Hoffman’s Obedient Ball (The Japanese Ball) by Colin Rose

This effect is of Japanese origin and is sometimes known as the Japanese Ball. Colin’s version is true to the early versions in Professor Hoffman’s Modern Magic.  There were some advances made to the basic design, but it wasn’t until Floyd Thayer and Lloyd Chambers created their version that this effect was really turned on its head with a very clever approach that fooled even those with the original version.

Colin Rose created many effects from Professor Hoffman’s books and he has this to say about those great works:

As part of the ever growing ‘Victorian Collection’ we have found a great deal of inspiration from Hoffman’s Modern Magic. Many of the Magical Apparatus featured in these Oracles of Magic are not only stunning and beautiful to look at but they offer up technical challenges in the manufacture and are ultimately Magical Entertainment at it’s best!

The ideas and methods are simple but extremely effective: ‘The Obedient Ball’ is a perfect example of this and when worked as a ‘double set’ becomes a fabulous routine for Comedy & Stand-Up. The original description of this effect called for a longer piece of cord which The Magician held one end under his shoe and the other end in his hand.  We have made the cord shorter and easier to ‘handle’ and for safety reasons we have added ‘The Toggles’ which enable you to drop the ball quite easily from the top and it will fall onto your ‘toggle’ and not your fingers.

Effect: The Magician shows a wooden ball with a piece of rope threaded through a center hole, on each end of the rope there is a ‘toggle’.

The Magician then shows by demonstration that the ball passes easily up and down the rope (the rope can be offered to a Spectator to repeat the sequence for verification). The Magician then explains that he has the power to make this ball ‘defy the laws of gravity ‘ and that when the Spectator says “Stop”, the ball will be suspended on the rope and will remain stationary there until the Magician commands it to continue traveling down the rope. Other members of the audience can continue this but of course it is only The Magician who is able to suspend the ball.

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