Forums > Help! > Fire Breathing - A Couple More Questions - Please Help

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Hiei3newbie
7 posts

Posted:
Ok, my first question is, while spitting out the fuel, where should my tongue be? Second, since your head is slightly tipped back, how do you stop the fuel from running back further in your mouth? (The 2nd question will probably tie in with the tongue placement, but my tongue also needs to stay out of the way to spit it out). Also, if there are any skilled fire-breathers in the north-west area of pennsylvania, usa, and would be willing to help me get it right SAFELY, I'd be glad to pay.

Also, besides fire breathing, what is another male fire art? Poi, spinning, etc, all looks more girlish. I've heard of fire-eating and seen pictures of it, so I may look into it later on, but I was wondering if there are any other fire arts for boys. Thanks a bunch. Everyone here at HoP has been so helpful. =)

~Anthony

Kathain_BowenGood Ol' Yarn For Hair
422 posts
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA


Posted:
... ok..... now, I'm going to be really and truly- and rather painfully, embarassingly, brutally honest. I got into poi from a loving watching it standpoint by seeing a really handsome guy do it for a Madonna performance at some music awards show. I started playing with it because a male friend did it, and I started seriously learning because I loved watching my then boyfriend (*cheating, drug dealing scum bag) and my good friend (Havocangel) poi-ing.

..... I'm a bit biased to watching men poi, I will admit.

Now, speaking from having watched the Havocangel and Michael Glenn play, guys can rock out any toy so long as they do it right and enhance their own style. Check out devil sticks, diablo, juggling (both toss and contact), and especially check out staff. They're some instructional vids if you go through the "Free Lessons" secton on HoP.

G'luck, and, please, before you do the fire breathing stuff, you might want to talk to Pele or at least her story under the fire stuff on HoP.

As always, be safe and have fun.

"So long and thanks for all the fish."


Hiei3newbie
7 posts

Posted:
Well I hate to go out of order, but I'm going to start by saying that I know fire breathing is dangerous, that's why I'm looking for alternatives. I've read both the How-To, Pele's accident, and seen the interview. I may do it occasionally, but I want something less risky for a majority of the time. As far as devil sticks, diablo, and staffs, thanks a bunch, I didn't even give those a thought =). I've tried regular juggling and just can't get it, so I'll probably never try fire juggling. I just plain suck at it, lol. As far as men doing poi, I didn't realize men did it. So thanks =). I'll definately look into it all. You've been a big help =).

Now... for when I try fire breathing, could someone please try to answer the questions about tongue placement and such? Thanks.

Kathain_BowenGood Ol' Yarn For Hair
422 posts
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA


Posted:
It's not problem. And no worries about being out of order with things. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the fire breathing dangers! What can I say? Mum raised me to be her- over protective and worrysome.

But definitely, men can SO work the poi. Mmmm......

*swoons*

..... er.... sorry.... was I just caught drooling then?

Well, at any rate, were are you located? Because House of Play is going to be at New York Renaissance (Tuxedo) until the 24th, Rhythm and Roots, and TRF this year, so you can check out some awesome contact juggling and other toys so long as you ask the right player nicely (if Michael's at any of those events, you're guaranteed a good show of what men can do with different toys depending upon what they have at the booth at that show! So is Andy!)

"So long and thanks for all the fish."


FixxGOLD Member
Member
25 posts
Location: London, United Kingdom


Posted:
hehe, when i first started firebreathing, it was with my ex-housemates (they did it professionally, that's why all the safety stuff got drilled into me so thoroughly!), both male, and a pretty large group of other guys - I was the only girl there! It was also my first experience of poi! I initially wasn't meant to be let near the poi, but after seeing how much I liked breathing fire, they asked if i wanted to swing it about a bit smile

I pretty quickly hit myself on the leg (was wearing jeans luckily) and gave them back the poi, deciding to leave crazy stuff like swinging balls of fire on the end of a chain around my head to the guys - i'd just stick with my little fire torch to blow over thank you very much!

Fair to say times have changed, and i love poi now, though i may still hit myself lots smile I definitely don't think of it as a girls thing though - i know so many guys who do it, and just look amazing, and damn sexy *drool* - it's something to do with all the flexing muscles during turns and swings, and the control, and actually seing a guy move like that - it's very nice, trust me! Guys and girls have different styles too usually, it's up to you to define your own.

