I've been doing it a while, in fact I went a whole month of performances just doing the 4 routines on the Born 2 perform DVD. Because I never really bother with what i do, just how i do it. thankyouverymuch.

Awww. You guys are too hard on Lunatik.
I've seen real pros use lines a LOT tougher and more aggressive than anything he said. Lunatik... if those lines work for you and you aren't getting beat down, than go for it. If you can out think your hecklers and be meaner/faster/funnier than them and still keep your main audience entertained, than good job. Guys who think that the magician's job is to make everyone like them are just plain wrong. Not everyone likes Chris Rock, but he makes a mint. And he doesn't even TRY to make everyone like him.
You other dudes... lighten up. Quit putting magic and magic performances into a tiny little box marked "professional". Real pros know 2 things: Who their target audience is, and how to look for details that their audience will notice.
Sermon over.

it always has werked for me, as the people around are laughing so hard, the guys' only responce is to laugh also. everyonce in a while they might try to have a comeback, but i slam it home then...game over and on with the show. i don't get paid to perform, and i don't want to be either. this is the way i handle hecklers, it werks for me, but maybe not others as they would get beat up. i've found one thing to be true about MOST magicians....they are nerdy, introverted, shy, and physically weak. Hence, they get punked by some [edited]. grab my props? i guess u dont mind having your nose being reset, eh? magic is a way for most of these guys to get out of their shell and socialize. nothing wrong with that at all. i fully support it. im sure there are a few big rough and tuff fella's out there doing magic, but they are few and far between. im not saying that im super tough, but i wont be punked by some weasel. good advise for all of you out there getting punked...take some Gracie Jiu-Jitsu...or any jiu-jitsu school in your area. after a while you'll be able to take the majority of these guys down in no time if it came down to that. just stand your ground and dont back down. if they wanna scrap, put a hurting on them, then continue your trick. everyone will laugh at the dude who just got beat down and he'll never say a thing again.

Well, I wouldn't want to make the crowd laugh at the heckler bcause they might think you aren't very nice ,but I have never had a heckler.

The reason some won't lighten up is because it is generally bad advice. Or at least bad advice once you get out of middle school and get a real job. The fact that kids laugh when you make someone else look like a fool, is related to the way kids are, not your comedy skills. But, go ahead, try to prove your the big dawg and see what happens. And by all means, tell us how wonderful you are and how great you perform and what you did with our wives and mothers and girlfriends for daring to question you. Wonderful guy, that you are.

And lunatic, please don't beat me up, since I am one of those nerdy, introverted, wimpy, magicians, who never had time for Kung-Fu (spent too much time playing center for my high school football team) when I was a kid (I watched it on TV though, and I learned a thing or two.) But please, please, if you are going to beat me up don't take my stealth pen--I hate it when that happens.

i am the big dawg and nothing has happened, thank you. just cuz i can handle hecklers the way i like, don't mean u have to like it. and yes, if u want to heckle me and ruin everyone elses good time, i will talk bout yo moms, wife and whole family if i want to, and there's nothing u can do about it. and yes, i will take your stealth pen, or at least the gimmicked part of it.

Well Lunatic, you miss my point. I don't care about you or your methods of handling hecklers. But you are providing advice for others that is bad. You see, as an adult, I would never heckle you, but with your attitude, I also would not watch your show and more imprtantly I would not pay you to watch your show. And, I have more bucks than your kiddie friends. That is why professionals perform for adults (even in kids parties they are performing for adults--the ones who pay.)

What works for kids at school can lead you to develop bad habits such as the habit of mocking your audience which will ruin your career--or more specifically it will ruin it for the Penguinites who listen to you.

But anyway have fun.

Am I the only guy who doesn't get heckled?

Let me think. . . Once there was this guy who . . . Nope. Never.

This leads me to believe that those who are getting "heckled" so much that they have to develop heckle defense systems need to think about how to avoid hecklers. I think some people have attitudes that encourage heckling: confrontational, challenging, arrogant instead of confident...

