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silverzer0 New user 62 Posts |
Anyone have this eBook?
"Body Tricks by Stephen Ablett" Description: Written in June 2006, this book contains 97 different magical based tricks stunts and effects that utilize the human body. Almost all of the tricks can be performed without additional props, and many can even be performed naked! This collection has taken years of research and development. Featuring many old-time classic effects that have been updated for the book, along with many brand-new tricks created just for this book. Running at 146 pages (In A4 Size), each trick is fully detailed with a selection of photographs to show the moves in each effect. There are 199 colour photographs, and each trick is divided by effect, method and performance. The book was originally compiled as a resource of tricks for those rare occasions when you are asked to perform, but have no props to hand. It was also utilized to compile a complete stage show on a cruise-ship, when the suitcase with the props in it went missing! It consist of close-up, cabaret and stage effects. http://www.magicmystery.co.uk/bodytricks.htm |
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Phil C Special user Ontario, Canada 903 Posts |
Sounds interesting.
I see there is going to be a DVD released soon. I am actually more interested in the DVD. |
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tropicalpenguin Veteran user 396 Posts |
I wonder how workable this stuff is. From the contents, it looks more like random optical illusions that we knew from when we were kids (hole in the hand comes to mind. I used to see it in every kid's magic book I read)
We'll just have to see
-The penguin has spoken
-How could 52 pieces of cardboard ever bring so much joy? |
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silverzer0 New user 62 Posts |
I think these would great to use with kids. At least that's my intention.
I also am debating waiting for the DVD, but the price of the pdf may be too hard to pass up! |
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Red Shadow Inner circle 1788 Posts |
Hi,
I reckon this is the best book ever written!!! However, I'm a bit biased... (I wrote it!) It really is the essential tricks that every magician needs to know. I cannot express how much knowing these tricks has enhanced my ability to entertain. Quite often I'm approached by people who want to see a quick trick, and rather than searching around for elastic bands, or for a coin or pen etc. I can perform a body trick. Even a simple one such as removing your thumb, when done correctly gets an amazing response. And that's one of the things I go into with this book. A number of people know the trick where you remove your thumb by imitating the other. But none of them can do it effectively. I go into detail about polishing this effect by wriggling the thumb, and curling in the other fingers to help with the angles. I also describe the smooth, clean motion of getting into position. Amongst the collection, there are numerous familiar tricks, as performed by David Copperfield, Penn + Teller, Derren Brown, Criss Angel etc. All available for you to learn with step by step photographs showing how they are to be done. The DVD Yes, A DVD is on its way, and is due for Christmas. The reason I am waiting on making it is because I will have access to numerous High Definition cameras, High-Definition editing suites and even a Blue-Screen studio should I wish to use it all in October. So it makes sense to wait a few months and produce a quality DVD for Christmas. The DVD will feature many of the tricks featured in the book, but not all. Some of them require an entire audience to be effective, and my budget won't allow for that expense. While others I know, but am simply not a master off, and don't feel qualifies to teach on video just yet. Even with just 40 tricks, it would be over two hours to demonstrate and explain them all. (Most magic videos I have only explain 1 trick!) I might also make it a collection of numerous volumes. Volume 1 as easy tricks (Which I can give to children to learn), Volume 2 as more advanced, for the serious magician tricks, and Volume 3 for hypnotic tricks. Anyway, its going to be a while before its ready, while the book is available now. Many Thanks, Stephen Ablett |
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silverzer0 New user 62 Posts |
Well, you sold me stephen!
I sent PayPal for this a little earlier and am now waiting it for to arrive in my e-mail! |
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VcosNJ Inner circle 1179 Posts |
I can't wait to hear your review. Body magic always interests me. I love the impromptu nature of it all.
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Phil C Special user Ontario, Canada 903 Posts |
I might actually get this too.
How many pages is this ebook? And I was wondering how much would the DVD be? Thanks |
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tropicalpenguin Veteran user 396 Posts |
I was given the opportunity to review this e-book, so here goes.
