Tim writes:

I got the David Roth DVD set to learn sleight of hand. My question is that I struggle to see how I can transfer this to chop cup/ cup and balls work.

Is there a different way to see things I'm not seeing at the moment? Would a dvd/book about cup and balls give me the insight I'm missing?

Your thoughts are always welcome.
Still pushing on learning magic though iIhave neglected my studies due to heavy work at the moment (no excuse really is it)'

Hi Tim,

You're right… It's no excuse 🙂

Just do 10 minutes magic practice in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening each day. You don't need long marathon practice sessions to improve. The key is consistant, frequent drilling of the techniques over time, and that can be done in small daily bursts. Consider yourself told off 😉

I totally understand your desire to take your coin magic skills and apply them to a new area. There's no need to limit yourself to coin work, if you can adapt the moves to suit a different prop.

Many of the skills you will learn from coin magic work can cross over to the cups and balls. The biggest crossover is your 'timing' ability. The work you have put in on transfers and passes, all help with many of the moves for an advanced cups and balls routine. However, there is an important point you should remember:

Work with top down, rather than bottom up when you build your cups and balls routine.

Don't look at the moves you already perform and build a routine around them for the cups and balls. That leads to building a routine that is restricted and limited by your current skill set.

Instead, study as many cups and balls routines as you can, and choose one (or a combination of several) that is as entertaining as possible. Forget about the techniques that you will need to learn to perform it. Once you have picked a routine that you want to build, learn whatever techniques are required to perform it.

Imagine you are a cook. Pick a recipe that you want to make, THEN find the ingredients. Don't go through a cookbook trying to fine something to do with the stuff you already have in your larder.

Even though you will be learning many new techniques, you will still be amazed at how much cross over there is. Coin magic uses performance skills that can apply directly to using balls rather than coins, especially in your use of misdirection, framing and presentation. The exact mechanics may be different, but the psychology remains the same.

A great place to start would be the excellent training provided by Micheal Ammar:

Also available to download here