Hey there people,

I'm new to magic, been practising moves for 6 months now (card manipulation and mentalism) and I feel confident enough to pull of some effects. I bought "born to perform" a long time ago and I took the ambitious card trick from it as one of the first longer tricks I do.

Months ago I did tricks for my family and friends and had massive shakes (hands were just acting stupid). I thought it was because i didn't know the effects very well, so i continued practising so i could do the moves while shaking. Mentally I'm fine, don't really feel nervous, but physically I'm going crazy......which sucks.

Last week I did tricks for people in bars, and again, the shakes came. I still did the tricks without major flaws and only my girlfriend said she could see a DL, but i guess it's because she knows what she is looking for. Anyway, the shakes really didn't help the performance.

So is this something that will pass? Or are there people just not build for performing? When i do public speaking I don't care if i make mistakes, am I taking magic too serious? Any of you had shakes at the start?

They'll pass in time. You can be as familiar as all get out with the effects, but until you're used to performing them for people besides yourself, you'll be nervous. You've got to get used to being in front of people. Keep performing, eventually you'll notice a boost in confidence, and the shakes will vanish!

I use to get the shakes. Hardly anymore, but every so often when i'm doing something important i might, but its rare. Or when i'm performing something new for the first time. The more you practice in front of your mirror, the more effort you've put into it and the more important it becomes for you, and the more nervous you become when performing.

I think in your case your shaking not because u dont know the tricks, its because your less experienced in performing for people. The more people u perform for the less shakes you'll have. I recommend learning some tricks that are "hands off" and self working. That way u wont get the shakes because your not even holding the deck anyway. this will allow you to gain confidence in performing in front of real people i think.

I think everyone gets the shakes when they start and every now and then it still happens. Just be confident with it all and it will pass. Like what keepit said.

Even after 15+ years of performing I get "the shakes" before every performance. When I go on I'm fine but my wife says that I'm totally different before a show and NOT in a good way either.

Thank you for the replies.

I've kind of figured that other people would have some nervousness when performing, i just have rediculous shaking... clearly visible, empathy asking, shaking hands...

I understand keepitbottled reply, practising it a lot gives it a high value... thank you, that makes sense and I'll instantly start looking for some self working tricks that suit my style ('out of this world' trick maybe).

Still, good to know I'm not alone on this.

I've gotten shakes from time to time when I feel too much pressure. Usually when an effect is relatively new and I know I have not perfected it. But sometimes you really just need the practice (I've learned this from Homing Card Plus). After you build the confidence the shakes go away, but for me the nervousness does not. After a while, you learn to either deal with it, or use it and thrive off it.

-ArchAngel_G

That still happens even when you've been practicing for a while. A lot of it is becoming comfortable performing in front of an audience. After a while of performing for live people you become slightly more comfortable.

An alcoholic beverage is very effective but with the potential ill-effects, consumption discretion is advised. Obvious consideration to; one's age, time and place, amount, breath odor, not becoming dependent upon it, etc.

Finally a excuse to down a vodka cruiser before my shows

It happens..Look at Michael J. Fox

I suffer pretty badly too. I take medication which gives me the shakes anyway, so the adrenaline from performing really makes my hands crazy. At least SPIKE gives me an excuse for it...

I Did 'out of this world' and darn, it was nice i could place my hands on the table after shuffling and passing the deck. Suddenly i could focus more on presentation.... even though the shakes were there.. they were less and didn't bother me...

thx for the tip guys

Also there is a plant called Kava Kava available at stores in tablet form which may be taken to help relax. Read up on it and again use with discretion, not to become reliant on something other than practicing and performing.

Just don't give a [edited] about 'the shakes'... keep practasing, polishing and performing.

the shakes are normal at first. The more you get used to performing in front of people, the more confident you'll become, and eventually the shakes will just suddenly vanish! You have to become used to the situation of having all the focus on you. You'll see in time

I used to get them when I first started...heck I can't tell you how many times I had to pull over and throw up on the way to a show...but after I did several, I started getting comfortable...now I've performed so much that it doesn't phase me any more. I could perform my entire act in my sleep.

If they're really bad, I'd recommend looking into some warmups for yourself. Common exercises that actors use before they walk on stage or slide into the spotlight. They can sometimes help relieve some tension!