Boy magician now dazzling audiences abroad

[Lite Beer]

Boy magician now dazzling audiences abroad
Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong
The Sunday Nation

Thirawat Kongnukul proudly shows off an award he won at a young magicians

BANGKOK: -- In the last two months, 12-year-old Thirawat Kongnukul has waved his magic wand at two international contests and returned home with two much-coveted prizes.

His family is proud of his achievements and encouraging Thirawat to practice even harder with his magician tricks.

"I hope I can become a world champion one day," the schoolboy said.

Thirawat won second prize in July at the IBM Magic Convention 2013 in Arizona in the United States, in the category for 7 to 17 year-olds. Even though he competed against many older contestants, his "Smart Magic" show wowed the judges.

On August 5, he also won second prize at the Busan International Magic Festival in South Korea.

"I noticed his great potential right from his first class with me," said Sombat Chitmankongkul, alias "Mamada Thailand", one of the country's most famous magicians.

He pointed out that Thirawat was better at memorising and imitating actions than most children of his age.

"He's very good with classic acts or those moves with balls, cards, and finger stalls," Sombat said.

Thirawat started having magic lessons at the age of seven.

"I decided to enrol him in the course after his aptitude-test results showed he was good at imitating, learning and memorising," his mother Paijit Kongnukul said. "I wanted to encourage my son to spend his free time on constructive activities rather than games or drugs."

Five years ago, the course cost Bt48,000, after which her son has to pay an additional annual sum of Bt4,500.

"The cost is quite high, but I am willing to pay because I want to support my son in what he does well," his mother said.

Thirawat's remarkable skills have paid off. He has already snatched 15 awards from magic contests in Thailand and beyond.

At school, his friends are always eager to see him suddenly produce flowers out of thin air, among other tricks. Thirawat also performs as a magician at various events earning between Bt4,000 and Bt20,000 for each performance.

Now a Mathayom 1 student at Satriwitthaya 2 School, Thirawat has to travel far to get to the International Academy of Magic where he practises his magic under the supervision of Mamada Thailand. However, that has not discouraged him from wanting to develop his skills.

"I have to practice after school when I'm preparing myself for an international contest. I ride the bus from my school to my practice sessions [at the International Academy of Magic] almost every day," he disclosed.

Thirawat said that sometimes his practice sessions can drag on for up to eight hours.

"But my efforts have been rewarded. The awards have filled me with pride and happiness," he said.

-- The Nation 2013-09-01

[uty6543]

I admire any child who has worked as hard as he has to achieve something we all can enjoy. Well done Thirawat

[BrianCR]

Nice to read something positive before the Thai bashers start making things up!

[jaltsc]

He's just a second rate magician compared to Thaksin, who made billions of baht disappear from Thailand in a blink of the eye.

Of course, then there are those magician bar girls who can make all your inhibitions and last thousand baht disappear in no time at all.

Edited September 1, 2013 by jaltsc

[lemonjelly]

He's just a second rate magician compared to Thaksin, who made billions of baht disappear from Thailand in a blink of the eye.

Of course, then there are those magician bar girls who can make all your inhibitions and last thousand baht disappear in no time at all.

mods, this is a nice story, please stop others hijacking it with crappy political / bargirl jokes etc ….. thank you.

[Sayonarax]

Excellent work

[Sunisalom]

Nice to read something positive before the Thai bashers start making things up!

Don't magicians make things up? Get a life!

-S.

[glegolo]

Yes me too... I admire all kind of people that will put in so much work extra to become something or achieve something. Well done by this little boy.

Hope all goes well with him.

Glegolo

ps. you can look at his youtube video here...

Edited September 1, 2013 by glegolo

[Pimay1]

Nice story. All the best to the young man.

[Joe Mamma]

Good show, sharpen those chops. I got some Maxello magic pranks from Thailand here. My son does them better than me already.

Edited September 1, 2013 by Joe Mamma

[GentlemanJim]

He's just a second rate magician compared to Thaksin, who made billions of baht disappear from Thailand in a blink of the eye.

Of course, then there are those magician bar girls who can make all your inhibitions and last thousand baht disappear in no time at all.

mods, this is a nice story, please stop others hijacking it with crappy political / bargirl jokes etc ….. thank you.

Oh come on Lemonjelly lighten up for gaaawds sake. Who is it ruining the 'nice' story for? Surely they can not read it unless you just want to wax lyrical to someone who will never see your comments anyway.

Now, where were we? Ah yes, David Copperfield made the Great Wall of China disappear, if this young lad can make 20 million tons of rice disappear he gets my vote, either that or pull some democracy out of a hat.

[Kabayo66]

It's really nice to see this type of article on here. There are far too many which report on the negative occurrances in Thailand. It's good that some of the positive aspects of Thai people can also be reported. This young magician deserves our respect and admiration, not a bunch of off-topic Thai-bashing political comments. He may or may not be the next David Copperfield, but he definitely has great talent.

Edited September 1, 2013 by Kabayo66

[BrianCR]

Nice to read something positive before the Thai bashers start making things up!

Don't magicians make things up? Get a life!

-S.

Not me that needs a life or to grow up mate

[barrybike]

Give the young boy credit, he is a good magician, well done to him, hope he makes it to a world stage as he gets older

[marell]

Good job Thirawat. Nice to see a twelve year old who has a work ethic, the ability to set goals and the determination/discipline to achieve them. All concerned should be proud of him.

[geordieman2]

Just hoping the parents are of the responsible sort. Looks like it as they are investing into the furtherment of his talents, those overseas competitions do not come cheap.

Earning potential seems pretty high, and I doubt child labour (which I consider this to be) is as regulated as in the West.

With a bit of luck and good support the kid can make it a long way!

[nong38]

Not a monk is he?

[Yunla]

Inspirational. I'm sure we'll see more of this kid. It is also encouraging for many young people to see this, because it shows you can succeed in life without becoming a banker or property-dealer or whatever, if you have a talent and you work tirelessly at it, you will eventually break through and succeed, no matter how 'niche' that field may be. You just need the vision and the persistence. Congratulations to Thirawat!

[YeaBiGgiEs]

Please, I beg of you, more stories and articles like this. Show the good in the youth and the good news instead of what we all too often read on here every day.

This is a great kid and the fact that his parents saw his strengths at an early age and took action and invested in that, is very important to get across.

Thank you

[noitom]

Great to see a Thai parent spotting an innate talent in a child, taking the time to investigate and committing to investing in the child's development. Congratulations to the young magician on his hard work and success so far.

[lee b]

Good luck mate, all the best

[kiwiinasia]

He is bound to become a politician and be PM in a few years.

Either that or run the Ministry of Finance as they do lots of magic tricks.

[LuckyLew]

Good for him

He must be a great little magician

[tominbkk]

Just saw him at a fair today. His tricks were quite standard, but really polished. Plus a great smile and lots of enthusiasm. Have to appreciate all the hard work he's put into his act!

[ratcatcher]

.............MAGICAL!