ContactJuggling.org

just ordered a fire contact juggling ball that should arrive in the next few days and incase it didnt come with any, i was lookin for some tips and safety methods others who have one use. dont wanna torch myself lol

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Burn it with 70% concentration isopropyl alcohol... soak it 'til it's quite saturated. The fuel will stick to you, but it evaporates quite quickly and burns cool enough to just pat out.

Prerequisite tricks include:
-folding line
-chestroll
-butterfly
-bridge roll

Don't wear any synthetic clothes while using it, and shave your arms unless you wanna smell weird for a while. Also, they don't hold up well nicely when dropped, so juggle it the first few times on (WET) grass or something. Best of luck!

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http://www.gravitydefiance.net

Always have a safety standing by with a damp towel (duvetyne if you can get it), someone you can trust to watch you carefully without getting distracted and who will jump on you to put you out if you catch.

Imo this is the number one rule of fire play. No safety mate = no fire play. I know plenty of people who don't abide by that philosophy, but I think they're dumb. Maybe I've got a stick up my ass, I dunno. It's fire. Gotta respect the hell out of it. It's probably not quite as important with isopropyl as it is when you're using gas and poi, but I still reckon it's important.

Yeah, typical fire safety is necessary... I keep forgetting that jugglers don't always hang out with fire people everywhere

Here you go (part 1 of 2):

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http://www.gravitydefiance.net

This may be difficult. Most of my friends might stand there laughing at me for a bit first...

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Help! The law of gravity has been repealed!
What doesn't kill you makes you harder to insure.

Isopropyl is not going to kill you... it burns cool enough that the ball is often extinguished when dropped. But if you don't have all your long bodyrolls, you're gonna burn your hands.

Oh, and yes, the ball does come with safety instructions, but I think it's pretty much all been said here already.

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http://www.gravitydefiance.net

so my wife suggested it and i wanna know what ppl think, she suggested me putting a coat of vasaline on my hands and arms before using it so my hands dont catch fire (which they did, often). i did a test run last night, need to make a small routine though or i get stuck in my windshield limbo and almost burn my hands >< so would the vasaline help?

also, how do you guys apply the fuel? just dunk it? coat it by pouring? squirt bottle?

its ok to extinguish it with water right? then let it dry and/or pat dry with something?

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If your hands are catching fire you've got too much fuel on the prop when you light it. It shouldn't be so saturated that loose fuel can come off.

Extinguish should be done by your safety. He/she just lies the damp (or duvetyne) towel down on the ground. You put the ball in it. He/she wraps and holds tight (no patting).

Getting the amount of fuel is the trickiest part. Too much fuel, and the ball will be way too hot (should NEVER set your hands on fire though), but too little fuel, and it won't even light.

I had just recently found the right amount of fuel and fueling technique to make a perfect combination of heat vs visibility. Although it is impossible to explain the amount, I can tell you my technique. What I do is turn the ball so the wooden ends are pointing left and right (assuming you have a trick concepts ball) , pour the fuel on the top half only, just enough that the top 3 sections are well soaked. Then I use my hands to rub the dry parts of the ball, it's as if I'm rolling a ball of dough between my hands, to make sure that the fuel is fairly even all around.

What I used to do is soak the ball with water before fueling, this makes it tons harder to light, but it shouldn't burn that hot, assuming you have the right amount of fuel. Over fueling, no matter what you do, will always result in a too hot ball.

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www.Aether-Arts.com
www.youtube.com/user/markconigliaro

I think if your hands are catching fire you've got just enough fuel on the prop, but only in the sense that trails of fuel are being left on your body, not that your hands are actually *on fire.* Trails left by the ball only last for half a second, look awesome, won't really burn you, and won't be flying off the ball into the audience like over-saturated poi do. Plus, I find it's handy to fuel the ball as much as possible when it has such a short burn. But you seriously need all your long bodyrolls down-pat or you're gonna get burnt.

Vaseline and watered-down fuel are kinda pointless, IMO. Unless maybe you were doing a zillion burns of ball... but I can burn mine now 2-3 times in a night and not get more than a "woops I held a match too long" kind of minor burn.

To fuel, I drop the ball into a can and pour 70% isopropyl alcohol to cover, then wait a while, maybe a few minutes, occasionally rotating the ball to make sure it's evenly soaking ('cause the ball floats). Iso evaporates in air so I tend to leave it soaking until I'm ready to use it. And to extinguish, I just wait until the ball burns low and then snuff it by holding it tightly in my hands in kind of a two-handed claw iso thing that Poki showed me a long time ago.

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http://www.gravitydefiance.net

hmmmmm soooo

-no need for Vaseline
-coat the ball evenly with just enough fuel
-extinguish via suffocating ball or blowing out or whatever creative way
-chest rolls and other body rolls (my chest rolls are okay. got arm rolls hand to elbow and vice versa just no elbow stalls and no bridges yet)
now to get use to the heat and find the right amount of fuel

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One trick that I found VERY helpful is to, prior to fueling, spray a few of the panels (the trick concepts ball has panels of kevlar) so spray alternating panels with a good amount of water prior to fueling. You don't want to spray all of them, just every other one. Then fuel as usual. I've found this cuts WAYYY down on the heat and enables you to do better tricks while still having a big flame. I'll post a video of me using the trick concepts ball here in a few in the videos section. But spraying the water helps a lot with the heat for sure.

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www.augustkryger.com

Also, spraying some water on your arms and hands before lighting up helps too.

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www.augustkryger.com

so i notice in most fire cj vids ppl have iron stands, any tips for where to get a cheap one of these? is height a factor or size really for a stand for a fire cj ball?

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You can make one easily and cheaply with a metal post from lowes and a coil of stiff copper wire. Looks cool too.

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www.augustkryger.com