the music is throbbing. it makes me want to move.

taking deep breaths and stretching to calm my nerves, i try to loosen up. my right shoulder is still a little sore from the beach thing, spinning fire as a gift to a graduating group of junior high school students. that gig absolutely kicked my ass. i needed a sherpa just to get back to the car. the soft sand is so taxing to move in, like doing jumping jacks in jello. i had to do more isolations when my legs got exhausted. it about killed dna, too. absolutely love them. a truly great couple doing it right. friends i always enjoy spending time with. and, they know how to put on a show.

final costume adjustments. pull up my socks. loosen the knee pads. package comfortable? waistband? run a grateful hand through the already damp hair before putting back on my black hat. i’m dressed in long, black, billowy thai wraparound pants, black sketchers and socks, black half gloves, an arm band, and the necklace my lady gave me. love rocking the black. a little cold being bare chested, but i’ll be warm in the fire. it’s a wonder i’ve come so far with being comfortable having my torso exposed. i remember too clearly feeling mostly like an irritated, beached whale, never wanting to share my belly with anybody. feeling slimmer and tighter again, almost where i was post-playa last year. nice to feel sexy. does a self good.

ditching the gum. a little more water. more. another breath. k is spinning his staff off in the middle of the street. the fuel is tucked away from the performance area, by the trash cans at the side of the club. a few feet away, one of the door guys looks bored out of his mind; the other is lasciviously looking at a brunette in a short skirt. she’s got a nice ass.

“we’re on”

i walk to the fuel, adjusting my gloves. i need to tailor their replacements- don’t like they way one of them is starting to curl at my palm. my fire hoop is resting against the wall, six blackened spokes speaking of the recent practice. i’ve beaten the hell out of that thing learning how to firehoop. but, i can’t wait for the new one to arrive. can’t wait for new wicks. i wonder what kind of adjustment it will be transitioning to a considerably lighter hoop?

i pick up my green and black, battle firehoop, double check that the wicks are screwed in tightly. once over of the hoop. relatively circular? tape tight? good.

kneeling to open up my ammo can. the sticker on the side says, “cleverly disguised as a responsible adult”. it’s about 3/4 full with lamp oil and white gas. as i crack the lid, i’m hit with that familiar fuel smell that seeps into my clothing. try not to breath it in- don’t want to think about toxicity issues at the moment. my wicks look worn out. beat the hell out of them, too, and this is like my, what, forth or fifth set of wicks?

as each one goes into the fuel bath, i start the slow count to ten in my head, and turn to see how the performance is progressing. k is getting into his zone. he is one of the most graceful staff spinners i’ve seen. great flow.

7-8-9-10. i pull the dripping wick out, shaking it lightly. rotate clockwise to the next wick. submerge. two. 2. 3. turn my head back to the fire.

the crowd is loving the show. what started as a few similarly turned heads has mushroomed into a dedicated, delighted audience, 3 or 4 rows deep. more people are coming outside to watch, squeezing in to poise their drinks somewhat precariously over the waist-high barricades.

10. rotate. submerge. three. 2. 3.

“great spin man”, i yell as k comes over to put down his staff. he’s bathed in a sheen of sweat- a little flushed. he’s got his relaxed smile on, the smoke from his tired wicks trailing behind him into the night air. he reminds me of a cheshire cat who has just apparated. (is apparated actually a word or am i just quoting harry potter?)

“thanks.” he replies.

“how’d it feel?”

“it felt good… there were a few things i wanted to do, but…..yeah…yeah, it was good… you ready to rock it like a bad motherfucker?”

“always”, i grin. i close the can, struggling a bit with the clasp one-handed, as my soaked hoop waits in my other outstretched hand. i stand up, adjust the back of my kneepads again (ouch) and walk away to shake off the excess fuel. the music is still pumping. sweet.

wish i’d taken a piss. fuck.

away from the activity, i whip the hoop a few times in my right hand vertically, the excess fuel spraying off into the air. it’s a fine balance. i don’t want to spray the audience with napalm, but i want as much fuel as i can burn. these wicks always go out too quickly. the new ones will make a difference, but i’m starting to wonder how much the speed at which i hoop plays a part?

i start loping back to the performance area in time with the music. shake off my shoulders. big exhale. time to get into character. wish i had my sunglasses.

