Think Back...

[Dylan P.]

Hey guys,

I just want you all to stop using Facebook, or Myspace, or AIM for a minute and REALLY think back. Think back to the time when you were just starting magic. Ask yourself questions that will help you remember why.

"What got me into magic?"
"What was my first Trick?"
" Who encouraged me as I went?"

Now, after you have thought long and hard about this, I would like you to again think very hard about this: "What made you stick with magic, and why do you like to perform it?"

A lot of people will say: "I like to amaze people" or "The reactions are awsome.". But that's not what I mean at all. I mean WHY DO YOU STILL PERFORM IT???

Think about it, you know the secrets of the tricks so it doesn't amaze you when you perform it, because it is second nature. Something that can be viewed as extraordinary or out of the ordinary to a layman, is nothing more than "a sleight" to you. Many people will say: "Well, I still like to see their reactions." Well, okay, that's nice, but think way back...When you were first starting out. You sucked at first!!! You didn't fool anybody.

And I don't care who you were...when you first started learning, you didn't practice your first trick at all. You learned it and ran up to mom or dad and yelled: "Look at this." And then they smiled and said: "I saw that."

So what kept you going at that point in time. You didn't get good reactions because, face it, you were a terrible magician with no showmanship or skill yet. So why didn't you quit right then, after all the trick wasn't amazing to you, because you knew the secret, and the reactions weren't good, so you didn't work for reactions.

So why did you stick with it???

 

[Shakutau]

Hey Dylan, has been a while since i seen you around these ends. Nice seeing you back.

I started magic because there was a certain part that seduced me. I wasn't obsessed, nor was it about the girls, not even false fame. There was a hidden interest which called to my attention, i was a kid then. I thought i didnt know.

If i were to be completely honest with myself, i started magic because i wanted it to be mine. I saw back then, no video game, no book, no card collecting game would have a long lasting span of enjoyment if compared to magic. I saw it and focused it as a toy, but knew there was something in this "toy" that made it more then a toy. I didnt focus on it much though, i could have cared less, i just wanted to learn some tricks.

No one encouraged me to carry on magic except my friend MentalState. I dont count the reactions i got from school as encouragement, just a shallow excuse for false fame around the crowds. My family thought i was an idiot to even start "being a clown" (as my dad put it - still does). But i still stuck with it though, because that part that seduced me, was actually obsession. I denied it at first.

I chose magic because there was something about it that i could relate to. Performing for people actually started taking my interest when i found out that is the only way i can improve. I was a junkie too, i gave up video games and my webcomics for magic (for a time).

 

[SamRochon]

And I don't care who you were...when you first started learning, you didn't practice your first trick at all. You learned it and ran up to mom or dad and yelled: "Look at this." And then they smiled and said: "I saw that."

So what kept you going at that point in time. You didn't get good reactions because, face it, you were a terrible magician with no showmanship or skill yet. So why didn't you quit right then, after all the trick wasn't amazing to you, because you knew the secret, and the reactions weren't good, so you didn't work for reactions.

So why did you stick with it???

Haha! Ooh, I remember. That was me to a tee.
What kept me going?
I saw how other magicians were getting reactions, fooling people with the same things I was trying to. So why can't I? Obviously it's possible, I've seen done on TV and the internet.

I remember when I first fooled my little brother with a french drop, I just kept doing it over and over, happy that I was actually fooling someone.
Oh how far we have come...

 

[penguincdude]

I'd say what got me started was Criss Angel. I loved his show at the time and I ran to youtube and would look up how to do his tricks and found some pretty bpring tricks along the way. Then my Dad had some girl from his work visit and I showed her all my stupid tricks and somehow she found them amazing. The look on her face when I performed a terrible Balcuddi levitation was priceless. After that I figured I wanted to get everyone to act the same way and I realized it would be harder for some people so I'd just have to learn better tricks.

That was when I was introduced to Dan and Dave and The Trilogy. But that's a whole other story.....

 

[ajp500]

WARNING- Really long..

One of my friends showed me a card trick (he only knew like three tricks). I
was so amazed with it.

(xbox 360 broke down)

So i was really board and came across magic again by watching Angel and Blaine on tv wondering how they would do all of this...

So of course i search online and found some site that taught free card tricks. I looked around there found some very basic stuff. So on my boring summer days i looked on the site and learned tricks to show to my family.

About two months of this my dad really wanted me to go to a magic shop. So we found one i went there and purchesed....

A close up mat
Stripper deck(plus book)
Invisable deck
Sponge balls (plus book)
Easy to master card miracles volume 8

From then on i just kept going back to that shop to buy more and more.

Then i learned there was a part time teen magicain teacher who gave private lessons. I stuck with that teacher who taught me alot of tricks and encouraged me to write scripts for all of my tricks.

That teacher has helped me ever scence...


So if it was not for my xbox breaking down and my friend or even criss angel... I would never be into magic...

I stuck with it because i had nothing else to do.. And then once i went to that shop i just went on a roll and it naturaly became somthing i found to like.

And thats my story!

