficulties to get those DVDs. I'm trying to read some books now and see how it goes.
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Stay away from YouTube... find some good books and have someone in your family try and help you understand what's being said. Sometimes you have to read a simple part several times to get it, the more you read, the more you'll get used to it. If that fails, feel free to check out www.themagicsession.com and head over to the lounge; someone'll help you.
 
I dont know about the rest of you, but books are an addiction for me, any time I have some spare money I'm hunting down magic books online.
 
I dont know about the rest of you, but books are an addiction for me, any time I have some spare money I'm hunting down magic books online.
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Another great place to look is used book stores, every now and then you will find
some great books and for cheap
 
I would never have thought that was true in small towns in Ireland (about 12,000 people in the nearest to me), but in a neighbouring town a non magic friend bought Pure Effect for 8 euro in a charity shop, which is about 10 or 11 dollars i think. Unfortunately i didn't know him at the time!
 
Mikekewl said:
Hey t11!

I'm a new member here and just kinda wondering... Have any of you guys who started doing magic have a mentor or somesort? a friend, a mentor, a teacher, etc... Because, for me, i think it's much more fun if i have a mentor or a friend to do magic with or to share magic with.
Click to expand...

I just spent some time with my friend Mr. Dan Hauss and we were having this conversation...
Dan grew up with great magicians like Dan White and b.Smith. They all motivated each other to strive for perfection with what they did and still do.

I HAD Eric Jones who lived only a short drive away and it made it easy to get together and jam out new ideas. Now I don't really live all that close to other magicians and sometimes find that I am not practicing as much or working on new material as much because I have nobody near me who is into magic.

Books keep your brain occupied, but its really great to be able to share magic with someone who also loves the art.

This is why forums like these and video chats like The Magic Session are so great, because a "mentor" could only be a click away.

With that said...if you need any advice about well...anything. Feel free to PM me! I am not an expert, but I think I have been around the block a time or two. :)

Welcome to T11!!!!!!!
 
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