00:01I feel like sometimes I get scared of the fire still.
00:10It's not even the fire, it's the blade that scares me.
00:13That's why I have all of these.
00:15Like, it's not even burns, it's cuts from the blade.
00:22Hello, my name is Jerilee Nali'a'i.
00:24I live in La'ie, Hawaii. I'm 21 years old.
00:26And I'm a fireknife dancing champion.
00:32Fireknife dancing has given me more meaning in life.
00:36It's my passion.
00:38It helped me realize how much potential I have.
00:41It is a very tough sport.
00:43I like to just dance and give it my all.
00:47It's part of my Samoan culture.
00:49It's been passed down from generation to generation.
00:51I believe this was the first time I was on a magazine,
00:54and I didn't even know about it, too.
00:56That was the crazy thing.
00:57It was on the side, and I walked past, and I was like,
01:00wait, what the heck does mean?
01:01And I was just like, oh, wow.
01:03It truly has blessed me in my life.
01:06It's given me a job with good pay.
01:09It's given me opportunities to travel to places
01:11I would have never thought I'd travel to.
01:13I would just compete for fun.
01:15It wasn't anything to do with having to compete to win,
01:19to take care of stuff like bills and things.
01:22It was just a way to get my name out there,
01:25receiving a title for myself.
01:27These are my twin cousins, and we all do fireknife.
01:31We had a gig here.
01:32It runs in the family, and it makes me even more proud
01:35to be a part of it.
01:36And this is my dad.
01:38At a young age, I was always watching my dad dance
01:41at the Panaji Cultural Center or different shows in Hawaii.
01:45And he's taught me everything I know about fireknife today.
01:49He's the reason why I'm here, the reason why I love what I do.
01:54You like fireknife dancing?
01:55Yeah, yeah.
01:57You wasn't forced all the way, huh?
01:59Okay.
02:00The history and the culture of the Samoan people is very rich.
02:04So this is the ancient club, the Nifu'oki.
02:06In English, it's the tooth of death.
02:09Traditionally, this would be used in war.
02:11The Samoan warriors would lead out their warriors with this club
02:14and go in to protect their families.
02:17When you look at this, you see war, protecting your village,
02:21doing what you need to do to survive in a daze.
02:24I actually won this. It's my trophy knife.
02:282019, when she won the title for the World Fireknife Championship
02:31Women's Division Open.
02:33Her first fireknife was actually these two double knives
02:37when she was younger.
02:39I was about 10 or 11 years old when I started fireknife dancing.
02:44Just one day, I picked up a stick, and I was watching them,
02:46and I was like, oh, this is cool. I want to try spin it.
02:49And, like, I want to try and learn.
02:51So I would spin it, and I would try to show my dad.
02:53And he didn't really see it until I actually put the work in,
02:59and I actually tried to learn the right motion,
03:01because I would spin it wrong and, like, go on the side,
03:04watch them, and then, okay, how are we doing that?
03:06Okay, let me try and do this.
03:07And I realized, I was watching her one day,
03:09I could see the potential she had.
03:11I figured, you know what?
03:13Since the first warrior goddess that we have in Samoa was Nafanua,
03:18and she was a girl.
03:20So the story of Nafanua, she went to battle,
03:22she disguised herself like a man,
03:23and she was destroying everybody.
03:25The goddess of war for Samoa.
03:27So, and I saw that in her as she was practicing,
03:30and she has proven to me that she's really capable of being a female warrior.
03:35Jerry, she's changed my view on Friday night dancing a lot,
03:38especially being a female.
03:40I mean, it's a male-dominated sport, so for us,
03:44and to see a girl that good,
03:47I might be a little biased, but it's crazy how good she is.
03:52Wait for the wind today.
03:53No, the wind is going to keep coming.
03:55Just go.
03:57Ready?
03:58Ready, set.
04:03I would say I was underestimated as a woman competing in Fireknife,
04:08being that in the intermediate division there is no split.
04:11There's girls and boys, they all compete in the same division.
04:14But there were times where I felt discouraged.
04:17I felt like I wasn't going to be good enough.
04:21When I competed for the first time, my blade fell off.
04:25So I was disqualified, and I was so sad after that too.
04:28I was embarrassed.
04:30There was another night.
