Watch Steal

m2fx · Jul 29, 2009

hey,
i just succeeded my first watch steal ( YEAHH ) and i was wondering what do y say if someone catches you...
im using the same presentation as david blaine

thank you

penguincdude · Jul 29, 2009

The only thing I can think of is practice until the odds of them catching your a extremely slim.

jake the snake magic · Jul 29, 2009

im sorry i have to ask this question here i jus dont feel like making a new thread, because it would me unnecessary but I know how the watch steal is done but does anyone have advice on how to practice it. Or is it just on of those things you keep performing and mess up alot in the beginning and get better at? idk i mean my mom gets pissed if i even practice on her for like 5 min..

SamRochon · Jul 29, 2009

jake the snake magic said:
im sorry i have to ask this question here i jus dont feel like making a new thread, because it would me unnecessary but I know how the watch steal is done but does anyone have advice on how to practice it. Or is it just on of those things you keep performing and mess up alot in the beginning and get better at? idk i mean my mom gets pissed if i even practice on her for like 5 min..

Maybe... try rolling up a newspaper and taping it so it's like someone's arm?
Put a watch on it.
I know you won't be able to practice the misdirection side of things, but the mechanics of a steal at least.

chriswiehl · Jul 30, 2009

bubble wrap is better than newspaper, it gives a little more, so its softer

m2fx · Jul 30, 2009

i practice on my close friends and family...

DannyT · Jul 30, 2009

m2fx said:
hey,
i just succeeded my first watch steal ( YEAHH ) and i was wondering what do y say if someone catches you...
im using the same presentation as david blaine

thank you

I think you need to play it off as a joke if you get caught. Maybe something like, "Come on, I gotta make my living somehow."- jokingly of course.
Otherwise if someone catches you and you don't say anything to make it out like it was a joke, they'll really think you were trying to steal their watch. This might result in getting your ass kicked.

What would you have done if you didn't succeed and they did catch you? I'm surprised you would even try it if you wouldn't know what to say if you failed.

romeo sierra · Jul 30, 2009

m2fx said:
hey,
i just succeeded my first watch steal ( YEAHH ) and i was wondering what do y say if someone catches you...
im using the same presentation as david blaine

thank you

"I was going to ask you to just give it to me, but I was afraid you were going to say no."

With regards to the watch steal, I believe Chappy Brazil had the smoothest technique available. If you're serious about making this a regular part of your arsenal, I cannot recommend Chappy's DVD enough. He was one of the most talented magicians and pickpockets I've ever seen, and he was ahead of his time performing what many consider to be contemporary street magic today. What set Chappy Brazil's technique apart from others is that his steal was perfectly orchestrated and motivated. There was no wild shaking of the hands that would look and feel out of place in performance. This made it impossible for other people to backtrack to when the watch was stolen in the first place. When Chappy performed the watch steal, everyone believed the watch simply vanished off their wrists. When you see others perform the steal like Blaine or Angel, etc-- they use peculiar, unmotivated shaking to hide the steal that people could obviously backtrack to later on.

Since Apollo Robbins is one of T11's newest artists, it'd be awesome to see him perform some pickpocketing. He's undoubtedly one of the most charismatic and cleanest pickpockets today. He's very skilled as well. If he ever releases material on pickpocketing and watch stealing, I'm sure it would be gold.

RS.