talkmagic.co.uk

Well, I'm 1'll be 18 in Feburary 13. I've been practicing sponge ball sleights since I was only 9. I still do them. I learned a few sleights with coins, but over the course of about 2 weeks I've pretty much got the classic palm down and some other coin sleights. It took alot of time.

I'm pretty much obessed with it. Now that I like coin magic sleights. Seems to be much more difficult than sponge sleights.

Unfortunately, I have a new computer. My dad was watching TV, and I turned the TV off (while he was watching it) he was so mad, that he wouldn't help me install the USB drivers for my new computer so I can use my digital camera to hook up to the internet. (I took pictures of my hand with the palming, I know I'm palming it right. I've practiced it alot and can do it smootly now. My hands are pretty small. )

Unfortunately, I've tried everything to try and install the USB drive to make it work myself. Apparently, you need the CD software (CD) to do it. My dad knows where it is, I don't.

Basically you take the digital camera, hook up the SD memoy card to it, and then the USB from the thing you plug in your SD card runs down to the USB slot. I plug it in, and I hear the chime noise which it makes when it connects, but it cannot find the driver. Or any USB driver for that matter...


Anyway..

Today I went to my neighbors house. And lucky for me, the neighbor had a friend who was a (I assume professoinal) magicains assistant for 3 years. I've always practiced sleight of hand, not just sponge balls, but basic coin sleights. I've recently got more into coin sleights. However, whenever I do the coin across sleight (As described in Mark Wilson's Complete course) it never really seems to impress or "wow" the people that much at all.

Especially not compared with sponge balls. And the palming in it is much more difficult than the sponge balls.

Aw, well.

Unfortunately, I saw Siegie's coin across video, and it's much better. I really can't afford magic video tapes on coins right now, as nor can my parents for my birthday (Plus, I forgot to ask), and I saw Siegie's video, looks pretty cool. I'm not into card sleights, never really liked cards.

But I've been hearing this back palm sleight alot with coins. WHen I did a search for the coin verison, I only found the card verison. Ugh.

I'd love to make a video of it. Again, I can't.
1) I don't have a web camera
2) I could, since my dad is/was a network engineer and computer repair person. And worked on NASA's computers.
3) Don't have the money
4) Don't have a video phone.
5) Don't have a job . Although I'm going to be really aggressive and try to get one at BestBuy. I love helping out folks.

I took some pictures of it. Hopefully my dad will help me with the USB drive tommarrow (and if he's willing to find me the CD for it..)

============================

Anyway, back to my story.

My dad and I when I was around 9, made our own magic business. Called London Bridge Magic, (The city I lived in, at the time, Lake Havasu, is where the London bridge from London was moved to. This may be more interesting to you folks, because ironically, I love in the US, and most people here live in the UK...consequently, our time zones are different so I won't be able to respond as much).

So, I meet this lady who was a magicians assist. I show her my classic palm, and now I can even do a triple stack with half dollars, or even a double stack with half dollars. (Even though my hands are really small.)

She said my timing was really good, and my sleight of hand was good, too. She said that the classic palm cannot like EXACTLY as natural as the other hand without the coin in it, but to curl my fingers slightly to make it look as natural as the empty hand on the left.

She also said sponge balls you can master in only a few minute (I mentioned I had a tape that said it would only take a few minutes ..) Well, I hope not. It certainly took me longer to really master sponge balls. Is it really that easy?



And I saw this video:
http://www.nothingupmysleeve.co.uk/coinsacross/


I'd be happy enough to do this, than the boring one I found in Mark Wilson's.

Wish someone would PM me how, It'd certainly help me spice up my coin rountines.

Mate...

It's taken me 15+years of learning sleights of hand, and watching my coins across it's STILL not anywhere near polished.

Sponge ball magic is NOT mastered in a couple of hours. It's partly to do with timing and confidence. And yes, of course it requires skill—to answer your question.

Skill is usually either a natural gift, or comes with practice. However, as we're not naturally born to hide things in our hands, I would say that magical skill is something which comes from patience and dedication.

Back to coins across...

Just so you know, the sleights used are:

The Pop-up move
Fingertip rest
Classic palm
False transfer
... and a little secret move for the clearup.

Learned the sleights from various different sources, and the actual routine is Sankey's own.

If you have a digital camera with a USB connection, and you can find the Drivers, it can probably be used as a webcam. Dig out the manual and take a look.

