When and how does a person begin working with Fire?

I am curious as to when should a person begin working with fire. I've read links here where individuals have begain working with fire as early as a month after spinning.

I want to learn all the aspect of fire. From breathing, swallowing, spinning, sticks and any other form available.

I've read all the safety articles I can find about fire but I haven't begun reading the How to's.

What's everyones opinion on this?

Im personally the cautious type. I have been spinning since July last year and have only used fire about a dozen times. I can handle non-fire poi's ok, but I still dont trust myself to do some of the routines with flame. Being a wearer of contact lenses as well, I am extra careful with tricky moves. (I think I may even wear a pair of safety gogg's next time just in case; no matter how stupid they look). I always keep some emergency eye-wash in the car or near by as well.

I think PK (aka vain-ege pk)actually started spinning using fire.. in at the deep end so to speak. Have a word with him perhaps.

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Kato

I started with fire a couple of weeks after spinning. The trick is just spin wheels of a car and stuff like that untill you get confident. I dont have a large repetoir of tricks or moves because I dont practise enough. But hey, thats changing. just get a set of fire poi and have a shot. don't try to run before you can walk though

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Trance the sacred spiral dance.
Love and Light
Spiral

when your spinning with fire just stick to tricks that you know you can do without getting wrapped up or anything. thats how i did it. i lit up about a month after started to twirl but i just kept it to simple weaves and butterflys.

Hey,
I posted a thread a month or so back about starting fire poi. I'd been spinning about three weeks with tennis balls and wanted to progress to fire - you should check it out, there are quite a few useful points. The first time I used fire was after about a month of heavy practicing and under the watchful eye of my mum (bless her)!

I just did the stuff I was comfortable with, pretty slowly at first too, to get used to the change in weight/noise etc. Now I'm working on fluidity and building up my moves and relaxing into it a bit more. As long as you stick to stuff you can do when they're unlit then there's no difference
Sorry I can't help with the other fire stuff though.

hope this helps a bit - HDxx

ps. the thread was: 'where to go now? Starting fire poi' (if yo're interested......)

I've only bin doing Fire Breathing/eating/body burning for bout 4 months and not much in that time coz it has been cold & no-ones wanted to come out and spot with me ( because of the weather.
And i havent had much time to do it either.

I've only had two short lessons but i've picked it up quickly and to tell u the truth it's not really that hard it's just geting over the fear of fire but once u get used to having big balls of flame in front of your faceits cool.

Fire Breathing tip:

try just blowing water out of your mouth with a stick (this is pretending) try to get as thin a mist/spray as possible while directing the spray diagonally up in front of you.

Always have someone @ hand with a wet towel incase u do have any accidents!!!

hope this helps!!

I'm only learning myself

Aidan

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www.fire4hire.co.uk - in construction
www.ampcast.com/djmdma

I'm with Newborn,
Fire's all in the mind. Once you stop hitting your self so much w/ the poi, that is.

The more you worry about the fire the more you'll screw up and the more likely you'll get burned.

I just want to remind everyone that getting past the fear is well and good but remember that even when you least expect it, the fire can getcha, no matter how practiced you are.
Respect it at all times. Don't get too arrogant.
Somewhere in the bowels of this site there are about 4 or 5 threads about this very topic if you do a search.

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Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir...

http://www.pyromorph.com

You don't work with fire, it works with you

or:
The flame is ready to be controlled only when you are controlled by the flame.
or um...:
When the fire is in your heart, you are ready to be in the heart of the fire.

(These are so easy to write! )

Seriously though, my first burn was a week after I got my poi. I kept it very, very simple (crossovers were the most complex).

I started by getting a friend ready with a blanket and a bucket of water. I dipped my poi about 15m away from where I lit and twirled them. This is probably extreme but safe

I think to start you have to be confident in what you are about to do, concentrate on what you are doing, and be prepared for any mishaps.
Just remember:
Only the enlightened fire twirler should be enlightened by the fire.

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Iggity-aggity-oop-eh-eh! Ziggity-zaggity-zoo-ah-ah! Oooh-ooh-phblt! Eh-eh-ackh! Flippity-flappity-floop!