There seem to be two major schools of diverging thought in the Pick Up community these days. There are the systematic approaches like Venuisian Ars, Mystery Method, StyleLife, Mehow, and several others that rely on well thought out strategies for just about every stage of a pick-up. Through a well thought out plan of using canned lines, practiced routines, Demonstrations of Higher Value (DHV), negs, gambits and the like, they’re able to have devasting effects on girls and completely negate the cheesy “pick up line” thought in most guys’ heads. (Well, for the most part that is).
The other school of thought is considered to be the “Natural” or “Inner-game.” This approach suggests starting with who you are and your identity first…focusing on first who you want to be, living a life that is congruent with that and outcome based and then is more free flowing when it comes to social interactions. It doesn’t rely as much on predetermined scripts and techniques as it is more holistic in its approach. Think Gambler, Juggler Method, David DeAngelo to many degrees, Zan, and Stephen Nash, just to name a few. Basically, be a better “you” and you’ll get a better “her.”
Which approach is BEST? That’s really impossible to answer because it depends on who you are, what you need and what’s actually more “natural” for you.
I teach guys how to use magic to enhance their game with women. This normally falls into the “outer-game” approach by many standards. People think of magic as being a gimmick or a crutch, as if any guy can just go learn a few tricks, try to pull them off and have girls throwing themselves at him as if he was Criss Angel…or even Mystery for that matter.
It’s true, using magic as a demonstration of value and charisma can be considered a gimmick or a gambit that is fun to insert strategically into your set in order to convey an entertaining vibe, social proof, elicit certain states.
But some of the Natural purists believe that using such things are below them and that to learn a magic trick to use during pick up somehow denigrates them as being “try-hard.”
I will agree with that…but under one situation only… If a PUA (more like an AFC) decides to insert magic into his game and he does this by going to the internet, learning a cheesy trick (or worse brings out a deck of cards) and throws it into his “act” without any style or congruency with who he is. When he expects the magic trick to do the work for him, he’s sunk. Just like all the other lines he learns in the Systematic school.
You see the Systems teach routines, tricks, gambits, etc for a reason: it gives you something to practice on that works until you get so good at it that it becomes second nature and you can even come up with your own effective skills that work for you. Then, you become more natural.
Natural game starts at the other end of the spectrum saying improve your whole life and social skills without the crutches of preset routines and eventually you won’t need scripted lines either.
They both get to the same result.
But that brings me back to the title questions. Can Pick Up Magic (sometimes referred to as Bar Magic) and Natural game coexist? The answer is ABSOLUTELY.
If you are the type of person who enjoys engaging others attention, often directing all their attention towards you and you have the ability to calibrate when the best time to introduce something “magical,” thus creating a very special moment, then magic IS natural for you.
This goes true for absolutely any gambit designed to DHV and even entertain. If you perform it like you’re looking for a reaction, you’re going to usually get a reaction you don’t want. However, if you know a few mind boggling tricks and know when to introduce them, how to perform them and how to close them using the fundamentals of sound pick up theory, knowing when to pull back and when to tease you’re going to have an incredible impact. Best case is that she’s blown away and she can’t get you off her mind til you drop her off the next morning back at her place. Worst case is that you totally fumble a trick and laugh it off…which is easy to do if you don’t take it too serious.
More likely than not it’s going to fall in the middle like and she’s going to really like you, like hanging out with you because you’re fun and different than other guys and you were memorable.
If you treat pick up magic as a technique for a short term gain that you think will do all the work for you, then it won’t work. You’ll be another dude swinging a tool around and end up doing nothing but swinging your “own tool” around.
But if you can take the best that magic has to offer and insert the principles of mystery, seduction, and curiosity into your personality, then it becomes quite natural. And if your personality already fits that of a performer, who enjoys captivating the attention of beautiful women and even your friends and strangers, then nothing could be more natural than having the knowledge to do this in one of the most memorable ways…magic.
