Hi everyone. I was thinking about buying a book for coin sleight ( Bobo's one), and I was wondering how many hours does it take to master the average sleights, because I have other stuff that I need to do

I still spend a few hours a day working on my coin sleights (the already mastered ones). The thing is when palming its better to be doing other things as you do it. At least that's what I think.

Yes,but they are very well worth it, right ? Or should I worry more on card sleights ? I'm a bit bored with cards lately

Master is kind of a tricky term. I have kind of a zen philosophy. I look at myself as a student that is constantly learning.

Sorry about that tangent. I feel that I have become fairly proficient at the basic sleights. Classic Palm, Thumb Palm, Downs Palm, FBP, Back Thumb Palm, Finger Palm, Bobo Switch, One-hand Switch, French Drop, Retention Vanish, Palm Vanish, Thumb Palm Vanish, Shuttle Pass, and a variety of Click Passes are all sleights that I feel comfortable performing.

Han Ping Chien, Tenkai Pinch, Himber Vanish, Coin roll, and the Muscle Pass along with a few others are just about ready for performance.

I started about 3 months ago with Bobo and have added videos from Roth, Ammar, McClintock, and Sankey. My next purchases are going to be from David Neighbors, POS II from Curtis, and Coin Patriot from Reed.


I practice about 5 or 6 hours a day. I spend about two thirds of that time working on new stuff, and about a third of the time honing things I already perform.

I hope this helps.

Scott

So, my deduction is: it's worth it ?!
Unfortunatly I can't spend 6 hours a day practicing. Is magic your full-time job ?

Q: How many hours does it take to master the average sleights?
A: 17.37

I agree with Scott's zen philosophy. I'm just getting into coins, and having a great time with them. Bobo's book is very good. But even the "Masters" of the craft still work on the basics and admire the handlings of others.

If your getting bored with cards maybe you should focus on improving your presentation. Coin sleights are very similar as far as excitement level.

Just some thoughts,
-Josh

Blitz,

I am a computer geek that consults and teaches for a living that wishes he performed for a living.

My commute to work is an hour and 15 minutes each way. It is almost all interstate which gives me quite a bit of time to practice most of my sleights.

I also practice tranfers, palming, rolls, and switches at my desk when I don't need to be typing.

I work on my routines and do my mirror work after my wife and kids go to bed in the evening. I have always been a night owl so I usually get a couple of hours practice in then.

I've just found that it is really something that I love to do, so the practice is more fun than work. Particularly when I fool myself in the mirror!

Scott

Yes, I think sleights are very important to step up in the magic stairs
So, I should try them out, right ?
Josh, I will try coins for a change of common cards, just to try something different and break the routine.

Blitz if you really truely want to learn coin magic you will MAKE time. You would be suprised how much time you waste every single day. I used to think that I was too busy to do anything else but really wanted to pick up a few hobbies. I then took up weightlifting, magic and martial arts. I still have two to three hours of total downtime a day. The key is to diagram a day and see what time you spend doing what, observe all your down or wasted time and try to practice then.

Yes, but if it is useless and boring I won't want to take time into it, don't you agree ?

Well, only you can decide what is useless or boring to you. I set aside a few hours each day for concentrated practice. My goal is to 'master' the things I learn (which can only come with years of dedicated practice). However, one does not need to 'master' something to still do it effectively. This is true of the hobbyist. I became proficient at sleight-of-hand during my early teenage years. Like most people at that age, I had time on my hands to explore the things that interested me (meaning I had LOTS of practice time). So you see, it's situational. Sleight-of-hand (of any genre) is worth the time you put into it. But the time you put into it will reflect in your performance.

anything repeated over and over can be boring! That's the work part of what we do. When I tell some people what I charge for a show their eyes sometimes bug out. They don't realize the practise and research time that goes into a show. You may think some of these sleight are usless. That is because you don't know how they can be applied. There are some sleights that I never bothered to laern only to dicover years later just how powerful they really are. Your practice now can pay off in the future. If lyou can think with the future in mnind it might motivate you to learn these "useless and boring " sleights".

Try to take advantage of time you might otherwise be doing nothing, waiting at the doctor's office, waiting in line, watching TV. Coins are particularly easy since they are easy. One way to see if you've put in enough hours it to video tape yourself and watch while you are not performing...

I have been playing at magic since about 1976.

The more I am in magic the more I find I have to learn and practice.

Of course rehearsal is a bit different than practice. I need to do more of the former.

Some moves I am just now showing people.
Like the one in Bobo where a coin in Tenkai
is switched for a coin held on display in the same hand palm up. (on the finger tips)

I learned it fairly easily with 2 hands. After seeing someone in 1976 do it at a convention in Kansas City 1 handed I have played with it off and on. More off than on, is why it is not in my steady routines.

Speaking of Zen. There is a story of a novice who asked the master. "How long must I study to be proficient with the blade"
The master replied, "At least ten years."
The novice replied, "What if I studied twice as hard." The master quiped "At least twenty years."


Enjoy the ride. When your hands bruises from trying to do the Muscle Pass you might want slow down. (or not)

Harris Deutsch
Laughologist and Nearly Normal Magician
http://www.nearlynormalmagic.com