talkmagic.co.uk

Well, you know, if you really want to get a grip on what this or any other magic forum is about, just read its archive. The stuff you can find on exposure sites you can probably do, but it will fool no one, and eventually you'll realise that nothing that's worth doing is easy. Or you could just go to the library like people keep suggesting to you, and get everything you need to amaze your friends using nothing more than your current deck of cards. If you do that, people will be pleased to freely answer questions about the effects you can do but want to improve, but not the ones you simply fancy getting for free. I mean, I wish you luck, but in the end, it's really that simple.

So you’re saying the ones i can find free all over the net are not worth bothering with?

Thanks

Sky321 wrote:So you’re saying the ones i can find free all over the net are not worth bothering with?

Thanks

Sky321...

I am going to share a little history with you... You've not specified your age yet, but I'm assuming you're in your teens as you mention being a student(please, correct me).

When I was at a tender age of about six years old, the internet didn't exist.

I never intended to be a 'magician' as such, but I had an interest in magic. Without the internet to guide me, I used to sit with a deck of cards and marvel at what I saw on TV. So I experimented.

Then, around 11 years old, when I started secondary school, I had a whole world of knowledge offered to me in the form of a library card. Suddenly, I had access to books. And knowledge.

Lots of the books I borrowed were academic—but one day I found one on magic and card tricks. And what it gave me was enough to perform some fabulous tricks for the amusement of friends and family. With nothing more than a normal deck of cards.

So you see, for most of us, we learned through curiousity. Our desire to do magic has flourished from little seeds which were NOTHING to do with the internet.

Sure, there are places where you can find easy to do little tricks on the net, but the reason that you won't find us 'being unselfish and sharing' is that we've all had to LEARN and STUDY for what we know.

Appreciated that you don't want to get too deep and just learn a couple of tricks... but that's not what this or many other forums are all about. Almost like a mechanic won't tell you how to fix your car—why should he? He's spent years of training and learning how to strip down a cylinder head and replace a faulty sticking valve... and he's unlikely to tell you his methods.

Perhaps you think we're all pig-headed and being a little over-secretive?

Yes... you've got a good point. Although, on the whole, I love to teach little tricks to people close, such as my nephews or friends.

A lot of magic tricks are covered by a sort of 'society' thing, which is, that the owners respect a little 'magician's code' which is a kind of unwritten rule that once you learn something they've spent hours producing, you keep the secret going for them.

And it runs far deeper than commercialism. You mention that once you learn something you're going to be quite happy to share that knowledge in an unselfish manner...

...this is the exact reason that the professionals and even the respectful hobbyists on THIS PARTICULAR forum aren't going to share their hard-earned knowledge with you.

Advice: go to the library. Go to the arts/crafts section (or just ask a librarian) for a list of magic books. There will probably be quite a few.

The 'quick tricks' you can learn are the ones which everyone has seen. But if you delve into other books which have been mentioned here (for less than the price of a couple of pints of beer) you could be performing magic which I guarantee will baffle even your most sceptical friends.

And yes, it's magic which can be done with a normal deck of 99p cards.

Sorry if this forum hasn't lived up to your specific expectations. But there's great power in learning. Although you just want 'a couple of tricks', there's possibly a whole world of magic that you will never know exists if you just follow the path the rest of us have.

As an end note, can I just say that the moderators here act on behalf of the magic community as a whole, and I believe that this particular forum is one of the friendliest, nurturing and accommodating that you will find on the net.

Sky321 wrote:WOW never new it was going to cause such a big problem me asking to learn a few very simple card tricks like i said i am not asking for you to tell me the world’s best tricks just a few simple tricks that’s it. ..... well when i find out some tricks i am going to share it with others why be selfish with it? share it and help others out that are just starting

Sky,

I understand your frustration, but you have to understand that magic relies on some very basic principles, most of which are very old. With every exposure, one more principle falls away and its not just one trick/effect you give away but a whole group which rely on the same principle. What your observing here isn't elitism or protectionism, its self preservation.

When you see an effect being performed, the performer has spent money buying the effect and then time learning to perform it. If he then gives away the secret to his audience, then he can't perform it again for that audience and neither can any other performer. It devalues the effect, which would be really pointless don't you think.

As for television exposure, well this has been discussed many times here in the forum, so you may want to use the search function to get the general concensus on this. As for the free effects online, well for the most part there rip offs of original effect, so you need to take an ethical stand on this. You have to understand that others may take an opposing view, and act accordingly.

As advised, there are some no cash methods of getting started, so why don't you follow this advice. Then you can come back and ask our advice legitimately.

and I believe that this particular forum is one of the friendliest, nurturing and accommodating that you will find on the net.

Hear hear....

Hello seige

As long as that post was i read every bit i am not in my teens but over i think i will try and find a e-book and use a program to read it for me its difficult for me to get into books as my reading is not to good i have a form of dyslexia. yes i read your post but the computer read it out for me don’t think i would of been able to follow it if i was reading it my self. Thank you for the advice i appreciate the time that when into writing your post

Regards

If you're not much for written text, instead of buying an e-book, why not try a video download. This one http://www.magictricks.co.uk/prodshow.asp?code=950 will show you the basic moves you need. At the end of it, you'll be able to do the routine shown in the rather impressive free demonstration clip, but more importantly, you'll understand the techniques used to create it so that you can use them in your own stuff. In other words, for ten pounds you'll be up and running.

You see, what you've been asking so far is the same as going into a car dealership and saying that you fancy owning a car, but because you have no money you want one for free. Does that make sense?

Thanks for the link i'll check it out and let you know how i got on

thanks again

Yep, that's the best thing you can do and I assure you that you won't regret doing/studying magic. Maybe you'll think you only want to learn a few tricks first but it's really like drugs, when you get into it you can't stop (magic ofcourse not being selfdestructive). If you download that Basic Card Control Video and have problems with any move, people here (including me) will be glad to give you hints where to place your fingers and so on...