As for other techniques being hard to learn, well, poi is too for parts of it. I'm appalling at juggling, never got anywhere at all, then at a conference at work recently the presenter announced we were all going to learn to juggle. At the end of the day long conference he had every single person out of the 200 there happily juggling with 3 balls - and all done with only about 30 mins actual teaching/practice! If you find a good teacher, and work hard, you'l be able to pick up most skills - you might surprise yourself!

Anyway, the technical points - i'm not really sure where your tongue should be - wherever it normally is when blowing! (In the non-rude sense that is...)
As for fuel running back when you tilt your head, where it is in your mouth doesn't make much difference, as you'll hoepfully be expelling it all. If you're worried about it running down your throat, don't be too much. You can just close your throat off - if you don't beleive me just try fillign your mouth with water, tipping your head back, opening your mouth and wiggling your tongue about a bit. If you close off your throat it won't go anywhere! though you will look a bit strange...
Anyway, you probably will end up swallowing a tiny little bit of the paraffin during a breathing session, just be prepared for that - line your stomach etc, as per the advice on the firebreathing article.

I'm with you on the wanting to do something other than firebreathing as well - it is pretty limited, really not that much "bang for your buck" in terms of the danger, and what you actually get for it - i only do it occassionally, i much prefer poi, and will hopefully be learning staff too soon! I still like firebreathing for a bit of variety though smile

Good luck!

"If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space"


Kathain_BowenGood Ol' Yarn For Hair
422 posts
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA


Posted:
Ah, good! So I'm not the only person who will admit to drooling over men with poi! *girly giggle* You're right, though, there just is something to the muscles and the.... darn, if I keep thinking about this, I'll NEVER get any real work done today.

On the difficulty learning thing: keep in mind, people also have different learning styles, so a skill like juggling just might be something you need to learn differently than other people. Always try different techniques and teaching styles to see what exactly helps you. I couldn't figure out TTN for the life of me (I had been trying oh-so desperately to figure it out for a YEAR!) until someone told me to basically do that 1960's dance the "wave" (aka "swim") while butterfly-ing. Weird, but it worked. If you're really into a skill toy, but can't figure it out, start talking to people and asking people who have different styles how they do it. You may find that a new way of looking at things will make it easier for you.

Keep at it, Hiei3, if you like juggling! Some people can just pick up toys are start going with them. Don't tell Havocangel, but I hate his ability to do that! Some people are just lucky like that; the rest of us have to kind of play with it for a little bit to figure things out.

Fcok, sounds like you basically lived like me for a while. The ex was a professional fire breather/spinner. He relied really heavily on Havoc to safety, but he had been teaching me. It like living in a weird little fire community. Somedays, I keep thinking I should get everyone together again for us all to rent a house. Then, I remember the whole renter's insurance probably doesn't cover that kind of fire.....

G'luck and be safe!

"So long and thanks for all the fish."


FixxGOLD Member
Member
25 posts
Location: London, United Kingdom


Posted:
Hehe, that was a great year, loved that house. To be fair, the guys spinning wasn't great, they just liked to play with fire - but it did give me the bug smile

They had their own band too, if you check out the video "Grow Up" on www.dmtm.co.uk, you can see them all, my lovely ex-house, and the nice big forest right beside where we could play with fire in the clearings and never worry about insurance smile And to keep on topic you can see my lovely ex-housemate "Paul the Pyromancer" fire breathing, and about 3 secs of poi!

Def keep at it Hiei, practice makes perfect, and it's so much fun to play with fire (safely!) If i was nearby i'd def come help you out, but London is a bit far, and expensive...

Have fun though!

"If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space"


Kathain_BowenGood Ol' Yarn For Hair
422 posts
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA


Posted:
At first, you could see the ex was really awesome at what he did. However, the more and more Havocangel did, we could see he had more potential to do better things. The ex was this little sliver of a guy who always looked like poi and any of his toys was a job. The ex had more technical experience than anyone else, in addition to a far broader range of moves than anyone else, but he made it look like such an effort. It really put a damper on what he did. Havoc had the background that would let him go further with it, and he had the spirit to make it fun, throwing it little tricks sometimes just for our humor and amusement.

... we couldn't really play in the backyard, except for with sock, led, or glowsticks. The backyard was like a jungle, taking a hard, downhill run to the creek. Definitely not a good spot. We would just wait until really late to spin.

Yay for dark-thirty!

"So long and thanks for all the fish."


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