Hello my friends. I have been living and breathing pickpocketing for the last couple months in preparation for my first goal in the field. I have every DVD and book I could get my hands on (Freedman, Coats, Brasil, Dunn, Ravels, Raffle, Le Seuer, Joseph, and maybe a few more). I have practiced on my inflatable mannequin, broom stick (for watches), and a partner. I am now less than a month from my goal which is to perform my pickpocket act at an open mic night (like I said, "first goal"), but I find myself being held back by nerves from practicing on live strangers on the street. I think some of the source being the idea of doing something you are told since child hood not to do, but it feels like if I can just break through this barrier I will be able to snowball down this incredible path.

I wanted to know if anyone else had experienced this and is so how you made it past.

I sincerely appreciate it.

Still nerves, but the *** is broken and several watches have been stolen and returned. The start of more to come.

Unfortunately there is no real way to practise, you just have to go for it. Sure you will get caught a few times, you just need an out for these occasions. You will get caught less and less as you work in the real world situations, dummy's and family are not really the best option for practising.

Http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=189

Maybe this could help a tiny bit.

Getting caught stealing from strangers seems...dangerous at best.

Thank you everyone. It is definitely going better. The more I pair the steals with performing a few tricks before the more I a becoming comfortable looking at it as just another trick rather than...well theft.

I agree with george1953. You WILL get caught eventually...probably often in the beginning. It's all about having an out when you do. Gregory Wilson has a great out he explains on his On the Spot video. In his example, when he gets caught trying to steal a watch, he simply owns up to it in a joking manner. On the downbeat he says he's going to move on to something else, and since the chase is over, he just steals the watch anyway as everyone laughs it off. You can use this for any pick (or put). Once the tension is released, move in for the kill!