I am sorry to report that my good friend and amazing magician Magick Balay has injured his left hand while demonstrating "Smash & Stab" at Fantasma Magic yesterday.

I have seen him doing this many times, sometimes even blindfolded, and I always cringed knowing how dangerous this stunt is. He always blew his audiences away (as with literally everything he does), and it always went well.

Magick went to the hospital and is doing okay. The spike did not go all the way through and he will be fine.


Just saw that Magick has a blog comment on his MySpace site about his "mishap"

Here is the link: http://myspace.com/magickbalay

Yes, that's Magick, always in a good mood and taking things with a lot of humor.

I have seen numerous online videos of people screwing this trick up! That's enough for me to stay away from that particular effect!

Things can go wrong with just about any trick, but if something goes wrong with this one, it can put you out of commission for a while!

Best wishes to your friend for a speedy recovery!


Lyndel

Ouch!
Hey Thorsten,
Tell Magick that the FAO Bubble Clown on skates from 100 years ago sends his deepest regards.
He'll understand.

I'm in Fantasma a good 4-6 days a week, and came into the shop about 30 seconds after Magick's mishap. I have to say I'm glad I didn't get there sooner. He was in good humor the whole time. I last saw him on Friday evening, the 4th, and he was doing just fine. A little swollen, but he hasn't lost any ability in his hand.

This is why I stick to using sponge balls...

Kevin

Any one know the details to the rumor that Simon Lovell now had spiked himself doing Smashed & Stabbed last Saturday night?

Geeesh...in the 70's when hook coins were popular you could tell a magician by the scars on the BACK of their hands.

I have to admit I find it hard to feel bad for people this happens to.

I am glad to see it was not being done with a SPECTATORS hand!

I've seen performers have the spectators sit on the cups before.
THAT's a mishap that I'd REALLY hate to see happen.

Magick is a good guy. Sorry to hear about the mishap!

I hope you didn't hit any nerves in the hand and that you recover soon and quickly.

I was in Fantasma yesterday evening. Sure enough Simon's left hand was bandaged. We got to talking about his injury and he showed me the hole in his hand. He strongly advised against Smash and Stab. Apparently it's no longer for sale at Fantasma.

Criss Angel did a version of this on Oprah just this week -- Monday, I think. Oprah wouldn't even help. She didn't want to feel responsible if something went wrong. And Criss was using a nicely sharpened knife. It had an interesting reaction from the audience. But Oprah couldn't even watch after he smashed the first cup.

Are you saying Simon spiked HIS hand too???

OMG...

For "Spike" Larry Becker has some thoughts:
_________________________
I like both the compactness of the apparatus and the simplicity and dependability of the method. It works like a charm and with a modicum of care and caution by the performer, ending up with a spike through the hand should not occur. But a word of caution, like any other dangerous stunt (remember me, I'm the guy with the three pistols) you must not be careless or suffer from brain cramps. The method is excellent but that does not mean accidents can't happen if you allow your mind to wander when it should be focused on the performance. If you're a professional, SPIKE is definitely recommended."
- Larry Becker

Yup, Simon's mishap ocurred a mere 5 days after Magick's. Not a good week for NY magicians who perform the effect...

ON the bright side, when it does go wrong, you can do all kinds of new and innovative coin tricks.

That Danny - his glass is always half full!

Destiny

I hate to hear when this happens. I hope they will be Ok
Larry
Ps. does anyone know the name of the one built into a lazy susan?

I can't believe that people are still performing this. The effect itself sucks, IMO . . . "Look, I didn't get HURT!?!?" What kind of person does something like this? How seemingly idiotic it must appear to a lay person, that a magician would even attempt this, regardless of the outcome. Who in their right mind would even take the chance? I don't care if it's a magician or a mentalist performing it, I feel it is a bad effect. If I had a routine with three forks and a light socket, it would be just about as absurd.

If I saw a performer doing this with an audience member, I would leave the show. Even if nothing happened, I would leave, because it says something about a performer who is willing to do that with a respected member of their audience.

I feel bad for the guys who get skewered, but this seems to happen often.

-J.

That sucks. I own Spike and I'm nervous everytime I do that thing.

I think that "Smash and Stab" is one of the most hyped effects in existence. Who told you guys that this was a good effect? It seems like many jumped on the bandwagon without thinking about it first.

It seems that someone, disgruntled by the "one in three odds" scenario that most spectators naturally flee to, decided to up the ante by introducing an element of fear and danger (and certainly did, outside of the gun roulette). IMO, that is bad magic. If we have to include the possible element of getting hurt so that people will watch our performance, I feel sad for magic.

It's just my opinion, and I'm not trying to harp on anyone doing this effect, but Gee Whiz

-J.