the fear and delight of fire spinning by Anika H. '26

quick note: i did a TED talk with kano about fire spinning once, but we were asked to do it four days before the event, so we had three days to prepare, and i shrivel from embarrassment every time someone mentions or finds it. so, i’m writing a very high effort blog about fire spinning to redeem myself and wipe that talk from my memory.

when afterthoughts burn and the day comes to close, a fire in my hands, a warmth in my soul.

Once upon a time…

I joined MIT Spinning Arts when I was a freshman, and since then I have spun countless props on fire, danced and performed with it, gotten accidental fire haircuts, and lit myself on fire (on accident and on purpose). Besides committing to MIT, joining Spinning Arts was the boldest decision I made in my life, but also one of the best. I’ll spare you the whole “the real fire was the friends I made along the way!” speech, because I’d spend forever and a half gushing about how cool and supportive and hilarious everyone I met there was. By joining this community, I went from tiptoeing around a lighter to loving fire with a passion just short of a pyromaniac’s.

Is it real fire?

Yep. We don’t have a magic coating that makes us fireproof, which means it’s hot and will burn you if you screw up. The fire isn’t any less real than the one you sit around toasting marshmallows in on a camping trip.

Isn’t it dangerous?

Of course it is, but so is football, and archery, dance, and sailing, all for slightly different reasons. Fire spinning is just another sport with it’s own set of precautions people need to take to stay safe. The only reason we can look dangerously hot (pun totally intended) is because we have proper procedures and trainings. Every firespinner has at least one “safety” with a fire blanket. We have a separate fuel dump area from the spinning field and a double bucket system in case things do catch fire. And for every prop we spin and every move we try, we spend hours practicing it off fire before we try it on fire for the first time.

We have this and many more measures in place to keep ourselves alive and uninjured WHICH IS WHY YOU SHOULD NOT TRY THIS WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. While I’d love this blog to be the reason someone new joins the club, I’d rather not be the reason a lovely stranger on the internet ends up turning into a human-shaped flaming hot Cheeto.

How does fire spinning work?

Fire spinners use props that they light on fire and manipulate. It consists of at least one wick, and a handling end. The handling end is for the spinner to control the fire, and can be any length of rope for a dynamic prop, or a rigid structure for static props. The wick itself does not burn and instead soaks up the fuel, which is then lit on fire. the burn time of the prop varies depending on the size and shape of the wick, as well as the speed you’re spinning it at.

Here’s a rough list of common props! This is not an extensive list though, there are way more.

Some people choose to make their own props, and you can get pretty creative considering the grip and wick can be basically any shape and attached any way you want. Aside from the fire frying pan, people have made hook swords, a fire bird puppet, puppy darts (which slide from a puppy hammer into a meteor dart, and even laser cut their own intricate fan designs out of aluminum. As far as number of different props goes, the list includes this and whatever else you crazy engineers come up with.

Practice practice practice

Many club members choose a one or two props they specialize in and hone their skills, getting into really really advanced tricks. As such, we end up with some absolutely cracked staff and poi spinners. I chose the route where I try a lot of different props and get okay at them before getting excited about another challenge and trying something new. I would consider myself practiced at about four props, though I have tried everything i could get my hands on. There’s also the crazy talented people who spin a lot of props and are good at all of them, but it all depends on how much time you spend practicing.

There are other fire arts including fleshing (contact fire), fire eating, and fire breathing, that club exec has formally reintroduced after a lot of planning and effort (including both training and paperwork). I mainly do firebreathing, practice fleshing occasionally, and don’t really eat fire. This would make the post too long, so I’ll maybe talk about these some other time.

https://www.youtube.com/@mitspinningarts9250

Why I like fire

After all that talk of fear danger, I still chose to stay, because it’s really really fun. It’s not something I can fully describe in words, but I will try anyway.

When I’m spinning fire, I forget about everything else. Basically, when I’m spinning, I’m in “the zone”. It’s a level of calm and focus I usually don’t get in the hectic day-to-day of an MIT student.

Fireshows are always some of the best highlights of my year. I get to show off how much I’ve improved, and I get to watch my friends perform insane tricks and choreography. We love the audience and the audience loves us too. When I’m not performing or safetying, I’m cheering my lungs off in the crowd. So if my throat doesn’t hurt the next day, I didn’t cheer loud enough. At the end of the show, I go find my friends to go throttle them and tell them how freaking awesome they are, and we’re all talking and congratulating and giving each other rib-cracking hugs, and I absolutely love these moments.