First off, there's a LOT to cover in this offering. The book is 150 pages long with too many effects to go over individually. The rules of the game are pretty simple: do something cool using nothing but your body. The only help can be from a spectator (obviously), your clothing (but only if it is something you could wear every day. Shirt sleeves and ties are included in this help) and maybe a wall or the floor. Each effect isn't really an effect per se, but really more of a little offering. I can see many of these just going in between your own effects rather than to be used as an entire show. These things can be pretty fun for the MC That said, a lot of these effects are common knowledge. Things like pulling off your thumb or (get this) stealing a young child's nose have been done by many a creepy distant uncle for decades. There were some new takes on some old tricks though. Stretching the thumb was a really nice (not to mention much less obvious) take on an old gag. I actually did it this evening to some friends just to mess with them. One was actually quite repulsed with it, much to my delight. There are some larger group type effects, but, again, many of these are common knowledge. Many of these have even been published before in various other books (with titles such as "bet you can, bet you can't" (I can't remember the exact books, but it's close enough). In many cases, the best presentation is as a simple "betcha", but, when mixed in appropriately with the rest of your act, these can add a nice simple touch that can enhance the magical experience. By far, one of the best things I found about the book was the "jokes" section at the end, which I have nicknamed "things that will save my ass one day" This is a plethora of one-liners and nice little ice-breakers that will answer almost any question that spectators can throw at you. (My personal favorite... "Can you make me disappear? Sure... lemme start with your wallet") Overall, for the asking price, this is a good buy if you are looking for a few little MC bits, if you are looking for some kind of transition between tricks, looking for something to do with your hands when you aren't using them, or something to win a few bar bets when your cups and balls routine goes south. I give it 3 out of five wands. Nothing ground-breaking but certainly a new taste for the industry.
-The penguin has spoken
-How could 52 pieces of cardboard ever bring so much joy? |
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Red Shadow Inner circle 1788 Posts |
Cheers for the review.
Yeah, I spent a good long time thinking up lots of magician jokes! I use many of them while making modelling balloons to keep the rest of the audience entertained. I just finished putting these videos together: Body Tricks http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doci......12023206 Cool Magician http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doci......25964654 Man Of Magic (Documentary) http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=812994763957999608 Stephen Ablett http://www.magicmystery.co.uk/book.htm |
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juan king Regular user Spanish 171 Posts |
Hey, I am liking this magic with the body. It is making sure I can always be performing magic if someone is saying for me to show them something.
I like the magic with the thumbs and things. I used to be putting my thumb through my flies like it is a man's part and making it wiggle about and all the girs are screaming. Then I am telling them it is really my thumb and they are all laughing like crazy. Maybe this trick can be added to the dvd maybe as a bonus section. I am happy to be giving my permission for this to be used.
Think not what magic can do for you, but what you can do for magic.
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Chris Inner circle lybrary.com 1177 Posts |
I have released more than 300 magic ebooks through Lybrary.com and I can say that "Body Tricks" is an excellent ebook. It should probably be called "Encyclopedia of Body Tricks" because there are almost 100 tricks described nicely categorized and very well described with photos and text. And for $14.99 it is a real bargain. Get it before Stephen decides this is too cheap a price. Books of that quality typically sell around $40. Get "Body Tricks" and two other ebooks by Stephen Ablett at Lybrary: http://www.lybrary.com/body-tricks-p-366.html (And while you are there I guarantee you will find other bargains among the 330+ magic ebooks.)
My favorite from "Body Tricks" is the impromptu Head Twister. This is outrageous good. You also get several classics like arm twister, levitations, arm elongation a.s.o. Several party stunts, jokes and even some mental effects are as well covered. Imagine you are at a party and forgot your deck of cards and coins are nowhere to be found. Just use your fingers, thumbs, nose, head, arms to do some mind blowing, freaky stuff. Or at the beach, nude or otherwise, you can perform a complete show. This is also great stuff to entertain the young ones. My son can't get enough of this kind of stuff. Best, Chris....
Lybrary.com preserving magic one book at a time.
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Zap Regular user 181 Posts |
I just purchased this ebook (based in large part on Chris' post about Impromptu Head Twister). I haven't read the whole book yet (it's BIG!), but I can say that this is definitely the best book ever written on this subject that I've seen, and I do have Body Magic by John Fisher (somewhat over-rated due to it's scarcity). Yes, of course, many of the effects are well-known--there are only so many things you can do with nothing but your body. But Stephen really has added touches that make the effects better, and to have them all in one place, with truly excellent color photographs (a big plus of ebooks) makes this an outstanding value. And, I would agree with Chris, the Impromptu Head Twister IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE EBOOK!!
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Xiqual Inner circle Upper left quadrant 4935 Posts |
The impromptu head twister is already in one of Andrew Mayne's books. I think he invented it.
