Firewalking

When firewalk participants run ( Firewalker ) barefoot on a catwalk of glowing charcoal pieces ( measured about 240 to 450 ° C ) or hot stones (with low heat capacity). In preparation for the course is a ritual fire runners often put into a trance state. Fire runs are now often conducted motivational and self-experience courses in the context of (commercial).

For 2001, the Guinness Book of World Records recorded a fire run in which 22 people aged 7-80 years, overcame a Glutteppich of 111 meters intact. This world record is in La Balmondière, have been near Mâcon (France) improved to 222 meters on 13 March 2003. The 16 participants are said to have suffered no major injuries. This record was also on 22 March 2003 in St. Lorenzen / change ( Austria ) improved to 250 meters.

Back in 1989 was the karate teacher Antoine Bagady on a 60 m -long bed of hot coals without incurring burns.

Despite these records, however, recommend experienced Firewalker to spend no longer than seven seconds on the carbon bed. The feet should this well supplied with blood, so be as warm as possible before the firewalking. Whether the feet should be wiped dry before firewalking is controversial.

On the Fiji Beqa Island ( Mbengga ) derive so-called fire- priest of this ritual is to take the award and test for the elect. Even in areas of orthodox Christianity, especially in the southern Balkans ( in Southeast Bulgaria and northeast Greece ) is the firewalking ritual known since ancient times. Today it is but completed only in southeastern Bulgaria in the region beach damage under the name Nestinarstwo.

• 3.1 Heat capacity and thermal conductivity
• 3.2 Contact time and weight distribution
• 3.3 Local extinguish the fire by oxygen deprivation

Fire walk with spiritual orientation

The firewalking is usually performed as a ritual for thousands of years and is practiced by primitive peoples and religious groups all over the world - regularly with a view to healing and spiritual growth. In recent decades, fire walking in Western culture has become increasingly publicized and marketed commercially in the alternative therapeutic scene.

Psychology of fire run

Mystical Wonders processes as the basis of the fire run, as well as natural remedies ( s ) effects from it are now considered refuted. A summary of researchers, according to Spiegel: " A schadloses crossing the charcoal embers " ... was also " without preparation ceremony, without any psycho-physical states of emergency, with no association to religious beliefs " and " barefoot possible in normal everyday Constitution". Nevertheless, there are reports from participants, according to which fire runners have significantly burned and were subsequently hospitalized at the hospital.

Fear, overcoming, Going

Ritual Fire runners have according to scientific studies regularly on a particularly strong affinity for anxiety issues such as above-average fear, hysteria, painful experiences of illness, traumatic and superstitious rationalization attempts credulity, positivism / romance, Beeindrucktsein ( by small and micro- relief experiences ) and the like. The selection ritually "authorized " Firewalker itself seems mainly about this central issue of anxiety to be made. Since the fear of fire because usually painful experience of contact is deeply rooted, overcoming this ( here physically irrational ) fear may have some mentally liberating effect for nervous people, thus allowing in some cases, a generally better coping with anxiety. The risk of burns is physically reduced when the feet during the contact time have broad, as evenly as possible distributed contact for coal. However, the natural reaction to the glow is a reluctance, so rather a walking on pointed feet. Thus one has a metered, -accepting " entering into the suffering " a ( typical for many situations ) advantage compared to habitual avoidance reactions. With increasing familiarity and " bathing in ( dose ) Danger " like so a willingness to suffering and experience are encouraged.

Cult and pseudo-realities

Regularly the cult phenomenon to build and ritual around leads but also for the construction of permanent replacement and apparent realities with false self-assessments ( Grammer1981 ). This pseudo-realities are separated by a minimum degree of residual irrationality, ie Having ultimately due to insufficient understanding of the processes. Test subjects in scientific, not cultic firewalking experiments showed ordinary anxiety, tension, relaxation and euphoria - response pattern without pathological rest - as is generally typical for coping with difficult exams.

Group ritual

The shared experience of the fire run in ritual environment - often additionally promoted by group-specific superstitions (eg "Saint Constantine, icons and sacred cloths protect us. " ) - Can be welded together the group effect, which then optionally available even when real problems is to go together through "thick and thin".

Selection and status

Usually firewalking rituals by priests or master of ceremonies ( also recently commercially ) organized and managed the then last but not least take root by restricting access to the " miracle effect " and by selecting appropriate or desired people their arbitrary power sustainable - often " inherited " on generations. The select group of Firewalker seems despite their " mystical" foundation a strong, even corruption- ready awareness of the threat to their status through revelation and profanation to have. Karl Grammer documented example an incident at a Anastenaridenfeuerlauf in Greece, where suddenly an ordinary viewer (without prejudice ) with the fire running out to which one of the Firewalker tried this by prolonged detention and then by " friendly " rich of live coal in his hands and pressed together to violate the same ( which largely failed ). There are regularly deterrent spread rumors - about that Nichtinitierten threatens serious diseases and a speedy death after a fire run.

Physical explanations of Firewalking

For motivational and self-experience courses is often claimed that there was no scientific explanation for the phenomenon. Thus, fire-walking is only possible if you have prepared and would be in a meditative trance. Sometimes it is suggested that the power of thought can make human tissue heat resistant. In fact, psychological factors play a role only in so far as it comes to overcoming the fear and fervor to traverse fast enough to avoid burns occur. If still adjust burns 1 to 3 degree, has the technical causes. Thus, the type and nature of the fuel, the subsoil and the amount of embers and the thickness of the layer of embers affect the outcome. This allows the Glutteppich in several very different ways prepare, temperature and amount of heat radiated and thus the risk of burns can vary greatly.

Heat capacity and thermal conductivity

Heat capacity and thermal conductivity are the two main factors that allow a fire walking without burns. Wood and coal are poor conductors of heat and have a low heat capacity, as well as the ash that surrounds the embers. (Carbon, the main component of coal, having a heat capacity of 710 J / kg, but the value varies depending on the type of coal due to impurities). Therefore, coal items they touch, heat slowly, especially items made ​​of material with high heat capacity and low thermal conductivity such as water, the main constituent of the human body ( 4286 J / kg K).

Contact time and weight distribution

Another important factor is the contact time of the feet and embers: ideally, the Firewalker goes quickly over the coals so that the feet with every step touch the hot ground only briefly (less than half a second ). Just as increasing the risk of burns to slow walking, you should on the other hand also run under any circumstances or even run. This body weight would be inevitably shifted to the toes and ball of the foot, which would mean that for the same mass ( the body) has a smaller area of the foot with the glowing coals in ( intensive ) would contact. In addition, as a rule is connected to the skin, and between the toes due to the lower more sensitive keratinization.

Local extinguish the fire by oxygen deprivation

Because of blocking the supply of oxygen by the foot, the combustion is briefly interrupted, so currently there is no new heat more. Through the heat exchange of the embers with his foot also the temperature of the coal falls below the flash point, so that combustion does not start again even after the end of the contact immediately. This causes the Firewalker "cold footprints " behind. During a fire-walking ritual dance in which the circles over the Glutteppich, the glow is exited with time, so that runners usually fire dance at the beginning quickly about it and then at a lower temperature always have longer contact times.

Danger of burns

Investigations showed that the temperatures from 50 to 200 degrees Celsius at the fire run on the feet and that the only brief contact with the embers is not a problem. For prolonged contact may, however, lead to serious burns to third degree and large very painful blisters.