Dude That's Cool Magic Blog

This is probably the first problem a magician starting out has - what if someone knows your tricks? How do you prevent it, or handle it when it does happen? Well, first up, let’s just be clear. It happens to everybody, at some point. But here’s a check list to make sure it happens as little as possible, and when it does, to give it minimal importance. One - Are your tricks deceptive? There’s an old line about ‘there’s no bad tricks, only bad performers’. The truth is, there’s plenty of both. Not all tricks are created equal, and as a performer it’s up to you to pick the best ones for your own performing character. As a general rule, I like to avoid tricks where the first solution as spectator might come up with is the correct one. Like Linking Rings. Urg. So, are the tricks you are doing deceptive? Is there an obvious solution to them, and if so, what can you do to hide or conceal the secret more? There normally is, and if it’s not obvious, co...

It’s not often that I think of myself as an old-fashioned kind of guy, but in at least one sense, I am. Very. It all stems from my ability to keep a secret. These days, for a magician, this trait is rare. Keeping a secret is an unusual thing to do, as other guys concentrate a lot of effort on the complete opposite. Youtube videos are made with a performance so bad that no secret is protected, but just as common are videos of people simply revealing the methods - no attempt at performance. So, why is this bad? First of all, it is of course exposure. Now, I’m not one of those people that goes screaming to the magic circle when a maths trick appears on a cereal packet, but likewise, I believe it should be slightly harder for a spectator to uncover a method for a trick by simply typing it into a search engine. In the age of smart phones, I’ve had people google the tricks during the performance. This is obviously not a great situation. Secondly, (but probably of paramou...

This is, of all of the things that I will blog about, one of the most important to me, because a single piece of advice totally flipped my perspective, changed my magic for the better, and literally started a revolution for one. When I first started out (and if I am being honest, quite a few years after that) I thought of myself as a pretty good performer. I would do paid gigs, and the majority of the time, they would go very smoothly. Occasionally, there would be the odd spectator or two who didn’t like the magic, or ones that would grab props, or interfere and heckle generally. But hey, what’s a guy to do? Everyone gets guys like that right? But a funny line, to put them in their place, puts them straight. That’s what I’d been told. My job is to show people magic, and I’d do that, regardless of anything else. At the time, I thought like this. And now, here’s the piece of advice that blew my brain. It comes (like all good knowledge) f...

We've added a bunch of goodies to the site over the weekend:   iTwist by Skulkor (Black)  and iTwist by Skulkor (Black and White Combo Set) Imagine yourself borrowing an iPhone from anyone, twist it in half while the phone screen is still on, then Twist it back and restore the phone. And hand the phone back to its owner. You heard it right. It's a borrowed phone. Can't get crazier than this. Talk about performing organic miracle with everyday objects. Some may use a coin, some may use a dollar bill. Nothing, is like borrowing people's everyday phone and perform miracles. A modern twist from the legendary Paul Harris' Screw Deck. Many have had fun moving the phone logo around. How about REALLY screwing someone's phone? Borrow an iPhone and twist it. Change the physical structure of the entire phone! Now that's crazy! Cell phone has grown to be a very intimate and emotional attachment to almost everyone is this generation. There is just no bet...

One of the things I often get asked when lecturing or teaching a trick is “What happens if someone says ‘Can I examine it?’ or a similar question?” It’s a strange question because these days, lay people simply never ask me to examine the props I am using.  I like tricks that end clean, but even when I use them, and overtly offer the props out, people often refuse. And yet, it certainly wasn’t always like that - I definitely remember starting out, and lots of spectators were very ‘touchy-feely’ and often wanted to check out whatever I happened to be using. Coming to understand the change is difficult - there was certainly no sudden tip or secret that I could credit the change to - the shift was instead so gradual that I have no recollection of the actual process. So, to my mind, that means a combination of several things.  I’m going to take a look at three of them now. Confidence. This is the big one, and time really is the only thing that progresses it.  When ...

I’ve read comments and articles about the ‘essential’ things that a magician should learn before, but it always seems to exclusively focus on card magic. Nothing wrong with that, obviously, and God knows I love my card tricks , but I am of the opinion that cards should just be a small part of what we are able to do as magicians. Quite often when I was performing at table hopping gigs, I would remove a deck of cards only to be informed by a spectator ‘I have seen this one!’ or on doing two or three card tricks in a row, someone might comment ‘Do you do tricks with other things too?’. However, when I do a couple of non-card tricks to open, I have never heard ‘Do you do any of those card tricks?’.  So, variety being the spice of life, here are some of the things that I think you should learn, particularly if you are a beginner - these are tools that could serve you well for the rest of your life. The Bill Switch . I’m not going into the gimmick that you need to do the ‘ 100 Dolla...

  Okay, so we’ve been waiting for “the secret weapon that even James Bond would be thrilled to own” for a few weeks now I’m please to write that finally we’ve just taken delivery of “ Kieron Kirkland's Espionage Wallet ” I sat down and watched the instructional DVD last night and I must say that the routines just got better and better and better. I’m so impressed, I simply just can’t wait to get out and start utilising this brilliant piece of kit for myself -  Highly recommended! Some of the features contained within the Espionage No Palm Card to wallet Palm Card To Wallet Billet to wallet Very clever Internal peek External peek Perfect switch wallet SUC function Holdout system Billet Index Card Index Shogun System Now, we know what you're thinking "this wallet must be huge!" Well fear not, Kieran has combined all these features in to a standard size Hip Pocket wallet. The Espionage has been design for you to carry as your everyday wallet. You ...