Forums > Videos > Epitome's first decent fire video! Enjoy!

Posted: 5th Jul 2010
I'm proud of you Epitome! This was really good. Yes you have a ways to go but then again, dont we all? This vid shows promise, I believe you'll be blowing peoples socks off before you know it ;D

If you can't stand the heat, get out of my way.

Posted: 5th Jul 2010
Thanks so much Flint!!! :hugs: It keeps me motivated to get input from others and look at myself from the outside as well, our view of the spinning is so much different inside the flames!

I will keep working hard and hope I can keep stepping up my game with technique, creativity and expression along with courage.

Showing promise is an awesome start, thanks so much again for the input!

~Rock on!~

"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle, being swept along is no longer enough"-Waking Life

(All you RLers this is epitome_of_lame *waves hello*)

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
You may want to try snuggling in with the fire a little more. It's by far not as hot as you seem to imagine - and getting hit by the mf's doesn't hurt as long as you may think.

Practising the individual moves will make them more fluent - practising transitions will make it more interesting to watch (a single move - imho - shouldn't be repeated more than 3-4 times... you can come back to it after some time). As to the dramatic side: Try to put the weave to the end of the spin - it's a great move and doing it in the beginning will put expectations up.

Other than that I feel like Flint: you're on the right track and a great spinnerette in the making.

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
I've bonked myself before FireTom and know not much happens, but none the less it takes me much time to get out of my comfort zone which includes changing the feel of what I'm spinning (unlike the practice covers) and the ground under my feet has an effect. How much I can do with flame is about a 3rd of what I can do without and I'm working on balancing it because I do freeze up for many reasons.

Without bonking myself I have much less peach fuzz on my back and arms so I must be a touch snugglier after this weekend! My wish is not to be standing still and use my dance background more so than to be techy so hopefully next time my comfort level after warmup will calm my nerves to get some more of my solid tricks in the mix along with more full body movement.

Thanks much though, it does mean a lot including the constructive criticism which helps me correct bad habits and overcome my weak points. I do look way more comfy with fire than I did and at least didn't fully freeze and just stand there so I'll try to keep staying on that track with a touch less "I think I can" and more "I knew I could"! Thanks much!

~Rock on!~

"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle, being swept along is no longer enough"-Waking Life

(All you RLers this is epitome_of_lame *waves hello*)

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
yea - whatever, dude. I'm not even sure why I'm being nice to you, lady - but here's one advice from a 42 year old stuck-in-his-way-of-thinking fire dinosaur of 13yrs of practice:

close your eyes when practicing

Feel more instead of looking. Envision the poi in the space around you, feel where they are, rather than looking at them.

One problem is that most of the time you get blinded by the light, deprived of your primary senses: eyesight and audio. When playing with fire @ nights you loose reference. That's the main reason you loose your routine. That and the innate fear of fire.

If you can do it w/o fire, you can do it with. Trust me - it's only a small step and once you've taken it a whole new world opens up for you: playing with fire, seeing its beauty, becoming friends, lovers even... oops getting carried away on the hippie trail now

You got a dancing background - keep dancing when practicing, and if only a little bit. It's lovely - choose the dancing side of poi and fire, leave the techie stuff to the nerds... I've not met one who was able to do both - even the J's. They are Amazing, gifted fireplayers... but no dancers.

You can be amazing with a fraction of the tricks a nerd needs to impress his peeps. And you will.

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
Originally Posted By: FireTomyea - whatever, dude. I'm not even sure why I'm being nice to you, lady - but here's one advice from a 42 year old stuck-in-his-way-of-thinking fire dinosaur of 13yrs of practice:

You're only 4 years younger than my mom, wow you should take a joke a tiny touch better I appear the same way to an 18 year old have some fun with it and roll with it...

Plus if you weren't nice you'd be trolling on my vid thread buddy roll!

Chillax, it's all good!

~Rock on!~

"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle, being swept along is no longer enough"-Waking Life

(All you RLers this is epitome_of_lame *waves hello*)

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
Originally Posted By: FireTomOne problem is that most of the time you get blinded by the light, deprived of your primary senses: eyesight and audio. When playing with fire @ nights you loose reference. That's the main reason you loose your routine. That and the innate fear of fire.

If you can do it w/o fire, you can do it with. Trust me - it's only a small step and once you've taken it a whole new world opens up for you: playing with fire, seeing its beauty, becoming friends, lovers even... oops getting carried away on the hippie trail now

You got a dancing background - keep dancing when practicing, and if only a little bit. It's lovely - choose the dancing side of poi and fire, leave the techie stuff to the nerds... I've not met one who was able to do both - even the J's. They are Amazing, gifted fireplayers... but no dancers.

