Monday, May 24, 2010

Magic Test - Tips, Secrets and Thoughts. @ 3:36 PM

And just for those that cared, the Magic IG's test will be taking place on this coming Wednesday. As the same as previous years, you're required to show the judge panel a trick (prepare at least 2), and also to demonstrate

(1) Overhand shuffles (Top to bottom + bottom to top)
(2) Riffle shuffle
(3) One handed cut (aka Charlier cut)
(4) Tenkai palming (i.e. hiding your card in your hand while pretend to throw away your card)

Hmmm sounds easy to me. LOL. Anyways if you're looking for short-cuts into passing the test such as bribing the judges, then possibly Magic just ain't the right IG for you. It's all about the practice and improvement of the craft from within. Really.

You might have heard of "Self-working tricks", but for me, I think that technically, there's no such thing as a self working trick. There's always something for you to do and to take notice of within a trick. And never to forget, the overall presentation on your trick is crucial as well. No point showing the most visual trick without setting a reason on your motivation to change or to transpose it into something else. A simple patter can just make do, like "Let me try something with the 6 of Hearts, with just a light touch, it changes into the King of Spades". Sure it fights better than what I'm seeing from the new magicians, which patters around "See?", or "Watch" "I'm gonna fool the crap out of you with this".

Personality, Showmanship, and Confidence is what the judge panels would be looking out for. Much as a basis for an entertainer.

So for the tips and secrets..Two words - Ask and Practice. If in doubt do ask. No point spending 20 hours on a sleight which you've no clue on how the technical aspects are. For that I meant the overall package on how the deck/hands should look while executing the sleight. Angle management comes into play very often. Sleights like Tenkai Palms do make use of your skills to manage your angles. Do remember that whatever the audience sees is what they perceives. A slight flash of a forbidden angle will just give the trick away. So do ask when in doubt, and check with your close magician friends on stuffs like angles etc. Use a mirror as much as possible. You shall be your own judge. Ask yourself that can you fool yourself first before you fool the others?

Practice is possibly the most important thing that is, and it applies to not just magic itself. It is required everywhere. Practice makes perfect. Do keep that in mind. It's ok not getting the desired result on the first day. As much as I was practicing card flourishes such as Kryptonite, guess how long I took to learn it? Not days, not weeks, but months of constant hard-work. From building memorized thoughts into muscle memory, I can say that I'm a slow learner, but never as a quitter. Always try and attempt. Some might give the reason on their hand-size, which probably for some, will say it's their reason for not attempting moves and sleights. For me, I don't have overly sized hands. Often people will complain that their hand size are rather small, but after comparing it to mine, 7 out of 10 will have bigger palms than mine. It's really about the practice and the dedication.

Alright that's all for now. All the best for the test.
Dylan.

Be Awesome.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Magic Test - Tips, Secrets and Thoughts. @ 3:36 PM

And just for those that cared, the Magic IG's test will be taking place on this coming Wednesday. As the same as previous years, you're required to show the judge panel a trick (prepare at least 2), and also to demonstrate

(1) Overhand shuffles (Top to bottom + bottom to top)
(2) Riffle shuffle
(3) One handed cut (aka Charlier cut)
(4) Tenkai palming (i.e. hiding your card in your hand while pretend to throw away your card)

Hmmm sounds easy to me. LOL. Anyways if you're looking for short-cuts into passing the test such as bribing the judges, then possibly Magic just ain't the right IG for you. It's all about the practice and improvement of the craft from within. Really.

You might have heard of "Self-working tricks", but for me, I think that technically, there's no such thing as a self working trick. There's always something for you to do and to take notice of within a trick. And never to forget, the overall presentation on your trick is crucial as well. No point showing the most visual trick without setting a reason on your motivation to change or to transpose it into something else. A simple patter can just make do, like "Let me try something with the 6 of Hearts, with just a light touch, it changes into the King of Spades". Sure it fights better than what I'm seeing from the new magicians, which patters around "See?", or "Watch" "I'm gonna fool the crap out of you with this".

Personality, Showmanship, and Confidence is what the judge panels would be looking out for. Much as a basis for an entertainer.

So for the tips and secrets..Two words - Ask and Practice. If in doubt do ask. No point spending 20 hours on a sleight which you've no clue on how the technical aspects are. For that I meant the overall package on how the deck/hands should look while executing the sleight. Angle management comes into play very often. Sleights like Tenkai Palms do make use of your skills to manage your angles. Do remember that whatever the audience sees is what they perceives. A slight flash of a forbidden angle will just give the trick away. So do ask when in doubt, and check with your close magician friends on stuffs like angles etc. Use a mirror as much as possible. You shall be your own judge. Ask yourself that can you fool yourself first before you fool the others?

Practice is possibly the most important thing that is, and it applies to not just magic itself. It is required everywhere. Practice makes perfect. Do keep that in mind. It's ok not getting the desired result on the first day. As much as I was practicing card flourishes such as Kryptonite, guess how long I took to learn it? Not days, not weeks, but months of constant hard-work. From building memorized thoughts into muscle memory, I can say that I'm a slow learner, but never as a quitter. Always try and attempt. Some might give the reason on their hand-size, which probably for some, will say it's their reason for not attempting moves and sleights. For me, I don't have overly sized hands. Often people will complain that their hand size are rather small, but after comparing it to mine, 7 out of 10 will have bigger palms than mine. It's really about the practice and the dedication.

Alright that's all for now. All the best for the test.
Dylan.

Be Awesome.