Strategic Withdrawal

At some point or another, every magician is going to deal with a tough spectator. You might even have a full-blown heckler, but be aware that contrary to what most newbies will tell you, they're actually few and far between. There's a lot of talk on how to deal with people like that. Let me start by telling you what not to do.

One of the most popular tactics among the young crowd was formalized into a DVD routine by the godfather of egomaniacal move monkeys himself, Brian Tudor. His Heckler DVD outlines a set of routines of incredibly difficult to follow sleight of hand and card manipulation meant to target a tough spectator or heckler. The intent is to embarrass them and make them look stupid. A lot of guys look at that and fantasize about doing it themselves, dreaming of that gratifying, "Take that!" moment. It's schadenfreude-tastic!

But let me ask you something... If you have a guy who clearly doesn't like you, when has it ever been a good idea to antagonize him further?

There is a common misconception that withdrawal or retreat is considered a sign of weakness. That it's giving up the fight and scurrying off with your tail between your legs. That belief however has cost more than a few armies battles and wars. The Mongols and the American revolutionaries both used strategic withdrawals to maneuver opponents into traps or trick them into making a bad move. And that's what you want to do.

If you have an antagonist who doesn't want to be reasonable, muster up as much class as you can and politely excuse yourself. The rest of the group will see you as a man who simply doesn't want to be hassled by their very rude companion. Your opponent will effectively tie his own rope.

Swallow your pride and learn that sticking around to butt heads is a battle of attrition. It's a fool's game. A strategic withdrawal is magic Aikido: redirecting the energy of an opponent back against him.