You can be amazing with a fraction of the tricks a nerd needs to impress his peeps. And you will.

The blinding factor did take me off guard which I didn't think about, I have problems with night blindness anyway so I will focus on that. Thanks for bringing it up because most of my practice is in daylight, darkness alone does make an instant tense up in me.

My husband said I was just grinning and jamming near the end so comfort is a coming and more than anything I want to play with it, enjoy it, and find my own path that is a form of expression with my own vision and personal expression through dance and fire art. It might be more hipster than hippy, but the approach I want to be one with totally.

Thanks again, and please take me with the same grain of salt I take myself with. Ordinarily I'm lighthearted and joking regardless of how it looks in print, hope that fun and sassy street cred will come out in my evolution in poi performance!

~Rock on!~

"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle, being swept along is no longer enough"-Waking Life

(All you RLers this is epitome_of_lame *waves hello*)

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
Originally Posted By: EoNPlus if you weren't nice you'd be trolling on my vid thread buddy roll! wink

dough - as if I cared I personally don't mind you being a hippie or hippy (as long as you didna hit on them hippies, cause they're me friends ya know - though most of 'em dunno it themselves, so don'tna tell'em). And about that ageing and wisdom thingy - you'll find out yourself over time... Besides lots of stuff get lost in translation thought - type - display - reading - process. Dreadful sometimes, btdt

BOT - practice with fluff or sockpoi (tie knots for handles and right where your swivel would go on regular poi) and shut your eyes. Being scared of the dark is a common trouble - but (at least most of the time) there isnothing that want to harm you (apart from other people, usually in sun-urban areas and in the US... got carried away). Closing your eyes in bright daylight might even be more scary - beware of yourSelf)

Keep dancing and you'll be a stunner far sooner than you'll be when adding e=mc² jedi tricks to your repertoire that no ordinary spec will understand.. the 'ah's' and 'oh's' come with simplicity and a nice smile on your face.

the best smiles are the ones you lead to

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
I enjoyed your video EoN! It's hard to get your groove back after a long break. My finger still screams when I pick up some poi. I just now have my staffing up to snuff. Looking at you I think you are right on track.

As for suggestions, I would recommend against closing your eyes. I prefer to see my reflection, so I can get my movements second nature before I feel free to move about blindly.

Also as for the comments from certain others, I couldn't help but notice the immaturity on display. How do you blow off a hypocrite that follows you around to subject you to their critiques? Roll on indeed!

Thanks for 'sharing'!

The popcorn extends life... The popcorn expands consciousness...

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
Originally Posted By: Refuge CrewI enjoyed your video EoN! It's hard to get your groove back after a long break. My finger still screams when I pick up some poi. I just now have my staffing up to snuff. Looking at you I think you are right on track.

As for suggestions, I would recommend against closing your eyes. I prefer to see my reflection, so I can get my movements second nature before I feel free to move about blindly.

Thanks much, Fugee! It took forever to get those blisters to heal on my fingers that ruptured (nearly 3 weeks, the skin still isn't fully reformed and kinda thin where I have my grip) so a regular break plus my ability to only toy with fire every few months since I have no spotter slows the progress of making that aspect second nature.

I think if I can muster up some volunteers who want to jam from a far I'll try to toy with getting lost in some Bmore Club music and film some freestyle fire as an experiment. I need to vary the key points needed for my vision of dope, fresh, and fierce style to be born. Until then I only get to light up when my perma-spotter is present who has been away at training since April with very few breaks and my next fire practice will be Labor Day weekend.

I don't want to emulate any of the great spinners I've seen because it's not an expression of myself, but I do hope someday I'll make poi appealing to a different demographic so they can share in the joy that I'm now addicted to. With time, practice, inspiration, and support I'm sure my breakthrough vision will become a reality.

~Rock on!~

"As the pattern gets more intricate and subtle, being swept along is no longer enough"-Waking Life

(All you RLers this is epitome_of_lame *waves hello*)

Posted: 6th Jul 2010
Argh! If only they would have sent you guys to Tejas!

The popcorn extends life... The popcorn expands consciousness...

Posted: 7th Jul 2010
Aww look at everyone being good children. Do I smell Facebook friend requests? ;D

"Are you sure it's safe to drink bleach?"
"Yes, bleach is 90% water, we are 90% water, therefore: we are bleach."
-Nathan Explosion, Metalocalypse