Firebreathing 101

[Reuben]

I wanted to start this discussion for those who want to learn how to breathe fire and those who have some knowledge and want to knock some ideas around.
I think its better that people who want to learn to breathe fire should know how, instead of experimenting to try and do it by themselves, wich is VERY dangerous.
You guys have heard of people sucking in a mouthful of petrol and trying to firebreathe with that, right?
So here we are.

Firebreathing 101.

NEVER USE PETROL/GASOLINE.
thought i'd say that right now. lol.

Okay.
Purse your lips and blow steadily out between you lips. It should make your lips vibrate together very fast. kind of like a high-pitched raspberry noise. you'll look like an idiot, but practice this.

Next, practice aspirating water through your lips. just like before, but wiith water, not air. You want to acheive a fine mist of water that hangs in the air for several seconds. you do NOT large drops of water. Your head should stay in one place (unless it is part or a move) when you first breathe fire, you will want to move your head back, away from the flame. it is a narural human reaction, but i promise you, it will not help.
you should really spend a few days/ weeks to perfect this

put some fuel in your mouth and get a feel for the taste/texture/ composition of the fuel you are using. DO NOT let any of the liquid seep down your throat. Most firebreathing fuels are carcinogenic/poisonous. or in other words, not good for you. do not ingest it. try aspirating this fuel, same as you did with the water.

Fire.
I recommend a kevlar wick fire torch. you need a solid, steady flame to firebreathe with. However you can you anything with a big flame. I wouldnt recommend it, but i have used a blowtorch before, for example.

Never firebreathe downwards. wear goggles or glasses to protect you precious eyes (you only have two) from droplets of fuel. Have someone stood near you with a towel that has been wetted and then wrung out so that it is damp. a wet towel is likely to make an oil based fuel fire worse, but a damp towel will extinguish it better than a fire blanket. if you can afford, or have access to a fire extinguisher, it wouldnt be a bad idea.
Always hold your fire torch at least half your arms length away from your mouth. It'd be silly to press the fire to your lips and breathe the fuel out now wouldnt it?

DO NOT USE A LOW FLASH POINT FUEL such as petrol or gasoline Do not hold the torch to close to your face on exhilation. Do not spit large droplets or fuel into a flame. all of these actions will probably result in the following...
1. burn your facial hair.
2. burn your lips.
3. burn your mouth and throat.

FINALLY.

Fuels.
This is debatable. Most firebreathers use Paraffin. A few use Kerosine, but it is horrible stuff. Personally I use Lamp oil or Ultra pure lamp oil becuase it is the least carcinogenic of all the possible (effective) fuels.
Like i said, there is much debate on which fuel to use. discuss.
I will say that all of the photos of me firebreathing was using Ultra pure lamp oil from the hardware store.

P.s. If you start burping after firebreathing, you have 'keroburps' and that means you have ingested fuel or a lot of the fuels fumes. NOT GOOD becuase this will have you cancer faster than chainsmoking. i cant stress how important it is to not drink the fuel.

I hope this helped! Good luck, little dragons.

[She]

Reuben thats brilliant! thankyou for sharing this for all to learn from and broaden their fire world with...
Reuben on a more personal note...i'd love to breathe. i did learn so i could hold a mouth full for a finale flare, twice was enough for me.
it's not fear, singes or anything else that stops me but the taste pf paraffin...if i could just get over that!!! any suggestions?
ok i'm not really expecting any answers as paraffins paraffin but thought id ask in case there was any 'CHERRYFIN' (YUM) out there!

Great strand Reuben, i look forward to the replys as they come in...smiles
=~)
x

[Reuben]

Woo! a question!
Paraffin and kerosine both taste atrocious. Kerosine more so, i only breathed with kerosine once and it was really, really bad. i nearly gagged with the aftertaste. Pure lamp oil has hardly any taste, but it is still there. so try Lamp oil first. Like i said, most hardware stores have it. It does what it says on the bottle, its meant for slow burning wick lamps, but also happens to be the best stuff for firebreathing, in my opinion and many others'. Its usually about £2 a bottle. However, i have heard of some mysterious liquid called 'firewater'. no, not moonshine, that is basically flavoured paraffin, purified so that it has all the attributes of purified lamp oil but tastes better, even though you're still not meant to drink it. but i understand that it is Incredibly expensive and you cant buy it in this country, you have to get it shipped from america.

Basically, Try lamp oil because it hardly tastes of anything, but still has an oily texture.

