Forums > Beginner Staff Moves > staff shake-off

Posted: 19th May 2005
Someday I would love to see a 2 story fire ball!

Had an experienced staff person successfully get a decent one off my little innercore last night, so now I know it can be done, but I guess that spraying fuel really is inevitable....so very helpful to actually see these things up close and in person.

FO, that duel was terrific.

Posted: 19th May 2005
I always found it very hard to burn off with an inner core due to the flex.

Love is the law.

Posted: 19th May 2005

Written by: quiet

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i've had a thought:

you know how you can get a gyroscope spinning pretty damn fast by wrapping a string around it, and pulling it off?

so here's the suggestion: take a piece of high-friction cord . . . no, take two pieces . . . no, take one piece, and lay the staff on it, close to one end. then roll the staff up in the string. pulling the string at both ends should cause the staff to spin *very* fast - certainly faster than doing it manually. and this should give a big burn-off.

i haven't tried it yet, but i'm going to, as soon as i get the chance.

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How you you control which direction the staff flys off in? If the staff is on the ground and you pull it up its going to fly forward... i think. Would be very cool if you could have someone ready to catch it. Seems a bit dangerous though.

Love is the law.

Posted: 20th May 2005
the staff would be rested on your knee, at roughly waist height

pulling both ends of the string with equal force should cause the staff to rotate around its long axis, with no movement along either of the perpendiculars

i didn't explain the set-up very well, and i'm not sure how to. what I'm *not* suggesting is simply wrapping the string around the staff; rather, i'm suggesting placing the staff roughly in the middle of the string, and winding the middle of the string around the staff; so when you pull on the ends, the moment around the long axis is the same from each side. that is, pulling on one end causes the staff to rotate clockwise, as does pulling on the other

ture na sig

Posted: 20th May 2005
That is kind of a lot of set up though, isnt it? I guess you could prep the string and then light and place on knee, but im not sure... it seems like a lto of work and could kill the flow of a performance... plus if it IS going to be spinning faster than a normal fireball it would hypothetically make a larger fireball, and if you are on your knee that would be right up in your face and you would be in a poor position to manuveur out of the way... so i would dunk i water first to avoid the lose of eyebrows, and take a video of your tests and let us see what happens!

Posted: 20th May 2005
no, no no, you misunderstand

you dunk the staff, then wrap the string around it. it doesn't interrupt the flow, since you haven't yet started.

you then stand up, rest it on your knee, bump it into the air and pull the string in opposite directions. hey presto, big fireball. then catch the staff.

ture na sig

Posted: 20th May 2005
how long does it take to tie/wrap the string correctly? that was my concern... i mean interrupt the flow assuming there is more than one act in the show... so one person or group is doing their thang, and then it is your turn.... how long does it take between the last groups exit to your fireball? thats where i meant it could interrupt the flow..... if it were the show starter than that wouldnt be an issue, obviously./..



but i do understand that you actually pull the string after the staff is in the air... ahhh... that makes more sense.... the pulling would have to be tight though... if you throw the staff to far up it will start unwinding on its own without any of the force you want, and if you dont pull the string soon enough, the staff will already begin falling and gravity will be working against you... wou will ahve to pull it during that millisecond when the staff hangs in the air at the top of its throw...
EDITED_BY: FlamingOberon (1116535058)

Posted: 20th May 2005
That sounds hard core, but i wonder if you could catch it. It may fly out of control.

Ado-p how much wick are you using and how much is surface area?
I was also wondering if you can throw fire balls that big and if you threw it too low have you ever been between the two fire balls and had them close in on you? Cause thats what im trying to get now (minuse the closing in on me) Im still trying to get it perfect so the balls merge. But i have had the "closing in" thing when i threw to low, so i always go high, unless its a 2nd burn off.

hmm was going to ask something else but iv forgot

Oh i forgot to say earlier that often when i catch the staff, its rotation stops so it suddenly spits more fire for that split second. Do you guys get more of that when you throw low?

Posted: 20th May 2005
Oooo, I got one, a nice one! Now to trim back the trees in the yard.

Posted: 20th May 2005
i get more of that when i throw low, i think. but i try to catch it "hard" if that makes sense... i throw it low, so it doesnt really go above my head more than a few inches, and then i try to grab it out of the air almost above my head right before it actually starts to fall, and i pull it down, stopping rotation but pulling it down hard enough to make trails...

throwing high is fun, but sometime it is nice to have the fireballs right next to your face instead of above your head..........

Posted: 20th May 2005
I see what you mean now quiet, It a nice idea but i would be very nervous about trying something like that. I've hurt myself enough times just doing normal burn offs



Dragon, I have 2ft of 4in wick wrapped around a 19mm dia Ali tube with dowel in the ends. Alot of my burn offs merge, it makes it harder to catch the stick though .More than once i've just had to stick my hand up there and hope for the best, but usually only when i've thrown it badly, which lets face it, is probably often enough though. I got myself nice and square right on the bridge of my nose not so long ago. I dont usually do them down low but if i do i try to keep it well away from me.



Im not sure about them closing on me but i have been thinking a bit more about it lately. Its happened once or twice but i dont know if im brave enough to ever put myself in a giant fireball on purpose. If you were wearing the right kind of clothes i dont think it would burn you at all. I think it works better when you throw low because the staff is spinning more on its access and so is driving all the spray out into the same area. Hence big fire, big heat, high flames. When you throw it the staff travels up and so the spray goes up to, away from the fire... so i always try to get the staff to spin as hard as i can on the same axis but so it doesnt really gain any height. You have to be quick with the catch though.

Written by:

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Oh i forgot to say earlier that often when i catch the staff, its rotation stops so it suddenly spits more fire for that split second. Do you guys get more of that when you throw low?

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nope, but it sounds cool



I love fire
EDITED_BY: ado-p (1116576286)

Love is the law.

Posted: 24th May 2005

Written by:

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More than once i've just had to stick my hand up there and hope for the best

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i know the feeling.

Written by:

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I think it works better when you throw low because the staff is spinning more on its access and so is driving all the spray out into the same area.

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thanks i totally get that! Sometimes mine is still falling and spraying...it has alot to do with control. Anyone can throw one but getting it perfect and being able to catch it again, IN PLANE, can be a frickin nightmare! And i hate when it hits you square on the nose! Im sure we can come up with some nose roll so you can say "oh i ment to do that"

Posted: 25th May 2005
would gushing blood be a part of that nose roll?

I must say, I have never hit msyelf in the nose.... Dammit, now I am going to!