... but I have to ask, as I am not very familiar with rope magic yet, in his video clip on his website, is the Mongolian pop knot a version of the Professors nightmare? If so, I learned more watching that video clip than I did reading all my magic books on the handling of the three "even" ropes.

Thanks,
Sammy the Kid

It does include the professor's nightmare, but is more than just a version of it. It is a wonderful routine and worthy of your time to learn it.

oliver

Glad you like the "Mongolian Pop-Knot" routine. I have been performing that routine since the late 1960's.

The routine includes the "Professor's Nightmare" moves as a part of a cut and restored routine. The routine begins and ends with one long piece of rope.

What makes the routine rare among rope routines is that everything is justified and motivated by the patter. The need to explain, since the routine is framed as a "teaching the audience a trick," justifies the various cuts and the changes in size of the ropes--there is no sense of a series of "and here's another little trick I can do with the rope..."

There is a theme and a line of thought for the audience to follow that carries the routine from beginning to end. The humor comes from the attempt of the magician to explain or teach the students how to do "magic" not how to do a trick. The magician seems oblivious to the fact that what he is teaching is totally senseless and ridiculous, and the rope keeps behaving as the magician expects it to, not according to any rules of science or logic that the audience might come up with.

The magician takes the audience's laughter and heckling as a substitute teacher with an unruly class might--the result of the short attention span and obstinancy of the class and not something related to the quality of the instruction itself.

All of the various combinations of cuts and different sized pieces of rope are framed in the memory of the audience, and then the rope is restored into its original one long piece--making it impossible for the spectator to reconstruct the method.

For those who haven't seen it, a video clip is available here: http://www.whithaydn.com/video_clips.htm

I have the notes/book that explain the Mongolian Pop Knot routine and it definitely helped to see it in that video. Everyone should check it out.

Also be sure to pick up the notes --- they are great and it is a good solid rope routine!

There is also a VHS video available.

Good choice Sammy! I love his routines. Check out all the other videos besides the Mongolian Pop Knot. Great stuff.

OK. So I'm looking through my magic books and see parts of this routine scattered through all of em. Even in the Mark Wilson CCiM. Genius putting em all together into a remarkable routine. I wish I had a portion of the creativity that you do, Mr. Haydn. If you ever get to the St. Louis area or Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Southeast Missouri, or even Nashville, TN area, I'm gonna have to come see you live.

Sammy the Kid

Sam, you probably have something more important to do with the next forty years than query the skullduggery of such a scoundrel. Look how long it took him to learn the trick.

Gee, Bill. You see right through me. I feel like a sheet of glass.

You know Sammy, I am from Clarkesville, TN. My mom is from Virginia. I went to highschool in North Carolina, and college and graduate school in Virginia.

My Mongolian Pop-Knot Routine was created in 1968, and first published in 1975.

By the way how is the new grandchild doing? If you start him or her (?) learning the routine now it would be very efficient.

It is one of my favorite rope routines and there is nothing wrong with taking 40 years to learn a routine when it turns out legendary.

There are several things scattered through your routines that I came to similar conclusions or moves independently. It is always nice to see them confirmed by a real pro.

I developed the flip over display for color changing knives when I bought Daryl's knives and had a tough time rolling them properly. One thing led to another and I began performing my form of the move as part of my restaurant routine. Imagine my surprise when I saw it in print when I bought the Intricate Web of Deception.

That has happened to me before as well. It's not just that great minds think alike (although I am certain it is in this case ), but that there are sometimes such few solutions to the particular problems that arise in various routines.

You know, almost all my routines have taken thirty or forty years to learn, and I still have quite a ways to go. If it wasn't a fun journey, it could get frustrating.

Whit, is that the Clarksville that's just south of the Kentucky border? We pass through that neighborhood (sort of) a couple times a year on our way to visit friends in Chattanooga.

Sammy the Kid that's not stalking you.... honest....

Whit, I absolutely LOVED your demo and can't wait till I get your video.

Yes. Right next to Fort Campbell, Ky. I live in Los Angeles now, to avoid troublesome stalkers like yourself...

Aw Whit, We're practically former neighbors! I live about 15 minutes south of Southern Illinois University (Home of the Salukis).
By the way, I performed your Mongolian Popknot routine and your Chinese linking rings for my family this weekend and they went nuts. 'Course I made some minor alterations to fit my personality. The whole magic lesson idea makes for a great act though.

Sammy the Kid

Thanks, Sammy. You look like pretty much like "a good ole boy," especially for a yankee.

I have done an entire act of "teaching magic" for more than thirty years now. It is a very useful motivating hook. I am glad you enjoy doing my routines. They become more fun the more you use them. I never tire of doing the same routines over and over if they are properly constructed and everything is motivated correctly.

Thank you for posting the link to the video of your performing Whit. While I've seen you lecture etc I had never seen you perform in character and it was a pleasure to see. I've posted the link elsewhere so folks can see how it should be done.
Steve V

Thanks, Steve V. I am glad that you enjoyed the clips. Thanks for posting the link.

I did not know where else to post this, but since we are giving Whit his justly deserved accolades, I will put it here.

In Whit's DVD on the CC Knives: The Intricate Web Of Distraction, Whit uses Sander's Knives. He is not using the Mogar set which bear his name. Pehaps it's just as well that Whit worked out a deal w/Mogar. A set of Sander's knives is going for $500+ on ebay. The mogar set is much more reasonable. I would also reccomend Whit's DVD to anyone doing the knives.

If you want the Sander's set you better hurry. There is only one day left and the reserve has not been met!

They are not Sanders knives. They are a set made by Neil Lester of Cards by Martin. I had them for many, many years. He doesn't make them anymore.

The video was shot by Bob Kohler before I had a set of Mogar knives. Joe Mogar made the original sets of knives with the rough and smooth, simulated staghorn and pearl knives for the School for Scoundrels and they were called the Whit Haydn knives because they were the set required for my routine "The Intricate Web of Distraction."

This is the set I have used ever since, and this is an excellent piece of craftsmanship. I highly recommend the Mogar knives for anyone. They are a great bargain, and if you had ever really shopped for knives you would understand why I say this.

The Sanders knives are among the best ever made, and if it were possible to get a set made that matched them, that would be the set to get.