[SideShow]

i just wanted to add use the clear Ultra -pure they also have it in another color not sure of the color but it has a small taste not that bad to me. I've used reg clear lamp oil didn't care for the taste. I've heard about using veggy oil's but i've not tested it out yet but will let you know what my finding are..lol

[Reuben]

Also, i forgort to mention that you should keep the bottle with a lid on as you breathe fire and away from the flame if you can.
You will find that no matter how tight you shut your lips the oily residue will dribble down onto your chin. this is not good becuause there is a chance that your face will catch fire, to prevent the aforemention face conflagration, wipe the residue off with a clean, dry cloth. or if you dont have one to hand (which you should) then use your shoulder because its less serious if that catches fire, haha.

[SideShow]

well i'm glade to see there is other fire breather here. So i hope to learn alot more and get some good tips form you All.

[TItanGoddess]

Okay, this was the funniest educational literture I have read in a long long time. I find you to be... well simply said "F***ing AWESOME! OMG, I would never had know that you could do this with fuel of any kind. I am hick and 151 is the most popular thing out here to use. I tried it once but that stuff was making my mouth catch on fire without the freakin fire. Not fun and I spit it out to a large "SHIT" being muttered by all the guys at the fire pit. Not because I didn't do it. Of course not it was because I wasted their 151... ugh!

I always believe in safety first. Always. I can honestly tell you I am a egomanic so this is out of the question for me. The no facial hair thing I am doing pretty good at with the poi. I would rather get scars where they aren't seen. Like my tattoo's. LOL... But I do think you are wonderful for putting so much time into an honored tradition. Fire breathing has been around since before medevil times.

Brava Sir Reuben

[SideShow]

In a case of 12 one tooth's redneck.I bet the words hey ya'll watch this!! was yelled a few times.

Few things i have found out the hard way,don't blow with a hat on in case of blow back it burns hair. waer some kind of eye procetion never know when the mist mite hit your eyes. before i took up fire breathing i was a guy try to eat fire after taking a breath. All i could say is Dumass then pointed and laffed

[Sven]

as i said to reuben before he started this forum im interested in starting fire breathing....his educational and amusing speal has left me all happy and wanting to go do it asap....but in the essence of saftey im kinda thinking this would be a bad idea...now i trust everything he has said but does anybody alse have any ideas/pointers before i try...( however unlikely...did he miss anything???)


thanx reuben ur advice has been very informative and helpfull.....ill get the first time on video...so if i fuck up then u can all watch...hahahahahaha

..::sven::..

[TItanGoddess]

You do it sven and I will do it too...Oh boy... let's see how this goes over. If you guys don't see me for a while I am in the ICU Burn unit... Just look me up. I would probably make headlines..."Lady Lites Herself Up"....

Muahhhhh......

Titan

[SideShow]

Well before you get any bright thuoghts about breathing fire. BE SAFE BE SAFE BE SAFE BE SAFE BE SAFE!!!!!! I can't say that enuogh. My very 1st time breathing i did it alone don't be a dumass like i was. Thanks the gods that i was not hurt. if your to scared of getting burn to much get some fire gel cover your face for add prectetion. Before i go breath i eat some bread and butter. that old wise tail never drink on a empty belly, it alpy to fire breathing as well. I'll dig up a link that i use just as soon as i can find it.

[Stunt Man Jeff]

Well Reuben did a great job of covering the do's. Here are a few dont's

- Don't do it in the wind all kinds of bad things can happen, including blow back witch could damage your lungs permanently.
- Never inhale through you mouth even after you breath it out you could get chemical pneumonia.
- Don't breath fire toward anybody or anything that will burn.
- Don't use 151 or anything with a low flash point.
- Don't dot it if you are drinking 151 or any other alcohol.

[TItanGoddess]

Okay Okay.. .the 151 was a joke, sort of. I did do it but yes.. 151 was involved.. hehe.. I am all about safety. I played with my poi for over a month before I even asked how to light them up. There is no way I would just firebreath without prior knowledge and alot of it. :)

I am kind of starting to think it may be cool. I have alot of hair though, what about that? I usually wet my hair completely before I spin fire, is that appropriate? The gel that was mentioned would also be something I would like to look up. I am not jumping up and down on the parafin as I use that to spin with also and the smell of it burning is not too good either. I did see the ultra clear. It is different colors so maybe it is not as bad. What about alcohol, not the kind you drink either. I used meth., alcohol when I danced with torches. It has a very low flash point in comparision to regular alochol. What do you think on using that?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Peace