 

[Faust]

For me, it was the bad reactions. When I didn't perform well and people were not amused, it made me try harder, because I knew that someday I could be good enough to amuse anyone and everyone and be the life of the party. When I met a heckler at school(where I first started performing, which was like a crucible for a beginner) it made me want to go home, rethink what I was doing and cut the excess so the next day I could get them.

So I guess negativity helps us get over the humps and pushes us to get better.

 

[Jacob L]

I hope this thread gets some hits, this is a really good topic.

I love entertaining people and making them smile, and when I started to see magic on youtube, (just doing searches, I was bored). I saw tricks that seemed incredible (who wouldnt? with no knowledge of even a double lift, they were miracles to me.)

I wanted be the person doing the trick, and actually bought the Trilogy as my first DVD (not the brightest idea). But that led me to other magicians, and eventually this site.
Yeah i sucked at the tricks on the Trilogy, but I hate to quit something, and was determined to get them down to some extent.
The first trick I did was "the greatest card trick in the world." and completley fooled my brother. That success was motivation to pursue this more, and now here I am.

 

[LOSTMYMINDLETMEREADYOURS]

the reason i stayed in magic is because i wanted a gangster to run around the city screaming because of my magic

 

[[R.C]]

What actually got me started was a book. My dad had bought a book with many card tricks in yet around three or four years ago. About one year ago, right around now, I wanted to read some I that book. Alas, I could not find it. I decided to use what I had, and began searching the Internet for magic. That night I did actually what you said, I learned a trick, and immediatkey ran out and showed them to my father. I actually fooled him on some, and hose few reactions I got made me want to keep trying. I believe my first trick was either a key card trick or a one step ACR. I probably showed h ten or fifteen tricks that single night.

My Dad was the main person supporting me at first. I had gotten into magic right before we went on vacation. Before we left (we were gone for 2 weeks) I loaded my iPod with Brad Christian. Had 2 dvds I believe. Once I began getting more confident, I started to show my grandparents. They loved it, and became just as supportive. I also showed some magic to my aunt, uncle, and cousins. They all seemed to enjoy it, however my aunt did ridiule me. She said "oh, we bought our son a magic set once, when he was 9." I was fifteen. I only see that aunt arone once a year when we vacation, and we're leaving tomorrow to go down there. I can't wait to show her some magic now. :]
My mother has also been very supportive. Upon coming home from vacation, I showed her some magic, and she loved it. She's always a willing, enthusiastic spectator.
Lastly dealing with support, my friends helped a lot. They were always ready to watch my magic, and give honest feed back. I actually got one of them interested, and he still performs as well. Having each other to talk to about magic and to practice on has been a major help and push to do the best possible.

Now what kept me interested is a little different. The appeal of magic to me was being the one who knows what's going on. Being "behind the scenes" so to speak. Knowing all these "secret" moves with a deck of cards. So I guess the secrecy and mysterious air around magic drew me in and kept me. And simply being the guy who knows exactly whats happening and why. That sounds maniacle, but is meant win good intentions.

 

[DannyT]

I just had an urge for learning. I did magic when I was a little kid with those magic kits and since then, magic always interest me.
Watching the masked magician when I was young had a big impact on me too.
However the first trick that I ever saw was performed by my great Uncle Gabe. My uncle was no magician, he just knew that one trick that always got me. He was at the dinner table and pulled off his finger, and to this day I still swear that I saw the bone! lol. I'm not even kidding.
Could it have been my little kid imagination?
Hell No!, I saw the bone!

Later down the road . . . . .
I saw a kid in my math class do herethenthere with a cool looking deck of cards (Black Tiger) and I was just blown away.
I asked where he learned it, and he could tell I was serious.
He gave me the "e" site so I checked it out and it looked awesome. My first purchase(from what I can remember) was a black tiger deck, a rising ghost deck, and mercury. I felt so cool with that deck of cards. My tricks were horrible.

I remember performing some trick for my friend in school and midway through the trick, he just started laughing saying, "You're so bad." All I can think was dam.


What kept me going?

I have no idea. Maybe when you do your first trick correctly, it gets addicting. Tricks are like potato chips, you can't have just one. So I just kept with it because I loved the feeling of performing an effect and doing it right.
So in a nutshell, here I am today still learning, still performing.

 

[Dima]

I think with me, it had a lot to do with gambling and the way it has been portrayed in our society. There have always been many films, books and characters that glamorised the idea of cheating with cards.
Now it is interesting that most of what i remember seeing wasn't really magic, it was more about showing off with cards.
So this makes me think that it stems back to our natural human desire for power, a power over the cards means having power over the audience's perception of us. I didn't practice for the audience or magic, i practiced so i could be arrogant and had a unique talent with something. It is only once you're in this long enough, that you realise how much the props really have to do with magic.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I've always done physical-based, dexterity type skills. I'm a juggler, an acrobat, a poi spinner, etc. I've always been interested in magic, but never learned it because I was always busy with other things.

