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Magic-Sam New user Australia 60 Posts |
Hi All,
Im currently considering purchasing a Sword Suspension. Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. |
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magicmarkdaniel Special user Bolton, England UK 831 Posts |
I had a Peter Diamond (UK) model. It was beautiful but I struggled. The h*****s was uncomforatble both from a lifting and a wearing point of view. My assistant found it difficult to keep her legs up and it put a lot of strain on both of us to perform it. Locating the essential bit was tricky too. A friend of mine had one too a number of years ago and he also struggled the same.
Just my thoughts, what didn't work for me may work brilliantly for somebody else. Mark
Mark Daniel
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
Your assistant needs to be very physically fit in order to properly perform this illusion. There is nothing comfortable or natural about it and you will require many, many hours to properly stage and rehearse this effect. So, unless you have a regular assistant, this may not be practical. Time and money will also need to be spent on proper costuming in order to effectively hide the H*****s. That's on the technical side.
On the performance side, does this effect fit within the overall character and personality of your show? Will it add substantively to the texture of the show? Just some food for thought. Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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Craig Dickens Veteran user 376 Posts |
I worked with the Chu, Gaughan and Owens models. The Owens is the best. Easiest and safest hook-up without the assistant needing to be at an odd angle to engage. Also a removable hinged leg support for more comfort. Well worth spending the $. It still requires practice to do smoothly and hook-up requires at least one additional helper.
I have a new version of this effect scheduled in the next few months . PM for details.
e-mail at:magicaldickens@aol.com
website: www.dickensmagic.com |
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makeupguy Inner circle 1411 Posts |
For what you'd spend on this.. a GOOD broom suspension.. themed with a broom, microphone stand , bamboo stick, candy cane, kenpo stick or virtally anything would be a better choice..
ONe of the inherent problems with the sword suspension is the height. It's performed low to the ground.. . in many venues'' it's rendered ineffective unless your audience has raked seating or you're on a stage.. and even then.. the magician has to spend a portion of the routine bending down.. and that doesn't even cover the comfort of the assistant. A broom suspension is FAR more comfy for the assistant.. as all floating areas are supported with a correctly designed prop. It would be a no brainer for me. |
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Eldon Inner circle Virden, IL 1137 Posts |
But!!! With all that has been said, and it is all true, when the Sword Suspension is performed properly it is a beautiful effect.
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Kendrix Loyal user 229 Posts |
Melinda used to do a very nice Sword suspension with a male assistant being suspended. He did this cool sort of running thing with his legs. The person doing it has to have great abs.
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LeeAlex2002 Inner circle 1007 Posts |
I used a Peter Diamond model for many years and hundreds of performances. In the beginning I used to have the girl placed on the swords with another assistant helping.
I had a new "piece" made according to my regular assistant (height and curve of the back) for her comfort. This plays very well and under almost any circumstances. We even made a costume and performed this on television with a "spectator" from the street in a hodded winter coat (it was the correct season!). This does require practice and strength, but over time the placement comes second to none. It is hard for the assistant who is suspended and we have had many discussions as to whether the suspended girl should be rigid (catalepsy) or should "bicycle" the legs, or move at all. We have tried many different performance styles and costumes and staged this with different plots and music. It is a fun and unbelievable illusion both for audiences and performers. On another occassion a television camera swept completely around the suspended assistant underneath which made for a great shot with nothing to hide. I don't know what other builders make their "pieces" from, but if Gossamer made a sword harness I am sure a lightweight metal would be the way to go - the "piece" itself adds about three kilos to the weight of the girl. The thrid sword is aslo a lot heavier than the other two which must be compensated for when performing (otherwise the other two swords are like feathers!!). |
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gulamerian Special user 581 Posts |
We use to do a Sword Suspension and for all the reasons listed above got rid of it and replaced it with a Broom Suspension. You may want to contact Denny Haney he did a Sword Suspension for years.
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Spellbinder Inner circle The Holy City of East Orange, NJ 6438 Posts |
For many years, the Wiz Kids included a Sword Suspension (performed to A. Katchaturian's "Sabre Dance") using three or four of the most acrobatic Wiz Kids.
Two of the kids did the lift of the third (the lightest) and the strongest had the duty at the neck end. A fourth was often used as a distraction at that moment of attachment by performing back flips across the stage in front of the others. If you don't have at least a couple of assistants besides the floatee, to assist with the lift and to help distract the audience at the prime moment both on and off, I would say consider another illusion. If you can get some dancers, go for it.
Professor Spellbinder
Professor Emeritus at the Turkey Buzzard Academy of Magik, Witchcraft and Wizardry http://www.magicnook.com Publisher of The Wizards' Journals |
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61magic Special user Sacramento California 775 Posts |
I have to agree with the others who have dropped the Sword Suspension in favor of a Broom Suspension.