j is just finishing up with double fire hoops. she is a born performer: charming, sexy, graceful. inherently knows how to connect with an audience. i admire how quickly she can transition into performing. sometimes i hit it. sometimes only for a moment; sometimes i’m deep blissing in my flow for an orgasmic timelessness. sometimes i chase it without ever achieving it.

nice move. she’s got one firehoop at her waist, the other atop her outstretched hand.

she dances back momentarily and sees me. she is almost done- her wicks are starting to sputter out. i shift more attention to the music. try to anticipate where the transitions might be. j winks that she is about ready to switch.

i close my eyes and breath. alright, let’s do this like a buddhist, kahunahula! all you’ve got! engage. if you fuck up, recover. find the flow. and don’t take it so seriously. it’s just a fucking hula hoop. have a blast!

j bows and pirouettes back with one remaining lit wick. the crowd is cheering wildly. rush of adrenaline. in a familiar sequence of movement she starts lighting my wicks. as each one catches, the bright light flares up, the dark smoke begins and another voice is added to the chorus of white noise. i make sure my hands and costume are away from the flames. as i wait for the final wicks to light in that purgatory.

click. one wick won’t light. click of lighter. click. click. dammit. (i know i dipped them all. hate to go on with an unlit wick but don’t want to burn too much fuel lighting.)

there it goes. it’s windier than it looks; even starting to gust a little bit. will need to keep that in mind. keep my tosses low at first and see what the drift is like.

“thank you”

i turn towards the audience. i am met with a wash of cheering, expectant faces beyond the glare of the flames. i walk to the center of the space and adjust my hoop to a place of beginning. jack directly into the music. almost at the transition. 4. 3. 2…

breath. and commit.

the intensity of the light. the tangible vortex of heat. that throaty fire-moving-through-air-white-noise-whoosh pulsing around your body. the smell of smoke and fuel with a hint of burnt hair. playing with darkness and light, wind and air.

i love fire hooping. i find it unique among my hooping experiences. while there are limits to the moves that i can safely translate from regular hooping to fire, i find the challenge interesting and the process of discovery intoxicating. there is absolutely nothing like getting into the flow with fire.

since i’m seeing more and more new faces, i thought i’d share a few things i’ve learned that can help those new to firehooping. i remember having tons of questions, even after reading everything i could get my hands on. i will reiterate a few basics that have been posted previously here and elsewhere, but i hope even old timers will get something useful out of this. i will touch base on fear of fire, equipment considerations, and safety suggestions.

the one thing that freaks people out the most is the what-if-something-goes-wrong-and-i set-myself-on-fire issue. people always ask me if i get burned. yep. lots. i spin fire 2-3 times a week; the hair on my forearms has an eternally scorched crew cut. particularly when working on new off-the-body moves, my forearms can get licked in flames. sometimes this means a light burn, sometimes not. (i personally prefer not to have my forearms covered) every once in awhile my hand or shoulder gets a hot kiss. really, that’s about it. i have an aloe burn gel that works really well; the burns heal quickly. the moral of the story is that, yes, you will probably get burned at some point, but it’s not that big of a deal. there is a lot you can do to minimize the risk. the truth is i am far more irritated at having my stuff reek like fuel.

i didn’t have a whole lot of experience with moving open flame prior to getting into firehooping. a campfire or candle just sits there looking pretty, nothing like half a dozen spokes of death in your immediate vicinity, under your (sorta) control. there is definitely an inherent danger in firehooping . fire is powerful. putting it in close proximity to your body is not something to be taken lightly. i’ve heard about some bad accidents in the fire community, particularly with poi getting wrapped around heads and limbs. fortunately, a firehoop won’t entangle you like that.

on some firehoops it’s the metal that is the real danger, rather than the flame. you know the trick you learned as a kid of moving your finger quickly through a small flame on a lighter? now remember touching the iron? it was the iron that left the mark. the best burn i ever got, now completely healed, was in the shape of the head of a screw. watch those metal bits!

personally, i think it is important to build up a solid set of hooping skills before you light up for the first time. firehooping is technically more complex than normal hooping: you have all these pokey, hot things to deal with, often in low light conditions. it makes sense to build up a substantial familiarity with the hoop before taking the step to fire.

once you’re ready to flame on, you’ll need a firehoop that is the right diameter and weight for you. you want to be comfortable in it. that being said, i tend to like a slightly heavier hoop for the initial learning phase of firehooping. building muscle memory is easier with a little heft to work with. but, no doubt, a heavier hoop means it takes more out of you. don’t be surprised if you find yourself completely exhausted in the middle of your initial spins.

