This amateur magician is none other than Police Constable Lee Hang-chai of Police Dog Unit, New Territories South!

His amazing conjuring skills not only drew a big applause from the audience, but also gained him the top position in both the "2nd Hong Kong Amateur Magician Contest 2005" and the "Hong Kong Stage Magic Open Contest 2005". In the latter event, he even defeated quite a few professional magicians.

With a double championship to his credit, PC Lee represented Hong Kong at the 2nd AMA Magic Convention in Thailand from October 14 to 16 to compete with magicians from Japan, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, etc.

"Winning isn't my big concern, I only hope to take this great opportunity to learn from other professional magicians. I'll certainly do my utmost in the contest," PC Lee told OffBeat.

Practice makes perfect

A successful magic show depends on different factors, such as good timing, creativity, outstanding image, and being entertaining. Background music and good presentation should also not be overlooked. PC Lee draws on other magicians' experiences as reference and learns as many secrets as possible to create his own tricks. "Talking to my professional magician friends and listening to their advice would definitely help improvement," he noted.

PC Lee started his final preparation around six months before the contests, and did a lot of practice. He strongly believes that skill comes from practice, and practice makes perfect. As creativity is a key factor in attracting judges' attention, he has come up with some new tricks, from which the audience could not easily figure out the secrets behind.

He said: "I want to thank my family for being so supportive. They aren't only the first ones to watch my performances, but also my big fans. They give me valuable ideas of how to avoid giving away my tricks and to amaze the audience."

Debut performance

PC Lee's passion for magic started two-and-half-year ago when he came across a newspaper article introducing a professional magician. He and his colleagues decided to have a go. After learning for several months, PC Lee's colleagues began losing interest, but he was more and more fascinated by the myth of magic.

PC Lee's debut at the Airport Security Unit's 25th Anniversary was a turning point for him. Prior to this event, he only showed off his magic tricks to friends and colleagues. So when he faced a big audience for the first time at the event, stage fright set in. His performance was far from perfect, but the audience's enthusiastic response was a big encouragement and boost for his confidence for future performances.

He still remembers another stage fright, which nearly ruined his performance. He recalled: "I participated in a voluntary service to perform in a school. I brought along many props and put them all on a table. During the performance, I got nervous and knocked over the table. You can imagine how embarrassed and flurried I was. Fortunately, the audience didn't laugh at my clumsiness. I then set up the table again and continued with my show. After this incident, I use a table which can never be knocked over again in my performances."

A sense of satisfaction accounts for PC Lee's obsession with magic. He explained: "Magic has the power to amaze and impress anyone. You can impress new acquaintance by showing some little magic tricks. For example, the effect of burning a name card is very stunning. I once gave my name card to new acquaintances, the card suddenly caught fire to their big astonishment. Then with some conjuring tricks, I turned it back to its original form. Isn't this fascinating?"

But when asked for the secret of this trick, he laughed and said: "That is magic!"

A sense of satisfaction is not the only good thing of PC Lee's hobby. He has his communication skill improved and is now more confident in talking before an audience. And he has become more agile too. "As you have to talk throughout a performance, eventually you'll have to learn how to talk to attract their attention. Besides, making a quick response is also a big challenge," said PC Lee.

PC Lee has been giving performances as a voluntary service outside the Force, and his magic skills are in great demand for many Force functions such as the "Healthy Lifestyle Carnival" and "Family Carnival", etc.

To promote healthy lifestyle among the Force, he is planning to organise a Police Magic Club by the end of this month. Watch out for it!

PC Lee plans to start a magic club in the Force