Do all the hard moves you like!

For a long time, I’ve practiced many card moves in order to have an arsenal of techniques to help me out of many situations. That being said, some of the moves are not the most “practical” but are useful in certain situations. Some of the moves are very difficult but allow for minimal obvious movement and others require a good amount of misdirection. Regardless, it always seems that someone has a move that’s better, or a reason as to why the move I’m doing isn’t the best choice. 

To be honest, I believe that every move has a purpose and also everyone has a move that they can do very well in almost any condition. There are so many tricks, moves, controls, steals etc. that it’s almost impossible to learn them all. But just because you have a move that you’re comfortable with does that mean that you shouldn’t learn any others? If the move is hard, does that mean that it’s useless because there is an easier way? Should we always look for shortcuts?

I’ve found that sometimes the best way to reach my goal in a close up effect is to use moves that can be considered “difficult” or moves that “can be achieved with a double lift.”

This is usually spot on, the end result is the same but sometimes using a difficult move can create moments where seemingly nothing has happened and I can do things “away from the heat”. This is why I practice those moves, especially with cards. When doing card effects I try to make the effect as streamlined and “hands off” as possible. My goal is to make my audience think that I never touched the deck.

Too often  most people say that moves are too difficult or are not needed don’t take the time to really study the move and its possibilities–by saying that something is “too hard” you’re putting up blocks in your learning and in your performance.

I’ve been luck enough to be surrounded by some of the most amazing slight of hand professionals of our time and I’ve never heard them say that something is “too hard“, instead they say “I’m gonna have to practice this for a while” or “let me play with this and see if I can use it“.

Test your limits and try something you’ve never done before. Practice hard and develop a solid practice routine and before you know it people will be telling you “that move is way too hard.” It’s actually a really good feeling because usually that person can’t or won’t take the time that you have and will not get as far as you will go.

Tell me what you think of “hard moves”. And tell me what are your thoughts as well.

-Xavior

I wrote this post because I wanted to share some of my practice regiment. These are some of the steps I take in order to accomplish my goal when performing. I hope that you can take something out of this and apply it to your magic.

-Xavior Spade

Magic is something that is more than just a hobby to me. It is a way of life. I constantly strive for perfection. I work constantly to improve, not just my technical skill but my performance as well. It takes much more than just practicing in front of a mirror.

Step 1

When I first decide I’m going to practice something the first thing I do is make sure that I understand the details of what I’m doing. I read, re-read, or watch and re-watch and try to follow along.

Sometimes I get frustrated as we all do. At that point it’s time to stop and take a breather. Once you get frustrated it becomes hard to retain information because instead of paying attention to what you’re doing you feel like ripping apart your book or destroying your cards.

Don’t let the anger take control of you.

Take a step back and take your mind off of it. You’d be surprised how much you actually learned when you decide to go back to practicing.

Step 2

Now that I’ve gotten the moves down it’s time to stop looking and practice again. When you first practice it’s ok to look at your hands. However when performing if you’re looking at your hands it’s not a good sign. It will tell your spectators that you’re doing something. If you have to look at your hands to do a move chances are that you don’t know it well enough.

Everything you do in your performance should be “automatic“.  You shouldn’t have to think about your next action. So after I feel that I’ve gotten the “tech” side of the trick pretty much down, I begin to think about how I’m going to “deliver” the trick. What meaning am I going to put to the effect or vice versa. Just doing a trick is just doing a trick. I’m a professional magician and because of that I don’t just do tricks. I perform miracles. I want people to walk away with something they’ve never experienced before.

I NEVER want to hear the words “That was a nice trick!”

Now comes what I consider to be the most important part of practice. Practice performance. This is the part that I feel SO many magicians leave out. They go from practice in the private straight to the show! There’s no rehearsing or practicing or figuring out if it’s even good for a show.

I can always tell when a magician has really practiced and rehearsed his routine because he has more to say then “Ok so we put your card in the middle. And now it’s on top.”

To me the difference between a trick and routine is how “complete” it is. Is there purpose to what you are doing? Have you taken away possible solutions to the effect? How engaging is it?

There are countless effects that are beautiful to us, but are just too confusing to a lay person. Is this effect one of them?

In my professional set I do mentalism. Mentalism in practice is technically much easier than a lot of magic because there’s almost no slight of hand. The true art to mentalism is routining and scripting. However it is just as important to EVERY type of magic.

Step 3

The real world.

Just because you’ve gotten the trick down and you think it’s up to par doesn’t mean that it’s quite ready. This is the point that I take my practiced routines and do them for real people and use the experience to tweak the routine future. I try to pay attention to what the spectators are looking at and when to help me develop better misdirection and to see what if what I’m saying is helping to generate the reactions I’m looking for. It can take me up to 6 months before I decide to put a routine into my working set.

Don’t take shortcuts, don’t settle for anything but what you want. Being the best takes time.

Below are a few videos. Both of the same trick. One is a video of what I believe is a complete routine and one is not. Watch them both and tell me what you think. Also share your practicing tips.

Videos

This is Tommy Wonder who to this day has one of my favorite Ambitious Card Routines.

This is an ambitious card routine that need some work

-Xavior Spade

Entrapment is so much more than a routine.

Of course, it’s an elegant transposition routine that slides as cleanly as a freshly wiped smartphone screen. It’s a solid routine that includes some sleights that might be new to you. And it can be done with just about any deck of cards you discover. (And for those of you who love the LTD deck, it’s eye candy.)

But Entrapment is much more than an impromptu routine: It’s 21 minutes of magic education. This is beautiful magic, taught by a virtuoso of close-up.

The best teachers do more than show you how to do an effect. They give you avenues of further study. They point out subtleties. They explain why things work. And they light fires in the minds of their students.

Eric Jones has been doing that for years in the underground. The transposition that he teaches in Entrapment is an effect he’s performed at conventions for years. And though he’s impressed a lot of magicians with the effect, it’s also a strong part of his strolling and walkaround arsenal that he uses for corporate, Fortune 500 clients.

Entrapment is available for download right now. This is classic Eric Jones material you shouldn’t miss.

Yes. That is a TIE Fighter. From Star Wars. Made out of Rider backs.

This heap of awesome is possible with a new invention called Skallops (spotted on Gizmodo). These laser-cut pieces of wood enable you to easily and seamlessly connect cards in a variety of ways. The guys behind these little connectors have launched a Kickstarter page, so you can get your own set once they go into full-scale production.

A Skallops connector features a variety of slots that hold either cards or other connectors. The idea has been in the head of creator Marshall Grinstead, who was able to make his creation come to life once he found a laser that can cut birch plywood. It’s like a bunch of wooden K’Nex specially made to turn your cards into Legos. A starter pack costs $45 and comes with two decks of cards.

Tip o’ the hat made out of cards to David Mitchell, who has already allegedly built a second bunker out of Skallops and cards.

We like Christmas colors, and want to give you a little extra red in your order.

Throughout the weekend, orders of $75 or more will include an extra Red Artifice deck of playing cards. Only 5,000 of these decks were made, and 3,000 of them sold out in a flash earlier this year. This is one of the few chances you have to snag a deck for yourself outright.

Because it’s Christmas, this deal is in addition to all of our other holiday giveaways. You’ll still get a wristband, and you’ll still qualify for other promotions. So stock up on some Christmas colors: Replenish your supply of Emerald Artifice and get a deck that glows like rubies. Or if you’ve been sitting on the fence about Pure Smoke, now is a good time to add to cart.

This deal starts at noon Eastern today and runs until midnight Sunday and won’t be repeated throughout the holiday season.