Two Quick Questions about sSlight of Hand

RVM45 · 29th June 2008, 05:23 PM

.....Years ago, I was watching a magic special on TV. They introduced a fellow they said was the best SOH artist in the World with scarves. But I don't recall his name.

.....The dude walks out in a short sleeved "T" shirt; and he repeatedly pulls scarfs out of seeming nowhere; always giving them a good pitch as he produces them. He wasn't on long--maybe 90 seconds or so. He produced roughly 15-20 scarves.

.....I really wish that I'd taped it; to play it back in slow motion.

.....Up until that time, I'd never been terribbly interested in SOH. It occurred to me though; that the scarf trick could have a very practical application in martial arts--imagine the distracting power of a scarf hurled at a potential Client's face with no warning.(In some Martial Arts circles, one refers to someone about to do you harm as: "The Client.")

.....I've bought a couple Slight of Hand books over the years--none of which really showed me how to do the scarf trick.(Presumably, in a dark alley, where no one was expecting Slight of Hand, one wouldn't have to be a World class SOH Artist.)

.....So can you point me at a book or website that really gets deeply into the scarf tricks?

.....Secondly, has anyone ever written a book or even article, Deliberately collecting Slights and Magic tricks that have legitimate(as opposed to staged demonstrations) Martial Arts uses?

.....Thank you.

RVM45

Denver · 29th June 2008, 05:38 PM

I'm guessing in a true brawl, or mugging, SOH would be of little use. Seems to me it would only be useful if the 'client' were willing to stand there and watch you do things, which is likely not the case, and likely not something you'd want to be counting on.

It might work in the dojo with newbies. But not much beyond that.

Bob Klase · 29th June 2008, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by Denver

Seems to me it would only be useful if the 'client' were willing to stand there and watch you do things

Not to mention the wait while you set up whatever you're going to do. It's likely that the 90 seconds or so the magician did on TV took at least 20 minutes (possibly much longer) to set up before the performance. I don't know who that magician might have been, but you can be assured that he didn't walk around all day ready to produce a bunch of scarfs.

Originally Posted by Denver

It might work in the dojo with newbies. But not much beyond that.

It also tends to work well in movies and on TV.

RVM45 · 30th June 2008, 07:34 AM

Both of y'all raise points that I hadn't considered--and since you're much more knowledgible about magic than I am, I have little doubt that you're correct.

If you read many adventure books--biographical as well as fictional--you will come across the cliched phrase: He produced a knife as if by slieght of hand.

Interestingly enough, this is always when the fellow is preparing to use his knife for some utilitarian purpose--cut a string, slice a link of bologna, open a bilster, whatever. He doesn't do it in the face of impending attack.

After a lot of cogitation, I realixed that if you want to acquire a reputation for seemingly pulling knives out of thin air--You'd watch for an opportunity; load the knife--almost certainly some sort of palm--then produce it with a flourish to slice your Big Mac in two; then put it away convetionally,

This would be a trick, not terribly useful for defense and as a couple friends pointed--being known as the fellow who can produce a blade fiendishly quickly could be as much a liability as an asset.

Thanks for your helpful remarks.

Oh, and I had never thought but what the magician did walk around ready to produce the scarves anytime--shows you what I know...

.....RVM45

Bob Klase · 30th June 2008, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by RVM45

Oh, and I had never thought but what the magician did walk around ready to produce the scarves anytime--shows you what I know...

That's something different about magic than most arts. Say you're a magician and people expect you to be able to perform at any time. Say you're a singer and no one ever (or rarely) expects you to sing something on the spot. If you're at a party and say you're an artist, no one will ever ask you to paint a picture right then. So most magicians will have at least a couple tricks they can do anytime, or will always carry something they can do.

Geoffrey Buckingham (a well known magician years ago) used to do a manipulation act that was very short (I believe less than 3 minutes) but took him an hour to set up before each show.

