What is Yan Frisch' foundation in sleight of hand?

[afk341]

Must of you might know Yan Frisch, the French magician. If you don't , here's a video of him performing a trick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUv-Q6EgEFI


Anyhow, I was wondering what is Yan Frisch's foundation. Where did he learn it? From Sach's book, or other source?

I'm a noob a sleight of hand. And I'm interested in practicing the art of sleight of hand. It's just that I do not know where to start. Yan Frisch's skills just amazes me. How can one reach that level , and through what foundation is led to that level?

 

[yyyyyyy]

Yann Frisch's signature routine is a cups and balls/juggling/manipulation act called "Baltass". I haven't seen anyone do anything like his routine, and quite frankly, I wouldn't want to see someone performing with his style. Regardless, you should look into the foundations of the cups and balls. You'll find a decent amount of information there. Juggling will be useful as well if you want your routine to be as flashy as his. As for "how can one reach that level", it's all a matter of practice and commitment.

 

[TeeDee]

Yann Frisch's work is a combination of many things, but I think it would be fair to say that a lot of the key psychological aspects that give it its power are developments of Slydini's thinking. You say you're new to sleight-of-hand. Well, I'd recommend not rushing ahead, and learning the basics first. Congratulations on coming to Sachs' book so early in your studies. It's a great foundation course in a lot of magic principles and ideas, although it's about a century and a half old now, so you'll want to supplement your learning with J B Bobo's Modern Coin Magic (which is pretty old itself, but still contains all the basic coin techniques). Then, get everything you can by Slydini. Not just to learn his moves and routines but to study his thinking on controlling the audience's attention. By the time you've got to that stage, you'll have been around magic long enough to know for yourself where to go with your studies next.

 

[afk341]

@TeeDee

Yes, I'm thinking of learning from Slydini. I watched a couple of videos and I love it, especially his coin routines. He is very good at misdirection like you said!

I'm thinking about ordering a DVD from local magic shop called Expert coin magic by David Roth since it's modern(only two decades old). I heard it is pretty good starting point. From there , I hope to branch out in sleight of hand like balls and ordinary objects.

You are right that to master these skills will take a load of time.For instance, currently I'm working on a coin flourish called the coin roll before I get the DVD. Even after of couple of hours and days of practicing, it's still not perfect . Probably it will take weeks/months/years to perfect but worth the time, IMO.

Again, Thanks for the advice.However, I want to end this post with a question. What would you consider the Bible of sleight of hand/misdirection? Or, what's your favorite source of sleight of hand? It's just out of curiosity.

 

[slicksleights]

Yan did a talk at emc and you can tell his foundation comes from theatre and performance arts. He talks about how he starts with a blank canvas and doesn't think out sleights because it's restricting. He looks at his movements and how he uses his body to dictate what sleights he uses. In other words it's not really something that can learnt or taught, it's something that is uniquely his and literally comes from inside him. He taught some techniques during his talk and they are things that only work for him and his character and would only looked forced and unnatural if tried to be copied.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Yeah, to do what he does, study how to perform. He's studied acting, mime, juggling, circus arts, etc.

However, I wouldn't say his ability to routine is unique to himself. A lot of people approach performance that way. It's just that many more don't. He looks at the effect, analyzes the movement of what he'll be doing, and then figures out what sleights he will have to use to accomplish it while still looking basically the same.

Anyone can do this. All it takes is an understanding of performance.

 

[slicksleights]

Yeah, to do what he does, study how to perform. He's studied acting, mime, juggling, circus arts, etc.

However, I wouldn't say his ability to routine is unique to himself. A lot of people approach performance that way. It's just that many more don't. He looks at the effect, analyzes the movement of what he'll be doing, and then figures out what sleights he will have to use to accomplish it while still looking basically the same.

Anyone can do this. All it takes is an understanding of performance.

I agree with this, anyone can use his methods to create and perform. My point it is, from what the original post implies, you shouldn't be trying to copy his style for which he uses in his act. His act works well because they way he performs and moves ect it's unique to him and that's why it works. If someone else tried to do that, it would look awkward and contrived, as would anyone who is trying to emulate someone else's act or style. However as the original poster stated he is new to sleight of hand and I would not recommend him to start his journey into it, by trying to emulate someone like Yan, since this is a very deep way of thinking about magic, and someone new to this needs more understanding of the subject before trying this out. I would say to him read the standard books on magic to learn the basics and build a foundation. Then read books on the theory of magic, and if you really want to take a leaf out of Yan's book read books on acting techniques. All that thou would come a lot later, you need to read the classics, learn the basics and build your foundations.

 

[TeeDee]

What would you consider the Bible of sleight of hand/misdirection? Or, what's your favorite source of sleight of hand? It's just out of curiosity.

I'm don't think there really is a Bible of sleight-of-hand. To get figurative on yo' ass, I think we all write our own personal Bible. By that pretentious phrase, I mean that we all pick up bits of information and experience from different sources and then combine them into our own unique approach to magic and sleight-of-hand. As long as we're always thinking about what we read and experience then we can't fail to get better, but hopefully we get better in a different way from everyone else.

From my own personal experience, Erdnase's The Expert at the Card Table is still a constant source of intrigue and inspiration. Everything I know, think about or do in magic and sleight-of-hand has its roots in Erdnase. I know that, in a Freudian sense, all men eventually kill their fathers, but I'm still at the stage of a wide-eyed child who thinks that my sleight-of-hand daddy is a hero. I try to approach it critically, even to find fault, but it's an ever-failing task. I think, "Aha, gotcha Erdnase...you don't seem to have worked out how to cover the break as you transfer from pinky to second finger to execute your one-hand shift". But then as I play with it I realise that the solution I've "invented" is staring up at me from the page all along.

 

[slicksleights]

I agree with TeeDee there is no bible of sleight of hand, however if i was recommending books for people to start off with i would say;

Royal road to card magic -gives you all the basics and foundations to build on when it comes to card magic (would also recommend card college set if you have the money to spend.)

Bobo Modern coin magic - More as a 'reference' than a teaching aid, in other words if you are reading a trick that asks you to do a sleight you dont yet know, then you refer to that to learn it. Great for learning moves as you go, but so much content in there you can get a bit overwhelmed by it all, if you try and read it page by page.

Stars of magic - A true classic book with some classic routines, that will help you develop your basic sleight of hand, while learning some great and classic tricks, again a great foundation builder.

And im going to go against the grain here (and most likely get insulted left, right and center) but In my opinion Expert at the card table, isn't the best book on card sleights in terms of teaching. Yes I love it, read it and recognize it as a great source of learning about the history of card sleights, and would recommend anyone to read it at some point in their magic career and learn, but as a book for someone who is starting out, would not recommend it. I think Expert Card Technique is a better book compared to EATCT.

 

[TeeDee]

I think Expert Card Technique is a better book compared to EATCT.

If you think that ECT is better than EATCT then, for you, it is! It's impossible to be wrong on this. ECT teaches some great stuff and if, for you, those lessons are more important than those of EATCT then ECT is a better book for you. That's part of what I meant by writing our own Bible, and it's why book or DVD recommendations should always be taken with a pinch of salt. Our life experiences, our other education, our personal skills and limitations and what we want to achieve all combine together to determine what resources are right for us.