The trick with a magician sitting on an invisible chair in the air is world-famous. The secret behind it is rather simple: a very clever metal construction that is applied to one of the magician’s legs.
The entire trick is explained in a video by “The Q” (he’s the person in the image above). He managed to build a special construction that he can put on one of his legs.
His jeans keep the secret hidden: The special leg brace is concealed by his clothing. From a spectator’s view, it actually looks like he is floating in the air. Many magicians around the world perform this same trick, using comparable constructions.
The secret behind the invisible chair trick: A leg brace
The secret behind this magic trick is a contraption made out of steel plates and rods. The magician can place his foot on the plate on the floor and put his leg in the special leg brace, which can be connected to the floor.
You can watch the entire process of building it in the video above.
All of the preparations have to be done in advance so that none of the spectators can reveal the secret behind this illusion.
Even though this special construction is quite large, it’s still possible to hide it while walking around. To sit down on the “invisible chair”, the magician has to hook up the hidden contraption to a plate on the floor.
This plate can be hidden using a blanket, a carpet, some clothes laying on the floor, or other everyday objects that don’t look suspicious.
As soon as the plate on the floor is connected with the contraption on the magician’s leg, he can slowly sit down by shifting his weight on the left leg. The other leg can be used to keep his balance and avoid falling on his back.
Once everything is in place, it looks like the magician is actually sitting on an invisible chair.
The position requires some body tension, but it can be held for quite some time.
Another performance of the invisible chair
This video shows the exact same trick in another setting. The earth’s gravitational force seems to be suspended – however, the mechanism behind this illusion can always be explained.
A second feature of the floating chair magic trick
Another feature of this special leg brace is the ability to lean very far forward without falling on the ground. All you have to do is connect your shoe with the hidden plate on the floor and you are good to go.
Since your heel is locked in place, you won’t fall, as long as you can keep your body tension up. The video above shows this effect in action.
The only downside of this technique is the required counterpart, the metal plate on the floor. That’s is the reason why some other performers use a different method, where they seem to float completely in the air.
How magicians can float in the air
Another technique allows the performer to sit in the air, without anything touching the ground. The only connection to the floor is a vertical pole, on which the magician has to put one of his hands.
For this illusion, a few of the same principles are applied. The pole is connected to the floor on a big metal plate, which is hidden below cardboard or a blanket. Below the magicians clothes is an even bigger contraption that allows him to sit on hidden plate.
The entire preparation of this trick can be watched in the video above.
While the trick may same less impressive once you know the secrets behind it, it still requires a lot of practice and body tension for a smooth performance. If you ever see one of these performances live, it will still be impressive – even though you now know exactly how it works.
Can you buy the invisible chair trick?
This special leg brace can be bought in specific magic shops or at big online retailers. Since the material has to be high quality and it can’t be made in mass production due to the low demand, the price is usually pretty high.
However, it is commercially available and can be bought by anyone, just like most other magic tricks as well.
The price for the leg brace
Most magic shops and online shops like AliBaba that I checked, asked for around 700-800$ for the invisible chair. This is an illusion that many professional magicians perform on a regular basis, and some street performets even make a living of this trick.
In consequence, the price is a lot higher than many other magic tricks and illusions and it will probably be a little bit more challenging to actually find a store where you can buy the effect.
How to do the invisible chair trick yourself
To do this illusion, you have to buy one of the special leg braces that allow you to sit on only one leg. Before you want to perform the effect, simply hide it below your clothing and you are good to go.
In case you actually decide to get this trick, always keep in mind that the illusion will only work if all the spectators have absolutely no idea how it is set up. And no matter how much other people beg you: don’t tell them the secret behind the trick! It will run your entire performance.
Make sure to set up the entire trick with all the required preparation in advance for the best results.
Another thing you have to keep in mind is the physical aspect of this routine. Sitting on a normal chair isn’t challenging – sitting on a leg brace hidden underneath your clothes is pretty hard. So make sure to practice and train enough before actually performing this illusion!
Image source (header image):
https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-playing-cards-1796794/
In content:
“The Q”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCHvpf2gDIk&ab_channel=TheQ