there is an increasing variety of firehoops available: attached/detachable wicks, rigid/floppy spines, led/fire combo hoops, collapsable, doubles, etc. i suggest trying a few different types before committing to one. you can also make your own. since i’m a better hooper than craftsman, i prefer to trust someone else’s skill in building a firehoop. plus, it’s cool to support the small businesses that hooping has created. the point is that you want a firehoop that is sturdy, balanced, and a good fit.

you have a few fuel options: white gas, lamp oil, kerosene, color additives, etc. i prefer a fuel mixture of 60/40 lamp oil to white gas. that way you get a bright, easy lighting, flame that will last. it is a little smokier and dimmer than just white gas, but i like to torque the hell out of my hoop and need that extra oil to keep the wicks burning longer. the one big downside with lamp oil is that it can make your spin area slippery. as to other options, i’m told that kerosene is super smoky: unfortunately, it seems to be one of the few fuel choices available around a good portion of the world. i generally stay away from the color additives. my understanding is that the pretty blue flame you see is supplied by a chemical in bug spray. no thanks. i figure i’m exposing myself to enough toxins with the fuel mix.

for fuel storage, after many different container trials, an ammo can is my favorite solution. it is metal, big enough to dip comfortably in low light conditions, easy to carry, and sealed. works great. you can get them in army surplus/used camping gear stores.

in addition to your firehoop and fuel, you’ll need some support gear. over the years i’ve assembled a basic firekit which includes all that i need to spin fire. i use a yoga bag to carry my collapsable hoop and firekit. inside, i use a medium-sized toiletry bag to protect my wicks and for the rest of the miscellany.

here is what is in my firekit:

aloe burn gel
advil
duvetyn
gloves
knee pads (kneeling on rocky ground or cement hurts)
hat
safety pins (for those clothing items that just won’t cooperate)
misc hoop supplies (extra tape, extra connectors, extra wicks)
wrench
headlamp
scissors (for trimming wicks)
water
lighters (i can’t tell you how many times i’ve been surrounded by 20 spinners with no means of lighting a fire)

the first time i lit up, i was very fortunate to have the support of a couple of top-notch firehoopers who graciously guided me through the process. it made all of the difference in my sense of safety and overall comfort level. definitely have someone experienced walk you through your first few burns, if you can.

when firehooping the first few times, i suggest focusing on just familiarizing yourself with the unique environment, the weight of the hoop, the heat, the brightness, the smoke, etc. take your time. as you grow more comfortable with it, you can start exploring your normal range of movement, staying aware of the position of the wicks/spines in relation to your body. in my experience, most burns happen when i’m doing things off-the-body.

if you ever get in trouble, the easiest thing to do is drop the hoop and step away. also, you can always ask your safety to put your wicks out at any time for any reason.

there are a few other things you can do to maximize your enjoyment while minimizing your risk. here are my top ten safety suggestions:

1) make smart clothing choices. i know, the fun materials are all flammable. natural fibers, like cotton or hemp, are always best. when ignited, they will burn in and of themselves instead of melting to your skin like synthetics. not sure if what you are wearing is flammable? snip off a piece and carefully light it over an ashtray or sink. it will be very clear whether you want that material burning next to, or melting into, your skin.

but you still want to wear the shiny one? one solution is to sew an inner, safer layer under the synthetics, giving you a protective barrier. one clever suggestion i’ve heard is to use ironing board fabric as the underlying layer.

also, try spinning in your fancy clothing with your firehoop unlit before lighting up. things snag, flowy bits get in the way, suddenly you don’t have the range of motion you are used to, etc. better to figure this stuff out before you have burning wicks to deal with.

skin is in. the natural stickiness of skin helps add that extra bit of control that is useful when hooping, in general, but is particularly helpful when spinning fire. obviously, be comfortable, but the more skin you have available, the more (potential) control you have.

2) protect your head. the way i hoop, my hair is just asking to be toast (and i simply don’t have enough to spare as it is). i almost always wear a hat. you can also wet down your hair, if you prefer.

even with a hat, it’s a good idea to wait until the flames have died down a bit to do any tricks that bring the flame close to your face. i’ve scorched eyebrows and eyelashes a few times. partially singed eyelashes just look funny.