I was shocked to see Meir Yedid's finger magic described in full in this book. Shinkoh's twisting arm illusion is in Mr. Ablett's book too. Banachek got ripped off too. PK touches is in there. Just one ripoff after another. The sad part is, all the above ripoffs are still being sold by the original creators, with much better descriptions. James Linn
Still with the Chinese circus
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Red Shadow Inner circle 1788 Posts |
There is no impromptu head twister in any of Andrew’s Mayne’s books. The closest he has is a trick with a towel, which is not impromptu.
Meir Yedid didn't invent any of the tricks, he simply popularized them with his finger fantasies act in the 1970's. I have not included many of the finger tricks and stretches that are demonstrated in his video, simply because even I was unable to do them myself. He does a routine where he vanishes each finger one by one, and then uses a knife and fake finger for the ending. The closest trick I have to his is the three finger Monte, which is actually a different trick, and was never performed by him. He uses a knife and fake finger, which is a prop, so this too has not been included. The vanishing finger routine is also not included in the book due to it being too difficult for the targeted audience. Therefore, there are no tricks of his that need crediting. Shinko was credited by Meir Yedid for the twisting arm illusion, but he did not invent it, it was devised by a trapeze artist in a circus in the 1870's. It is now in the public domain, and has since been released on numerous televised production (e.g. Magic’s greatest street magic revealed 6) The same goes for the Baldacci levitation, he too did not invent it. He simply made it famous by performing it on TV, and it was then known after his name. But it was shown to him by another unknown magician. He said this himself, when asked by Paul Harris on the effect. This too is now in the public domain, and has been shown on numerous shows. The kings rising levitation has not been included either. I contacted Cory, just like the others to make sure. The version in the book is the shoe & curb levitation. With that, there is no jacket for cover required, and you rise to double the height of the kings rising trick. In the recent copy, it was given additional treatment to separate the tricks further and make them completely different. Psycho-Kinetic Touches is also not Banacheks. He simply re-released a paper that was released by Milbourne Christopher first. But it was actually a fake psychic called Achille D'Angelo in the 17 century who released the first version. This is now all in the public domain, and belongs to no-one. The version in the book is called ‘Animal Aura’, which is my own routine. The method is also different, and improved upon. If you know how the original works, you can see how much better this new version is. Therefore, it is a different trick. There are a few acknowledgements in the book, such as Andrew Mayne with his finger through cheek. I e-mailed him several times in research for this book. But over a third of the tricks are brand new, which I devised myself, and the rest were public domain tricks. Eventually, their became no-one to credit. I know it must seem odd, but none of the effects belonged to any of those magicians you mentioned. If you do your homework, like I did. You would know this. At the very least, you could have asked me before trying to discredit me. There are 97 body tricks in this book. It is the most comprehensive collection in existence, and I believe the best book on the subject ever written. ku7uk3 http://www.magicmystery.co.uk/bodytricks.htm |
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andrewmayne V.I.P. 142 Posts |
Ku7uk3 (is that French?),
I was happy to lend material and help out with the book (which I look forward to seeing). Regarding your last post about my head twister (the towel version). Since the only prop required for my head twister (from Mad Mojo) is an unprepared towel, isn't that impromptu in the truest definition of the term? Andrew |
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Xiqual Inner circle Upper left quadrant 4935 Posts |
Quote:
Psycho-Kinetic Touches is also not Banacheks. He simply re-released a paper that was released by Milbourne Christopher first. But it was actually a fake psychic called Achille D'Angelo in the 17 century who released the first version. This is now all in the public domain, and belongs to no-one. Yes but you first saw it in Banacheks book. HE did all the digging. I'm sure you will say you never saw Banacheks method and you discovered it yourself. Quote:
The version in the book is called ‘Animal Aura? which is my own routine. The method is also different, and improved upon. If you know how the original works, you can see how much better this new version is. Therefore, it is a different trick. The method in your book is NOT different. I cannot see ANY difference. You say animal spirit guide, Banachek says ghost of Uncle Charlie. Quote:
I don't need to discredit you. You do a great job of that yourself. James Linn
Still with the Chinese circus
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Red Shadow Inner circle 1788 Posts |
Hi,
