Hey gang , this is my first "Essay" on magic . I must warn you that this can be viewd more as a opinion than actual facts , but i still wish to share this with all of you . I am hoping to find people who will agree with me on a certain point and am interesting in hearing from thoses who don't .
Did it ever occur to any of you the reason why some people do not like magic ? As children , most people are amazed as we are introduced to illusionist and magicians "a la" David Blaine or David Coperfield . I remember when i was 13-14 years old (im 24 , going on 25 on 16 of november , you guys write it on your calendar
) . I remember me and a couple of friends (3 others) used to gather up and practice magic at schools and during weekends . Each one had his style and way of performing . Now i must say that at 13-14 when i started (good ol card college books , ah the memories) you don't think about going pro , well , you shouldn't anyways . But i remember that 1 of the guys was a real technique-maniac . He knew about 10 different double lifts , 15 passes and 267 ways to force a card (im exagerating but only a little
) . There was this gimmick freak who would buy every new gimmick that he could , poorly mastered them and performed them to firneds and people at school . Then , there was this 3rd guy . His name is Ricardo . Ricardo is a perfectionist in life so this is a good quality for him as he is always trying to perfect his effects . All day long he used to practice practice and practice . When we all started (Ricardo was the most experienced in all of us) i considered everybody on the same level . Since we were all different type of performers , the people could see the same effect 2wice and still enjoy it since the experience was not the same at all .
I remember back in the days that people used to come and see me to show them tricks . I of course then , puled out my cards , sponge balls etc and was happy to perform . This one day , one of the kids i regularly performed for refused to see one of my effects . He was just saying that i wasnt going to make a fool of him again . Confused , i remember talking to him privately asking him what was the problem since i have never intended , EVER to make a fool out of someone . Even today , i always make the audience the star , not me . It turned out that Mr All-time-gimmick-man had played a trick with the trick (Pea can) wich can be found here at penguin . It wasnt the exact effect but something similar . If this wasnt enough , this guy who had embarssed this other kif in front of everyone started telling people the spectator had really peed in his pants . Unfortunatley , magic had lost one of its fans that day .
I met this MR gimmick-man about 1 month ago . He pretty much is stil collecting gimmicks since the first thing he asked me is if i had seen the new Black widow effect by paul harris . (Theres a video demo on hocus pocus i think) I asked him if he recalled this kid and the peacan joke he pulled on that day . He laughed and said "Yeah , i still do it all the time , and after that i use my Electric touch and shock them" .... I asked him after if he had performed professionally . " Only once or twice as a clown in b-day parties'" . With his said , i think this kid will always remain at the "clown" stage . When i asked him if he still saw MR Technique-maniac he told me no but that he was better than him anyways . That Mr Technique had quit magic because he wasnt good enough . What a beautiful thing to say on fellow magicians
Now i mentioned in my title that all is a question of attitude and here is what i am getting to . I come regularly to theses forums and enjoy reading your new reviews , your comments and stories/advice in general . I find sad the fact that people have time to complain about the gramar and the famous "This has been posted before" wich , some people seem to be very good at doing . Now i know that a lot of people here are young magicians (12-13 years old) and its not everyone who wishes to become full time pros . Im pretty sure some people reconize themselves in this MR gimmick thing . Not 2 people perform the same way (if you do , please try not to copy anybody) The most beautiful thing in magic is sharing with your audience a moment of wonder . If you truly enjoy doing magic your persona and character will shine thru your performence and people will like you for that . How many times you hear "Make them like you and they will like your magic" . With that said , please try not to be cocky as this is a problem i have seen SOOOOOOOOOOOOO many times before .
My 2 hobbies that i practice is Magic and Wrestling . Now each one resembles the other in the aspect that it is so easy to get cocky . I mean , how many times people look up to you , almost admiring you when you do a trick (If there not , then its because you puzzled them instead of amzed them , try to change your aproach in general) . Here are a few rules that i follow when i talk about my magic
1 - I never bit@# on another magician , even blaine and Angel or even MR gimmick . That would bring me down to his level .
2 - I try to help out as much as i can , when i see people asking question that i know , i always try to show them or teach them the way to do it . I love teaching magic . I always respect other fellow magicians even if he is only 13 . We never know what the futur might hold .
3 - Don't be cocky or i could say , don't be a @$$ to laymen . When i was 13 , MR Gimmick with always tell me in a discouraged voice "Their laymen , their stupid" ... This is something else that makes me glad i didin't stay friends with this guy for too long . Now i started performing street magic for fun and to practice out my effects and the last thing i want is the spectator to think that he is stupid .
So i know that theses are all different ideas that ive thrown together to make this essay . I just hope that people will share their vision of what is a good magician and how it should conduct himself . I for one know that I am becoming big in montreal and ill be know nationally someday . I took that decision and am working towards my goal everyday .
See you at the top !!! Michael Raven
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ooops wrong smiley 
) Guess that strips away that maturity part heh ? .... im just teasing but again thank you for your support !