Learn To Pick A Card From Thin Air Just Like The Pros Do
Welcome to Magic Monday. Huh?
Every other week in Yakima, a small group of local magicians gathers on Monday evening in the basement of the Glenwood Square Shopping Center at a place called the Pub to drink Huckleberry Lemonade, share the latest tricks, and talk about the art of magic.
Who Are Yakima's Magi?
The crew consists of Captain Squirrel, Ed the Great, a man called Magic, Q the Card Expert, The Amazing Aldrich, and myself. An Ex-Ronald McDonald has been known to show up from time to time.
It's a lot of fun and it's a cheaper and safer hobby than say, juggling hand grenades.
All the guys have performed professionally (for pay) and all have volunteered countless hours of pro bono entertainment because of their love of magic and sharing laughter and amazement. (Depending on the trick we hope more for amazement than laughter!) Each has a specialty interest in one or more of the various categories of magic but we all share a love of card magic
Card Magic Is Universal In Appeal
Before you get ahead of us here and start to tell me how lame your uncle Elmer's card tricks were, let me point out that there are several different kinds of card magic They include:
- Card Manipulations
- ESP Demonstrations with Cards
- Math-Based Card Tricks
- Sleight-Of-Hand Magic With Cards
- Card Cheating & Gambling Demonstrations
Some tricks are actually quite easy to do, others require some practice and a good memory, others take a lot of practice and a keen understanding of human psychology, and card manipulations can take years and years of dedicated practice to accomplish.
Magic Has An Olympics?
Every three years the world's best magicians get together for what is essentially the "Olympics of Magic" called FISM. FISM stands for Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques, also called the World Congress of Magic, the organization was founded in 1948. The competition moves about the globe. Every three years FISM is held in a different great city of the world city with the 2022 edition scheduled for July 25th-30th in Québec City, Canada.
None of us locals are quite of FISM caliber, especially in the field of card manipulation! We know how some things work but clearly knowing HOW something is done is a far cry from being ABLE to do it. Case in Point...THIS guy! (shown in the video below)
Best in The World
South Korean manipulator An Ha Lim is a 2018 FISM Champion. He produces cards. Lots and lots and lots of cards...something like 800 in a ten-minute act.
In the gallery following the video, I'll show you how to produce a single card. Once you get that down, it's just ten years and 799 cards to go! Actually, there are certain moves in magic that are so amazing, so difficult, that knowing what's going on behind the scenes is even more amazing than the trick itself. Card manipulations are in that category.
Enjoy the passion, the creativity, and the energy of one of the world's best. Then grab a playing card or even your business card and give it a shot. I predict you'll appreciate the skill and artistry of An Ha Lim even more!
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