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Siva Afi is a Samoan art form that evolved from the Samoan warrior art form of Ailao. It is a spectacular performance that is highly popular in Hawaii and at luaus. While the spectacular may be amazing to see, it is growing in popularity of youth around the world. There are more Siva Afi competitions being held around the world. Here are 6 ways that Siva Afi builds confidence and discipline in youth.
Physical Discipline
Twirling a stick around is hard work. Not only do you need to work on the spinning techniques, you need to work on your foot work. If you have ever tried siva afi you would know that you can get tired in a matter of minutes. Your arms ache, your fingers can start to get cramped. Then you need to do this for hours at a time just to get the movements correct. Then you need to have the physical discipline to keep moving. It is exhausting. So, if you think that Siva Afi is a cute dance you can pick up and get on the first try you are in for a rude awakening. The physical discipline needed to learn is one thing, you also need to have physical discipline to perform. Bringing the energy of a warrior and also the spectacle that the audience expects requires immense physical discipline.
Mental Focus
When you are twirling with fire or even as tick you need to have the mental focus to keep them moving and move around the stage without dropping, burning yourself or hitting yourself in the head with the practice stick. At the same time, you need to be able to block out any distractions be it people yelling, booing or cheering you on. All of this requires mental focus.
Goal setting
Each person is different, and their goals are different. Some want to perform for themselves. Some want to perform on the big stage. Others want to compete and dominate the world of Siva Afi. Whatever the person wants to do with their Siva Afi journey is up to them. The only way to achieve this is to set goals early on. Setting goals makes the journey clear and sets out the steps need to achieve the goal. Setting Siva Afi goals helps youth to build their confidence by seeing the end and seeing how much they have achieved at each step of their journey.
Respect and Honour
Siva Afi is not just a dance. It began as an ancient Samoan warrior war dance they performed for their villages on return from war. This was called ailao. It is important for anyone wanting to learn this ancient artform to show respect and honour this tradition. This can be done by dressing up in traditional Samoan clothing during performances. This can be done by acknowledging that Siva Afi (fire knife dance, ailao, ailao afi) all come from ancient Samoan culture. Respect and honour for the teachers, other students/competitors.
Self-Control and Emotional Regulation
Sometimes when we think of warriors, we think of club wielding fierce men who just go around and beat people up because they are angry. Warriors were strategic and had so much self-control and emotional regulation. They knew that their actions could result in war for their whole village so being in control of yourself and emotions is key to being a siva afi warrior. Siva afi teaches that you need to be in control so that your actions bring the fire but doesn’t burn the house down.
If you feel like you are ready to take on Siva Afi you can begin your journey by taking our online beginners course from anywhere in the world. You can even drop a comment with your location so that we can share with you the closest in person Siva Afi classes.
If you enjoyed this blog you may want to read https://measinasamoa.com.au/blogs/news/siva-afi-tutorial-3-actions-all-siva-afi-fire-knife-dance-performers-should-know