Then my girlfriend went to Mexico for the summer and I decided I'd learn some magic to show her when she got home, because I knew she loved seeing magic. So I found tutorials on Jumping Gemini and the Chicago Opener. I practiced them for two months before showing anyone, and then it was my girlfriend. I liked the up-close nature of magic (as opposed to say, fire breathing, where people can't be within ten feet of me), and I liked the look of amazement on her face and my own sense of cleverness.

Add into that mixture the fact that I am a bit obsessive and voila! That's what keeps me going. Well, that and I think that magic has a huge potential for effecting people's lives, if handled correctly.

 

[Cedric Taylor]

mines kinda cheesy...it all started when i was little my uncle use to do these little cheesy vanishes for my fam...he had a little knowledge of what something..but to me it was amazing...i mean...it was never before seen by me....

well as i grew up, he did it and still never revealed how he did it...so i was hellbent of finding out so i could perform...

as i got older i left magic alone...football was more of my thing, what i didn't realize no matter how much i tried to let magic go...it stuck...it never left...so when i was watching david blaine back in the late 90's, the guy blew me away....i mean completely away....i had to start doing those effects and performing...the thing is, i neve knew it was a place or book that actually showed how to do that...so i started practicing magic hardcore then....years later thats when Ellusionist was introduced to me, of course i was doing magic, i was the life of parties...ladies was flocking...i know i sound like a commercial but yeah...it really was all good..


after a while i kinda of got tired of doing others effects, i mean what the fun in doing that...i even was able to debunk others effects...it was not a challenge...so i started doing my own effects...at first i sucked.....then they became more complex....but i still was kinda blaine esque with what i did....after getting knowledge from Mr. Lee Asher, and hearing Mr. Chris Kenner stress artistry.... knowing who you are and what fits you.... i pondered on that...and pondered the actual meaning of artistry....so now here, i stand as an actual artist, doing what Cedric Taylor does...

so my reasons for getting into magic was to amaze and learn how to do it...my reason for staying is much more...learning the history of it...becoming one with myself....experiencing and appreciating the artistry of so many other magicians, and at last being an artist myself....

 

[Dylan P.]

Thank you for the replies,

This is the first topic in a series of questions that have been running through my head for a long time now. This is the reason that I haven't been around here as much anymore. I have been thinking about magic in a new, and hopefully revolutionary, way. This has been helping me enhance performance and such.

Now I'll give you my answer to the question,

Neither myself, my mind, or anything else can be acredited for my interest in this art form. It just happened. My uncle did show me a trick, and I thought it was neat, but it didn't make me want to learn. My mom bought be a magic book as a stocking stuffer when I was 7, but I tossed it under my bed and never looked at it again. And yes, that same uncle did buy me a magic kit when I was 8, but it sat untouched until I turned 9. And the only reason I found it was because I was looking for a dollar.

I practised the tricks in the kit, But after learning three, I still had no desire to perform it for people. So again it sat dormant. Untiul, one day, I woke up and picked up a set of cups and balls, and without ever learning how to do it, performed a basic routine. I was able to structure small tricks, just by looking at them.

It was a turning point...

I sudden;ly wanted to perform and have started to do so ever since. But I can't give myself, my mom, books, DVD's, a magic kit, My uncle, my brain, or anything else credit. I had never even seen a magician perform before. It was just something that happened that was beyond my control. Almost, as if, I were supposed...to learn magic. That doesn't mean that all of a sudden I believe in god, which I do not. (I don't want to drag this into a religous debate.) But, it makes you wonder...

"Is there such a thing as fate?"

And it doesn't necessarily mean that a god or something created you for that purpose and your entire life is plotted out for you. It just means that by some invisible force, some conection in your brain, you are gradually guided into what you are supposed to do. Guided into what you are good at. Guided into your destiny...

 

[MagicLemonBird]

Hey guys,

I just want you all to stop using Facebook, or Myspace, or AIM for a minute and REALLY think back. Think back to the time when you were just starting magic. Ask yourself questions that will help you remember why.

"What got me into magic?"
"What was my first Trick?"
" Who encouraged me as I went?"

Now, after you have thought long and hard about this, I would like you to again think very hard about this: "What made you stick with magic, and why do you like to perform it?"

A lot of people will say: "I like to amaze people" or "The reactions are awsome.". But that's not what I mean at all. I mean WHY DO YOU STILL PERFORM IT???

Think about it, you know the secrets of the tricks so it doesn't amaze you when you perform it, because it is second nature. Something that can be viewed as extraordinary or out of the ordinary to a layman, is nothing more than "a sleight" to you. Many people will say: "Well, I still like to see their reactions." Well, okay, that's nice, but think way back...When you were first starting out. You sucked at first!!! You didn't fool anybody.

And I don't care who you were...when you first started learning, you didn't practice your first trick at all. You learned it and ran up to mom or dad and yelled: "Look at this." And then they smiled and said: "I saw that."

So what kept you going at that point in time. You didn't get good reactions because, face it, you were a terrible magician with no showmanship or skill yet. So why didn't you quit right then, after all the trick wasn't amazing to you, because you knew the secret, and the reactions weren't good, so you didn't work for reactions.

So why did you stick with it???

As funny as it sounds, the riffle shuffle made me start magic and cardistry.