All the reason above are right to the point, and you need an extra assistant to perform this safely.
Professor J. P. Fawkes
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cairo Elite user 406 Posts |
I once saw the three sword suspension done at a convention and the whole rig fell over. When the girl tried to get up she could barely move due to the harness and fell again and again trying to get up.
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Magic-Sam New user Australia 60 Posts |
Thanks all for your feedback, I have been considering purchasing a second hand model, but I think I will steer away from buying it. I do not want my assistant to be in an un-comfortable situation. I can imagine even with a extremely well made ha***** it would prove to put strain on the assistant.
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Quote:
On 2010-04-08 22:56, cairo wrote: I also seen a South American magician do this at an IBM Convention, the stand fell over, and I was told by others that is how they present it. The girl just laid there, the stand was hinged in the middle and to this day don't know if an accitent or the way it was intended by this famous magician. |
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Blair Marshall Inner circle Montreal, Canada 3660 Posts |
An interesting thing I once heard was that one performer used a loading tray for the 3 sword suspension, similar to what some perfomers used for the girl on sword piercing effect.
I would like to hear more about this, if someone knows. I believe it was an American performer, back about 30 years ago. I have both a Chu's sword suspension with a newer Cassini low profile base, and a Jack Hughes Sword Suspension also. Hughes' suspension does not have the same lifting issues as others re. the angle, as his sword design is different. (But the swords still look good, more modern look, almost science fiction today!) Blair
Visit My Facebook Fan Page At
www.Facebook.com/BlairMarshallMontrealMagician www.BlairMarshall.ca www.ShaZzamShow.com www.MontrealMagicien.com |
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Craig Dickens Veteran user 376 Posts |
I recall Bret Daniels using a loading tray when he performed at Abbotts years back. It resembled the Alice Through the Looking Glass stand except for a long slot cut in it so it could be slid out from under. If memory serves correctly he handled this alone.
e-mail at:magicaldickens@aol.com
website: www.dickensmagic.com |
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Blair Marshall Inner circle Montreal, Canada 3660 Posts |
Thanks Craig!!!! That's the type of stand I had heard is was.
B
Visit My Facebook Fan Page At
www.Facebook.com/BlairMarshallMontrealMagician www.BlairMarshall.ca www.ShaZzamShow.com www.MontrealMagicien.com |
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donrodrigo Special user U.S.A. and Europe 635 Posts |
This said and I agree with this thread. Permit me to add that often and In my opinion the assistant is seen to be to stiff during a suspention I feel that movement is important given certain situation.
Another point and this is not my opinion is to hypnotize your assistant by waving the hands or other please don't do this. Many harnesses should be costum made anyway. |
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maharajademagia Regular user 127 Posts |
After reading all the reviews one feels scared to perform this trick, which is kind of strange as in India this is a very popular illusion, as it is embeddes in the stories of Mahabharata. We should not forget that it was Gogia Pasha made this illusion famous.
The versions perfomed in India are not made by such well known names and the performance conditions are not so optimum but I have never seen any accident ever. It is true that this is not a two person illusion as the assistant has to be lifted and placed on the swords which requires two male assistants while the magician does the dirty work. The harness there sometime tied with ropes, and once a magician told me that the same harness was also used to do the Broom Stick Suspension. Really there is nothing difficult about the illusion as the H**** is quiet simple. You can check out the details in Patrick Page's book. I personally think it is more stable than the chair suspension. The picture posted by Spellbinder shows that the base is very stable as it is on an uneven surface and even young boys can perform it. On the positive side: It has not been over worked like the Broom Stick Suspension. It can be performed surrounded unlike Super X. The H**** can go down till the hips of your assistant or can be shot if she is fit. No special clothing required as just opening a few buttons on the back site of your assistants dress and you are ready to go. Her hair hide the harness. Lying down on your back is a very natural position. The placement of the H**** is hidden and does not effect the natural movement of the assistant. This is not true with the Broom Stick Suspension (BSS), unless you are using the H*** The Pendragons use. Unlike BSS the H***** is simple with no moving parts. The BSS broom is normally a tube which can break, here the parts are solid iron so safer. The position of the girls is the same a sleeping on the bed like where as the position of the girl in BSS is not natural. It is more stable than the Chair Suspension. Some how the chair suspension has always looked shakey to me. On the negative side: It does require an additional asistant to help you lift the girl, which is a plus for BSI. The girl does not have as much ease of movement when she is suspendid as in BSI. I do not own this illusion but definately want to perfom it as I have helped a few magicinas perform it and we have never faced any problem with it. Remember it is true classic and a trick becomes a true classic only if it is time tested. There is a trick to reduce the hookup timing and to make it easy. Please PM me if you want the details. |
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john wills Special user 939 Posts |
Of course this is a classic illusion.
Hans Klok performs it every day on his European Tour. |
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