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TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
My issue is that I am somewhat addicted to trying to learn every move I hear or read about. It makes me uncomfortable to know there are so many moves that I am not acquainted with. In some ways that may not sound like a terribly bad habit, except that it has had at least one negative consequence. I NEVER perfect a trick or effect b/c I'm too soon moving on to learn something else. For example, right now I am fighting the urge to learn the spread pass although I presently have no need of it. In the few years I've been studying card magic I have story-boarded about 40-50 tricks, none of which I can perform off the top of my head; none of which I feel I brought to performance level (except in front of the wife). I need to get a grip and limit my penchant for forging ahead prematurely. Part of the problem is I think that I may be more interested in knowing how a trick is done than I am in performing it well. This is exacerbated by the Café's discussion boards constantly revealing a trick, book, DVD, or practitioner that I have not been aware of. How do you folks resist taking the bait and jump to something new and "exciting"? Is it more than just discipline and focus?
Have any of you had this motivation to prematurely jump to another trick so as to learn a new sleight or effect? Did you ever get it under control? If so, any hints on how you did it would be greatly appreciated. It's strange b/c before retiring I was a research scientist and then an attorney, two endeavors where you respect the careful completion of a piece of work. Thus, I do have some discipline, but I should probably try and kick it up a notch or two, or three.
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
Boomer Special user Prosper, TX 666 Posts |
@TeddyBoy,
As an Engineer, I call it SoS. Shiny Object Syndrome, and I am afflicted with it quite severely such as yourself. If you find an answer, I would love to hear it. Dave |
Wizuriel New user 53 Posts |
What works for me is forcing myself out of my comfort zone.
Make a small social media post to your friends saying every 2 weeks your going to perform 1 trick on YouTube to share. You can make these video's semi private. Try to keep to the routine and force yourself to get something ready to perform before moving on. It sounds like you hand a ton of stuff nearly there already so should start easy and ramp up. |
TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
Boomer, it must be our inner child. I was not very disciplined in the "wanting" department and it has plagued me all along the way. Maybe biopharma will come up with a discipline-enhancing formula.
Wizuriel, this is a good idea except I don't have any friends in or around NYC anymore. Just a wife who is always going to tell me I did good.
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
Boomer Special user Prosper, TX 666 Posts |
@TeddyBoy,
Luckily my wife let's me know when I screw up (yea, not just with magic either). She also gives great praise when something works (yes, again, not just with magic). @Wizuriel Right now I'm working on 'The Spectator's Straight Flush I' from Subtle Card Creations Vol. 1 https://www.conjuringarchive.com/list/bo......ht=11370 Maybe one of these days I'll film myself doing it and share it with all ya'll. Dave |
Boomer Special user Prosper, TX 666 Posts |
Maybe you're wondering why I chose that particular one?
I picked up the book, started flipping pages, stuck my finger in and said I'm going to start my journey. It uses an injog, running cards, pinky break, a double cut. I thought what a great starting point. Dave |
Rebis New user Verona, Italy 54 Posts |
I've been falling on this SoS (credits to Boomer for this) for quite a few years when studying Piano.
The day I realized both how dangerous and how helpful SoS has been to my musical developement, progress got a 300% boost. It's dangerous because you don't get to really MASTER anything, as you may have noticed. But on the other hand, keeping that little piece of SoS, keeping the "inner child" alive is what makes you discover hidden gems. As a professional teacher, I'm striving to be the best possible student regarding card magic, and I think that devoting a little bit of time just to "fiddle" on new moves, principles, reading one more book or watching one more DVD can really make a difference.... as long as it's only a part (say..10%?) of you practice. |
TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
Right Rebis "as long as it's only a part." Hours-wise, it is a small part, but internally it is a much bigger force. Last night I finally gave in to learn the spread pass, while interrupting my practice of Darwin Ortiz's Ultimate Interchange, a very busy and difficult-for-me trick. It is a lot of card hiding within small packets, double lifts and false cuts, i.e., a lot of useful stuff. But I think I may be more interested in knowing HOW things are done than actually doing them.
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
Ronin Loyal user Martinez,CA 216 Posts |
I'm a little envious of your position in some ways, Ted. You have all this energy directed at learning as many sleights and routines as you can, getting into some pretty complicated and fascinating stuff. To me, it sounds like you're something of a collector, and if this is what gives you greatest joy in magic, I say go for it.
