talkmagic.co.uk

Just wondering how magic was passed down to you.
(Did you see it on TV and want to learn, a friend,etc.)

I started to get involved in magic after a close up artist performed at my friends bar mitzvah.

Or what inspired you to do different types of magic (rope, money, levitation)

When I saw translocation at the magic castle, it sparked my interest for coin magic.
Unfortunatley I found that it used a S**ll, but it is still one of John Kennedy's best effects.

When I was 10 a security guard at my apartment complex showed me a lame math trick with cards. I thought it was great. After that I learned about a dozen equally lame tricks.

About 16 I began to get interested "serious" magic... I think it might of been when I saw David Blaine. Well I am 21 know, and I have done it off and on since then. It is never something that i put off completely, but sometimes I practice it more heavily then others. Right know I am at an "on" point, and it's great.

I was given an LP record of Paul Daniels when I was about 12 years old after having seen him at some theatre in Great Yarmouth and have never looked back since although it took me sometime to re-find the magic calling what with having to deal with school etc. Finally got back into it about 4 or so years ago!!

I've been into it for as long as I can remember. I got my first magic set given to me when I was very young and I have been off and on since then. After a fairly long off period I got into it seriously when I was 17ish, that was when I visited my first magic shop. About a year after I went to it for the first time I was given a job there and so most of my performing for a few years was trying to sell tricks to magicians!

I have had a few months with very little practice recently as I have just started a proper job in a different part of the country, and as a hobbyist being in the right social situation to perform is quite important. I intend to brush up a bit soon though, I have been practicing with card whilst watching the rugby, but throwing the cards at the screen during England v France in the second half slowed me down a bit!

I got involved after a family friend showed me a card trick that fascinated me then I heard of Mandy Davis and got involved in the ymc and then i am here.

I saw a restaurant magician at our table in the canaries, but that wasn't all. I saw a load of those world-greatest magic programmes on 5 and was amazed by the spectacle of it all. I wanted to learn sleight of hand, so i went to the library, learnt some rubbish tricks, then bought some things from a magic website and now i know lots of good tricks. I also managed to move a little into mentalism and i like that just as much as the close-up.

I was looking through the Saturday morning courses at a local college and saw this course advertised:

"Introduction to Conjuring and Magic"

I thought it was the stupidest thing imaginable, so I signed up.
Halfway into the 12 week course I suddenly got hooked!

Glad to say that a few others from that course are still active magically on the Scottish scene.

Nick,
I'd get something heavier in for this Sunday. It may not make pleasant viewing

On that subject, did you hear that Charlie Hodgson tried to kick himself after the performance against "les bleus". He missed.

I performed at a wedding last Autumn, the usual table hopping etc. and I recall being asked this same question by a layman. She ( in her mid 20's) wouldn't believe that magic wasn't a craft that was passed down from father to son etc. Although I played along with this (of course), the naivity did amuse me at the time.

If only she knew. Anyway, I know she was impressed as it got me a booking at her wedding this summer.

Well I have to say that what first really got me interested in Magic was David Blaine I really have always enjoyed magic and he seemed to be the only guy that was getting any tv exposure. Since then I have really gone all our with magic and I have been able to make some good money in doing something that I truly enjoy doing. I used to get really nervous when I performed, sometimes when doing card routines my hands would shake making it almost impossible for me to do the necessary sleights. But then a magician friend told me to take every performance as being for yourself and not for your spectator this way you will enjoy it more, and if you are satisfied with how you have done your spectators will be amazed. This has really helped me getting over my fear of being caught and I hope taht you all ca benefit from this information.

At the age of two, I got a lame old wooden coin sleeve dissapearing magic thing. All day I would waddle around and show my parents, and each time they would have to look amazed. My patter wasn't too great.

As I grew up I progressed through magic, from Paul daniels to marvins magic, from marvins to sankey, and ended up where I am now.

S_adamson1 wrote:But then a magician friend told me to take every performance as being for yourself and not for your spectator this way you will enjoy it more, and if you are satisfied with how you have done your spectators will be amazed.

This worries me slightly. I would say the exact reverse, if you are performing for your own pleasure primarily then your spectators are clearly of secondary importance to you and they will pick up on this.

nickj wrote:

S_adamson1 wrote:But then a magician friend told me to take every performance as being for yourself and not for your spectator this way you will enjoy it more, and if you are satisfied with how you have done your spectators will be amazed.

This worries me slightly. I would say the exact reverse, if you are performing for your own pleasure primarily then your spectators are clearly of secondary importance to you and they will pick up on this.

I don't think this is meant as a philosophy - it's more a psychological trick to aid performing.
If it works, and the spectators enjoy it, then it may be worth trying.
Performers in all arts often use mind tricks like this to help themselves.
I know I do, as a musician.
It's no reflection of the worth of the spectators to the performer.

My interest in magic grew as a child watching David Nixon on TV. Although I went to the library many times in my youth I always found it difficult to master tricks from books. I was 35yrs old when I made another stab at magic and it finally stuck.

Incidentally Captain, I also have that LP of Paul Danniels