How do you know when you're ready for fire?

How do you know when you're ready to start fireplay?
Is it a gut feeling you get? Do you need somebody else to tell you?

Also, how do you transition from normal poi to firepoi?
And something that's been bugging me- how do you store firepoi wicks that have been used? I hear all the horror stories about rags soaked in some of the same substances we use.

i believe there are some common-sense indicators for fire readiness:

Weighting: you can twirl with the same weight and dimensions as your firetoy while consistently not hitting youself or any midgets present.

Conditioning: your mindset is such that panic is slower to rise when reacting to the brightness/heat/nightvision dazzle of the flames, and the possible but uncommon heckling/interference of passers by and midgets.

Safety: that you can arrange a mate with an extinguisher and/or wet towel and/or subservient chicken. Arranging for a safety person is as much for confidence/peace of mind as it is for actually doing anything to protect you.

Preparation: A planned routine will give you direction and will prevent the possibly dangerous hesitation that sometimes arises from improvised sets. You don't have to plan down to the microsecond, however a rough idea mentally mapped out will give you more developed transitions. in my experience, a smooth routine is 50% transitions, 49% tricks/movements and 1% statistics jokes.

people have obviously sparked up for the first time without taking this all this advice, but i hope you find some wisdom in them and take from it what makes sense to you.

As soon as you stop hitting yourself with your poi, I reakon you can light up. A burn doesn't alwas have to be in front of other people; but if your going to, take benders advice and rehearse a routine, know what you're doing

You'll probably be ready for fire before you think you are, it's not scary as may think it is, it's fun. Just go and have a laugh

I've been having some awesome poi sessions lately- I usually only hit myself when learning new tricks or experimenting with new stuff. I guess don't use the fire for practice, then:)

I only seem to really mess up when I'm in bad shape- the other night was a bad example- I'm only glad nobody saw me..dead tired, spinning just to stay awake. I knew if I sat down, I was out of it. And to add to the mess a little something only us females have to deal with every so often..But other than that one rotten night, I've been impressing the hell out of myself lately.

Very well put, Bender.
I do recommend weighting your practice poi for a time, as the weight difference can be quite drastic.
Have fun!

sounds like you are well ready if you only hit yourself when learning a new move then light up your fire poi and just do what you learn

how i started was i learnt all the main moves with the tail cobra poi, then i just practised with the fire poi but not a light, then when i was more used to the weight i lit up and all i did was just spin it, not even a weave or anythign just span it, got used to the sound and everything, then next night try something simple like a butterfly or just a figure of eight, just get used to it and have fun

only recomendation i can give you is pratise with the fire poi when they arent alight and in the end just think to yourself, burns heal and the scars look cool

Haha, I like your thinkin on the "burns heal and scars look cool..."

i think just do it ready or not

do it!! do it!!! my rice crispies are telling you to do it

Ask your rice crispies if I should sell my house, buy a yurt and go out into the big wide world (once, that is I get a driving licence and a van big enough to strap the yurt to the top of)?

today i consulted the rice crispies of power, and they told me that you shouldnt seek answers from cereals of power when you can discover the answer yourslef, just look inside your soul, the rice crispies have spoken!!!!! hope that helps, if not just sel your house anyway and get your yurt, it'll be more fun

All hail the Rice Crispies of Power!

just go for it you will learn quick when there are flames spining round your head .

plus as pyrowill nd kelly says scars look cool plus they make great stories for when your down the pub.

ps. rice crispies rule although if they are a bit vage look to corn flakes for your answer

just remember, take out your weave first, i learned that from experience. I was doing so good and then the unimaginable happened, the stench was great.

Heh..all my waist-length hair is real..I think I'm gonna pay the harly davidson store a visit- Somebody here said that they sell a leather ponytail wrap of some kind. Might be good for fire poi as well as construction:)

Wear a beenie! Have you spun with fire yet? If you do hit yourself you dont catch fire, you just singe a few hairs. do it do it do it

dont wear polyester, it melts to your skin ahhhh!!!

oh and rice crispies and corn flakes may be all good ya know, but they are no match for Lucky Charms! oh that marshmallow goodness, an they have a leprechaun endorsing it! how they managed to make him do that i have no idea

The first time I did fire, I just did my basic moves, the ones I could do with my eyes closed. Then the more I lit up, I would practice my harder moves doing it slowly...no speed spinning. That way I gained some confidence in myself. I didn't really try putting all my moves together in a fluid way, like I would if I ws giving a show or doing it with music. I just practiced one move, stopped, practiced another and so on. Then once I felt satisfied that even with fire I could do them, I started adding music and doing them together, practicing getting fluidity switching from one move to another. It worked for me.

First thing: I dont think I'll ever lit my poi!! I'm too afraid of fire. Fire just gets too hot and too frightening!

One question: What kind of scar do you really get?? that sounds scary to me...

Second question: Whatever do Rice Crispies have to do with that???!!

in my experience metal scalding has caused the worst scars 1st degree is when the layer under the skin is permanently damaged. permanent is a long time.

rice crispies are yum but not with beer it aint.

Ouch..Anyone know where I can get some badass looking goth gauntlets or bracers?
I'm thinking of putting together an outfit consisting of leather tunic and either wool or heavy denim pants. Should cut down on the toasty factor:)

Okay, seriously, am I the only one ever who doesn't know what a beenie is?

*dies*

You know what a beenie is! Its just a wooly hat.

I would have to say that Cinnamon Grahams are quite simply the best cereal on the planet

You won't burn if the poi simply collides with you, you won't even feel the heat, its just if, for example, the chains wrap themselves around you wrists, then you'll get hurt

I don't think you need any fancy costume. When I do a burn I wear only shorts, nothing else (apart from shoes sometimes on hard ground).

I don't have the luxury of going shirtless, being female and all that. Not to mention that I hate my body anyway, so even if toplessness were cool, I wouldn't.

So I need something tough that's not going to go up in flames in case of an accident.

The first time I did fire I was very much out of it, but I had a really good time just doing basic tricks. We were using a very hot fuel so it was an amazing feeling.

However, later that evening I tried more advanced stuff when I was more wasted and set my hair on fire.

It wasn't too bad but it made me realise how easy it is to hurt yourself if you're not careful. I don't regret doing it at all, and I've done more since then and got a bit more confident. But to start with I'd just be careful, be somewhere you're able just to drop the poi without starting an inferno and with other people who can tell you when you're on fire (believe me, it's not always easy to tell!)

Just go for it! ANY spinning looks better with fire. Or Glow. But Fire is a lot more exciting!

You know your ready when you hear the call of the flame.
And what Bender said
I find storing my fire poi in a tin works really well

Just wear something tight then, loose clothing is definately not a good idea cos if you do soemthing like the corkscrew the poi can catch in your tshirt and get tangled up, then you'll catch fire, which is never good

Most normal clothing won't catch fire anyway cos they aren't in contact with the fire for long enough (like when you pass your finger through a flame), its just man-made fibres like polyester like pyrowill said. So as long as clothing doesn't specifically say that it's prone to catching fire then you'll be fine, a few knocks won't do any damage

if your canadian, a bennie is a toque.

Shellsuits are a bad idea!
(and not just for fire spinning! )