04:32I just threw the knife up, and it came,
04:35and it hooked onto my shirt, and it got stuck.
04:37And I was just, like, getting burned here.
04:39And my dad had to come and help pull it off
04:42because it wasn't coming off.
04:44And I didn't want to continue doing Fireknife dancing after that.
04:48I just, it really took a toll on me.
04:52My dad has pushed me to overcome those.
04:55He tells me all the time, you know,
04:58it happens.
04:59You know, things happen for a reason.
05:01Push past it.
05:04She worked hard, and I'm so proud that she did it.
05:07You know, I was there to help her along, but it was all her.
05:10She doesn't give up.
05:11She's a very, very strong-willed young lady.
05:23I think safety is the most important part when it comes to prepping.
05:27Making sure that your knives are tightened,
05:30making sure that your towel doesn't fly off.
05:32So it's much more than just picking up your knives and going to a show.
05:38I am lined up for the Polynesian Cultural Center night show.
05:42I love performing for tourists.
05:44Like, in most cases, it's something that they haven't seen before,
05:47especially being a woman.
05:50It does surprise them a lot.
05:52So it, in that sense, I like it.
05:55And it's also a way of me sharing my culture with people who aren't aware of it.
06:03To mentally prepare, I always start off with a prayer before I go on stage.
06:08It's just a habit of mine now.
06:11I've made it a habit to where I say my prayer,
06:13and I thank the Lord for this opportunity.
06:15I always mention that.
06:17This opportunity is given to me.
06:18Just even being able to perform for people.
06:22Big crowd, little crowd, whoever.
06:31As soon as I hit the stage, it's like adrenaline takes over,
06:35and I kind of don't think about what I'm scared about.
06:38I just go for it.
06:47Like, the nerves and everything, adrenaline, it helps me.
06:57I think it's more than just spinning a stick with fire on both ends.
07:02It has meaning representing the people of Samoa and the traditions.
07:11My greatest fear when it comes to fire knife dancing
07:13is letting people down who have seen me before.
07:21Hoping that I impress those who are watching.
07:27Hoping that I made it worth their while.
07:36Women doing fire knife and their desire to do fire knife has expanded all over,
07:40like from Australia to the mainland, Japan, just everywhere.
07:45I don't want to say I played a big part, but I hope I did play a big part.
07:49And being, like, encouraging women and encouraging little kids,
07:54little girls to compete or to even just learn it.
07:57Pick up a stick and spin.
07:59Well, she taught us.
08:00No, we helped each other.
08:02We all helped each other, yeah.
08:04Fire knife means everything to us, like,
08:07because we grew up having teachers teaching us at a very young age.
08:10And so we feel very proud to perform.
08:14It means more than just dancing.
08:17Well, Jerry, she helps us because, obviously, she's, like, the champion.
08:22So we learn from her.
08:24When we make mistakes, we just keep trying every day to be better.
08:29We just try our best to just uplift each other.
08:32I definitely hope to pass down what I have learned from my dad,
08:37what I've learned from my family members, this tradition,
08:40passing on the culture, the art of fire knife dancing to as many people as you can.
08:45Like, you're very proud to share what you were able to feel
08:48and share what you were able to learn.
08:51I do teach my sister.
08:53She's going to be competing in Utah.
08:55She's personally very stubborn.
08:58And I think it's kind of payback because that's how it was towards my dad.
09:02And I never even realized it.
09:03Just seeing how what my dad had to go through, that face that they make,
09:08and just not wanting to do it at some times,
09:10I've experienced that with my sister a lot.
09:13And it has taught me and has made me more grateful
09:15for what my dad has went through with me.
09:18So we're going to add that before we end.
09:21Try it from the beginning.
09:22You ready?
09:23As far as fire knife dancing being my long-term goal,
09:26I don't think I'm focusing much on me competing and winning.
09:31I'm focusing really on helping other girls compete
09:35and helping them get that feeling that I was able to feel when I placed.
09:40Like, not even when I won.
09:41When I placed, it was just such a happy feeling for me.
09:45And I want other girls to be able to experience that.
09:47So as far as it being a goal, my goal is to help bring up other women champions.
09:54We'll see you next time.
09:56and Dr.
10:14Thanks.
10:16weool U Studio Clements
10:16You're a jerk.
Comments