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Hi! Soon it will be my birthday and I will have to change my age in the profile. No problem with that as I know how old I will be My question is: what is the difference between EN and AH and when should I be able to upgrade? I think I have managed to improve some basic sleights and am pretty confident in performing them (mind you, not in public as I want to be 120% sure I perform them well and above all I don't flash). I can perform AC (for me it is the first routine as it uses the basic sleights I've been practicing) quite ok and thought I would go on to start learning next routine while I improve my AC.

At the moment I just do the AC in front of my 4 y.o. daughter and she's fooled. She likes it when I snap my fingers at the deck (she loves snapping her fingers. She says she wants to play cards and snap the fingers hehehe ), although I'm thinking of doing something else than snapping the fingers to improve the "magic moment".

I would say the EH/AH etc. is how you feel about you own level of skill and confidence really. For example my thoughts on what a skilled hobbyist may be way different to someone elses.
Also the skill level can be attributed to different areas of magic too. My coin work for example suck but my card work is pretty ok but I personally rate myself from the performances rather than the skill of the slieghts.
I've waffled slightly.

Satrt again. You are whatever you rate yourself to be. Be you own critic but be a fair and just one.
If your ACR is coming along nicely then bite the bullet and try it out on a close friend. Magic after all is a performance art and generally if you can fool a child you can an adult. Kids are usually more astute believe it or not

Thanks! My concern is I don't want to overrate myself in any way. I just started a few months ago, I've had a lot of fun during this time but I am concious I'm only in the very beginning. I think I'll stick with EN for a few months more.

Maybe I can perform ACR in public on my birthday. That would be a nice start! Then at the end of April, May, and June I have three different weddings to attend to (friends' weddings) and I think I will be confident enough to do the ACR + some selfworking routine in the hotel bar (all weddings are in different cities and I have to stay in hotels) for some friends over a cool beer That would be very nice!

I don't know if you know the biddle trick but that's the one I first started with as it is easy but not self working and gets great reactions. I use it when I do gigs. Just an idea.
It is available on the born to perform dvd which also has a great ACR that I use too.

I know the biddle trick. It is lovely and simple (the effect, not the performance, as always). I'll work on it. Thanks!

I use Daryl's ACR. I just love the way he performs. It's a classic but his comment in the beginning is spot on: after he gets the first round of applause after the introduction he says "I wish I had a better act". It makes me laugh everytime I hear it.

That reminds me, I need to update my age....

I wasn't too sure how to classify myself either, I guess I'm between EN and AH really. I wouldn't say I'm a new commer as I've been interested in magic since I was little but only got back into it a couple of years ago. But then there are so many areas of magic that I know too little about.

Yeh it all down to how you see yourself..

I can perform a good few solid routines based purely on sleight of hand.. I have only been studying for about a year but only got serious in October and increased my practice time to at least 5 hours a day. So I would say Im skilled but in the context of how much there is to learn.. Im amateur.

I think a good way to judge is to look and see how much you know.. not just the amount of tricks.. but theory too.

Are you good with Audience management?
Hows your misdirection?
Do you have good solid scripts that you know off the top of your head? Does your patter flow with the routines you perform?
How is the publics reaction to your routines?
Do you perform to the public?
Are you entertaining?
Do the effects flow into each other?
(By this I mean when you finish one effect, do you know how to lead into the next effect with what you have left in your hands or do you have to fumble around and set up for the next? )

These are the kind of questions I judge myself on and theres plenty more questions to ask. When I finish an effect that leaves me with two black aces.. I want to lead into an affect using the two black aces.. and so on..

Hope this helps

Oh! Thanks ID. Those are great guidelines. I'll go back to my dark dungeons and practice some more before I upgrade myself. As I said in a previous post I haven't had the guts to perform anything in public just yet. I feel I need to get those sleights perfect and quite a lot of performance theory too.

nothing builds confidence in yourself quicker than a quick little performance...next time you're out having a drink, just fiddle about with your cards, catch someone's eye and smile...

learn by doing!

just something simple, a quick card change in someone's hands...a simple force and revelation....go on, take the plunge, you dont have to do a full show...sometimes, thats even better...

a clandestine whisper "hey, wanna see something?"....make sure your flies are zipped if you say that, and definately dont say it in a public toilet...i learned that one the hard way...

True Words

There is no better practice than a live performance... Its amazing how a few quick and easy tricks can make you feel 10ft tall!!

Ideally you want to play with your cards in public.. you will get asked if you know some magic.. trust me. Then start building your confidence by performing more and more to people you have never met.

Its that first step that is most nerve racking. Even let the spec know you are just learning and do they mind if you try something you have been working on.. this way they drop their guard and you can relax. They wont be burning your hands.. then when you shock them they'll praise you to high heavens and you feel like a million dollars... when this happens.. you will wnt more.. you always do!! so you'll start approcahing people looking for those reactions..

Its these reactions that build your confidence. With confidence comes a relaxed state.. You always perform your sleights better in performance than in practice. Its the adrenaline.

Then you work on your patter. At first talk about anything.. talk about goats cheese.. just keep talking. Then when you are comfortable rambling about nothingness you can start to devise rehearsed scripts for your routines.

I remember when I first started performing I talked complete tripe... Id have a deck of cards and say stuff like '' Ok.. watch the first coin vanish '' and they'd look at me like I was crazy as I was doing cards. But while they looked at me confused I had done the necessary sleight.. then correct myself '' sorry I meant card.. I told you I was new to this '' and then do a reveal and the look on their faces was priceless!!