new magic video/book syndrome

everyone of us come to this point where we are not contented in what material(effects, sleights etc) we had and always waiting for a new magic video/book to come out in the market hoping that this will be the solution for us to be a great magician we dream of.

the truth is if this is our thinking in magic then you will not be as good as you want to be. why? think about it, if you are learning something like the pass for a month now but you still cant do it right then suddenly you saw a new move like the side steal which you think is much easier, your tendency is you will learn it then you will forgot to practice your pass and after another weeks or months again you see another card control which you also think is much better than the one you currently practicing and switch to it again.

if this is what you will always do everytime you see something new then you will not master any sleights/effects you like, instead you will only learn it and you will not perform it well because you didn't put much time in practicing it. i remember a quote from bruce lee that suits to this topic he said “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

to summarize it all, new material is not the answer to be a better magician instead practice what you have until you can perform it perfectly. i will assure you that you will be a better magician in the eyes of your audience and magician friends

elegant close up magician

if you are looking for an elegant close up magician also smooth polished sleight of hand effect then look for ponta the smith if your a coin magician and arnaud chevrier if your a card magician. when you watch them perform their effects you will swear that they used gaffed or gimmicked cards/coins but theyre not, they just use pure sleight of hand.

you can learn more from their videos just by watching and understanding their economy of motion, why they did this or that to make their effect smooth as possible

arnaud chevrier:

invisible palm


twisting reset




ponta the smith

winged silver


spellbound