By: Josh Mandel
I love paddle tricks...for many reasons: the spectator's eyes can
literally be inches away, you (usually) end clean, they can look so
magical, and you can frequently find objects in the immediate vicinity
that are well-suited to the basic paddle move.
My favorite application, which is also completely impromptu, is to tear TWO matches out of a matchbook. The matchbook ideally should be one where both sides of the matches are the same color, which is rare; usually, the back side is darker than the front, or the fronts are bluish and the backs are gray. (Having both sides of the match the same color is not crucial, but it's HIGHLY desirable. If the sides are of two different colors, the color-change of the match "stem" will be a tip-off to the methodology. It's rarely noticed, but it still makes me uncomfortable, especially when handing the matches out for inspection at the end.) The match heads should be white or light-colored.
Take a pen or pencil (I like a fine-tip marker for vividness) and carefully draw a very generic "x" on each of the two match heads. Now obviously turn the matches over and MIME drawing Xs on the other sides of the match heads (actually leaving them blank). Keep the matches tilted up towards you while you pretend to draw them, so that nobody can see that you're not actually making any marks. Once you've pretended to draw the Xs, turn the matches over again so that the heads with the Xs are showing.
Position both matches, side-by-side with the heads up, between the thumb and forefinger of your preferred paddle-move hand. You'll want a distance of roughly a third of an inch between the two matches, but this requires some experimentation as it's necessary to develop a feel for the proper placement. You're going to do the paddle move with both matches at the same time in the same hand. So the placement not only depends on the thickness and width of the matches (which can change from matchbook to matchbook), but also on the shapes of your thumb and forefinger. Dry hands can also be a nuisance here. But with a little practice, you'll find the paddle move is very nearly as easy with TWO small items as it is with a single item, and due to the small size of the matches, the entire paddle move can be done with a bare minimum of movement, slowly and deliberately, and is thus very deceptive.
Note: I'd strongly advise that, if you've never worked with the matches from a given brand of matchbook before, to clandestinely remove two matches and test them to see if you can get them to "roll over" dependably, side by side, before you do the trick. I've occasionally found matchbooks where the matches were just too thin for my fingers to roll.
Now encourage the spectator(s) to look VERY closely as you use the paddle move to show Xs on both sides of the matches, which they should already be expecting.
I patter about the curious property of the substance on the tips of matches, and how absorbent it is. The spectator is asked to hasten the absorption by blowing on the matches. I hold the matches close to the spectator's face at this point. As they blow, do the rollover without turning the hand (I cover it with a slightly larger motion of moving the hand a few inches farther away) and the Xs appear to VISIBLY vanish. I can now show the matches (fairly) to have x's on one side, and not on the other.
I visibly readjust the matches so that the Xs are face-up again. (I exaggerate the difficulty of doing this just a little, to reinforce the idea of how clumsy it is to handle such tiny objects.) Now have the spectator blow the Xs off of this "other side." Using the paddle move, you can now show the Xs entirely gone from both sides of the matches.
I mention that the match heads can be rehydrated with just a touch of moisture, and I draw the blank(?) matches across the spectator's face-up palm, turn my hand over without doing the paddle move, and show that the x's have been restored on the sides that were touching the palm. I visibly readjust the matches again so that the Xs are face-up, and then do the drawing-across-the-palm bit again with the blank match sides, and then using the paddle move to show that the Xs have returned to both sides of the matches.
I finish by having the spectator blow again on one side only and doing the "visible" vanish of the Xs. I point out that the Xs I drew on one side are still there while the Xs I drew on the other side have vanished, and I hand the matches out for inspection while showing quite obviously that I have no other matches in my hands.
I've tried the hot rod, various color-changing knife routines, and the new Dream Paddle and Jumping Arrow versions, but I have to say that I think the match routine gets a better reaction than any of them. All those dealer items look somewhat suspicious, but the matches are as above-board as can be. The fact that there are TWO matches completely throws off the occasional person who has heard of (or even does) the standard paddle move. Most folks come away with the impression that I was somehow ringing in other matches with lightning speed. If that's what they want to think, great!
I'd be very interested to hear other people's favorite applications of the concept...or favorite dealer items using the principle.
By: Glenn Lawrence
Josh, that routine sounds great! I know what you mean about hot rods,
etc. looking suspicious to the specs. I can remember some years back
when I first got into magic, one of the first things I ever saw demo'd
by a dealer was the hot rod - of course I was blown away, but when he
let me examine it, I was sure there was some mechanism to it that I
was simply "not in the know" about. This has been solved somewhat by
the inroduction of clear hot rods, but I agree with your
point. Believe it or not, I use a paddle that comes from a magic set I
got as a kid! Works great!
By: Andrew
I like using colour changing knives personally. I have a "cheap" set,
but I like playing around with the trick. I don't have a very good
routine, but still manage to trick myself.
By: Frank Yuen
Paul Green used to sell a trick called the Pygmy Paddle which I used
in the restaurant a lot. It was written up in Magic a while back. I
like it because I'm sure the audience remembers it as their name
appearing written on the paddle and four changes occur with the
ungimmicked paddle. I used to give them away afterward and would
always see them later shaking it over and over.
By: Phil Gladden
I have enjoy no 2 pencil(see magic talk review).It is part of my
regular close up set. The routine supplied is visual and has a great
climax
By: Robert Vanden Heuvel
Your impromptu "match as paddle" idea is excellent.
You could use the same props to do a "jumping X" routine where the mark jumps from one match to the other. Placing one match in each hand and then bringing the heads together would transfer the X so that now they both had it. You could then even go into your routine as described.
Just tossing in some more ideas.
By: Josh Mandel
Robert,
That's cool. I can also see something where I start off with just one match head with an x, eventually ending up with all four match heads having x's.
I wish I could remember who first showed me how easy it was to do the paddle move with two matches; it was at least 15-20 years ago in Chicago.
By: FalgahBoy
I recently had some fun with my sister in law at a restaurant, when I
showed her a spoon that was "the same on both sides." I held it so
that the bowl of the spoon was facing her, and I said, "The spoons
here are pretty weird... They're the same on both sides!" as I turned
the spoon the other way, and the bowl was still facing her. I repeated
this a few times, and she was really freaked out. I couldn't believe
how baffled she was. She literally grabbed the spoon out of my hands
so she could look more closely at it!
This is nothing like the magic I usually do, but it was fun.
By: Don B
I have and still use Joe Porper's toothpick paddle from the late
70's.It was shown to me by Chris Capehart and really blew me away when
I tried to put the toothpick into the paddle and there weren't any
holes in it.
I also have Jenest's #2 pencil. I teach in a junior high. Having a pencil where the #2 jumps around, vanishes, and reappears keeps a lot of people busy with their own pencils.
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