3) designate a safe area for fuel. a tree. a rock. a curb. whatever. keep all of your fuel there and don’t spin anywhere near this space. make it a communal effort to keep the drunk idiot with the cigarette away.

4) double check your hoop/spines/wicks before each spin. you should give your entire hoop a once over before you dip, paying particular attention to the spines/wicks. if the spines are the screw-in type, they can come loose. (you should check the permanent spines, too: i’ve almost been brained by a not-so-permanently attached permanent spine that somehow came loose from a friend’s hoop) also, any frayed strings of kevlar should be trimmed from the wicks. this prevents flaming bits flying off. fire marshals don’t like frayed wicks. (i’m sure there is a good joke in there somewhere)

if you are using a collapsable firehoop with those plastic connector inserts, i suggest covering them with tape to keep them from snagging or scratching.

5) use safeties. hangups about using safeties abound, but it is just foolish not to have someone there to put you out if you are in trouble. clothing can catch fire without you noticing it. safeties should have duvetyn or a wet towel ready to go, and be watching your spin. here is some good fire safety information from temple of poi (http://www.templeofpoi.com/poi/fire/safety.php). make sure anyone volunteering to safety actually knows what they are doing. if not, take the time to teach them “hands-on” how to do it correctly.

6) let others know what is in your fuel mix. if you share your fuel with other people be sure to let them know if there is lamp oil (or anything other than white gas) in the mix before they dip. this is particularly true for other fire tools.

7) spin off. i still routinely see firehoops that have not been completely spun off. this results in a sputtering firey circle of death flying every which way. dangerous and avoidable.

lightly shaking off a newly dipped wick over your dip can is not enough. you need to spin off as well. my preferred way to spin off is to spin the hoop vertically over my outstretched hand a few revolutions, away from my body, avoiding the spray. the other way i’ve seen it done is to hold the hoop horizontally and whip it in a wide swath away from the body. you need to rotate the hoop and repeat until all wicks have been spun off. either way, you need some space away from everything else for this.

be aware of your surroundings. do you really have enough space to firehoop safely? is the ground even? is it windy? are there tree limbs in the way of that toss you can’t wait to try? is that person actually trying to come up and dance with you right now?

weird things can and do happen. if you are spinning with others, all kinds of flaming tools can end up in your spinning space unexpectedly. it is also easy to get disoriented within the light, heat and sound of the fire.

to make matters worse, you can cause mayhem without knowing it. i finished a spin at a large fire gathering and noticed i was missing a wick. checking with the safeties, i found out it had broken during my spin and been launched a good thirty feet towards the crowd. could have been bad. totally unforeseen and unnoticed until the end.

always double check your clearance before attempting tosses. you may not be in the same space you thought you were in.

9) once your spin is done, make sure your wicks are all out. i’ve seen several instances wherein spinners exiting the play/performance space don’t realize they still have a wick on fire. i’ve also seen other tools light up accidentally from wicks that looked like they were out. wicks and spines are still hot, even when the flame is out. let them cool down before redipping.

10) give yourself time. learning to play with fire takes practice. you may feel very limited in what you feel safe doing for quite awhile. the more you practice, lit and unlit, the more comfortable you will become.

i also thoroughly recommend stepping outside of the hoop-blinders to spin with other people using other fire tools (poi, staff, fans, etc.). you will learn an incredible amount from the greater fire community.

other than that, have fun with it. there is no space quite like the magical vortex within a spinning firehoop. playing with fire has it’s own challenges, but preparation, skill, awareness and common sense go a long way in making it safer than it looks. treat the fire with respect and you should be fine.

feel free to contribute your wisdom or feedback.

i’ll see you in the circle.

kahunahula

this is how i drink my mojitos!

HooppaiN is not a fucking free for all. We make the rules and we break ‘em if we want to.

HooppaiN is not a collective. If you want to join a hoop group, sign up for a Hoopgirl class or go to Bay Area Hoopers. BAH meets every single Sunday and you are more than welcome to attend.

HooppaiN was born, has evolved, and escaped near death when it imploded due to internal combustion. However, it has survived hard times and has even branched out into a successful offshoot known as Fire-PSIde.

Fire-PSIde is not Bay Area Hoopers. When we throw a Fire-PSIde, you are welcome to attend. However, make no bones about it. Fire-PSIde is not a Bay Area Hoopers event. It’s a HooppaiN event. If we decide not to ‘advertise’ an upcoming Fire-PSIde on the Bay Area Hoopers tribe, then so be it.