Andrew, thank-you once again for your input. (I e-mailed the book to you again last night). The towel head twister utilizes a prop (The towel). This is not an ordinary item to take around with you and so couldn't be classed as impromptu. It also has a couple of weaknesses. The neck is exposed which reveals how the trick is done to the spectator, and the towel is lose on the head, and would often fall off when turning your head under it. The version in my book uses your own t-shirt or shirt, which you lift over your head and stick your face through the neck hole. The bulk of the shirt below your face hides your neck, and because it goes over the head, it stays in place. With the face also having a set location (in the circle of the neck), it makes the trick a bit more convincing. I still like your version, I just think this one is slightly better. I honestly didn't think it would gain that much attention. I came up with it one morning while getting dressed. Stopped for the telephone as I was lifted my shirt and hey presto, the trick was born. I stuck it in their more of a page-filler than anything else. But I'm glad many of you like it. Personally, I think the two strongest tricks in the entire book are 'The perfect telephone trick' and 'True Love'. These are dynamite mind-reading effects that I came up with. They are no-prop, pure straight hitting mind-reading tricks which can be done anywhere at any time. (They really help pick up girls)! Anyone reading them, please try them out. In the perfect telephone trick, they simply think of an object and you tell them direct what they are thinking. It uses psychological and recognition ability to make it work. Its very simply, and I've had them screaming afterwards. James Linn. You obviously have not done the research into originality for these effects like I have done. There is no point arguing with you, since you havent done any research. Your just arguing for the sake of it. Banachek released a paper that was written by someone else. I'm not discrediting his contribution. He put the trick back on the map, and let the world know about it. He's a valued and well-respected magician. He also added his own teachings on the effects. That's why his book is like twenty pages long. You learn all the psychology behind it. Animal Aura in my book is a different trick, with a different method. It just has a similar effect to his trick. It is also only a couple of pages long. But its like vanishing a coin. There are several hundreds way to do it and each one of them has been published, but its always going to be the same trick. The difference is the method, and the presentation. If you want proof of my research into the creators of the effects, then Andrew who posted just above yours (Nice-timing by-the way!) will vouch that I asked him several times over including some of his tricks. I also left out a number off effects that are only availble in his book Body Morphin, so for an absolute complete collection, you need his book. I also recomend Joe Russels dvd 'Dis-jointed' as another tricks. Anyway, I type too much in my posts!!! From the magician so good, he can turn Cola into Pepsi! Steve |
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andrewmayne V.I.P. 142 Posts |
Steve,
"The towel head twister utilizes a prop (The towel). This is not an ordinary item to take around with you and so couldn't be classed as impromptu." My Martin Gardner Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic is filled with tricks using pencils, dinner rolls, money and other "props" found in every home. The use of an unprepared prop that's readily available just about anywhere doesn't mean something isn't impromptu. Since your variation requires a particular kind of shirt it's no more impromptu than mine. As far as the weaknesses you pointed out I have to disagree. When the head is twisted in my version the towel wraps around the neck concealing that point. I've also never ever had the towel fall off my head. The superiority of lifting your shirt over your head so you look like Kenny from South Park versus mine which makes you like a back row extra from Lawrence of Arabia is a matter of personal taste. It's really a minor matter, but I just wanted to clarify my point. Andrew |
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Banachek V.I.P. Houston 1086 Posts |
Just a clarification, I did not re release a paper that was out before. I took and idea in the Melbourne book, credited it, refined it and made it a usable piece of work. Re-release sounds like plagiarism and such an accustation would be liable.
"He simply re-released a paper that was released by Milbourne Christopher first. But it was actually a fake psychic called Achille D'Angelo in the 17 century who released the first version." Also, if one wants to be accurate on the history, Achille did not release a version. He claimed to be real. People came to him to be healed. Christopher watched him, he would perform the "touch" in a small room with only a few people. His "Time/Space moment came when he fell into the person by accident as he "tipped" over a light cord. Very different. It seems that some are taking my words from my book, assuming, and not reading the original text by Christopher. Achille claimed to be able to touch people with his power. Not have others do it. This often happens when one gives proper credit. Others think they can just quote it the credit as if they now have all the history and pretend they read the original. They think that if an author credits someone else it is now and excuse for them to say that it was old prior to the author and there for fair game. In this particular case if one read the original, one would know the history of Achille. This would akin to saying Geller put the first book out no how to bend metal using trickery I just don't see the proper research into these effects from the coments made above I see bad assumptions and I have not even seen the book yet.
In thoughts and Friendship
Banachek Campus Performer of the Year two years in a row Year 2000 Campus Novelty Act PEA Creativity Award Recipient http://www.banachek.com |
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