Hi guys,

I would like to know what is your favorite trick or illusion using your body and which can be done in an almost impromptu situation.

Mine are :

-Twisting arm illusion
-Finger thru ear (by Romaric)
-Pen thru cheek (by Andrew Mayne)

By "almost" impromptu I mean :

- No expensive gimmick (let's say no more than 20 bucks).
- Possibility to perform the trick almost everywhere.

I know, I'm exigent, but we have to be strong to survive !!!

Franfran

And

"Balducci levitation"
"Thumbs" (DC has performed at his stage"U!")

Koji

And so is "King Rising."

Symmatrix

Look in Art of Astonishment!

Within your Reach,
False Count,
Also, Finger Fantasies.

Thanks,
Lewis.

So, no more people using their body to impress people? Come on, guys!

There's heaps of stuff in 'Tricks With Your Head.'
One of the best is Headless Wonder. It is brilliant. My kids use it when they go to McDonalds. We've had many smiles, gasps and laughs with it. BTW there's heaps of fun magic in this book.

Chappelly

The twisting arm got me on TV and has made people scream and run out of the room so I guess that's my favorite. I still worry when I perform it, though. It's shocking but then seems too easy to back-track.

I perform David Harkey's Goldfinger. Impromptu and very cool.

Basically, what is the effect ???

I like to perform the thumb thru ear from 'Tricks With Your Head', it's great!!

Franfran, if you were asking me...Harkey's Goldfinger principle has many applications. The most basic is removing your ring finger which allows your ring to fall to a table or the floor. You then restore your finger. It can be found in his book Simply Harkey.

It's more of a psychic stunt instead of a magic trick, but you could stop your pulse.

K.C.

Hello Franfran,

I am a great fan of "Body Magic", and created some body-effects of my own, that I published in my books (until now only available in German language). If you can read German, please send me a mail, and I can give you additional information (I don't want to "advertise" my books here).

As you come from France, you might know Boris Wild. I showed him some of my "Body-Magic" when I was lecturing on a Dutch convention...

Is Finger thru ear (by Romaric) the same as thumb thru ear from 'Tricks With Your Head'? Is it published anywhere?

Best Regards / Felix

A great spectator involved effect is Angel Eyes from the Jaw Dropper series.

Sure, it's an old effect but when it's done with the right presentation, not only is the "victim spectator" completely fooled, but the rest of your audience has a lot of fun being in on "the know".

In short:
Magician (M) stands (or sits) directly in front of the spectator (S). M assures the S that they will in no way be hurt, but that they are about to experience the touch of an angel.

M "practices" with the S by pointing his two index fingers at the S eyes, slowly bringing them straight forward, toward the S eyes. The M tells the S to close their eyes just before his fingers reaches the S eyelids.
To make sure the S understands, the move is practiced, with the M ending up lightly touching the S eyelids with his two index fingers. (fill in appropriate patter and personal direction during this period)

After the "practice", the real experience is ready to begin.

As before, the M slowly talks his way through to the S as his fingers slowly approach the S eyes. At the instant the S closes their eyes (as reheased) the M immediately switches from using two index fingers, to using his index finger AND the third finger of the same hand. (exactly duplicating the same touch positioning as the two index fingers) This leaves the other hand (whichever is easiest for you to use) to lightly touch the S on the top of the head.

The instant the M has touched the S head, the M immediately (but w/o tale-tell movement) brings his "head touching hand" back into eye-lid-touching position and is actually slowly moving his two index fingers away from the S eyes as he/she is opening them.

Let the impression set in for a moment as the S deals with the impossibility of what they just experinced, and that the rest of the audience is enjoying since they're "in the know". In the right situations, this can be repeated to the same S.

You can also send a couple of audience members out of the room to be additional "victims" before performing the first "touch" in order to be able to do it for more than one person.

You can have a lot of fun with this piece of impromptu body magic.

I haven't performed the Twisting Arm illusion in years. I really must start doing it again. I bought the booklet when it was first published and I remember FRYING a couple of magician friends with it! They asked me to do it again and again and couldn't figure it out! Ahhh, memories!

I also recently worked out a presentation for the Pen through the Lip, using John Cornelius' prop. I really need to try it out on some people. I'll let you know.

See ya!
Joe L.

Twsiting arm is the best that I know. I got popular when I was on school because everyone was floored by that effect. It's a killer.

Check out Andrew Mayne's Body Morphin'

I think the best routine you can have is "Finger Fantasies" by Meir Yedid. Buy the DVD! It's completely "gimmickless" and if you've seen Meir Yedid doing it you know what are the reactions! It's completely impromptu yet a little complicated in what concerns to angles...
Give it a try !

Eyeball washing.

Pretend to remove your eyeball. Keep the eye close.
Place it in your mouth and roll it around.
Remove it, buff it on your sleeve and replace it in it's socket.

Nice gag and kids love it.

Here are a few ideas,

- Bend the index finger and place the knuckle against a closed eye. Twist the knuckle and gind your teeth. It's a nice way to NOT get that big date!

- The old audience warm up trick where they twist their arms together and you are able to twist yours back. (Copperfield does it in almost every show)

- The hypnosis audience warmup where the two index fingers are pulled together by invisible magnets in the fingertips.

- Plastic cup under the arm....a great way to audibly break a wrist!


I'll post again if I can remember any more which haven't already been said!

- Chris