HooppaiN, at the moment, consists of kahunahula (founding captain), dBug (founding captain), evilBendy, lassoo laroo, shooting star, frankenpain, proudmari, pyra pixie, agent peach, maria, and hoop daddy. Got it? Good.

We may grow. We may prune. That’s the way it goes. But get this…. we call the shots.

If we find any fuckfaces throwing a hooping party and they call it a HooppaiN, we’re gonna show up and kick their ass. Got it?

but, after some feedback and discussion, i have come to the conclusion that i was a little hard on the teachers. my bad. maybe no one is consciously presenting their dealio as “a single hooping orthodoxy”, as i put it. it just seems that way sometimes.

i think a lot of what actually bugs me, since the teachers i know are all really nice people, is the way classes are marketed. granted, it’s a bit of a weird thing to try to wrap your head around hooping if you are not familiar with it, but the marketing i’ve seen seems to run the gamut from cheesy (“lose weight! clear your pores!) to self-aggrandizement (“teacher x invented irrigation tubing 20 years ago”) to neo-hippy (“spin in concert with the flow of the universe”). i’m exaggerating because i am a smartass, but you get the point. before i get hatemail, i don’t have any problem with achieving better health through hooping (fo sho), someone with experience sharing their knowledge (yes, please), or identifying with the spirituality within spinning (it is absolutely meditative).  it’s just that the marketing language often sucks.  i don’t identify with it.  i guess it is a necessary evil for small business owners. i just wish it didn’t tend to describe hooping as the next version of jazzercise. ugh.

don’t get me wrong, i think taking classes is great. you can get fresh inspiration, connect with other hoopers, and build your skill set. (i took an isopop workshop the other day that was fantastic.) in fact, i say do yourself a favor and take interesting classes. it’s great for your development and helps to support some really hardworking teachers who teach for all of the right reasons.

but i would also say that it is important to keep in mind, particularly if you are a newbie, that the info you are getting in any given class is one person’s opinion. you can take what you like and leave the rest. or use what you learn as a starting point for something different. in the spectrum of possible hoop movement, we have only just begun the exploration.

ultimately, it is going to take a lot of personal practice to develop your own style. a class is really just a starting point.

summary: praise for hoop teachers; marketing is demon spawn; grain of salt and all that.

nuff said. go hoop.

Shar, the owner and creator of Hoophut says, ‘Our mission is to provide innovative solutions to perfect each hooping experience.’ And with that, check out these cool offerings.

Koosh Woosh Cushion Hoop – This hoop is covered in foam.

Fab Fur Hoop – Perfect for the playa!

And finally, instead of just piling all of your hoops against the wall, why not consider a rack? This is a great idea! It’s also a good way to display the beauty of your hoops. If I had room to spare in our tiny apartment, I’d surely get this rack.

Rad Rack Hoop Holder

Check out Hoophut on Etsy and help support other hoopers.

Let’s give it up for ‘em.

Hoop Daddy

Maria

Pyra Pixie

Agent Peach

proudmari threw a very welcome hooppain at her place saturday. four plus hours of us collectively coming out of hibernation. later, FirepaiN at alien’s housewarming with some of the solar flare gang. felt good to be surrounded by that flaming vortex again. then, psi-hoops rocking the dance floor at the burnal equinox. as frankenpain put it, “this is what i’ve been warming up to all day.” mofo threw down.

my shoulders hurt but i’m smiling.

HooppaiN!

maybe it is because it has been so damn cold, or i’m a little self conscious of the winter weight i packed on, or that the hoop calendar has not been as rocking through the holidays. whatever it is, it dawned on me that the burnal equinox is not that far away, that firedrums is right around the corner (the best firejam ever), and that the bay area party season will be starting full throttle in just a few. gonna need to break through soon to get my ass back up to speed.

i will say that i don’t think slumping is necessarily bad. on more than one such occasion, i walked away refreshed, hungry for the joy that only hooping brings, and, surprisingly, feeling really creative. i remember going to a bah after a particularly challenging slump to suddenly come up with three super cool moves i didn’t know i had in me. maybe such brilliance is right around the corner.

since i know every hooper goes through this, i thought i’d broach the topic for communal discussion.

what do you do to break through?