The 15 budding magicians held their wands high in the air in their left hands. With their right hands gripping their left wrists, they muttered a few wizardly incantations and let go, left fingers splayed, leaving the wands hanging in the air.
While that simple trick can be seen through easily - the wand stays in place because a finger of the right hand holds it there - the very action of holding an arm up in the air can be a major challenge for people suffering rheumatism or muscular diseases.
Magic can help, says Harry Wong Cher-hong, a local magician and host of the Harry Magic Street show seen on many city buses.
Wong introduced Hong Kong's first batch of 'Magic Therapists' yesterday - 15 children between the ages of seven and 13 who will visit hospitals and occupational therapy wards with him to teach magic tricks to people with disabilities.
'At the physical therapists, a lot of the time the patients are just doing exercises such as moving a wooden block back and forth, which can become boring,' Wong explained. 'But if we can make it so that there is a magic effect associated with their actions, then they will be more motivated to train their muscles.'
The children will begin teaching in October and the magic therapy workshops will be held every other week.