But it does keep you from building a performing repertoire. It sounds like your opportunities for performance are awfully limited, and that's one of the unspoken secrets of magic: if you want to perform, you have to devote energy to creating performance opportunities. I'm lucky enough to perform regularly (or, at least I was before COVID), and so I have very much a performer's mentality--I want to have a reliable, entertaining working repertoire, and almost all of my energies in magic are focused on building and maintaining that. I don't study passes and card controls, because I have a couple of good, reliable card controls in hand (chosen after a long period of trying out various options). I will probably someday put work into learning some version of the classic pass, but only if I have a specific need for it. Same goes for second dealing and the classic force and many, many other moves. When addressing the challenge of building a performing repertoire, of moving from the role of collector of moves and secrets to performer of magic, I've always found Eugene Burger's advice to be a big help: learn *one* trick well. Then, a second one. And build a repertoire from there. I really have a hard time focusing on developing more than one new effect or routine at a time, so I generally focus on them one at a time, when I'm adding new material. If you haven't read Eugene's book, "The Performance of Close-Up Magic" I strongly recommend you take a look--he discusses the "learn one trick" approach in the second to last chapter, and the entire book is one of the most enjoyable magic reads in my library. Eugene had such a strong reputation as a teacher in part because he had such an interesting and approachable writing style in his books. So I hope the joy of discovery in magic keeps you going. Performing for audiences is a different challenge, requiring additional skills and focus. But magic is kept alive in no small part by people like you who are "more interested in knowing HOW things are done than actually doing them."
David Hirata
www.thingsimpossible.com "Life is a combination of magic and pasta." --Federico Fellini |
Rebis New user Verona, Italy 54 Posts |
Well I think that's pretty normal too.
I don't know how long you've been practicing the art, but from your first post I assume you're not a baby, and since we're in the "New to magic" section let's say that you're not a professional magician, nor aspirin to a career in magic (correct me if I'm wrong). You're retired (right?), and from your CV as lawyer and researcher we can say that you did show the world what you're worth: and that's the beauty of your age. My best students are retired people: they are wise enough not to pretend to become the best in no time; they know that anything you want to pursue in life will cost you sacrifice; they tend to invest their time only in tasks that they intend to accomplish and, well... they have more spare time than they wish! Mind you, I said they are my best students, not the best performer! The only downside is that.. they still are adults (let's say: 21+ human beings): this means that they have forgotten what means to start from the basics. Did you manage to become totally proficient with the spoon before getting your fork degree, proceeding to your knives PhD? (well, safety issues aside...) Has anyone told you to master your right string before you can properly tie your shoes? Or -and that's nearer to the point- are you sure you were the grand master of shoulders before you even dared to move your elbows? Let alone talking. If you were like me, you even tried to talk, scream, cry and eat on the same time -a few times!-, before learning that this could choke you. At the beginning of any art, learning a new move/concept/whatever is 10x more difficult, since you're first of all learning something new of yourself; secondly, you're working on at least 3-4 different levels (coordination, mobility, pure muscular development, memory, proprioception, etc..), and only thirdly you are learning the actual move/concept/whatever! Let alone the lack of "references" or "hooks" to other moves/concepts/whatevers that do (or will!) speed up your learning experience. Or at least that's my excuse for sucking with cards Sorry for the long post and for my English! |
TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
Ronin, thanks for your thoughts. You really nailed it when you referred to me being a collector. That is EXACTLY what I am, but I really enjoy it. But I still want to build a repertoire, even if it is an ever-changing one. After reading Giobbi, Lorayne, Ortiz, LePaul and others, I cannot understand how a performer with a limited, albeit excellent, repertoire can be intellectually satisfied knowing all the great stuff out there. I truly applaud your focus and discipline. I keep telling myself I will give it a try if I have a source of spectators. However, I do not aspire to perform professionally.
Rebis, thanks for your in depth comments. Don't worry about the length of your post as it is not easy for me to get meaningful responses. Before I forget, I have seen much of Italy from Sicily to the Val d'Aosta and am still in awe of the beauty, history and foods of Italy. I have not yet been to Verona [or Bologna], but I hope to include Verona in my dream of visiting the Dolomiti. I hope that geographically makes sense. I have been practicing continuously (but part time) for about 10 years starting with the Royal Road and Card College 1-4 and two Harry Lorayne books, and various DVDs. I have not rushed through them, so although not a performer I feel somewhat grounded in the art. Due to my wife's health issues I cannot spend as much time as I would like. However, the number of tricks I have learned and recorded in story boards would definitely be enough for a brief, 30 min performance, if I spent time working on improving them. Maybe I'll develop a little show for family by next Thanksgiving,
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
dustrod Loyal user Western Wisconsin, USA, Earth 233 Posts |
Teddy,
Have you tried getting out a notebook and keeping your sleights and effects prioritized? I also get enjoyment from trying out every effect and sleight I come across so here's my system: First of all, when I come across a new effect that I think may be in my top 10 best I write it down and take the extra time to keep it in my long term memory and work it out until I can do it in my sleep. During this time I'm still reading and trying out new effects and sleights but more for entertainment. I don't overwhelm myself by thinking I need to be serious about every one I come across. My top 10 is a rotating list. I'm still a newbie so it doesn't take much for an effect to come along and make it to my top 10 and when it does, I'll demote one of my other effects but it's still written down in my notebook as one of my more powerful effects. For sleights, I'm in the process of making a list of them sorted out in such a way that it might read "controlling top card to 2nd from top" or "reversing a selected card" etc. Once I have my list, for entertainment purposes I'll keep adding every sleight I come across but I'll be choosing my favorite method or 2 from each category and learning them like the back of my hand. That's how I stay organized with my categories of Top 10, previous Top 10, and just for entertainment value sleights and effects. |
TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
Dustrod, that is really impressive. I will give it a shot, however if it were in me I think I would have seen it by now. I have calmed down a bit and still working on it. As an illustration, when I started, I read a book by a vendor/author in the UK (Dominic Reyes) about how to practice- things like amount of time to spend in the morning and night. The point is I took out my calculator and computed that his instructions would have taught me only 18 effects for the year. ONLY! I was so dumb. I'd give a small toe if I could master 18 tricks in a year. Part of the problem is the scientist in me. I want to know how things are done more than I want to practice, practice...until I reach performance level. That's why I treat almost every effect so intensely, learn and move on. But I eventually forget what I learned so it is not productive. Maybe I need to be more goal-oriented; toward performing.