29th June 2008, 05:23 PM	#1
RVM45 Student Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 42	Two Quick Questions about sSlight of Hand .....Years ago, I was watching a magic special on TV. They introduced a fellow they said was the best SOH artist in the World with scarves. But I don't recall his name. .....The dude walks out in a short sleeved "T" shirt; and he repeatedly pulls scarfs out of seeming nowhere; always giving them a good pitch as he produces them. He wasn't on long--maybe 90 seconds or so. He produced roughly 15-20 scarves. .....I really wish that I'd taped it; to play it back in slow motion. .....Up until that time, I'd never been terribbly interested in SOH. It occurred to me though; that the scarf trick could have a very practical application in martial arts--imagine the distracting power of a scarf hurled at a potential Client's face with no warning.(In some Martial Arts circles, one refers to someone about to do you harm as: "The Client.") .....I've bought a couple Slight of Hand books over the years--none of which really showed me how to do the scarf trick.(Presumably, in a dark alley, where no one was expecting Slight of Hand, one wouldn't have to be a World class SOH Artist.) .....So can you point me at a book or website that really gets deeply into the scarf tricks? .....Secondly, has anyone ever written a book or even article, Deliberately collecting Slights and Magic tricks that have legitimate(as opposed to staged demonstrations) Martial Arts uses? .....Thank you. RVM45
RVM45 Student Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 42

30th June 2008, 07:34 AM	#4
RVM45 Student Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 42	Both of y'all raise points that I hadn't considered--and since you're much more knowledgible about magic than I am, I have little doubt that you're correct. If you read many adventure books--biographical as well as fictional--you will come across the cliched phrase: He produced a knife as if by slieght of hand. Interestingly enough, this is always when the fellow is preparing to use his knife for some utilitarian purpose--cut a string, slice a link of bologna, open a bilster, whatever. He doesn't do it in the face of impending attack. After a lot of cogitation, I realixed that if you want to acquire a reputation for seemingly pulling knives out of thin air--You'd watch for an opportunity; load the knife--almost certainly some sort of palm--then produce it with a flourish to slice your Big Mac in two; then put it away convetionally, This would be a trick, not terribly useful for defense and as a couple friends pointed--being known as the fellow who can produce a blade fiendishly quickly could be as much a liability as an asset. Thanks for your helpful remarks. Oh, and I had never thought but what the magician did walk around ready to produce the scarves anytime--shows you what I know... .....RVM45
RVM45 Student Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 42

29th June 2008, 05:38 PM	#2
Denver Master Poster Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 2,739	I'm guessing in a true brawl, or mugging, SOH would be of little use. Seems to me it would only be useful if the 'client' were willing to stand there and watch you do things, which is likely not the case, and likely not something you'd want to be counting on. It might work in the dojo with newbies. But not much beyond that.

29th June 2008, 09:47 PM	#3
Bob Klase Master Poster Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Largo, FL Posts: 2,445	Originally Posted by Denver Seems to me it would only be useful if the 'client' were willing to stand there and watch you do things Not to mention the wait while you set up whatever you're going to do. It's likely that the 90 seconds or so the magician did on TV took at least 20 minutes (possibly much longer) to set up before the performance. I don't know who that magician might have been, but you can be assured that he didn't walk around all day ready to produce a bunch of scarfs. Originally Posted by Denver It might work in the dojo with newbies. But not much beyond that. It also tends to work well in movies and on TV.

30th June 2008, 09:35 AM	#5
Bob Klase Master Poster Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Largo, FL Posts: 2,445	Originally Posted by RVM45 Oh, and I had never thought but what the magician did walk around ready to produce the scarves anytime--shows you what I know... That's something different about magic than most arts. Say you're a magician and people expect you to be able to perform at any time. Say you're a singer and no one ever (or rarely) expects you to sing something on the spot. If you're at a party and say you're an artist, no one will ever ask you to paint a picture right then. So most magicians will have at least a couple tricks they can do anytime, or will always carry something they can do. Geoffrey Buckingham (a well known magician years ago) used to do a manipulation act that was very short (I believe less than 3 minutes) but took him an hour to set up before each show.