I asked Cody S. Fisher (an accomplished pro) in another forum about his practice habits. What he said was enlightening...
"I can certainly hold my own when it comes to cards. In high school (and college) I would practice all the time. It wasn't so much "scheduled practice" as I just always had cards in my hands...I was nuts! I used to be a "move monkey"...always collecting new moves and difficult sleights. At one time I knew 40+ double lifts, every single false count, and probably 30 different passes. I "thought" I was a pretty good magician...
When I first started doing close up magic in restaurants, it was because a friend of mine here in town had a constant gig and needed help one night. He was about 15 years older than me and had been doing magic full time for many years. I was always "killing him" with my card magic. He on the other hand was not good at cards...he was a “Svengali Deck” type of guy! Anyway, one day his restaurant was having a special event where they needed two magicians...so he invited me to perform there with him. This was my fist real exposure to performing for real people...and I thought I was going to really "show up" my friend.
That night I was doing card to wallet, unshuffled, folded card to card box, signed card to spleen!...ect. I was doing some crazy knuckle busting moves...............with little response! All night I was constantly haunted by the cheers and laughter coming from the tables where my friend was working. After a while it became really annoying to me...how could this be happening? I was WAY better than my friend with a deck of cards or even coins!
After our shift that night I looked in his close up case and it turns out that had been performing sponge bunnies, professor's nightmare, and some Svengali Deck routine! This was a BIG eye opening experience for me...it was at this point that I realized that my friend was a better magician (performer) than me. Sure I could fool the pants off him...but I wasn't "the performer" that he was. At first I was pretty mad...but luckily I came to my senses and ended up humbling myself to ask for some help. My friend who was a veteran of the restaurant biz was kind enough to show me the ropes and teach me about being an “entertainer that performs magic”.
Why did I say all this? Well I constantly get asked questions about how often to do practice…to be honest these days very little. As long as you know a one card force and a one card control you can do hundreds of tricks! I still love playing around with cards…and I still like watching new moves…but as I have stated in previous posts my emphasis these days is on the performance.
I think too many kids these days are turning into “move monkeys” like I used to be…luckily for me there was a turning point! The last convention I went to there were several kids in the lobby doing some amazing things with cards…some really incredible moves, sleights, and flourishes. As a magician I was blown away by their dexterity. I finally asked one of them to “show me a trick”…and boy did it take me back to my early days. There is a big difference between executing the necessary moves to accomplish a trick and “performing” a trick.
My advice to anyone starting off is to learn the basics. A good force and a good control will take you a long way. Also, don’t learn a move out of the context of a routine. I used to know all sorts of moves that I really had no use for. These days I only learn a new move if it is part of a routine that I want to perform. Finally once you have a basic mastery of standard moves…start working on your performing / presentation skills. The truth is it takes much more practice to be a better performer than it does to be a good technician.
I feel like I had the best of both words…I spent most of my youth practicing moves…and all of my adult life concentrating on the performance. The truth is you need to focus on BOTH to be successful in the real world!"
I hope that helps,
Cody S. Fisher.
Yeah, you can say this helped me out alot. Practice with a purpose. Ask yourself: "what do I want out of magic?" "Do I want to make it my livelihood or is it just a hobby?" It's a hobby for me. But I have shed alot of baggage (useless sleights) since reading the above and I don't worry about who does what better or what new variation of pass, DL, etc. comes out. I do what I do and good enough to fool and entertain and that's what counts...
Dom Kabala.
