Have you ever seen fire walking and wondered how its done?
I must say, I have done it as a group team building exercise and it ends up being a really unique experience.
First up... generally you have a facilitator for team building.
They prepare a fire...
You sit around the fire and they talk you though all the motivational stuff to eventually get everyone to the point where they are prepared to walk over the coals that have been recently racked and leveled right in front of you.
Some even get the group chanting to help distract the next victim that is about to do something every cell in their body is screaming they shouldn't....
Actually its a lot about peer pressure at this stage.... will I look bad in front of others type stuff... of course the brain-dead dare devils jump up first to do it and then all the pressure is on everybody else after that...
If they could do it, why cant I... etc.
...and then eventually you pluck up the courage and take that first step and before you know it its all over
miraculously you and the soles of your feet survive...
...and now you have an awesome story to tell
and actually your self esteem takes a huge boost like it does whenever you face your fears, look death in the face and laugh.
As a team building exercise its no bad either... there is a sense of unity that comes from helping each other to accomplish this seemingly insurmountable task...the rooting for each other and the knowledge that if you as a team could overcome this...what could be worse.
Compared to walking through fire every thing else seems like a cake walk (pun intended)
You could always do it this way, but that would defeat the purpose.
The science behind it is simple....
If you have the right wood, only a thin outer layer is burning and giving off the red glow.
you don't want to use a hard-coal wood or charcoal that burns much deeper, or wood that has fat on it from a barbecue.
The sole of the foot placed firmly on the hot coals extinguishes this thin outer burning layer rapidly by depriving it of oxygen.
Water is able to absorb vast amounts of heat and because your cells have a very high percentage of water the heat is quickly absorbed and dissipated to the other surrounding cells.
It is a neat trick that looks really impressive but in the end it's just a trick.
The key to not being burned is to have enough confidence to step firmly onto the coals.
If you hesitate, step too lightly or have high arches the chances are that you will burn blisters.
I have high arches, the soles of my feet were fine but I did get a blister or two between my toes and under my arches.
Ah haaaaa; always wondered that, seemed to fly in the face of science, especially the no burning bit; nice :-D
Cg
how does Clarke's third law go: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
The magic disappears once you understand the physics... but that still doesn't make it easy the first time.
Listen, even after reading this, I would still be nervous trying it for the first time :-)
Cg
Awesome!
I too have fire walked and LOVED it!
A very powerful experience. Though I actually walked not ran or walked fast and the fire instructer was impressed by how slow I went and at the end of the night asked to see the bottoms of my feet assuming they would be burned and I was just roughing it out. However they were not burned!
I have been considering leading fire walks as I do life coaching and is Kirstin speaking anyways and would be a great extra experience to share with people.
Thanks for the article. I am following you mostly because you are such a generous being with all the sponsoring of writers and such. Though this is a cool article and glad to see it.
Best regards~*~
Yip, you have to experience it, to know what its truly all about...
And I thought all along it was the deep burning coals and these fire-walkers were gods! Thanks for busting the myth!
Sorry for the spoiler...
Very cool post ! Thanks for clearing that up, I always heard it was a MoM deal ..(Mind over matter) ...
It may not be MOM but it definitely is mind-over-fear
Okay, this is seriously awesome. I can't imagine being able to tell people that you've walked through fire unscathed. That's definitely something for the bucket list!
It's interesting to note that in some cultures, like for the Indians, they do this as part of a ritual thing. Thimithi is their fire-walking festival. I'm sure there's a huge tourist attraction in India where it's practiced.
Similarly, in my home country Singapore, we have a yearly procession for the Indians who celebrate Thaipusam and it's normally a real photo opportunity for people who come to our sunny island.
I'm actually pretty sure that the majority of the ritual involves preparation - meditation and fasting - to show a devotee's willingness to suffer for their beliefs.
It's interesting to see just how far someone would go for their religion, and some of these "costumes" are really quite the epitome of dedication...
I never knew the physics about fire walking, but still won't try it.
My wife should however be excellent with this..... she always put her foot down firmly!!
LOL
Hi Gavvet I always wonder about this coal walking I thought you had to do it fast and was surprised to see now that it is done slowly to keep you from getting blisters I would also have tip toed but you said we have to put our foot down flat. Still I don't know if I would be able to do it even if someone paid me money perhaps if my life depended on it.
Yea it takes a group a couple of hours for everybody to work up enough courage to try... and its really important to have the confidence to step firmly.... otherwise blisters.
Hi Gavvet. Great article. Always wanted to try it and has always been a bit of a woosh😀 Interesting to read about the science behind it. Always thought that it cannot just be you and a few mates, after a few cold ones spreading some red hot coals on the back lawn
a couple of cold ones is what leads to using the wrong types of wood or coals that have fats and oils on them... it often ends badly
As shown by the gentleman in the post from sompitonov😀
Wow! I don't know if I could bring myself to do that!
It takes some mind bending preparation to work up the courage to do what your brain is screaming you shouldn't
The main thing is not to hurry
Wise words!!!!😄
Thank you :)
wtf with the diving lol. >.<
Wow that sucks
that would hurt... when doing a pile you need to run to prevent the burning of the sides of the feet and legs... so with a pile of coals its all about speed..
all about speed...
With the main focus on staying on your feet...
Of course!
i think the guy with white shirt didnt understand the direction. its walking in Fire not diving in fire. lol hehehe nice pic
That's awesome, just hope when I try they will use the right wood!
Hehehe...did they get the disclosed statement ready: Do not try this at home or without an expert observation.
These things have long given a scientific explanation.
Hi @gavvet,
This is a very interesting article to me! I was convinced that a person will burn if they walk over fire, I mean that is what my commonsense told me.
I can just imagine what a great experience it was and that you will remember it for the rest of you life.
Did you learn something about yourself during the fire-walking activity?
Maybe someday i will have the courage to do something amazing like walking on fire...
Have a nice day :)
Ace Ventura in the second film famously went on burning coals))
unbelieveable !!!
yes, Water helps to absorb the heat from coal for a short moment.
Busted)
ouch, that's painful
It's just one word called ineria in physics. I'm surprised that basic physics can make you earn some money, I must also write one.
we walk coals here.. in my nameday too... awesome...
Hello! I admire you. Although you write that it is a trick, but decide it is not easy. Obviously, you have the self-hypnosis or you tremendous willpower. As in both cases, I take off my hat to you as a sign of respect for your determination, but do you explain this phenomenon from a scientific point of view.
👍nice post @gavvet
You guys should check out Thaipusam festival :) It involves Firewalking!
nice info. i though before its real. but know i know its only a trick. hehehe up for this
Just a little trick.....uhhh ahhh
I've firewalked a few times and really had powerful experiences each time. I walked slowly and was never burned. However we used hard woods and walked on the hot coals - 1800 degrees at least, which defies the science. There's more to it than logic!
Well, I did something more impressive, but that works almost the same way. Licking the red hot metal bar.
Here is what I had to show for it. First lick was ok, but for 2nd & 3rd I did the mistake you describe. But that way I had something to show for it. There were three licks, but only two blisters.
I'll just leave it here
Oh, the multitude of "tricks" our little scared animal mind plays on us! You are so very right. Intuitively I felt I was going to be fine. And I was. So I walked the second time. And the third. I did get a small blister on my left sole. Cederwood works best as coals are soft and crumble without hard splinters. And yes, I did feel that self-confidence boost. My mind was transformed forever. "If we can walk on fire, what else are we capapble of?" I kept thinking. Thank you for this reminder. A great post. Human potential and creativity, our real innate invaluable assests! Just a matter of taming that little scared animal mind :)
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