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MedusaSILVER Member veteran 1,433 posts Location: 8 days at Cloudbreak, 6 in Perth, Australia
Posted: I know this sounds stupid coming from someone who has been fire twirling as long as I have but I have developed an inate fear of fire after giving myself some serious burns.
Can anyone give me some advice how to get past it?
PukSILVER Member Sweet talented nutter 2,615 posts Location: Brisbane Oz, Australia
Posted: Don't ! it means you respect fire do you know over 80% of rock climers (spelling ! where's my dictionary) Suffer from a fear of height.
So give it time and im sure you'll get over it.
that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Good Fellow ; are you not he that is frighten of the maidens of the villagery - fairy
I am the merry wander of the night -puk
MedusaSILVER Member veteran 1,433 posts Location: 8 days at Cloudbreak, 6 in Perth, Australia
Posted: Okay I understand that you have to have a respect and slight fear of fire to be able to do fire twirling safely...but I am literally petrified of fire now.
If I can't overcome at least some of it I can kiss goodbye any type of fire twirling from now on and I enjoy it too much to do that.
ben-ja-menGOLD Member just lost .... evil init 2,474 posts Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posted: the best way to overcome fear that ive come across is by confronting your fear (in a safe environment) and consciously focusing on breathing deeply through it until the fear passes
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourself, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous and talented? Who are you NOT to be?
MedusaSILVER Member veteran 1,433 posts Location: 8 days at Cloudbreak, 6 in Perth, Australia
Posted: I think I will let my burns heal first, which is going to take a while...then I will give that a go.
vanizeSILVER Member Carpal \'Tunnel 3,899 posts Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Posted: yeah - I definitely agree with benjamen on this one - fear is best dealt with by the brute force method of pushing through it.
It is understandable and natural that burns cause a psychological reaction - "once burned, twice shy" as they say, and I went through a similar phase in my development as a fire performer. But pushing though is the only way to go, and now I don't even notice burns anymore after the first couple minutes, and even then only if they are bad ones. even minor burns used to bug me for days but now they are too trivial to notice.
I get a good laugh when people see a burn on me and their eyes get big and round and they say "oh god, that must hurt!" - and then I look around, feign noticing the burn after a few seconds and say, "oh, that? not really" (which is true) and change the subject before they can argue or wonder about it
If you take good care of your burns, they will not scar at all.
anyway, your body will eventually adjust to your situation and burns will become only a minor thing. And once you see that 6 months later you can't see any sign of even a burn that blisters (provided you take good care of it), then your fear will lessen even more. if you play with fire, you will get burned - no way to avoid it. you can get over the fear, but it will take some mental effort to do so till your body has time to adjust.
-v-
Wiederstand ist Zwecklos!
spritieSILVER Member Pooh-Bah 2,014 posts Location: Galveston, TX, USA
Posted: If you are that worried, I too would dive right in again. However, I'd limit myself my first time to something simple like plain butterflies or just spinning at your side. You don't even have to spin them for long, just enough to realize that the fire will not "bite" you. Doing this simple act will help build up your confidence in spinning.
ado-pGOLD Member Pirate Ninja 3,882 posts Location: Galway/Ireland
I ended up in a similar situation two years ago after setting some hair alight, didn't even burn anything, just lost a strip of hair, took months to get over that one. Can't say anything particular in terms of advice, since we're all very different, for myself though I ended up taking an interest in staff, potentially more difficult to get into trouble with than poi, in terms of tangles etc.
mark
_pOp_BRONZE Member Playing OldSchool Poi 593 posts Location: amsterdam, Netherlands
Posted: I'd say: do something similar like I reckon you did for your first ever burn: start simple. maybe even just get one poi in your strong hand and do just simple stuff with that.
my fear came after I was doing a street show with fire-ropes: because I was talking to the crowd I didn't notice that the handles caught on fire and then I couldn't get out of them quick enough... I had to develop a new way of holding them to overcome my fear, so now I hold them in a way that's both secure but also really easy to get out of.
I hope you get over yours too
eRic.
I'm not normally a religious man, but if you're up there, save me, Superman!
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