In the end, it depends on the audience and the performer's attitude and character. If you can get away with breaking a general rule, go for it.

u missed my point chris. i never said to do what i recommended in a show. i don't get paid for what i do, nor do i want to get paid. and yes, if i wanted to get paid i could very easily get paid. what i do won't work for the paying crowd. i never said it did. it does work for the kids that post here. this is a 'what to do', if u get a [edited] messing you up everyday. or grabbing your props, etc... not sure how old you are, but schools can be horrible to perform in. and there's always some dumb jock that has to be the center of attention and will ruin it for everyone else. hence my solution. it has always worked for me and i like it. once you get outta school, you won't have to use my techniques as the crowd is a lot more mature. i.e.testosterone is not running so rampant. for a professional magician, i agree that what i do isn't good. but i never told any professional to do what i do. if these kids can't control the crowd by other nice techniques, then break em down and humiliate them...its the only thing that will get the attention of a 16yr old jock who's trying to impress everyone with his wittiness or just trying to completely ruin the poor guys trick. kids in their teens might not do it to you as your an adult. but if your a kid in one of these schools, they can relate to what im talking about. they get no respect no matter what they do. im not saying none of them get any respect, but the majority don't. my recommendations in handling heckers 9 times out of 10 do. to each his own.

I am an adult, but I have spent nearly two decades teaching 13 year olds. I have learned several things. There are some kids who are always into confrontation. They never, ever, ever, feel that they play any part in the cause of the confrontation; they always tell adults that they are merely reacting to the jerk. The weird thing is that confrontation always follows these kids.

I am not suggesting that a teen should never use humor to handle a heckler. If you are skilled, it can work wonders. It can make you look more impressive and, if done properly, can help the heckler (the ultimate outsider) to join the group. But this only works if the heckler is out side the audience (socially, I mean.)

If you think that the average kid magician, especially if they are as weak and wimpy as you think they are, can stand up to a 16 year old jock (especially if the jock is popular), I want to know what drug you are on, because it ain't gonna happen. Some kid trying to remember a series of moves, patter, etc will be eaten alive the minute the routine becomes a, one-up, roasting competition. The jock doesn't have to remember much, just how to heckle. He can heckle in his sleep better than most kids can do magic on their best day. So your advice will only work if you are, one, already as popular or more popular with the crown than the heckler, and two, you are already very controlled psychologically, and three, your level of magic is such that the average teen would rather see you than the heckler. If these are true, than what you say will work, but you could probably skip all the mean stuff and handle the problem in a more professional way. I think that in the end most of the kids, who try to out heckle the heckler, will see their whole act go to the toilet. That is why I have always suggested that kids concentrate on not looking bothered by the jerks, and understanding that they might not be able to perform everyday for kids at school--at least until they have amazed enough kids that their peers will provide heckler support.

i can't believe how long this is goin on for

dont talk during the show.. it hurts misdirection IMO (sometimes) then if they try to mess it up run at them with your b-2 and pretend to scream in a foreign launguage

Anyone find it odd that someone with 'all that experience' can't put a sentence together that involved just 1 capitalized letter?

Lunatik: Yes, I am calling you out. Your advice not only SUCKS, it's dangerous. If you want to be confrontational to people who you know nothing about, then do it on your own time, and keep it to yourself. People these days don't even need an excuse to feel insulted, and the 'macho' crap you are trying to pass off as wisdom has no place in magic at all, let alone entertainment.

Stopping hecklers is one thing, you been an A$$ is another one entirely. Your maturity, (or lack there-of) just SCREAMS of experience. And this has nothing to do with age or how long you've been with magic. It's about knowing, and using that knowledge constructively.

Thank god there aren't more of you around.

David.

Thank you David. Couldn't have said it better myself!

Cry me a river kronos. lot of wisdom for someone who uses dollar signs to type out words (sarcasm) If u don't like the way i handle hecklers, then don't follow my advice. What works for me works for me. What works for you works for you. For others who haven't decided on which road to take, try yours and mine...then maybe settle in the middle.

"Lunatik: Yes, I am calling you out. Your advice not only SUCKS, it's dangerous. If you want to be confrontational to people who you know nothing about, then do it on your own time, and keep it to yourself" Ummm, dude, if your frail and can't handle yourself, then no, i don't recommend u trying my style, it might give you a couple of blackeyes and a fat lip. But it's all in how u present it. Thank You.

and P.S. I really honestly do respect chrisrklines last response. Its the only truely coherent responce that i've recieved thus far, and if up to me, i'd recommend that method of handling hecklers first before trying mine.