A word about Fire Breathing

Hi all. Just joined the forums, glad to be here.

Three months ago I decided that I wanted to take up the fine art of Fire Breathing. Don't know why...couldn't tell ya! But I think it hade something to do with my love of wilderness survival. The subject has always fascinated me. I've studied it since I was a child. One of the many techniques that I have perfected in these arts is that of fire starting. There is more than a hundred different ways to start a fire using the materials that are around you and I know and have practiced every one of them. One technique that I have mastered has earned me the name "Dragon Breath" from my family and friends. So I figured...hey, why not develope a real dragon's breath? And off I went!

I read everything that I could get my hands on pertaining to Fire Breathing. After two weeks of extensive research into the subject I was standing in my back yard blowing water from my mouth. Perfecting the aspiration technique. Looking like a whale on crack. Every webpage and book I read on the subject suggested using water to practice aspiration. What this material failed to mention is what the practice does to your ear canals and the inner lining of your throat. Intense pressure exerted in these areas tend to cause infections in some individuals. Especially individuals who don't know what the heck their doing! Five days of daily practice put me at the doctors office.

Diagnosis? Inner ear infection and a sore throat that had me up at night begging for mercy! It took me a week to recover. I spent the time making a few really nice torches and studying the various fuels of the art. From the very beginning the fuels terrified me. Most of them are highly toxic and contain ingredients that will all but eat you alive if you swallow them. They erode the enamel of your teeth and lesson your gums' ability to fight infection. Alcohol fuels are explosive and uncontrollable. And their wasn't no friggin way I was even going to think about putting gasoline in my mouth! The more I searched for a safer fuel the closer I came to the conclusion that there was none. Plain and simple. Factor all of this in with my $300 medical bill and I was reconsidering my new found hobby. But I said what the heck. Don't be a whimp! Get back on that horse and ride! Ride like the wind!

Month two...two weeks in...another ear infection, another killer soar throat and, this time, a nice sinus infection to go along with it. You see, I had learned from my first mistake and decided to change the way that I was aspirating the water. It worked. The new technique put less stress on my ear canals, instead transferring it all straight into my sinuses. Now, the ear canals, sinus cavities and throat are all inner connected. Anyone with a five year old can tell you that. An infection in one can lead to infections in the others in some individuals. Especially individuals who don't know what the heck their doing!!! The sinus infection inflammed my previous ear infection, which in turn inflammed my throat agian. That word..."Inflammed"...lol. Quite the irony, wouldn't you say?

So, another trip to the doctor, another medical bill, and another two weeks of recovery. This time I decided to make yet another change. Don't know why....couldn't tell ya! But I figured that if I was going to get ill everytime I blew a liquid passed my lips, then why not try the real deal. I had already collected a number of different fuels to try out. I had four really nice torches made up. So, why not just give it a try? What will it hurt, I thought to myself.....BIG MISTAKE! HELLO! HUGE FRIGGIN MISTAKE!!!

I swallowed the crap! Yup! Swallowed it. I had become so comfortable with the water. I knew the water wouldn't hurt me so I never really took into account things like stepping away from the aspirated liquid before you breath or blocking the back of your troat to keep from swallowing it. You know, things that become important when you decide to put a shot of poison in your mouth!

So let's add this up. I have two doctor visits under my belt. One emergency room visit, where I had the pleasure of having my stomach pumped. Oh, and trying my best to explain how the "BEEP" I managed to ingest lamp oil. I've suffered illneses that I have never suffered before in my life at the cost of just over a $1000. I've lost a week of work, nearly lost my job, and have managed to freak out my family, friends and cohorts. Furthuremore, I have enough flammable solutions in my basement to fuel a Boeing 747 into outer space. And I still ain't breathed no fire!!!

The really interesting aspect of this art, is that the fire in Fire Breathing seems to be the least that you have to worry about. The technique itself is a menace. Never once did I fear the thought of a huge ball of fire burning less than five inches from my face. Never once did I fear a "blowback" or inhalation. It was the technique itself that "burned" me in the end.

My advice for those considering taking up this hobby, is to find a trained professional in the art. DIY Fire Breathing ain't the way to go! Consider what you are about to get yourself into, and then consider something else.

Dude - for a newbie round here i wasnt expecting to read a post like that.

To be fair youve found out what id expect eveeryone round here to tell you - Fire Breathing is dangerous and almost pointless.

