Cool moss, cool moss, AAAARGH!!!!

[Gob]

SAN JOSE -- Amid inspirational talk, chanted mantras and shouts of victory at a late-night firewalking event attended by thousands Thursday came agonized shrieks from followers whose soles were scorched by the superheated coals, witnesses said.

At least 21 people were treated for burn injuries after taking part in the crowning event of the first day of a Tony Robbins function downtown, including at least three who went to the hospital, a San Jose fire captain said.

The people who suffered various second- and third-degree burn injuries were among more than 6,000 who attended the motivational speaker's event at the San Jose Convention Center called "Unleash the Power Within."

After the event, which ended about 11 p.m., the crowd walked across the street to the park, where 12 lanes of hot coals measuring 10 feet long and 2½-feet wide rested on the grass.

Jonathan Correll, 25, decided to check out what was going on when "I heard wails of pain, screams of agony." He said one young woman appeared to be in so much pain "it was horrific."

"It was people seriously hurting, like they were being tortured," he said. "First one person, then a couple minutes later another one, and there was just a line of people walking on that fire. It was just bizarre, man."

Correll, a San Jose City College student, said he saw between 10 and 15 people being treated. He said he videotaped the scene for about 5 minutes before an event staffer told him to put the camera away.

But on a break from day two of the four-day event Friday night, others who walked on the coals said it was nothing short of life-changing.

Henry Guasch, 19, of Mountain View, said that after crossing the coals while chanting his mantra of "Cool moss," he felt powerful.

"Overcoming something like that, it's a breakthrough," he said, adding that he did slow his pace in the middle of the field and got a minor burn.

Guasch and Andrew Brenner, another fire walker, both said that the keys to not getting singed are faith and concentration.

"I did it before, didn't get into the right state and got burned," Brenner said. "I knew I wasn't at my peak state. I didn't take it as serious."

[Sue U]

I did a firewalk about 30 years ago as a newspaper reporter. I got through it unscathed, save for a very small blister on one foot. Although prefaced by a lot of motivation-speak and meditation, I didn't find it particulalrly inspirational or empowering -- mostly something of a lark. I suspect the people who got burned here were doing it wrong.

[loCAtek]

Many moons ago, an old friend of mine joined those Tony Robbins' seminars, and ended it with a fire walk.
He said, Tony originally wanted folks to jump out of airplanes or sumsuch... but firewalking was more economical for large groups of people.

[Joe Guy]

I suspect the people who got burned here were doing it wrong.

That's just another example of why you're a lawyer and I'm not.

You're able to make those complicatedly difficult conclusions that us non-lawyer types aren't able to come up with.