Welcome to the new home of Ian Kendall’s training and coaching courses. Here you will find Ian’s in depth training for all aspects of magic.

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See you soon 🙂

2020 stars

Taking the Step book

From close quarters to centre stage

Taking the Step offers an in-depth dialogue for any close-up magician aspiring to transition onto the stage. Ian Kendall meticulously guides readers through every facet of stage performance, offering insights from the vantage point of a seasoned closeup performer stepping into the world of stagecraft.

Drawing on over three decades of professional experience, Ian leaves no detail unexplored, sharing candid advice about which skills translate seamlessly from close-up magic to the stage and which techniques may prove less effective in larger, more formal settings.

“I love Ian’s thinking and I can’t even begin to explain how helpful it has been to me in my own journey from close up to stage”
Jon Armstrong

“Important questions and invaluable answers from a magic polymath, well worth an entertaining and revealing afternoon or evening”
R Paul Wilson

Taking the Step is £40

The Lost Luggage Show book

Disaster planning for magicians

What do you do when your luggage doesn’t arrive? Or you left your show box in the hallway at home? You have to put on a show, but you don’t have any of your props.

The Lost Luggage Show is a conversation with Ian Kendall, who gives a solid framework to prepare your own Emergency Show before you need it. How to choose the material, sort it, and build a show that is every bit as professional as the one currently in an airport somewhere else.

We all have insurance to cover a car, or a home, or for travel. The Lost Luggage Show is insurance for your magic.

The Lost Luggage Show is £30

“This book is full of useful information, and great routines. Every stage magician should read it and be prepared for when that emergency situation arrives. Highly recommended”    Nick Lewin

Basic Training the Book Deluxe edition

The Complete Columns from MUM

Between 2009 and 2011 a very special column appeared in M-U-M, the in house magazine for the Society of American Magicians. Conceived to be an introduction to sleight of hand aimed at beginners, the thirty six lessons ended up being one of the most detailed courses in conjuring to date. The topics covered included all aspects of magic; cards and coins, balls, ropes and cups, stand up and close up, interspersed with real world performance hints and tips from someone who has spent time in the trenches.

This hardbacked version contains all thirty six Basic Training columns, plus two extra lessons on the Classic Pass and the Top Change, in full colour.

The book is £50

Braindump

A lifetime of routines and presentations

Braindump is a collection of professional routines that Ian Kendall has used in public shows over the last 30 years. Close up, parlour, and stage effects and presentations, along with essays and discussions, and in depth analyses of twenty Fringe shows, with running orders and handling tips.

Braindump is £50

Basic Coin Magic 2.0

The classic video lessons rerecorded

Basic Coin Magic 2.0 is an updated rerecording of the classic 2004 VCD. Ian goes through the building block sleights of coin magic in his usual levels of detail, so that you will be able to tackle the myriad of routines that have been published, as well as creating your own. Eighty minutes of unrivalled instruction from one of magic’s best teachers.

One Coin

Explorations of a one coin routine

One Coin follows on perfectly from Basic Coin Magic. In this lesson, Ian explains how to develop your own one coin routine using the sleights you already know, and teaches a few more that you may have missed.

The vanish of a single coin is certainly one of the most pure magic effects possible. Coins are ubiquitous, organic, and recognisable by everyone on the planet (pretty much). Having a solid one coin routine in your repertoire means that you will always be ready to perform.

The Classic Force

Detailed instruction on this important sleight

The classic force is a move that has an undeserved reputation as a difficult move. In this lesson, Ian breaks down the sleight into its constituent parts, and teaches each in his usual detail before putting them together into the finished whole. Make your forces surefire with this in depth instruction.

Bastard Hard Moves made Easy

The classic VCD lessons in HD

Often cited as the most perfectly named product in magic, the 2004 VCD Bastard Hard Moves made Easy has gained a reputation for its clear teaching of some tricky sleights. Now, fifteen or so years later, Ian has rerecorded the lessons in HD, along with two extra moves. All the same detail focused teaching, at a considerably larger resolution.

Gypsy

The Classic two-for-two dice switch

The two-for-two dice switch is the stuff of legend; from crossroaders shooting dice in the back rooms of spit’n’sawdust bars to high rollers playing craps in Las Vegas – the move is seldom seen today. In this 40 minute lesson Ian Kendall gives in depth instruction on this elusive technique.

Three Found Cards

An amazing card revelation

Three Found Cards is straight from Ian’s close up and stand up shows. The magician divines three cards under the fairest conditions. Watch the full performance and trailer by clicking the button!

Proof

Mathematical Oddities that don't make sense.

Proof is a collection of strange mathematical proofs where you can show, convincingly, that things are not always what they seem. To most people, the idea that ‘minus one’ is equal to ‘one’ might sound barmy, or that Pi=2, or 4, or that 4=5, but that is what you will be able to prove with this video.

Basic Training The Book and E-Book

A complete course in sleight of hand.

Basic Training is a collection of Ian’s award winning columns from M-U-M magazine. Detailed lessons with cards, coins, ropes, balls and a whole lot more, close up and stand up magic, it’s filled with hints and tips that only come from real world experience.

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