Hello, I have been reading and purchasing and learning and practicing for a couple of months now and have come to a sort of dilemma.

I have some nerve damage in my left hand from an assault close to 6 years ago now. For a year my left arm was completely limp and I couldn't do much of anything but after much patience and time and many kinds of therapy I believe I have healed as much as I'm going to. Although I can feel slight pressure, I've lost most feeling in my thumb index and middle fingers of my left hand and some strength and range of motion.

I was wondering if anyone here might be in or know of someone in a similar situation that I can talk with to see what they might have done to work around certain things. For example I'm pretty frustrated that I'm finding it near impossible to do any kind of DL to do something as simple as an ambitious card routine. I haven't moved forward really practicing other sleights because of it and find it a bit discouraging.

I did a search on the forums for "disabled magicians" and came across the following thread and wonder if anything ever came out of this? http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=40
If the section is up maybe someone could lead me in the direction, I couldn't find it.

Just recently with the release of Peter Turner's Freeform Mentalism I have gained an interest in mentalism and was thinking maybe I should just give up on things that involve sleights and such. I certainly know it would be the easier thing to do but before that, I want to check and see if there's ways to work around having a problem like mine. Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this and any comments and thoughts are welcome!

Have you tried things like the DL the other way around? I'm pretty sure I could do a DL on a deck that someone else was holding as the lifting hand is doing most of the work. A bit more misdirection would be required as you couldn't get a pinky break with one hand, but it's certainly possible. Also, with coin magic, my main hand does most of the work in my routines. For instance, in Roth's Shelled Coins Across, the left hand mostly just stays flat as the right hand picks up and replaces coins. I recently got turbo stick, which only uses one hand and gets crazy reactions. So I think there are plenty of sleight of hand based routines that you would be able to do. Just don't focus so much on cards and see what other things take your fancy

I've been thinking pretty obsessively about a variety of styles of magic for roughly 7 months now. I do not face your challenges. Nevertheless, with the demands of life being what they are, I am limited in my ability to acquire certain sleights, and am wary of conceiving of tricks and routines that depend on them. (My wife is a frank critic). I've been thinking about floating spheres several days now -- and there, too, I see limits. I could do the floating sphere badly, perhaps, but have no wish to dishonor such a trick by doing it badly, and doubt I have the time to invest to spend years learning to do it well, in the manner of some of the generous and very experienced souls in this forum. This is simply to echo back to you that your constraints are real, but constraints are pervasive. However, there is a glorious world of apparatus out there, which does not require the unforgiving exactitude of card/coin sleights, but which nevertheless from this vantage point is amazing and feels essentially bottomless. Acquiring apparatus is expensive, but after several months of contemplation (and perhaps acquisition is not even necessary), you begin to intuit, in the manner of learning to think mathematically, how to create, approach, and then, fumblingly, solve your own set of curiosities/problems, and that is really cool. Regards.

This might offer you some inspiration :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StKW1BoRpus

David:I have not tried doing things like a DL in someone else's hand. I have tried using my right hand holding the deck and I suppose with lots of practice I suppose could eventually get used to it, but it just feels extremely ackward even though it's something I'm just learning lol. I will be looking into those effects you mentioned here in a bit.

pkessler:I also have not performed anything for anybody precisely because I'm afraid I cant do it well enough yet. But I am excited I have come across a few things that don't really require any difficult handlings like some "self workers" in Royal Road to Card Magic. Still I feel like I need more practice to figure out patter and routine type of stuff as far as that goes.

Bulla that is very inspirational, I have what I consider a very small and somewhat insignificant (as far as my life goes) issue and find it extremely admirable that others continue to go for their goals despite any obstacles other magicians have come to face.

Thanks for your responses! =)

5ublim3,

I would say that magic is really entertainment. I don't think it is so important whether you could do a DL. I would suggest you put your brains to work on how you can raise the bar of entertainment higher than you ever have.

Some of my most entertaining routines have no sleights at all and involve the participants the most.

KJ

Just a note: I didn't mean to do a DL while they hold the deck! I was just exaggerating to point out that one hand does the majority of the work. Find the sleights that work for you and look into the non sleight stuff.

Good luck on the journey

First of all, I would say don't give up. You may never get all the way to where you were before your injury. Continuing to work though may have some advantages even if you never get those sleights back with your injured hand. Second, try to learn those sleights with the opposite hand. It will be frustrating at first, but you can get there. Look into the work of René Leveland a magician who has the same predicament as yourself. He has a series of videos out that teach his effects and how to do one-handed sleight of hand. Here is a Youtube video of him performing from a magic special some years back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdUgY5MzuyI. Third, you could switch from sleight of hand to gaffed card magic, although there is still some card handling involved, even the DL could come into play. Fourth, mentalism could be the way to go, it all depends on what you want to do. Good Luck!

