I really started magic when I was a boy. I really started magic because of my father.
I come from a middle income family, in which neither of my parents were even remotely related to magic or any kind of performing arts. I don’t have the luxury of having any magic items already provided for me as well.
My father merely used magic to amuse and play with me when he is back from work. One of the magic that I remembered is that he would pretend to throw a handkerchief into the air and I would look in that direction and when I turn back it’s gone! When I was a kid then, it’s truly real magic.
One of my favourites was how he showed a handkerchief and hands empty and then make an egg appear inside the folded handkerchief. You can tap on it, you can hear it, sounds like an egg. You can see the form under the handkerchief. But just when he pulled it away, it’s gone! (See below!)
My dad never told me the secret! It kept me curious for many years. It was only a long while later that my aunt tried to perform it and my young cousin “broke the egg”.
I am glad that my dad didn’t expose the secret to me. I believed in magic and that made me want to learn magic on my own. My interest grew with the help from SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) then, which was showing David Copperfield specials on TV. I would tape them and watch them again and again!
I explored magic a lot on my own. I tried to think of ways how David Copperfield could do it. I made magic things out of cardboard. I use ordinary objects that I find around the house I am proud to say that I knew quite a bit of the master magician’s secrets before I turned 12. (I even wrote a book on secrets of David Copperfield.)
I think parents nowadays tend to spoon feed children with information and knowledge. But a lot of times, kids are smart enough to explore and learn on their own. Give them questions, not answers. I think they will learn a lot this way.
Next: One of my first magic tricks