Anyway, do you use a spreadsheet application, or a notebook...?
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
dustrod Loyal user Western Wisconsin, USA, Earth 233 Posts |
I can definitely understand where you're coming from. Personally, I use notebooks. I'm still perfecting my system. I have a cheap notebook for jotting stuff down, a nice hardcover notebook with a nice pen for my favorite effects (I treat it as if it's going to be past down generations after me lol), and then I also have Post-It notes I keep in my books for the stuff I like but don't feel like writing down or may just need for future reference.
Maybe just start with mastering one new effect... Keep reading, learning, & moving on like you've been doing but tell yourself in the meantime the next effect you come across that you really like, you're going to master it and perform it better than anyone else. That way you only have to remember one trick and practicing it a few times a week won't eat up a bunch of time. And resist the urge to show it to anybody until you are proud of your level of performance with it. That's what I did, and one trick became 2, 2 became 3. Although I'm still guilty of not giving the effects I learn the proper attention before I get curious and read more and more but it's helped me stay grounded and get the more out of my reading and curiosity addiction. |
TeddyBoy Special user New York, NY 595 Posts |
I will give this a try, thanks. I started a spreadsheet with Excel, but never really developed it. What may be a coincidence is that I am now working through Darwin Ortiz's At the Card Table. In this book, the table of contents list each effect AND, the important sleights that are important. This may be a good model for me to start with.
So many sleights...so little time.
"Slow...deliberate...natural." Bill Tarr Cheers, Teddy |
dustrod Loyal user Western Wisconsin, USA, Earth 233 Posts |
Sweet. I really liked that book but there was one effect I remember being a nightmare for me to learn. I can't remember which one but it's the longest one in there where there's like a 10 card reveal and at some point I must have missed a direction.
It was super frustrating. I don't think I ever did find which part I kept missing but after like the 4th reveal it would never work for me. I spent hours re-stacking the deck and starting over and every time I'd look for what I did wrong or what I was missing in the print but I'd make the same mistake. Aside from that lol, I have super fun memories of reading through that book. |
Tjs3000 New user 15 Posts |
Thanks for this post, teddy. I very much have the same issue... And live in my own head with it.. Nice to see it discussed.
This time around I'M trying a bit more disciplined approach. Similar to Dustrod I keep a notebook.. Mostly foundational things I want to have nailed down.. Along with wishlist type stuff for later on. My goal is to have a handful of things that I can build my ideas around. I have a sense of the things I want to perform so I'm building my toolset around things I'll need to accomplish them...utilities. I work on that stuff daily along with a handful of tricks that utilize them.. I also let my mind roam and buy too many things from the magic sites. Trying to reduce those impulse buys and keep my focus.. But man is it tough when it's so easy to buy these instant downloads etc. Hl |
Mr. Woolery Inner circle Fairbanks, AK 2149 Posts |
Two things that have worked for me:
I do a monthly online meeting with two other guys who are into the same sort of magic I am. We have to each perform one routine for the other guys every meeting. Often, there’s a theme we try to follow, but the important thing is to show something and get honest feedback. Kind, but honest. Commit to a performance. Prior to Covid, I was asked to perform at a friend’s Halloween party. It made me do the work of putting what I know into an actual show that worked for the venue. In both cases, we are talking about accountability to others. It really helps me to get focused if I know I have to do something on a schedule. Patrick |
Nikodemus Inner circle 1139 Posts |
I spend a lot of time "researching" trying to find tricks that are within my limited skill-set, but still pretty powerful. I enjoy the process, but I agree it can easily become a compulsion.
I found learning a stack (Joyal) was very fulfilling. It provided me with a challenge AND opened the door to perform powerful effects without advanced sleights. I have a very limited repertoire of tricks that I can perform well. I am slowly expanding this. So my advice would be to cherry-pick the best material you already know, and then really nail a handful of items. |
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