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OK - first time I've ever actually posted a video, but now that I've started to watch the spongeball toolbox DVD, I thought I'd show you guys what I can already do, before even starting to watch it. This is the first move I ever learned to do with spongeballs, a very easy spongeball in spectator's hand effect. The video just illustrates the underlying move, not how it looks in the context of performance (for a start, there's no spectator).

The mechanical details of the move I worked out myself (for example the way I show the ball between thumb and palm). Do you think it's a good way to perform the effect?

Looking at it, my right hand doesn't look relaxed enough at the start, but bear in mind that in a performance situation I would be standing up and the audience would have seen my right hand dangling innocently by my side during my introductory patter.

Anyway, the point is to illustrate my level of mechanical expertise (or lack of) with spongeballs before I begin to learn from the Toolbox.

You're right hand was just a little bit stiff. Other than that, I would say job well done!

Hi Adrian, great ot see you've started on the 'balls!

I realise that there's not actually much point in saying a lot about this video as it is your "before" video, and I think you'll really enjoy SBTB and get a lot out of it.

What I learnt from that DVD was Steve Dacri's smoothness, and how it enhances the magic drastically. What I would comment about your move is a) the right hand does indeed look like it's held in a rather odd position for a hand that's supposed to be empty! and b) I would suggest you try to hold the sponges at fingertips whenever possible when the audience are meant to see them. If you start displaying them squashed into the palm with your thumb, they may catch onto the idea that they could be tucked away like this when they're not supposed to know about it.

...but as you say, all this will come, and all the best with your practice.

Before doing this move, I like to bounce the spongeballs and roll them about on the table during my introductory patter. They bounce surprisingly well, and I feel that doing so enhances the magic, because intuitively something that bounces so well shouldn't squish so well too.

Do you have any tips on how to watch the toolbox DVD? For example, should I have a go at each of the moves as they are presented, or should I watch the whole thing through to get an overview, and start practising the moves on my second viewing? At the moment, trying to practise the moves can be rather frustrating, and I can see that it will take time to get the hang of them.

I would probably do it move by move, but really it's up to you! Something that sounds weird but I did is to imitate his actions, imitate that kind of smooth, buoyant handling. In my opinion, one of the best vanishes is pretty much the first one he shoes you, where the hand hardly does anything but turn over. But it's all about getting the bounce right, dropping the receiving hand at the right time.

Another tip of his is to practice doing what you'd do naturally! Sit for five minutes genuinely putting the ball in the other hand, then blend this with the move.

Farlsborough wrote:In my opinion, one of the best vanishes is pretty much the first one he shoes you

At the moment, I feel I'm a long way from mastering simple moves like that. For a start, I have yet to figure out how to retain a ball in a hand that looks relaxed (and without my thumb hurting).