I agree with MRSharpe. There are so many magicians that have succeeded with disabilities (and I would be first to admit that I am jealous of their skills and success). Some of them were born with them others have become disabled. Cardini, Wayne Dobson, Rene Leveland, Richard Turner, and so many others. Just look around and you'll find inspiration all around.

Never give up on something if you find it enjoyable. There are so many "rooms of magic" as Eugene Burger would say, find the one that makes you comfortable. Comedy magic might be an avenue to explore, your so called "handicap" becomes a vehicle to open some doors of possibilities. Check out what Richard Turner and Rene Lavand have done. Also check the work of Meir Yedid, his story is inspirational.

DLs are done withe the right hand. If you can hold a pinky break (you didn't mention anything about your pinky), the DL shouldn't be a problem.

Thank you all for the votes of confidence. I've talked to several people who have been quite helpful. I guess what I'm having trouble doing is getting the break under x number of cards metaljohn. I cant feel how many cards I push over, I seem to be lacking in strength to get a pinky count or to push with the thumb. I am hoping I get the strength as I continue to practice though. My whole forearm seems to get shaky after just a few minutes of playing right now lol.

Maybe continuing to practice will serve double-duty as a form of physical therapy, too.

If you need inspiration as to what a one handed person can do magic wise look no further then Rene Lavand, the man is a master. He lost one of his hands completely in a car crash when he was only young. Also study Wayne Dobson he has multiple sclerosis which affects his ability to do most things able magicians can do so he has created a brand of magic that is hands-off.

Magically

Aus

Is it card magic that you really want to do? Or any magic?

With good routining, it is possible to use all self-working tricks and make a fantastic show out of it. One of my favorite simple card tricks is done all by the spectator. In fact, it could be done over the phone. And it is a good trick.

Bob Longe has a great version of Out Of This World in one of his books that I think is actually superior for most purposes than the standard version. In his, only about half the deck gets used and the spectator can shuffle the deck first. On your part, all you have to be able to do is pull a card at a time from a deck that is fanned toward you and turn over a stack of cards on the table. That's it.

All that said, for most of what I do (hobby level stuff, nothing really fancy) I use only one card trick. That's card through handkerchief (see Mark Wilson's book) and it does take a bit of work from the left hand.

I like ropes, rings, cups and balls, and egg bag. None of this takes the fine motor control of a DL (I still can't do one properly) and all of it is fun to do and fun to watch.

Don't give up on what you love. If you love magic, find the tricks you can do and make those work right for you.

-Patrick

Im not exactly sure where I want to go with my studies and practicing. Ive always been drawn towards card tricks though,it just seems most practical (most anyone anywhere could get a hold of a deck of cards) unlike ropes rings and cups and balls unless you yourself carry it around. I am just looking at this as a hobby I enjoy for the time being.

I may have made a mistake by going to the penguin website and ordering a ton of stuff that I thought looked cool without really knowing what I was getting into. Still I would like to be able to make use of it all. Knowing the little bit Ido know though as far as methods go I can tell somewhat whether or not I MAY be able to do something by watching the demos and thankfully have realized there are things I should maybe steer clear from. I did look at some ofbthe stuff they have from Wayne Dobson and Rene Lavand and saw some of their teaching is specifically for people who have problems with their hands but some reviews have kind of scared me off like especially Rene's because though its meant for doing with one hand, Its not for beginners. I've also talked a little to a magician who has given me some inspiration via pm and he let me know that he has plans to somehow publish some work about performing with injured hands in the near future so I look forward to seeing what may happen there.

On another note I keep reading more and more on mentalism and think I might end up taking that route. Ive been reading and watching a lot of Peter Turner's material and just really enjoy it. Ive started watching (about halfway through) Richard Osterland in the 13 steps to get some of the basics as I don't quite understand everything Mr Turner talks about and also got some of Mr Kenton Knepper's ebooks and notes.

I'm still exploring to find what I like best. What really sucks is how pricey all of this gets so quick! :/ but regardless of what I get into I am really enjoying learning it all and wouldnt ever see it as having wasted my money.

Oh I forgot, I wanted to thank everybody once again for the replies! I have read and pondered upon what evryone has said and it has all been helpful in the decisions Ive made since originally posting this.

Definitely take a look at Mahdi Gilbert's performances also. He does some amazing stuff - and he has had to create many of his own techniques. It seems like there used to be more videos of him online, but this will give you the idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=641qaPBnpNM

Regarding cards and coins, join a magic club, or hang at the magic shop. Show what you can do, describe what you want to do, and advanced magicians should help you figure out moves that work for you.
There is also a lot of magic you can do with limited hand sensitivity, including rubber band and rope magic. Mentalism too is a great idea.

P!

After doing some looking.online and through phone books it seems there are no magicians or stores/clubs/organizations/brotherhoods/associations etc. in or around a pretty big radius. Id guess 100 to 200 miles. I live in small town Ia and rarely have a need to head that far away from home but I may just have to make the trip sometime after getting some more practice. I have some problems with rubber bands but I havent looked at any rope stuff. thanks for the suggestions Ado