first, we don't "twirl".... sheesh... :)
To become a 'flaming swordsperson" requires a little time at the haig.... :)

Okay, seriously. Unless you've studied wushu, odds are your sword skills will be next to useless, maybe even dangerous, with fire. You will need to light up a couple times to learn what you cannot do with fire. Just take it slow.

Cheap fire tools are dangerous tools. A cheap sword could mean 3 feet of flame, metal and liquid sailing into the audience. If you can get full tang, get full tang. but at this point, there's a wide variety of fire swords. Some are just swords wrapped in kevlar, some are designed specifically for fire, some I'll reserve comment on. :) Here's an idea, get 3' of kevlar rope (1/2" to an inch) and slip it over an epee, then attach. It would at least be different, and pretty easy to do.

I recently bought a fire sword but its a 2 handed sword and is really biiiiiiiiiiiiig, I studied wu shu for 7 years but always use a one handed sword , so its going to be a chalenge to use the new one haha...

Any tips on how to get use to a really heavy sword? since I am not planing on lite it on fire until I manage to get use to the weight..

The best thing about having a fencing background is that you have a notion of distance and what kind of move you need to make to hit the target. That's also the worst thing, since you don't want to hit anything with your fire sword.

I built my first set from some iron bars that don't look much like swords at all, but at night, with flames, who cares? I like to do partner work, though I need to find a partner with whom a more interesting routine can be worked out. I've got a link to a youtube of my "dance" in this thread at theflamingsword.tribe.net/threa...df043f

Definately full tang! You want something basically strong that's not going to break and send chunks flying. Cheap, yes, as cheap as you can get that will still work. I found some $40 Chinese broadswords and drilled holes along the back side and the secured 3/8" kevlar wicking, two strips, to the back. Initiallly I used stainless steel wire, but now I'm using hog ear clips, much tighter and no wire ends sticking out. They look good, since they are "real" swords, and when we hit, it sounds like it. Plus in daylight, it looks a lot better. Last time I used them, though, when we hit the sword edges bit into each other and stuck -- the heat makes the metal softer. So I had to file down the edge and get all the nicks out.

You standard live-steel sword will work fine -- if you can figure out a way to attach the wicking material. I've worked with a Japanese style sword that had 2 inch wide kevlar wrapped around the back side and secured with bolts. If you convert a regular sword, you pretty much will need to drill holes to insure the kevlar stays put.

I like the idea of the bokkens and shinai with a sheath of kevlar -- light and much easier to work with. Spinsterz.com carries them for $95 each and if you are considering working out a routine with contact, that would be the way to go, I think.

Going from being a swordperson to a flaming swordperson is mainly going from competing to performing. Things like when aiming a strike, make the aim point 3 or 4 inches away from any body part. Solo work becomes more a dance than a combat drill.

I've considered slipping some kevlar down over one of my epees, but when I hold an epee, my mind thinks point. For fire sword, people want to see sabre type moves. My only problem with slipping or wrapping kevlar around the blade is that it will deaden the sound, and the clashing of steel is what thrills the audience.

so go for it and post a video when you get out there and flame, :-)

Izile, when you feel enough practice to go from novice to expert, PM me, lets do some photos together, at least we are in the hood.

So ya, if you check out my firesword vids, you will notice how fast my swords can be. This has to do with the extreme lightness i have engineered them to have. I fence as well (saber being my favorite) so naturally I tried my first prototype with foil blades, then moving to saber blades realizing they fit the bill much better with all the directional swinging. These are for forms (spinning) only, they are not for contact, I have a totally different type for combat.
PM me if you want the blueprints to my fire sword recipe.
Oh yea, and if you have any dojos near by that teach Filipino stick fighting like Eskrima, Arnis or Kali, its a martial art that works beautifully with doubles.
Good luck!