What it means to be a Newbie

[RonJaxon]

Believe it or not we where all "newbies" to magic at some point. And to be honest many of us stay that way for years. I know quite a few who claim to be professionals but really are long term newbies.

The amount of time you've had an interest in magic does not make you a professional. For this reason I have a few suggestions.

Firstly, don't tell anyone you've been into magic longer then you have. This is something many of s fall into because there's something in us that wants to fit in with the "big boys" or magic. If we're talking to magicians that we know have been into it for a long time we want to impress them. So instead of saying the truth that we've only been practicing for a few months or a few years. Some lie and say they've been practicing since their Uncle Bob who is a magician started them when they where 4 years old. This strikes me as funny because if I saw someone perform a trick and they a good job. I'd be more impressed with them if they learned that in a shorter period of time. If they said they've been practicing for 1 years I'd think, "Wow, that good already!". On the other hand if they said they've been into magic for 10 years I'd think, "It seems like he's be better with that much practice".

Another piece of advice I'd like to share is that meeting up with other magicians is not a test to see who is better or knows more. I've been to conventions and there's always some guy who wants to blurt out ever sleight of hand move they see someone do. IF they see someone perform an double lift they're quick to mention that they know it. Well, that's not what you should be observing. What you should be observing is how they presented it and what they used the move for. Anyone can pick up a book and video and learn the move. The hard part is to learn how to use it. When meeting with other magicians and watching them perform you can observe how to, or not to in some cases, present that move or trick.

Lastly, don't be afraid to ask for help. Most magicians love to talk and share with each other. If you need help with a trick or move and know another magician who does it well. Chances are they'll be thrilled to help and discuss it.

I've been a magician for almost 20 years. I've been published and have tricks on the market. And I still consider myself a newbie in many areas of magic.

Have fun.

Ron Jaxon

[Sean Dyer]

thank you for the advice sir.

[Jason Clarke]

This is only an opinion, and no doubt others will disagree.

The biggest cause of 'stuffing up a trick' in Public or in front of your friends is not putting enough practice into the effect BEFORE performing it to some friends.

So the ad said the trick was "Self Working"; it may well be that the mechanics of a trick are very simple but 'doing' the mechanics is only a small part of performing ANY EFFECT in front of friends or the Public.

Take the "21 Card Trick" (please - take it far away, and take 'Uncle Rufus' with it little joke for 'magicians') It IS a self working trick, you can tell the spectator what 'their card' was: but baby, it ain't magic. The point is that any trick can be presented (performed - if you like) well or poorly. It can be made interesting or boring by only one person: YOU - the Performer.

IF you don't have absolute control of the mechanics, then some - if not most - of your attention will be on 'doing it right', not on your audience and not on your 'patter & presentation. Ask any of the 'long time' people interested in Magic and they will confirm this. YOUR Goal is to be able to do your mechanics without looking at your hands or the equipment (presumably a deck of cards) you are using.

Practice can be 'intelligent' or 'dumb'. Intelligent practice is done with specific goals in mind and ongoing steps and signposts for recognising improvement and attaining the required level of skill and competency for whatever you are aiming to master. 'Dumb' practice is simply the obtaining of a mechanical skill without any performance value. The "double lift" does lift two cards but practiced unintelligently: there is nothing natural about it and the appearance of the mechanics screams out that you are "Doing Something", even if they don't know what it is.

This leads to the second point I would like to raise. Some mechanical actions are just so 'fingery' that they are almost imposable to perform without some 'misdirection', to provide cover (to take the interest of your spectators away from what your hands are doing) for your execution of the 'Move'.

'Misdirection' is probably a slightly inappropriate word to use - but 'we' are a hide bound group. The Goal of 'Misdirection' is to direct the Audiences attention and interest to where we want it; so we can execute the 'move' out of the eye line and interest zone of the audience. Hopefully this will mean that 'they' will not see or register our clumpy finger movements. I call it "The Dying Spider Finger Dance"! those of you who smiled know what I'm talking about.

"Misdirection" is an enormous Topic; both in the variety of methods we can choose to use and in the different ways we can use them. better people than I should be posting on it.
nuff said