Find that website of the company that makes your cam and download the drivers off of there site (even if it is just a trial version until you can get your proper ones)

To the poster- if you haven't a lot of money and would like some more info on coins then get the Dover reprint of Bobo's (about 5 or 6 dollars I would expect). If you search this or any forum on coins, then you'll find that this is the standard text and has an huge amount of info in it.

Siege,
I believe that the pop-up move isn't Piet Forton's. Piet Forton's Pop Out move is a card revelation. The Pop-up move is generally creditted to Al Schneider, who claims to have adapted a sponge ball sleight for it (I do believe that other people have come up with the move independently too). Appologies if this sounds pedantic.

Shanester

shanester wrote:Siege,
I believe that the pop-up move isn't Piet Forton's. Piet Forton's Pop Out move is a card revelation. The Pop-up move is generally creditted to Al Schneider, who claims to have adapted a sponge ball sleight for it (I do believe that other people have come up with the move independently too). Appologies if this sounds pedantic.

Shanester

Many thanks, bibliography and credits updated

seige wrote:Mate...

It's taken me 15+years of learning sleights of hand, and watching my coins across it's STILL not anywhere near polished.

Sponge ball magic is NOT mastered in a couple of hours. It's partly to do with timing and confidence. And yes, of course it requires skill—to answer your question.

Skill is usually either a natural gift, or comes with practice. However, as we're not naturally born to hide things in our hands, I would say that magical skill is something which comes from patience and dedication.

Back to coins across...

Just so you know, the sleights used are:

The Pop-up move
Fingertip rest
Classic palm
False transfer
... and a little secret move for the clearup.

Learned the sleights from various different sources, and the actual routine is Sankey's own.

15 years??

Holy moly

That's almost as old as me!

With some of the great sleight of hand people here, couldn't you work as a close up magician in vegas? That's what I've always wanted to do.

All my life I've had different obessions. I think I have OCD (Because I also have major depression). When I was around 5, it used to be geology (rocks), then numismatics (the study of money, still interested in it), japanese (learned 1 through 10, after sevearl years back into it again), and several others.

When I was around 9-10, I'm not sure what my first magic trick was, but I started practicing sleight of hand with sponge balls. I got Mark Wilson's Encylopedia of Magic. Little did I know, that this is one of the finest books in magic.

I practiced sponge balls for hours everyday in front of the mirror. I praticed misdirection. However, I still didn't have it down with coins.

For example, when I retition vanish a coin to my left hand, and retain it in my right, and I even look at the hand thats supposed to have the coin, they sometimes catch it when I put it in my pocket. Not sure what I' doing wrong here; I can do it fine with spongeballs. Since sharp movements attracts attention, I think I need to slowly and casually dip my right hand into my pocket, and RIGHT WHEN I OPEN UP MY LEFT HAND to show its empty, that way, all the focus is on the left hand.


Another thing.

I've practiced so much in front of a mirror, that many times, I actually look right at the spectator instead of my hands! I forget that I'm not doing it in front of a mirro. Its kind of annoying.

I then got Hamtpon ridge's magic video on sponge balls "Easy 25 tricks with sponge balls." I learned the thumb clip, which has been invalueable. Also the thumb clip switch, where I can change a sponge balls color, or change a coin into a sponge ball (Really just switching them), and now I can do it with coins.

I've also practiced the coin roll, and got it down really well.

I can't do the coin roll down, however. My pinky just won't reach that far.

I Got one of those squishy balls I'm going to use it


Hey man, thanks for clearing that up.

yeah, it upsets me, ya know. I practice for hours in front of a mirror. I show my parents or whatever how to do it, since they are my parents, and they can't do it at all. So when someone says you can do it in only a few minutes, it kinda ticks me off.


The other day I was at the park. There were these kids. I showed them some sponge magic, then a short and stocky black man came. He sat down. He watched me. And when I did the simple sleight of hand with a hotrod (I'm sure you heard of it.) the black guy blurted out "He just flips it over." As soon as he said this, the kids caught on and said, "Hey, I think I know how he does it now! Let me see it!"


That was quite rude IMHO. Even worse, when I was doing the sponge magic, and when the kids said "How did he do it?" , the black man said "He just reads a book on it."

I nonchantly said, "If you want to ruin this for everyone, then have a good day." and walked away.

Siege, you've been practicing coins for 15 years. That's a long time. I'd love to buy a webcam and show you what I can do with sponge balls, or the coin across on a table.


Are the sleightgs you are using on that video very difficult?