I can get the same size flames comming off my staff - 2 at a time and my throat is fine

Sorry to hear of your experiances and being ill- but while your here - welcome to HOP - have a float around and find some fire toys round here that are fun to play with and not frustratingly harmfull

Pick up a staff

Alright, you had the worst dang luck in the world. That and no friends to assist you and tutor you.
I think HoP should stay clear from explaining Fire Breathing online. It should be advised to learn it only from someone who is capable and knows safety.
Or at least add small tips from experienced practioners. I only see one small notion about wind shifting for instance, yet shifting winds is one of the biggest dangers of Fire Breathing. Something like:

"Now that you've lit up your torch you will notice a flame. Look at it closely for a minute or so.
THIS IS YOUR WIND GAGE!
With every breath you do you check the way the wind blows your flame! And you blow in that direction. Just like you won't piss against the wind you do not blow fire against the wind."
Something along those lines anyway. And this is just my modest opinion but I believe I like my torch in my weak (left) hand. The same way you face an oncomming baseball with your left side if you are the guy with the bat.

Adds infection to the list of breathing hazards.

Im a flint and steel fire lighter lover. I love flint rocks and have a churt iron ore piece that strikes the nest sparks.

Hope you get your helath back online. Its takes a very small amount of kero or similar to do horrid things to your health.

Thanks, Gnor. Luckily I only swallowed a small portion of the fuel (about a tbls or so). But I was sick for days. And the throat inflammation doesn't seem to want to go way. I was just reading around on HoP and noticed the mass of newbies asking questions pertaining to the subject, so I thought I would share my experiences as well. I should have consulted profs before I ever got started. DIY can only take you so far.

Atar, never thought to use a torch to check wind direction. Good tip! But I think I'll leave the Fire Breathing gig alone. I just ain't cut out for it. I'm not a fire artist by any means. I know that now. But that doesn't mean that I can't very much enjoy watching the rest of you do it. It's sexy, beautiful, and one of the purest art forms that I have ever witnessed.

I have a new respect for fire artists and the work they do. So Pele, Pyromancer, and all practicing members of this forum.........My Hats Off To You!!! Your all Awesome!!!

P.S. Hey, Gnor....try some friction methods for firestarting as well (You know the old "running two sticks together" methods). It's very challenging, but yields great rewards once you get the hang of it.

thanks for sharing your story ritch

your story is exactly the reason I don't fire breath.

I learnt the water aspiration method, and when learning, our teacher wanted us to think about the liquid running down the backs of our throat and what that would mean if it was actual fuel

that was enough to put me off it forever...

I don't think we talk about technique enough - you're quite right there

sorry to hear that story.
sounds mean, so dont take it wrong, but in fact (after what a university hospital told), you were quite lucky to drink that stuff - in the stomach its already [censored], but what shall be even more dangerous, is to breath that stuff - to get it into you lung.
sorry for my english - i am not sure if i will be able to explain that..

it would be great if somebody with a good english (and german) could translate that.

this is the oringinal version:
http://www.firesouls.de/wbb2/thread.php?threadid=1091
thanks again to benny who asked the university.
i just try to translate some parts of it, the breathing part, so, again - this translation is not complete and i'm using some vocabulary program for all the medecine words...:

A2: so, the liquid profluid can produce several reactions on your skin, from making-it-red until inflammations.
since the skin in your mouth is even lighter and doesnt have any horny skin reactions are normally worse (you told about that, gum and teeth can get infected, inflatations are also worde)
however, the skin in your loungs can get infected extremly easily, even to very small amounts of pyrofluid it reacts with strongit inflammation.
to be suitable for fire-spitting, the liquid has to be thin fluid enough, to become a fine aerosol while spitting, on the other hand not too fugacious (im not sure about that word), to vaporize/evaporate too fast.
these characteristics makes it very easy for the liquid to get into your lung, that can happen by choking on it as well as the normal broadening on wet surfaces/crowns.
(like for example oil on water)
that's why the problem is the incidence/entering of the liquid in your lung with following pneumonia and perhaps
lasting damages of your lung.
we watched 37 telephone calls by fire-spitters and we ascertained/asserted that even experienced artist have these problems (!), sometimes even not knowing at the same moment, that they got some liquid into her lungs.
some of these patients stayed in hospital for several weeks,
one of them had parts of is lung removed.

Q3: I heard and I read, that dringing milk before firespitting shall diminish the absorption of the fluid through the [skin in your mouth] into the bloodstream.
is that true?

A3: No, in contrary the resorption will just work better.
but as shown in A2, the resoprtiong into the bloodstream is not the problem, its the direkt contact with the lungskin (in german: lung-slime-skin)

yeah, thats about it. me i never tried fire-spitting. i thought about doing it, but after all i read it didnt seem worth the risk.
last week i was in holland and there was some 17/18 year old girl who was spitting.
she would just spit, than chat a bit with her friends, not because being stupid, but because being not informed at all.
just incredible.
so to all you fire-spitters, if you spit in front of public, than be aware of your [censored] responsability to inform them. tell them, if they want to try, they have to know this and that. and i think we should open a post, i mean one that stays always first, about really every risk of firespitting that is know until today - like a big link directly when you get on hop. because with poi, you maybe burn yourself, but spitting can be really dangerous stuff.

well, see you,

lucas

But dont you wanna be cool like me??

