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Sitting on the Subway by David Christopher
Sometimes we think we are too busy to work on something that we enjoy so much, our magic. If you put some thought into your daily activities, you'll find that you DO have opportunity to work on that flourish that you've wanted, the classic pass that needs work, the coin roll that you've been meaning to master...
Do it while you're waiting. Everybody can relate to the hurry up and wait. We run out the door to get to the subway... to wait for the next train. We hurry to make an appointment, and wait an hour to be seen. There's always downtime as you wait for your next "to-do" of your day.
If you keep a deck of cards in your coat, a coin in your pocket, a pair of rubberbands for that crazyman's handcuff routine you've been working on, you'll have them for those wait times. When you sit down, whip it out!
Not only will you find that you're skills will improve, but your technique will become second nature, and you can focus on your performance. When you do magic, you are expressing yourself. The magic trick is the vessel.
And here's a little story to share...
I was sitting on the subway practicing some flourishes and some sleights with a deck of cards. This guy sits down next to me and asks me to show him some stuff. I showed him that the cards were well mixed, glanced at the top card, named it, and did a little backslip force. Thumb riffled down the side of the deck, I pulled the top chunk off retaining the top card and revealed. He was impressed.
He asked me to do that again with the Ace of Spades... Uh-Oh! This would be one of those moments where you think quickly and handle the request in your way... I wasn't thinking so clearly. I HAD NO IDEA where the Ace of Spades was in the deck. I was fully prepared to fail the request, "check to make sure that card was in the deck", shuffle it to the top, and then successfully "find the card" with the same trusty backslip.
So I acknowledged his request, no problem, thumb riffled down the deck. Keep in mind, the top card is NOT the Ace of Spades. I pulled the top chunk of cards retaining whatever that top card was.
Before I could turn over the card I had backslipped he shouted, "Holy Sh*t! There it is!"
It was more of a shock to me than it was to him, the card on the bottom of the top chunk I had removed was the ACE OF SPADES! Because he was on my left and I hold the deck with my left, he saw the bottom card of what I pulled while doing the backslip. OF COURSE, I let him be astounded and I said a little, "Thank you God" in my head. He was really impressed and we talked about magic for a few stops before I had to get off the train. The whole time we talked, I was laughing in my mind realizing how luck I just got!
Crazy, huh?
It was a little reminder that when you get a request, don't say no I can't, don't say nevermind, don't let the spectator assume it was a set up...go with it!
When you've got Si Stebbins stack set up and someone asks to shuffle, LET THEM! I've done that too!! And I still called the right card when I read his mind! Be cool, take a chance, don't get flustered. Oh, and the original advice, don't forget that...
Practice while you wait!
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