Good stuf, good stuff. I e-mailed the nearest SAM dude that was suggested by a friend, waiting on pins and needles for a response. Actually my cousin's hubby is a member, hoping he's a member that goes to THAT particular assembly... That way it won't be so awkward...

Must look into IBM...

Hey, um, what exactly would be the benefit of joining IBM?

The SAM people have their groups, and stuff... Is it the same way with The Brotherhood?

(HA! It's just like in X-Men! Only they're not The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants... Or ARE they?...)

IBM has groups called "rings".

Let experience be your teacher...that is the highest of Guru...and repetition is the Mother of revelation...the more you do magic, the more you can do magic...
and when the student is ready, the Master appears.

Oh..... Must look in to that.

Wow, that was certainly deep...

Great advice there babakali

Yes, Yes, Yes, everyone should seek a teacher. I think that we are all too often distracted by things that take us off a solid road to good magic. We do well when held accountable to things that don't seem important but really make the difference between success and failure. Your teacher can focus you on routining, efficient practice, how to reduce the fear of failure, and many more important items. Left alone, we seek glitz and perform before we, or our tricks, are ready.

Learning from Steve Youell has been the most important part of my magic life.

Gary

A good mentor is wonderful. I spent a long time getting almost nowhere except in one area. Once I had a mentor who understood exactly what I was doing and who I was as a performer, the advice meant much faster progress. I have a number of magicians helping now, but my mentor understood exactly what I needed as a beginner and kept stopping me going after everything which attracted my attention. He also sets specific goals which are challenging but realistic.

The local magic store and the magic club (Australian Society of Magicians) are also invaluable. I held back for years on asking for help other than when I bought something, thinking I needed to get a lot further before I dare show my face and claim to be a magician. I regret that.

The big risk is finding a mentor who has a style and strong beliefs and wants to impose that style on you. A good mentor has to enhance your individual style and teach you how to find the right material rather than telling you what you should be doing. He needs to help you develop your own style not train you in his. That takes a lot of experience and insight.

Lynne

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
Nick

Napolean Hill talks about the Mastery Group, and the idea that if you hang around people that are better than you, the only direction you can possibly go in is toward their status. If you don't hang around these people or learn independently, it's gonna be tougher and that just makes sense.

So I'm not sure its necessary to have a single mentor or have formal sessions with a teacher, but I do know that finding a Mastery Group is one of the best things you can possibly do when you're trying to learn anything.

The discussion forums on the internet, especially one with the kind of massiveness of Magic Café, is awesome because it can be tough to find good magicians in an everyday environment. With the technology of the internet, there's more help available to you than ever before, so whether you find a mentor or not, really open your ears to the advice given here.

If joining a "ring" is tough .. but it should not be .. an hour away is nothing once a month to get into meetings plus the mini conventions etc ... keep a look out for the major conventions , a lot do not require membership into an assembly, or ring .. I make sure I hit at least one con a year , while I am at it .. I try and buddy up a "Tyro" with a "mentor" or at least help the new guys get some intros to some of the seasoned guys . being a member at large with my ring has made me out going and friendly , in general I have never been to a convention where people have been or felt left out , we are indeed a brotherhood , and there is always a a couple of hours after last call to jam , and learn , and share , even the pros enjoy watching magic , and helping out on moves and stuff . We have many guys in our ring who are out of town members .. but the 40 bucks a year Is worth it for the IBM benefits and the Linking ring mag . and the Open opp to join in on the lectures and mabey half the meetings a year , for instance this year we have had .. Michael Ammar, Danny Cole, Banachek, Bob Sheets, Greg Frewin , Mini lectures include Eric Bedard ( watch out for that guy ) FFFF Afficiando and west coast TVP for the IBM Tony Eng , award winning stage competitor Shayne King , and Ron Bell teaching only the way he can with Style grace and originality . I know it sounds like I am really plugging the club thing .. But it is a solidary art , and only another magician will really understand your passion , the camiraderie is soo important , with that I will quit rambling On ..
Cheers
Keet

ChristOpher,
If you can find a real, live, breathing magician to study with, all to the good.

And, after being in magic for about a year, you have some grounding that you and a more experienced magician can build on.

As for magic clubs, though, that may be another story. The I.B.M. and the SAM, internatinally, are both great. But the local clubs are often filled with old farts who forget the chosen card, fall asleep during lectures, etc., or they are filled with young know-it-alls who won't do anything unless it involves a dozen near-impossible sleights.

If you can find a magician at a magic shop, good. Or the owner or an employee of the shop.

If not, these forums are almost as good, as you have the benefit of all us old geezers (I'm 65) without having to actually be in contact with us (and I agree with that attitude!)

I never had mentor and not sure if will ever have one. whether for good or bad. We all know that mentor will not teach you how to do a trick , effect etc, but its all about building the image of a magician, presentation, motivation and confident , well I only have one thing to say , we don't need to master the PASS & THE DL, to go out and start performing to build confident and learn to be great presenters, with the most easy self working trick you can go out and do it time and time again to gain all the stuff that you would be getting from a mentor and more .

Note that I am not against having mentor, but I do not agree that mentor is the answer, because what works for the mentor might not work for you or for me .


Zac

That's a very good point.

True! I was going to my local magic club for about six months. One night the gentleman I hung out with referred to me as his student. This is my first teacher along with thirty of so mentors. ;-)