Seriously tho, Fire Breathing isn't for everyone. In fact, its really not for many at all. When people ask me to teach them, I tell them they shouldnt do it unless they plan to use it for something speciffic. If you just want to breathe fire as a neat party trick to impress friends, dont take the risk. That said, I only teach people who pay me a large sum of money. This way, I know they're committed and take it seriously. Its dangerous, in many senses of the word. Youre right, the fire is the least of your worries. Sure, in the 2 years Ive been doing it, Ive been extremely lucky suffering only singed hair and one bout of diarrhea but just about everyone else I know that does it has had serious accidents with it. Its only a matter of time before I get mine, but I accept that and prepare for the worst every day. Its all you can do at that point. But the best prevention as always is not doing it in the first place. If youre someone who is thinking about getting into Fire Breathing, I suggest not doing it unless you really feel its something you must do and are crazy enough to pay for it with your life.

Roller skates + Fire Breathing = instadeath.

Rubbing two sticks together sounds like hard work though. Flint and steel is at least quick.

I'm up on 9 years now doing it...or some such ungodly number...and I refuse to teach anyone, large sum of money or not. I used to. I learned my lesson with that.

Now, all due respect to you as I am really glad you are alive, I am really glad you have decided to not persue this and such however...what took you so long??? I think after the second infectious round I would have said "screw it" and picked up something else. Silly!

Fire Staff is cool but Fire Breathing seems to be the ultimate fire thrill, a chance to unleash your inner dragon. I'm a begining hobby spinner and thought it would add a nice element to a routine, but after reading of Pele's experience, I decided it just wasn't worth the risk. Being a Respiratory Therapist, I know all about life support ventilators and endotracheal tubes - I have no desire to get any firsthand experience of my own!

good plan mike.

Alright here is some tips on Fire Breathing.

1. Before you fire breath, use whole milk to coat your mouth (the fat from the milk is what helps), and swallow abit of it. this prevents the parfinwax from entering your bloodsterm and if you do swallow some it prevents you from getting you stomach pumped.

2.Only put as much parfinwax in your mouth as you feel comfortable with.

3. Use Coleman Fule to light your Fire wands( make sure you shake the extra fule off before lighting)

4. Check your wind, remember the wind and the flame are unpridictable.

5. Make sure that the wand is about 6inches away from you face.


*keep in mind I suggest before doing anymore Fire Breathing, and to prevent anymore Doctor visits to find someone more experanced, so that they can approve of your water misting.(b/c if you don't have the misting right it could cause blow back). And also there is long term dangers to Fire Breathing so. As long as you keep practicing with water and only fire breath on special occasions and follow those rules above you should be fine, even in the long run.

Well. I'm spitting now for a good year. Learnt it by myself, just tryout. Done it yet always with petroleum which u can get without any taste and so. Had luck till now. Never had an accident yet.

Waht my opinions are:

-> Every Pyrofluid is dangerous !
I'd like to see that guy who brings a non toxic one

-> Be known of u're pyrofluid, as we know the behavier is different. For example @ the flashback of some alcoholics.

As said before but I'll say it again because of the importness:

-> Check the wind / NEVER spit AGAINST people !

Importent for me:

-> Set & Setting: Means the place/direction/behavier of nature around u/people & u're self attitude to be ready for spitting.

Without the attitude to be ready and with the believe u won't swallow these fluids, DON'T SPIT FIRE !!!
This is for me one of the mainpoints.

Well, never tried with the coal taps, gona try it IcON.
For me importent to get ride of these fluids after spitting, so be aware to gargle with someshit and don't just party on!

And it's also my opinion that somehow sometime it get's u.
U can't spit a life without going mad/hospital.

Friend of mine spitted for 7 Years. No problem at all. One day a friend came from behind, while the pyro was spitting and jumped on his back. Fact, the pyro breathed and the sh*t came into his lung. He didn't wanted to go to the hospital but a day after his father took him to there, because he looked really mad! Well the said a day later and he had properply died. So then he was for one and a half week on this lunge machine addicted.
Not a nice view man.

Other friend lately get the same [censored] to, but not as hard.
Was his second try to spit and he was just to confused, means his self attitude was bullshit.

I agree with dragonbreath in his last sentence, that if u breathing carefully, breathing just for special occasions, u can PROPERPLY do it u're life. PROPERPLY !!!

That's my way how I'm doing it.
But in fact, I agree also with some guys here,

I TEACH NOBODY TO SPIT, IF I DIE, MY PROBLEM.
TO LEAD SOMEONE ELSE INTO THE DEATH, NO WAY!

Breathing is safe as long as done responsibly there are three top tips

1. Wind = Dont do it
2. Always have someone with you to put u out and call the ambulence just in case
3. Never ever ever use anything other then parafin or a simalar fuel and definatly not petrol or anything